Johannesburg, 0345 November 9

So you go to sleep so tired and dizzy and disoriented.... And then you wake up at 2 am, in the middle of confusing, disorganized dreams that somehow involve figuring out why some road loop is closed.  It takes a meeting of random friends to discuss.  Jane Hanson was there.  So was my good friend Gavin Lawrence (Sorry Gav, I was your boss in this dream.  But I'm certain I was a cool boss who let you do what you want and take as much time off as you please).

My mind's racing with random, disconnected thoughts and though there's sleepiness in my eyes, I can't shut down. This is the joy of jet lag.  Gina's awake then.  Gina, my wife, who can sleep 16 hours a day, who could sleep through a freaking plane crash, is wide awake.  We lay in bed for another hour and a half pretending that we'll just go back to sleep, and I do a complete inventory of who I am as a person, an exercise that I don't necessarily recommend.  I think of the idealistic person I was when I was 20 (I knew everything, and was depressed by it all) and wonder what that Dan would think about the person I've become.  Would 20 year-old Dan even recognize 61year-old Dan.  Would he be contemptuous of his many flaws and unfinished character.  Would he wonder, What the hell happened to you, man?  Would he wonder, What's keeping you alive?  Would he wonder why I have an office job, why I gained weight, why I'm not a better father.  Why I'm not smarter.

At 3:30am, Gina and I throw in the towel.  Now we're up, reorganizing packing, drinking Starbuck's instant coffee. I have Jimi Hendrix hair. We're in a great mood.

Gina's gone down to the workout room.  I'm trying to write though brain, while revved up, isn't necessarily connecting to fingers very well.

At 6:30, we meet Andrew Beck of Wild Eye for breakfast here.  This is probably the fifth time I've rented a 600/f4.0 from him and his team.  I've never had much opportunity to get to know him but he's always gracious and his company provides great customer service.  He's the kind of business person you root for because if there's any justice in the business world, Andrew and Wild Eye will succeed.  Look forward to talking about him, east Africa and Zambia.

Then, take shuttle back to airport, rent car (KIA Sportage, I think), check to see if the spare's inflated, bumble around trying to get to the N4, drive a beautiful route to Kruger (probably stopping at Dullstroom along the way), hit the Orpen gate and then stop at Orpen Camp for the night.  I'd eschewed Orpen for the first several trips because it's right next to a main entrance to the park and because some guide book had only given it 2 stars.  But we stayed there once on our last night, precisely because it was close to the exit, and found it to be a very nice little camp. And while, it's close to the park boundary, it's also in an area that's close to lots of wild life activity. It's quiet and not very busy and seems largely overlooked by tourists. And they have a genuine espresso stand. Seriously.  Guests are frequently visited by a honey badger, who has learned to open every cabinet in the outdoors kitchenette. It's wild and awesome to see.  Hyenas often whoop at the water hole just outside the camp fence.

Then we move to Tamboti Tent Camp and it gets wilder still.

I'm hoping that I may be able file entries along the road, using my phone as a hot spot.  We'll see if I can do it without spending thousands of dollars in data overages.

Signing off now.  Skypeing the lovely Aislin soon and I must prepare and do something with my hair so not to alarm her.