5 AM is early! but guessing we'll get used to it. breakfast was supposed to be at 5:30 and we were supposed to hit the road by 6, but there seemed to be a miscommunication as some were told they could sleep in til 7. those of us that didn't get the message were up for breakfast at the early time, so the decision was made to wake everyone else up, too. what a start, huh?
breakfast consisted of a mix of cereal, yogurt and bananas. tea/coffee if you wanted it. then everyone helped to clean and pack up. we all piled into the truck, which had been affectionately named "pumba" at some point in the journey. seems everyone already had "their seats" so us newcomers filled in the gaps where there were openings - which seemed to primarily be in the front of the bus. i sat across the aisle from deb, and sat next to lisa. she's from canada (north of toronto) and is traveling for 14 months - jealous! she's a teacher back home and told me she has plans to do another such trip in 5 years. so cool. anyway, deb sat next to rob (also new) from michigan. francoise (from paris but living in oz) and jane (also from oz) - our roommates last night - sat in front of them. paco (not new) had the one lone seat in front of us.
kinda glad to be in the 2nd row, b/c you could see out the side and the front. drove along the coast for a bit. saw a spectacular sun rise. passed the new durban stadium, which claims to be the best. what struck me the most was how quickly the landscape changed. you'd go over one hill and there would be a new environment on the other side. tried to get a few photos of the random markets and huts and people we drove by, but the shots weren't spectacular thanks to dirty windows and a bumpy ride. eventually it became harder and harder to keep my eyes open, so i let them close. i hated to not watch the scenery, but we were up so early.. plus we had 8 hours of driving ahead of us, and it helped to pass the time.
learning that some people on our tour have excessively small bladders. it seemed like we had to stop every hour for someone to pee. after several rest breaks, we eventually stopped for lunch at a gas station. normally i guess they'd cook lunch, but there was no place to set up the table and we were also running late. quickly learning the personalities on the tour as well. i guess you get all kinds with a group of 20 people.
the ride seemed to go on forever, and we were definitely taking longer than expected. it was dark by the time we arrived at coffee bay, so we didn't quite get the sunset as originally planned. oh well. we drove further and further down some crazy roads - one was half washed away and once we nearly tipped over. it was a bit scary. glad i wasn't in the window seat to see it. got lost 3 times trying to find the turn off for the lodge, but eventually found it. deb managed to get us a room with 2 double beds. ah, privacy. i already need it and it's only day 1. not sure if that's a good sign!
drank some wine and walked to the beach to do some star gazing, while annie (our tour director) made dinner. i can't believe how much she does! i don't think i could do her job. dinner was filling: rice, beef stew stuff and salad. plus hot chocolate, which helped as it was getting chilly. then i went back to the room to shower and relax and write in my journal. don't get me wrong - everyone is super nice. but i'm not a group traveler so 22 people (20 tourists and 2 guides) is a bit overwhelming. really missed G too, could use his company and a big hug.
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