The awful anti-climactic wait which always seems to accompany the end of long-haul holidays begins today as our flight home is at 00:30 tomorrow morning. It means theoretically we should get some sleep now but we have to ensure we are back in Dar Es Salaam on time and with everything sorted. We spend the morning organising this and buying some souvenirs of spices and paintings for us and the families. It's good fun wandering the streets, if a little hot.

Later there is nothing left to do except enjoy an ice cream in a parlour we found on the coast. I hate this bit of the holiday: the waiting game.

Reflecting upon the holiday - I've had a fantastic time. It has been excellent to slowly get to know a new continent, even if we have only really seen small parts of only two of its countries. The highlight for me was watching the animals on safari and participating in their world briefly.

As always such a time away together has tested our relationship and there have been times where it has gone less well than we might have hoped. I have recognised some unpleasant traits in myself where I have been too quick to snap or criticise under pressure.

Now it is time to return home and get on with lives renewed or anew. Lots of things are to be done and there is now an energy to attack them.