Hey! I'm finally finding both the time and internet connection to drop that line I've been promising! We're in S. Africa now, but we didn't have much internet at all the first two weeks.
So, what have we been doing? Well, the first week was safari, the second week was scuba diving and time with two of Johan’s dear friends, and this third week is home with the family. I’ll recap one week at a time.
First, safari. Well pictures are worth a thousand words, so I’ll try to let them speak for themselves. The wildlife reserves offered spectacular viewing with the absolute highlight being that we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a newly born giraffe (only 4 or so hours old) and we watched her take her first steps. Really an unbeatable experience. We had seen her pregnant mama the day or two before, but didn’t expect to be THAT lucky!!!! We also met some nice other Americans and got to see a Zulu tribal dance. We spent 3 days in a lodge and 3 days in their tent camps. It was really great and relaxing. Some lessons:
Impala and Nyala are both types of deer and look similar, but Impala is much easier to say. Just call them all Impala (except the mature males, and then you look like an idiot if you get it wrong)
Crocodiles and Hippos look deceivingly lazy. Do not be fooled.
Kudo are also a type of deer, but are majestic and I never got tired of looking at them. I was made fun of for this, as they are “only” deer and everyone else was looking for Rhino, Elephants, Water Buffalo, and the big cats (Cheetah, Leopard & Lion). Silly American & the deer.
When a bull Rhino is determined, not even a 6,000 volt electric fence can stop him. An intimidating scene, that, even after the fact. There had been a new female introduced to the reserve and the bull they owned and the bull Rhino on the reserve next door decided to go head to head over her. Through the fence. Ouch. Those fences are designed to temporarily knock out the largest animals and most animals learn the lesson quickly and stay away. These Rhinos had been there long enough to know what they were up against and went at it anyway. Those girls are nothing but trouble!
We also did see Rhino, Elephants (a matriarch, mother, and daughter), Water Buffalo (a great number of those, and very close. Both genders have the Pippi Longstocking horns), Giraffe (my favorite) and a Cheetah in a rehab center (no, not drugs, silly), warthogs, wildebeasts, monkeys, and Zebra (rhymes with Debra in S. Africa). All were very impressive.
For photos, follow this link:
http://adventureworldtales.smugmug.com/gallery/5751719_vsuLo#355487900_WpQMf
Second, scuba and the country of Mozambique. Mozambique is just north-east of S. Africa, but it is a much different place once you cross the border. It is much more third world. But the diving is spectacular! I’ll give that update on a future blog, as this update has taken a remarkable amount of time given the internet connection speed here!
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