This is our last day in Africa and we were able to have a slightly shortened morning safari ride.

Naturally, we ended the safari with our lions. What else would we do?

After our safari, we went back to our tent, cleaned up, and threw the last things in our suitcases. We were taken to the camp’s landing strip to wait for the plane to take us to Maun, where we would take the next plane to Johannesburg. We had already learned that our flight from Johannesburg to Newark was canceled, but that would have to be dealt with once we got to South Africa.

When we got to the airstrip we had to clear it of impala…twice, so that our plane could land. Same impala. They’re cute but not smart.

Our plane eventually made it and we headed out.

When we got to Maun, we had the great fortune to meet another American couple who, once they learned of our canceled flight, shared their itinerary home. This kind gesture made a huge difference for us. When we made it to Johannesburg, we got to the airline desk. They were literally handing out hotel vouchers to everyone. We went up with an entire itinerary on one of their codeshare partner airlines and asked to be rebooked. we were the only people who didn’t get a hotel voucher in the time we were there (and they didn’t seem entirely thrilled to be booking us on another airline, but they couldn’t refuse our request since it was a codeshare airline and we had the entire routing to hand to them).

We found that couple and thanked them. We actually ended up spending our layover in Frankfort with them.

The rest of our return home was, thankfully, uneventful.