Last Day in Limpopo (and Mpumalanga)

     After we reluctantly left Hlokamela, Mona took me back to the Otters Den to get my luggage and get ready for my long flight home.  I felt genuinely sad to leave Otters Den for--probably--the last time.  I will always savor the memory of that fabulous bridge swaying precariously under my feet and the lovely Blyde River flowing beneath.   Here I am, re-enacting the concluding scene of one of my favorite movies of all time, The Man Who Would Be King.  Be grateful that there is no soundtrack to MY photo, but take the time to enjoy this fabulous scene.  Click here to see it  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apfaDqcf2FA

      My farewell to the Otters Den was somewhat friendlier and less dramatic--PLUS, unlike poor Sean Connery, I lived to tell the story myself!

     Mona had one more place to show me before we went to the airport in Hoedspruit.  Knowing how much I admired the Blyde (pronounced BLI-duh) River, she thought I'd like to see the Blyde River Canyon, one of the biggest canyons on earth and the largest "green" canyon--green because it has lush tropical vegetation throughout. I simply had no idea there was anything so extraordinarily beautiful just a couple of miles from Moholoholo.  





    

       Mona and I walked up a trail following a small tributary to the Blyde where there was a pool.  A local family was picnicking there, and they had two of the most fetching little children ever.  The girls were trying to catch minnows in their swim goggles, and the parents kindly permitted me to take their  photos.  The setting was so idyllic--why, it reminded me of a shampoo commercial!





This photo is, I think, the best one I took the whole trip.  I love how the sunlight is reflected in the girl's face.

    

On the way back, I irrevocably broke one of my faithful sandals which had served me so well throughout my travels.  There was no point in hauling them home, so I threw them in the nearest garbage can, but not before taking a commemorative snapshot.

      And that was that!  Mona rushed me to the Hoedspruit airport barely in time for my flight to Johannesburg, we hugged good-bye, and I was on my way home.