All good things must come to an end....

Howdy sports fans,

After we last left you, we headed for the Otjitotongwe Cheetah Park. When we arrived there was just enough time to set up camp and have a quick dip in the pool before setting off for our first adventure. We all piled into the back of the owners truck and set sail for his house/ranch... where we were introduced to Bubba, Zu and Cindy, the 3 (reasonably) tame cheetahs that they look after. We had a chance to pat them, hang out with them, and watch them being fed. Needless to say, Arnoux was bursting at the seams and was in there at every oppourtunity.. she even ended up getting a photo with 2 of the cheetahs at the same time when Zu decided that she liked the look of the attention that Bubba was getting and decided to join the party!!!

From there it was off to the nearby enclosure, home to 14 wild cheetahs, for feeding time. We stood on the back of the truck as it crawled its way around the enclosure, being stalked by hungry looking cats until we had rounded them all up, and then the fun began. The (totally crazy) guides GOT OUT OF THE TRUCK and proceeded to throw bits of meat out to the cheetahs, with nothing but a stick for protection..... better them than me!!!(although Im not sure Arnoux would agree...it's just the kind of crazy thing that she would be into!!)

The next morning we climbed aboard our faithful stead and set off for Spitzkoppe.... which, to simplify things.... is a massive rock formation in the middle of the Namibian desert. Credit to it though, aside from the one in Lauterbrunnen, it was the most impressive spot for a campsite!!! We spent the afternoon exploring the surrounding area, before settling down in front of the fire for a few drinks and a free karaoke concert from our beloved Annika (aka Swampy).

We awoke the next day full of excitement, as we were headed for our home for the weekend Swakopmund... scene of what was to be one of the best weekends, and the worst weekends, of our entire trip. On the way we stopped off at the Cape Cross seal colony... very cool... very smelly!!!

We arrived at Swakopmund, checked into our room (hurray, no tent to put up!!!), then headed for the activities briefing. Arnoux and I had already decided what we were doing, but we dutifully let the lady do her spiel, then booked our adventures. Saturday was sandboarding day, we spent the whole day climbing sand dunes, then hurtling down them at various speeds, with various levels of shouting and cursing!!! I managed to take the honour of top speed for the day over Arnoux... my 72 km/hr just edging out her 71... hurray for being heavier!!! We also were treated to another Swampy special. She was so hungover from the night before that she would do a run...then sit at the bottom of the dune for about an hour before she had the energy to climb back up again!!!

Then the filthy Frogs beat us in the rugby.... enough said.

The next morning we awoke to discover that the previous night, had, sadly, not been a dream... that was the bad news. The good news however, was that it was sunday, which meant that it was quadbiking day!!! We spent the day racing up and down the sand dunes on the skeleton coast.... at the time I was convinced that there was no possible way to have more fun with your clothes on!!! ( A certain day of sharkcage diving has since proven me wrong...)

At this time, we feel it only fair that we send a huge shoutout to all the staff at the Neopolitana restaurant in Swakopmund, particularly our dear waiter Ronaldo. Our tour leader had booked us in for dinner there the first night.. then subsequently had to cancel all other bookings for the weekend, as a majority of the group decided not to eat anywhere else.... it was, simply put... awesome!!!

Sadly, monday morning arrived and we had to leave our beloved Swakopmund...... so we sucked it up and got back on the truck for the ride to Sesriem. After setting up camp in the middle of a sandstorm we headed off to climb the (now infamous) dune 45 to watch the sunset. Now, credit where credit is due... the sun set was incredible from our sandy vantage point.... however, lets just say that the dune claimed more than one camera that evening as a result of the wind.... and the fact that we were, really, just sitting on a large pile of sand!!! Thankfully, after a small 'lense cover not closing' scare, our camera made it through to see another day.

The following day was a long drive day to fish river canyon. When we arrived it was dark, so we set up camp, had dinner, then hit the sack and waited until morning before checking out the 2nd largest canyon in the world.... man the grand canyon must be kick ass, because this place was absolutely incredible!!! To make things even better, when we had finished our walk along the edge of the canyon, the truck, and our cooked breakfast, were waiting for us!!!

Then it was off to our last border stop before we head home to NZ... the cross over into South Africa. This would have been a very pleasant experience had it not been for the multitude of south african border officials who could not resist the chance to dig the boot in about the AB's early world cup exit.... oh, and the lady who covered the Zambia stamp in my passport with her silly SA sticker.... thanks guys!!!

The afternoon was spent in the campsite on the Orange river, where you could go for a swim in the waters of both SA and Namibia..... or you could spend the afternoon...and evening for that matter, playing with the puppies... if your name is Renee.

The next morning we took the short drive to the Highlanders Vinyard, where we were faced with a really tough afternoon of wine tasting.... oh well.... someone has to do it!!! They also had a qualified physio on sight so Arnoux could have a relaxing massage for the princely sum of about $12 for half an hour... oh, and they had another puppy... oh dear. That eveining we played darts with the owner Sparky... while continuously checking that the wine did taste the same as it did that afternoon... you have to be thorough with these things!!!

The next morning marked the final leg of our African adventure, as we set off for Cape Town. After checking into our room, we had just enough time to book our activity for the following day, before heading off to a farewell dinner with the group. No drinks here though (for Arnoux and I at least)... early start the next day... very exciting!!!

The alarm was set for 5am, which was early enough. However, our world was thrown into turmoil at 2.30 am when our beloved dorm-mates Becky and Swampy burst through the door... positively hammered!! We spent the next hour or so listening to them explain how much they loved us, and detailing the revenge they were going to take on the security guy who would not let them smoke on the deck of the bar after midnight... better him than us from what I heard!!!

Anyway, 5am rolled around, and we were up and ready for the most eagerly anticipated event of our whole 1 year journey..... Great White Shark Cagediving!!!!! Our driver Pete picked us up and we set off on the 2 hour drive down the coast. After a delightful breakfast we were briefed about what to expect from the day, then we boarded our vessel Predator 2 for the 15 min ride out to shark city!!!! We had been told that it can take up to an hour for any sharks to show up, but within 19 mins of the bait being lowered, we had our first visitor. This fella was absolutely massive, so the cage was lowered and the fun began!! Not surprisingly, Arnoux managed to worm her way into the first group...in fact she was the first one in the water!!! The next 3 hours were spent taking turns in the cage, watching the numerous visitors that we received attack the cage. In all we saw approx 6 different sharks, most of whom would hang around for at least an hour or so.. except the first one.. who stayed with us the whole time. You will not be surprised to learn that Arnoux managed to get 3 turns in the cage, whereas everyone else got 2.... but you might be surprised to know that she wasnt seasick at all.... must have been the adrenaline!!! All in all we could not have asked for a better day, the weather was excellent, and we saw lots of activity while boats around us saw very little... all thanks to the main man Brian, our skipper for the day!! As a little bonus we also got to stop off at a seal colony on the way back, and we spotted a pod of whales as well.

After a hot drink, a few biscuits, and a spot of t-shirt purchasing, Pete and the rest of us set off back to Cape Town. We had a quick dinner, and then Arnoux promptly fell asleep, while I headed off to the bar to watch the Froggies get dumped out of the world cup.... Hahahahaha hurray for England!!!!

Today we had planned on a trip to Robben island to check out the prison that Nelson Mandela was held in, but sadly this was fully booked for the next week... as it turns out the weather is not very nice here today so I dont think the ferry is running anyway. So instead we are just chilling out, enjoying our last full day on African soil. Tomorrow we have an internal flight to Jo'Berg, then we board our Qantas bird back to Auckland via Sydney.... for those of you who need to know, our flight details are as follows:

QF189 SYD to AKL arriving at 1020pm NZT

Before we sign off, we would both just like to say thanks for reading. We have had the most amazing time of our lives, have met some amazing people, and had some experiences that we will never forget!!! We look forward to seeing all of you in NZ soon, and those of you who are scattered around various other parts of the world...we look forward to seeing you again as soon as we can afford it!!!