WT - Port Elizabeth

Our final week in South Africa would start with a flight from Durban to Port Elizabeth for two days followed by a three day drive along the famous 'Garden Route' to Cape Town where we would spend our remaining two days.

Cousin Ian along with wife Denise, daughter Megan and son Matthew joined us for dinner at our hotel. We had a wonderful time reminiscing and filling in the blanks (as much as possible given the short time spent together) of the last 30 odd years. Ian as a youth had been very quite in my experience and I always thought of him as the strong silent type which his daughter Megan confirmed was fairly accurate. Matthew and his cousin Miles could pass as brothers due to their similar looks. A wonderful family with a similar story to all displaced people and families around the world having had a tough time rebuilding their lives and social network with family scattered across the globe.

Bonnie Ronnie and I are so blessed to have been able to catch up with all these wonderful family members and friends over the last six months. All our family reunions are now over as we prepare to finish our holiday with a few more stops before heading home. Not over because we have seen everyone we intended to see but rather because our means and time are very limited, which I know will surprise some of the readers. No we didn't win lotto.... unfortunately. We sold a portion of our business and were able to pay ourselves our accumulated holiday pay (12 years worth). We had to adjust and rearrange our holiday plans frequently for a variety of reasons, not least of which was due to the length of the holiday and our age (almost middle aged now). To those who did wish to see us (especially Lynn in Harare who was denied the visit initially promised) I apologise and assure you that if at all possible in the future, we will catch up. To those who declined, God Bless - you know where we are if you change your mind.... you will always be welcome!

Port Elizabeth is a beautiful and clean city compared with Kwa-Zulu Natal cities that we visited, hard to believe that we were in the same country. We were so impressed that we stayed an extra night to take in the local sites since PE is the start of the 'Garden Route' for us and the beginning of a new adventure.