Africa Sojourns - Day 4: Rumours at the Lodge

Dec. 30: Guys we didn't have to get up in the 4 o'clock hour today! Nevermind that, however; we still woke up before 5 a.m. I suppose jet lag has not fully left our systems. When I woke up (on the hour every hour), it was raining with thunder so loud it nearly drowned out the screeching frogs. Nearly. Breakfast was served at 7:30 a.m., and we joined our fellow travelers for their last day here at the lodge. Christine (the Swiss) and Gloria (the German) were excited their bush walk had been cancelled due to the rain. I got the feeling they weren't much into the "outdoors" (which is ironic, considering our locale). After bidding adieu and auf Wiedersehen, respectively, we boarded our van for the Panorama Route tour. I thought we'd be joining other travelers but, whether it was the rain or simply our good fortune, it ended up being just the two of us. (Hope you're now humming Will Smith like I am.) Johan was our highly qualified, quiet, good-natured, and patient tour guide who had the command of 5 languages and learned Swahili in 4 weeks. "What? It's not hard," Johan told us. He also took some amazing photos of us and with us. Cool dude, that Johan. Our excursion consisting of weaving around curves on the mountains surrounding Kruger National Park and enjoying some of the scenic views, including Bourke's Luck Potholes, God's Window, Lisbon Falls, Berlin Falls, and other stuff you can read about in the previous Panorama link. I was worried the torrential downpour would obstruct our views, but by the time we actually made it to the sights, the cloud cover had dissipated and it was a perfectly sunny day. Taking advantage of our make-shift private tour, we begged Johan to take us on a hike at Lisbon Falls...and he did not disappoint. (He often travels with groups on camping tours and guides them on walks at Kruger Park - with his rifle in tow.) We hiked for about an hour, which reminded me how badly I need to start a regular excise regiment again. After hiking, we did a little bargaining with some villagers to get deals on souvenirs. Eventually we made our way to Grasskop and enjoyed a late lunch of chicken wraps, sodas, and "pancakes" (the diner's specialty item). We'd call them crepes over here in the States. Conversation at the restaurant: "Hey, excuse me, are you from the United States?" "Yeah." "I used to think USA was full of intelligent people. Then you elected Donald Trump. He is an idiot! You are the dumbest people in the whole world." (This is an abbreviated convo but you get the point.) I should also mention I wore my Nats socks today (#Nattitude). Final observation: Saw a few signs that can best be described as "premises liability bill on steroids." PS - still humming that *daddy loves you, daddy loves you* part