A week ago, I was considering canceling. We've had lots of snow this year and snowmelt was over flowing the eavestrough at the front door. Considerable ice had built up on the sidewalk and on March 30th when I came home from doing some errands, I walked to the front of the house. The Ice had overwhelmed the salt I had put down.
Inspection complete, I turned around to go get a chipper and the City road mix of salt, sand and gravel. I'd taken about 2 steps and my weak, surgically repaired left foot slipped unexpectedly and next thing I knew I was going down. I toppled forward like a tree and slammed my right knee into the concrete, hard. Somehow the left knee was fine, ditto the wrists, elbows and shoulders. I felt some jamming above my hip at the level of my twice repaired spine.
I weaseled my way into a physio appointment on the 31st, as I had a family Easter gathering on April 1st in Red Deer. I saw my aging parents and a grand niece and newborn grand nephew. Glad they're not mine. I'm too old for that baby crap. Knee was tender and swollen.
April 2nd, my knee got hot, really sore and swollen, the pain intensified and I could hardly bend my knee. There was a cancelation on April 4th, so I had another treatment. Torturous. Not looking good. We figure the damage from falling has caused my arthritis (what a doctor a few years ago said, "a man my age can expect"). Hate that doctor, if I hadn't been in so much pain and could walk, I would've considered kicking him. Now 7 years later, a month from the big 59, the knee is swollen 2-3 times it's normal size. Ice, heat, exercises pain medication and anti inflammatory meds.
Things are looking better at final physio on April 6th. Today, April 10th, knee is almost normal sized, although it gets a little sore if I walk or drive too much.
We fly from Calgary on KLM at 1515 MDT. Short layover in Amsterdam, then on to Johannesburg, total elapsed time, about 22.5 hours. We are booked at the City Lodge. Get a shower and a few hours rest, before flying on AirLink to East London. We fly home on April 30th (our 29th anniversary). Our time is almost equally split between sightseeing and hunting.
As we are sightseeing for several days first, I hope the knee gets better yet. Walking on the plane is a must.
What am I hunting? Good question. Plans have changed due to quotas being filled. I love it when you're told that you are in for the last Barbary sheep quota for the year, only for the manager to say that he allowed someone else in and the quota is now filled. (This free range Barbary sheep area has been over hunted to the point there was only one mature ram left in the herd.) There are no free range sheep available unless we drive to the Northern province. I guess I could slum it at HuntersHill and shoot a put and take specimen in the pasture. NOT!
We're currently through security. KLM is now charging $74CAD for firearms. That's new since 2019. Checking the rifle in was super easy.
AirLink will charge $65USD (I believe).
Getting to the point that renting/borrowing a rifle makes economic sense.
Last edited by AB2506; 04/10/23.
