apr, 30th - end of the holiday....

day 447:

this is Limi in the back of a black cab on the way home from the airport......this is exactly how we all feel at the end of a good holiday.

apr, 29th - britannia....

day 446:

while Britain was celebrating the Royal Wedding on the 29th, we were watching from afar in South Africa.

apr, 27th - incredible lightness....

day 444:

there are some places that make you feel just like yourself......africa is that place for me....i will always love travelling, from stepping on a plane to stepping off onto some dirt road in the middle of nowhere...but no matter how long we stay in London or where we live in the future, I will always consider Africa, with its' warm people, incredible animals, colourful (often brutal) history and beautiful landscapes, home......

it's just where i feel most like me.

apr, 26th - limi's first game drive....

day 443:

the african bush.....early morning drives, covered in blankets, crisp air, smell of grass and trees, searching the horizon for animals....Limi's first game drive.

the problem is that her words only extend to dog and cat....so we had plenty of buck-dogs.....

striped dogs, long necked dogs.....

water dogs.....and hooray, at last a cat.

apr, 25th - down at the boma...

day 442: 

for the last night of the wedding festival we had dinner in the Boma....a Boma is traditionally where livestock were kept in the middle of a African village. but now, Bomas are also open air enclosures in game reserves (generally free of any animals......lion, giraffe, hippos) where you can enjoy a dinner under the African sky.

all the guests were piled into game vehicles and driven through golden light down to the boma at the edge of a vast lake.

over gin & tonics and ice-cold beers, we watched the sun dip behind the water and i wondered when next my family would all be together....it's tough when we're flung far and wide...but hey, it's the same for many people....never enough time with family.....

and to finish a wonderful weekend......marshmallows roasted in the fire.......

  

apr, 24th - happy easter....

day 441: 

Limi, if you're reading this in the future, this giant Easter Bunny that terrified you and made you cry, was in fact your dad......A. did question whether it was a good idea to dress up as a fluffy, tasty looking animal in a game reserve.

apr, 23rd - wedding in pictures....

day 440 continued...

and finally, a family portrait.......

apr, 23rd - love....

day 440:

huge congratulations to my brother and his brand new wife.

apr, 22nd - moyo at zoo lake...

[the cousins] 

day 439 continued.....

the second part of our South Africa trip is all about family and celebrations......

arriving in Jozi (Johannesburg), i am just amazed at the incredible energy left over from the Soccer World Cup last year and still depressed that i couldn't be there in person.

first stop with the family (yay, cousins all in one country)....Moyo at Zoo Lake.....a very child friendly restaurant.....okay, they don't have swings in the restaurant (although i would completely support the person who comes up with a swinging high-chair) but half the restaurant is designed as a huge outside, lounging space with a vast park right next door.

the inspiration for Moyo is Africa. food, decor and music all showcase a vibrant blend of the African continent......from Morocco to Ethiopia, Mozambique to South Africa. it is a celebration of all the wonderful flavours that can be found from North to South.

and after lunch....you can get your face painted in a more traditional way to the usual butterflies and tigers.....