As it was our last full day here I wanted to go back to the falls, on the free side to have another look and take pictures with the shorter lens. Dan agreed, and we convinced mum to come with us, with the promise that it was actually a lot safer than it sounded and that we would help her across the streams. We parked again at the VIP section and took the blanket out of the car to put over the branches. Someone had obviously clocked onto our last adventure to the falls and put even more branches over where we had crossed the previous time. Instead of trying to fight with the large pile of branches we went the same route dad went, around a tree to the left and through a small section of branches that had been pulled aside.
We walked over the rocks till there was just the streams to cross, and we left our shoes and the blanket on the rocks. Dan went on one side of mum and I went on the other, and we slowly made our way to the wall of the game reserve and then to the edge of the falls. Mum stayed back as we wanted to go further than she did. We went to the side of the falls, waving at the tourists on the opposite edge, and I took the traditional family photo of Dan weeing over the edge of the falls :D He had to have a photo to put next to dads one. While I was taking photos of the falls, the gorge and the mist that the falls throws up, Dan called me to come back because mum had spotted a park ranger walking out to meet us.
He had stopped at the rocks and not ventured any further, obviously not wanting to ruin his stupid shoes. We walked back and dried our feet next to him and put our shoes on, all the while saying things like "hello, how are you, lovely day isn't it?" and getting no response from him. I think he may have been trying to a) understand what we were saying and b) figure out how to make us give him money. He then said that we were not allowed to be there, which we responded that we were not in the gated section, so it must not be part of the national park and so why were we not allowed there. We walked back to the shore and made our way to the section of branches we could easily cross, giving mr retard guard man another bone to pick with us.
According to him we broke one of the branches and so "now we have a problem", to which we replied that it was like that when we got there and so there was no problem at all. He then gesticulated at the mound of branches and told us they were there to stop people from going there, and so we told him that if that was the case then they should put up a sign, or fence, not a stupid pile of bushes. The man was clearly after money and just wanted to try to scare us enough to get us to bribe him. I pretended we were very sorry, shook his hand (which he checked for money first), said thank you very much and got in our car. We left without incident and pretty pleased that we hadn't actually gotten into any real trouble because the man was an idiot.
We went back to the Elephant Walk craft shopping centre for mum to buy a couple of bits that she wanted. When we got out of the car we headed towards a craft stall section we had not yet been to or seen, but as soon as we got within 20 metres of it we were accosted by annoying people demanding that we go and look at their stall and their particular stuff! Being followed around and bothered while shopping is such an off putting thing, so we responded that we didn't want to be bothered while we shopped and so we didn't even go in. We walked around the shops we had been to before to give mum a chance to buy her things. We left as soon as we could, having had enough of being pestered and got into Snolly to head home.
Mum and I realised we should get some Hefflies pies for our lunch, do as we were driving past we got Dan to park illegally while we jumped out to get them. We got three to share, two of the diving steak pies and one chicken and mushroom, which turned out to be yummy but not as nice as the steak ones. Dan and I went to the main lodge to use the rest of our Internet quote, and this was when we found out that Mike and Judith, our former employers from the Golf Shop of St Andrews will not give me a reference for the job I want to apply for. We are both sure that this is because I fought for our legal right to holiday pay at the end of the three years we had worked for them, and were going to take them to court for it but Mikes lawyer obviously told him he was an idiot and would never win and so they paid us the £4200 that was legally ours :)
I'm so angry at them for essentially using my reference, which should have been great because I worked extremely hard for them and was always praised for my efforts. I'm sure that a new employer will find it very strange that my old boss of three years won't give me a reference. Oh well, never mind, they are wankers and will get what they deserve for it :) We went home shortly afterwards and started the braai for our last dinner at Lokuthula. Mum had some advise on the reference denial, and that I should declare the reasons for the refusal in my application. We had marinated the last steaks in mums balsamic sauce, we had more beans and also had some haloumi cheese cooked on the braai. After dinner we tidied up the lounge and packed a little before heading to bed on our last night at the lodge.
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