Hello Real World

Hello real world! I'm home - and somewhat missing Africa! It always does take a little while to adjust to the return to the real world. At least this time I was expecting it.

The hustle and bustle of the shopping centre, the traffic that stops at red lights, and then starts moving magically when the light goes green. The sun comes up and goes down again - but mostly it goes unnoticed. I can turn the "sun" on and off with the flick of a switch inside! Society holds many expectations - most of which I'm simply just not ready for!!!

I notice lots of old burnt out faces at work. I notice lots of new fresh faces. Lots of work mates have moved on. A bit has changed - there's a construction site right outside the front door. The people that were the "newbies" before I left are now oldies. Workplace politics are unchanged. This is the thing that frustrates me the most.

Outside of work, many friends are out of town, but there's a few still around, some have gone and come back just like me. Some will be gone for a good bit longer yet. Thank goodness for Skype and mobile phones!

The things I miss about Africa are much the same as last time I left. I miss the TDA family of friends, I miss seeing the sun rise and set every day, I miss the open air, the wide open spaces. I miss being a dirtbag. I even miss my tent a little. Combining the cost to replace the zipper and the pole added to excess baggage fees... it simply wasn't going to be worth it. So time for a new tent I guess!!!

Capetown

So here I am safe and sound, finally in Capetown.

Of course the last 6 days haven't been without any dramas. A few days before we arrive we have a TDA disaster. One of our big support trucks brakes fail, the truck rolls. I don't know how the two staff members on board manage to get out of there unharmed. I think Disco Jesus saved them. Goodbye green truck. That's our second day this tour when things could have ended up seriously bad but somehow they didn't. Once again Sharita (a.k.a BB, or Fearless Leader) does an awesome job sorting out the disaster. We get everything off the trucks. Bicycles are damaged but the main thing is everyone is safe. Thankfully there were no clients on board the truck.

Disco Jesus came from Marsabit - he was a glow in the dark plastic Jesus originally hanging from a cross. One drunken night he gets removed from his cross and Mathias burns his arm so he can bend it downwards - he looks like he's dancing. He used to live above Ferdi's bed on the truck but the belief is that he saved Ferdi and Elvis. Unfortunately he was lost during the drama.

The next lot of dramas don't arrive until the convoy into Capetown. A rider falls and lands heavily. After the awards ceremony she's taken to the hospital for x-rays. Meanwhile another rider is climbing down the ladder out of the truck - the ladder slips and the rider lands awkwardly. Two clients with broken bones in the final day.

So here in Capetown how am I feeling??? The answer: Very Tired.
I don't think I've ever worked this hard in my life.
I also don't think I've ever had so much fun in my life.

It's the perfect way to end a journey.

6 days left

So I'm currently sitting at a campsite called Felix Unite where the Fish River meets the Orange River close to the border of Namibia/South Africa.

There's 6 days left.

It feels weird.

Somehow I'm looking forward and dreading going home simultaneously which is a very strange feeling. I wish I had a little more time to go and road trip with the troopers in South Africa but it's back to Brisbane I fly in 8 days time.

We've had an awesome time, but the team is tired. Half the team is on strike. 4 months is a long time - everyone is feeling it. I will miss the fresh air, the open spaces, the dramas. But mostly I will miss the people and the friendships - my TDA family.

I look forward to a life where I can go to work and go home again. I look forward to having my own room, my own space again. I look forward to seeing my real family again (the one that's known me for a little more than 4 months)... and I look forward to perhaps returning back here again next year if they'll take me!

Kasane-Ghanzi

I haven't updated this blog since I was in Kasane and I apologise but I have not had a chance near a computer since then.

From Kasane I figured out how to get myself on a local bus to Ghanzi. It was surprisingly not to complicated. I first got a cab from camp early in the morning to the bus stop (left at 5am) then caught the bus to a place called Nata. From Nata a connecting bus goes off to Maun. I was expecting to spend a night in Maun but I didn't want to be there at the same time as everyone because it is only a tiny place and I knew I would bump into TDA people which would defeat the purpose of having a break! My plan was to hide in the first hotel I saw for a night but when I get to Maun there's another bus going to Ghanzi within another couple of hours so I hang out at the bus depot for a little longer. I manage to cover 1000km in a day on local transport. The only problem I had along the way was taking my tent down in Kasane - my tent pole had decided to fuse itself together and was refusing to collapse fully. Definitely not the end of the world - it just meant that I was on the bus with my extended tent pole - as if I wasn't attracting enough attention being the only whitie on the bus already!!!

I pitch my tent at the same campground TDA will be arriving at in a few days. It's completely empty - there's just me and my friend Olliver the Ostrich. The Ostrich is very friendly and he helps me put my tent back up. Some of the security guards come and have a quick chat to me but they don't speak very good English. They are also friends with Olliver Ostrich and show me he won't bite if he gets touched. So I stroke his back. Funny old bird!

The next day I spend wandering around downtown Ghanzi. I manage to check out the entire down town in a morning - including walking in and out of every shop. I buy a new t-shirt and new 3/4 pants because I felt like having some non dirt-bag clothes with me!

The rest of the afternoon I spend with my head buried in my book... and talking to Olliver. I have never ever looked so forward to going back to work in my life.

My second day in Ghanzi - I sleep in, have a shower, walk up to the kitchen get some coffee, read my book for a bit - listening very carefully for the trucks to arrive. I walk up to the lady at reception to pay my camping bill and find Sharita sitting there at reception. She gives me a big hug and a rundown on all the dramas that have been going on.

The trucks come in and there's more "welcome back" hugs - I am surprised at how much I have missed everyone. And surprised how much being back with everyone feels like family. And surprised at how I am feeling so much better and fresher after the break!