A noisy night in Boshoek meant I didn’t sleep much, but when I did finally get to sleep I was so gone that I missed both my alarms – which was not cool because they were set to give me enough time to get to Sun City, find a place for Tootsie to stay for the day and still make the 9 am opening of the Valley of Waves. Oh well… an hour wouldn’t kill me…
I hit the road hard and made 6km/h, which I haven’t done in a while – clearly I was excited about spending most of the day in the water and being a kid again (oh, wait… I usually have the mindset of a 5 year old – haha). Along the way I was stopped by a guy who was taking pics of the road which is supposedly under construction, but clearly isn’t because he is the only guy around. Turns out our friends in government haven’t paid the contractor for six months – nice!
Pressing on I swung in at the Spar just before the entrance gate and got a much needed energy boost and then hit the entrance – not pedestrian, the car gate! Tootsie won’t fit through the pedestrian gate! The cashier didn’t even look at me funny until I pointed out that Tootsie was there – then the fun began. Security came running, maintenance crews and more… all to hear the story. COME NOW PEOPLE! THERE ARE SLIDES AND STUFF THAT NEED TO BE ENJOYED!
I finally made it through, having had security okes grabbing my legs to see what effect two months of walking has on leg muscles – weird I tell you! Tootsie then got dropped off at the babysitters (well, Transport Division) and I caught the SkyTram to the Entertainment Centre. Brought back many awesome memories from years back when I was there with the family – so quite emotional.
Now 10 am, I was too late to get shade on the beach… but who cares, I wasn’t there to lie in the sun. Clothes off and I was in the water… yay! Then the tube along the river, then… the Slide of Courage. Armed with my Olympus Tough camera, I hit the slide again and again getting video and pics all the way – with everyone around voicing great concern about me getting my camera wet and damaging it. Little did they know…
After many rides I grabbed lunch and a walk around most of the complex… before hitting the slides again and again and again. I met three guys from Joburg who were there for the weekend and we had a good time together – causing a little havoc in the process of course. Poor folk must’ve thought we were on a weekend outing from the psych ward!!
Sadly all good things come to an end and it was time for me to gather my things, collect Tootsie from the babysitters and head off. Alas, no SkyTram so everyone squeezed onto the bus and headed back to the main entrance… from where I collected Tootsie, filled with water and headed off.
Not sure of where I was going to sleep, I aimed for Pilanesberg International Airport.. as I was sure there’d be some grass for me to pitch my tent. But I got to Kwa Maritane first and upon chatting with the guys at the entrance they offered me a small camp spot within the complex (but still outside the electric fences) – awesome!
I climbed into the tent with elephants 50 m from me, and a full moon in the sky… what more could a guy ask for?
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