I am at the London airport waiting for my next flight home.

What a great trip this was, it actually went smoother than ROAR as with a few tweaks here and there it made things much easier. Particularly as it relates to baggage. Next time I am going to do a few things slightly differently to make it even more efficient. Learn something new everytime.

Update for Roarers looking at options.
I love these two camps, Kings Camp and Leopard Hills. Great warm staff and really nice people. I asked the members of the group which camp they would chose knowing that Kings Camp is about 50% of the cost of Leopard Hills. It was difficult to get an answer. If the price was the same then Leopard Hills won out but with the value Kings Camp offers then there was a problem making that choice. YOu really cant go wrong either way. So much depends on luck - what the animals are doing - which ranger you are assigned - and the weather. We only had 2 nights at Kings Camp and 3 nights at Leopard Hills. Our last two game drives at Leopard Hills really "took the cake" as to our safari experiences so these are fresh in everyone minds.

Kings camps rooms are great, large with a nice bathroom, but lack the big glass window looking on to the bush, and no plunge pool, BUT they have this wonderful Victorian era furniture which is how safari camps used to be. Kind of an old time romantic feel. Mowed grass areas - just like the safari camps of old. Not many stairs here only up to the hide where you watch the animals. Lots of little personal touches that just keep on coming and coming that make you feel so at home - a very personal experience. Excellent food.

Leopard Hills has the big glass windows in the rooms looking onto the bush as Singita had. Rooms about the same size as Kings Camp just a different configuration. Food here is the same as at Kings camp - excellent. Leopard Hills is built more as a new safari lodge in the trees it has a completely different feel. Stairs here for those who are stair challenged. Either walk up a flat incline then about 10 steps to the dining deck area or up about 20 steps from the bottom to a up hill ramp and a few steps in between. The only area that you need to climb stairs is to the dining room, pool and deck area. The boma, library (internet) rooms and reception are all on ground level.

Johannesburg
We spent a night at the Westcliff. As Sedona said it is a lovely hotel, with big rooms and reasonably priced. The only hassle is that it is built on a hillside and you have to walk a bunch of stairs to get to reception or wait for a shuttle. Not the end of the world but a slight inconvenience. Sedona you are right the food was really excellent.

We also visited the Grace, kind of a "downscale" version of the Cape Grace. Rooms similiar to the Cape Grace but darker colors and more floral. A boutique hotel did not totally ring my chimes. It was nice that is was attached to a full shopping mall you can reach without going outside.

I also checked out a hotel called the SAXON, now this is THE place. Only 24 beautiful suites - and I mean suites the standard rooms would be a suite anywhere else, a spa that is spectacular with many treatments and covers are a large area. Not sure of pricing but this IS THE PLACE for sure.

We went to the Wild Dog/Cheetah center. I absolutely loved this program. I learned so much more about both these animals and after seeing the wild dogs for the first time and some of their behavior it is now the MOST important thing on my travel list to do --- see wild dogs in the wild. They use a safari type truck and drive you through the compounds so the cheetahs and dogs are free to move around in a good sized area so you are not looking through a fence. They are being fed of course but the way those dogs interact and eat - a wow experience. They are hyperactive dogs - like dogs on cocaine! Total excitment and activity non stop. This is where they are breeding dogs to release in capativity to packs in the wild to improve the gene pool of the packs. The wild dog packs in Madikwe come from this research center. I left there pretty pumped. I would advise this for anyone with time in Johannesburg.

It was not cheap as it takes about an hour and a half to get there and the program last three hours (driver has to wait) and the a one and a half hour trip back. So it was about 6 hours in total with the van and with four of us including admission it was $124 each. I think the entrance fee is around $25. Most of the cost is in the van and driver at about $400. Even a taxi costs about $50 an hour or $300 for six hours so you could save about $100 doing it with a taxi and that would be a $50 savings per couple but then you would have three jammed up in the back for a three hour transfer. In Johannesburg I prefer a car and driver arranged through a tour company over a taxi.

Nearly all the properties have electric wire high fences. A little disconcerting. Our driver told us that in the 80's there were a lot of burgularies mostly by immigrants so insurance companies would not insure unless the home owner had these high fences with electric wiring. They must have a global positioning system on their car as well to get insurance. This driver was saying these high fences were not as critical now that this is a remnant from the past. Not sure if that is accurate but it made me feel better anyway.

Ken is working on trying to upload pictures. We may or may not get these up before our boarding call -- giving it a try.