All the things to remember

Flights booked, final deposits almost done, shopping for everything from a new soft sided Eagle Creek anti theft carry on to compression socks. This trip is just so different. How do I pack 3 weeks into one teeny tiny carry on?
It has to be done. I have no less than 9 flights. Chances of them losing checked luggage increases with every flight. No choice but to pack for carry on only. But how does one pack for every eventuality? Rain coat for Victoria Falls, hiking boots for safari's, nice clothes for dinner cruise and day wear for touring basically 4 different climates.
I have researched numerous packing lists but I suspect I am not like the average female who needs to pack makeup and hair brushes and curling irons. I don't plan to wear anymore make up than I do now (or if I even wear any) and I don't own a brush nor will I plan on ironing anything. I bought all linen bottoms for my trip so I will look like an unmade bed most days regardless.
I have taken the advice to choose a couple of colors that match with everything and try to limit items to what I would wear for a week. Then I will either do laundry myself or see if the places I am staying have laundry facilities.
I am by myself. I won't care if I wear the same thing twice in a week.
I am trialing my packing abilities this week as I go for another weeks holidays up to our cabin. Dave is not convinced that I can pack for a week in my carry on. Challenge accepted.

15 days to go. Oh my goodness. I close my eyes and all I can think about is what is it going to be like? Will it be big wide open places or will my first few impressions of Africa be masses of people and heat? I ordered my Rands (ZAR) and USD currency. I picked up my malaria pills but couldn't get my Yellow fever vaccine due to a world wide shortage. Yikes. Lets hope Zimbabwe doesn't change their Visa requirements like they are known to do.

My package from Enchanting travel finally came in the mail today. They gave me a nice leather travel pouch that weighs a ton (what were they thinking- I can only pack 23kg into my carry on) and finally my flight info on my flight to Cape Town. Now I have all my flight info and all my travel instructions.
I have purchased all the clothes, linens and even a new pair of "I am going to Africa" Birkenstocks like I have with my last 3 trips. Its become a tradition just like renting an Audi when I travel. I can't afford one in real life so while I am vacationing I get to pretend.
I have made reservations for restaurants in Victoria Falls and in the Winelands and made inquiries into places to eat both in Knysna and in Cape Town. I even looked at where I would be on Sundays to see if I could find a church to attend if I was free.
It seems strange not to be planning this trip with my friend Chris (we travel very well together, Italy, Greece) or Dave who I also travel well with. I think I will miss them both intensely on this trip because of that. I worry a little bit about being lonely. Having too much time to myself. I guess we will see.
Whenever someone comments on my trip and the fact that I am going solo they say well at least you have the others in the tour and I smile and tell them, actually no, there is just me. I may join a tour of something with others but they will be strangers at each new tour. The only person that is the same is me. And I'd like to think I am pretty friendly.

I started to dream of Africa. Every single night.

The 7 day count down. 168 hours.

It is now a week before I am to leave and of course there are glitches. Work is so stinking busy right now with me working through my last week off in the summer and working overtime every evening for the past week just to try to keep up with all the charting so I can prepare to pass off my clients while I am gone. I know I am stressed because I have had a cold sore that was on my top lip, it healed, then reappeared on my bottom lip, then that healed only to re- appear beside the spot on my bottom lip. I have run through all the Zovirax cream I had so now another trip to the doctor to get some in tablet form and more cream to take with me.
Plus I just heard from Enchanting travel that the Lavender House, where I planned to stay in Franschhoek, is having their pool resurfaced so they are moving me elsewhere. I know, first world problems, but I did a ton of research into where to eat that was within walking distance. Even though I will have the car with me, I wanted to listen to the advice of not to drive at night because of animals on the road and it is a little more dangerous or so they say. I thought I would walk to the restaurant in the day light and then cab it back home but now I have to rejig it all once I find out where I am staying.
Thankfully they were able to secure another small room, family run location which I picked out of three choices they gave me. The others were larger and way more expensive although it would not have been on my dime, but I stuck with what I want. Family run, small, quaint, farm or vineyard. I picked Auberge Clermont. I am booked in. So says Maryanne. The paperwork will follow. It will

I sent Maryanne from Enchanting Travels pictures of our yard etc with all the snow plied up and she stated "I wonder how you survive" . I said with boots, a warm jacket and snow tires.

Tonight I was going to try to pack all my stuff into my two bags and see if I can get my carry on with all my gear in it down to 20 kilograms. We shall see.

5 days to go.
It never happened. I haven't packed. Maybe on the weekend.
I have this weird buzzing in my chest like bees in there or butterflies or from too much coffee. Then I was listening to some African music on one of the face book pages for a market I hope to visit while I am in Knysna and I realize that its like a drum beat to a song I haven't heard yet. And all I can hear is Africa, Africa, Africa.
I want to go to Africa with no preconceived ideas, with no expectation except to see and experience whatever Africa has to show me. I do not want to build Africa up to the point where I am disappointed by how I thought things would be . I just want to experience what Africa is.
Since the very first brush I had of Africa while I was in university taking an archeology class and learning about the first man and woman, and the Leakey family discovering that all life started in Africa, I have felt a connection. I fell in love with the Africa of the film 'Out of Africa' where Africa was still wild and resistant to cultures not African. I read Alex McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies Detective Agency novels where the setting is in Botswana and settled into the descriptions of an Africa that endured. That's the Africa that I want to experience. One that will be unchanged by people, that will go on once we are but bones in the dust.
Africa, Africa, Africa.

So here I go. Off to the airport to an adventure like no other that I have taken. Travelling in a different country on a different continent- by myself. No one to blame, no one to fight with, no one to talk things over with. Just me to suit myself. I will either love it or I will hate it.

3 more sleeps. I heard back from Maryanne from Nairobi that she secured a room at the place I had hoped would have a vacancy. Auberge Clermont. Only 6 rooms. Just my size.
Did I mention how wonderful dealing with Enchanting Travels has been? Well if I haven’t I will now. Jojo was the lady who first ‘got’ what kind of a trip I wanted. I did not want to stay in hotels where you wake up in the morning and look around and it could be any hotel

anywhere in the world. I wanted quaint, unique places to stay. Small, family run, with characters. Did I mean character, no I think I meant with characters. Or maybe I will be the character.
Also I didn’t want to be stuffed on a bus with hundreds of other people seeing all the touristy things for a minute and a half before being squashed back onto the bus for a hot and sweaty drive to the next tourist trap. Hence the driving a car from Cape Town to the Winelands (Franschhoek) then across the country to Knysna then back to the Cape. I want to do and see things at my own pace. Enchanting Travels figured out how I could do all that, and at a decent price.

It is all becoming real.
Africa, Africa, Africa.

One more sleep. I am sitting at the computer not so patiently waiting to check in. I thought I would distract myself with completing this chapter. I have had so many phone calls and well wishes for a safe trip that I am overwhelmed. I know I started out doing this blog for my Mom because she doesn't have Facebook so this was how I was going to share my journey with her but I have now added more than 50 names.

I am going to Africa.

I still haven't packed. I have a laundry basket full of clothes and supplies. I have all the bags ready to be filled. I can do this. One carry on. 20kg max. Really just 10 pairs of underwear and I should be good. Oops, gotta go check in!!!