PS: Some Oddities

Here's some highlight stories or tales:

1. Our driver on the last part of the trip was Robert, a Kenyan. Normally Absolute Africa does tours heading north to south and then they need to transit back up to Tanzania and Kenya for their next tour. Well, with the truck empty they take a number of shortcuts wherever they can, amongst them also in South Africa. One time Rommy and Robert were transiting up when all of a sudden Robert pulls the truck over on the side of the road and asks where he is to drive now. Rommy looks at him confused and tells him to keep on driving straight ahead. He asks whether he's expected to drive into that hole. Rommy nods her head and tells Robert that yes, he is to drive through the tunnel.
   Robert: "You mean through the mountain? The middle of the mountain?"
   Rommy: "Yes, through the mountain. It's quicker than over it or around it."
   Robert: "You can drive through the middle of the mountain? You mzungus are clever. Through the middle?"
   He proceeds to drive through the only tunnel in all of Africa then on the other end pulls over again, gets out, looks back in absolute amazement and wonder and says that he will have to come back here to take a picture because no one back home would believe him if he says he drove through the middle of a mountain. His amazement doesn't diminish when Rommy tells him that there is such a tunnel that goes under water and connects England with France.
   The things one takes for granted...
   
2. When the guides get a new group of tourists they generally give them a tour of the truck and explain where things are and how they work. One of the general practices is that toilet stops take place somewhere in the bush. Gas station toilets are usually so filthy that you wouldn't even dare to go into them, so it's better to stop in the middle of nowhere and crouch down behind a bush. Well, #1 is problem free. For #2 however, you've got the "shit shovel" as it is appropriately called. Rommy thought that it's function was self-explanatory and didn't bother going into an explanation. After the first toilet stop where everyone heads off into the bush, one of Rommy's clients, a nice and let's say smart lady comes back carrying the shovel and on the shovel - well - her shit and proceeds to ask Rommy what she is to do with it now. Speechless Rommy manages to tell the lady that she should just throw out the shovel and that they'll manage to buy a new one in the next town. For those that might relate to this lady, the shovel is meant to be used to dig a hole for the poo so that one can burry it.
   
3. When we went white water rafting we had to drive out to the river. This ride, mainly down a bumpy dirt road, took a bit more than an hour. After this we proceeded to hike down into the gorge and raft for the next 4 hours and 20 km to our exit point at the end of the 25 rapids. We then were served lunch and packed back into the vehicle for the drive back home. About 45 minutes into the drive Lindsay comments that she doesn't remember the drive taking so long in the morning. Well - considering that we spent 4 hours travelling 20 km one would hope that the return drive would be a bit longer.
   
4. Asking someone to guess how old you are and esentially being told an age that is more than a decade older than what you actually are. Lindsay figured that I was older than Julita. Based on how we acted - maybe that might have been a compliment and a realistic observation; based on appearance - I would take it as an insult, Julita as a compliment. Keep in mind that Julita is 1? years my elder...