An unforgettable day, an unforgettable tour!

Farewell group photo al Lukimbi

Our great tour came to an end today but not without some undesirable drama which thought us many lessons about life! We started our drive to J’burg this morning after a quick game drive and breakfast. Making good time we were all excited to get to our final destination – the 5 Star Michelangelo Hotel in Nelson Mandela Square.
A couple of hours outside J’burg a loud noise took everyone by surprise before we realised there was a hole on the bus windscreen. Under very unfortunate circumstances a metal bolt came loose from a truck or bus in front of us and went through our bus like a missile. Amazingly, the bolt passed right through the bus missing most of the group but injuring Deidre and Roni. As someone said “it was good bad luck” since the injuries weren’t too severe and we had 3 excellent doctors in the bus. They not only attended these brave ladies, who remained strong during the whole time, but also kept the rest of us calm. Greg and our wonderful driver, Julius, coordinated the emergency services and they were fantastic with paramedics and police arriving in no time. Fortunately, the injuries weren’t too severe and we were all able to continue our journey. The group’s behaviour was something I’ll never forget. Everyone assumed a role without interfering with others, even if that meant just staying away altogether to let the other ones do their jobs. Julius, our lovely driver, was pretty shaken after experiencing an incident he had never seen before.

After some rest in the rooms and reassurance that our friends were ok, the group decided to go ahead with the final dinner at the very famous Butcher Shop restaurant. Greg had initially cancelled it after the incident. We lost our private room, but the dinner was just as lovely with many of us being extremely emotional by realising how quickly things can change in life. It was a mix of emotions – relief that we were all ok and present, sad that the trip was over and excitement about the different golf winners.

Eddy congratulating Terry

With many golf prizes to present, we started with the Leopard Creek results. Eddy presented the Men’s Shark Cup  to one of his best mates, Terry (who had 36 points). Greg had decided a couple of days earlier to provide a perpetual trophy for the best lady player in one round of all future Global Golf group tours -  the girls then decided to call this trophy “The Julius Bolt Cup” in memory of our lovely driver and the infamous, harmful bolt! The inaugural “Julius Bolt Cup” was won by Meredith who had a fantastic 44 points on such a difficult course. Apart from the fame and riches she receives, Meredith also has the honour of designing the trophy!

Greg and Fi with Garden Route Runner Winner Paul

Even though Biv was ‘ineligible’ to win she had the best overall score and her performance was rewarded and recognised by the group in a very touching way and with a lovely prize. Paul, who started the tour in great form, easily won the “Garden Route Road Runner” trophy while Stephen S took out the “Game Park Guru” prize for the second half of the tour – this was a real blanket finish with 6 genuine contenders into the final day.

Game Park Guru - Stephen S

Meredith ‘stole’ the “Tour Champion” title from Paul on a count back – both with 309 points over the 9 rounds!  Her last day 44 points gained 13 on Paul and delivered a countback victory. Fiona’s performance was also very consistent during the whole tour and it wasn’t unrecognised - Paul has promised he will take the top 3 finishing players to The Capital – a very exclusive venue –  as a prize. The lucky ones to join Fiona are Meredith and Biv. Thank you Paul!

Fi and Greg with OVerall Winner Meredith

Many lovely and emotional comments were made about the trip and Eddy made very special mention of Greg, our “Nazi” Tour Director, who put in all the effort behind the scenes to make this tour so successful. Thanks a lot Greg for a job well done! A beautiful token of the group’s appreciation was also presented to him.

I guess that this report marks the conclusion of the tour that has, in many ways, affected our lives forever. Experiences like this don’t come along often - as tired as we are at the end I am sure we are all looking forward to seeing our families and pets back home, or simply continuing the trips for those who go on to different destinations. In any case, I know it won’t be long before we are reliving the many memories of this trip in our minds as well as with each other and our friends.

Presentation and last tour dinner