WHAT DAY IS IT?

I need to try and catch up on everything, but we have little free time and even less computer time, yet I shall try.

The safari was truly phenomenal. We saw the “big five” as noted before, and so much more. The only other animal I wanted to see was the hyena. Sure enough, they were hanging around the dead giraffe, waiting to challenge the lions. They reminded me of the Lion King complete with a weird shriek and a shit-eating grin, which is about all that will be left of that giraffe by the time they get it. We did not see great herds on the plains, but maybe Botswana. I think we traded the masses of animals in the vastness for “up close and personal”.

We all gathered to leave at 10:00 for Graskop. The next 4 hours - yes count them four- were spent waiting for the van. (They went to the wrong part of the Park) Then they didn’t bring a trailer big enough for our luggage hence the picture of them tying it on. Fortunately Bill, Mr. Fixit, help secure everything, for they were clueless. Needless to say we missed all the sites on the way to G. along with any lunch. Fortunately the Graskop Hotel was fabulous. Each room was designed and decorated by a different artist, much better than the Madonna Inn! The town was cozy and safe. It was the first time we could walk around without being worried of lions, hyenas, elephants, or humans. The time there was much too short. We had 1 ½ hours to shop at the silk store, etc. which left many of us upset.

Yesterday was a travel day. The same van to the airport, fighting with the airline to check more luggage- it’s 44lbs. per person, not per bag, and carry on only 15lbs… . . . heck my back pack weighs 30lbs!! We arrived in Jozi to pick up a different guide, Shiney, who seems to be a god-send, though she’s hampered by Simon our bus driver who seems quite old and dotty. But you read right--- we have a small BUS rather than a van, what a difference it makes. It’s a good thing for we spent 5 hours on it yesterday driving to Clarens, and will have 5-6 to Durban; plus stops.

The landscape has been huge farms, with narry a sole in sight. Reminds me of west Texas. But Clarens is nestled at the base of the Golden Gate park. No, no bridge anywhere, just 2 mountain ranges that look like gates. We are going there at sunset to see the colors. Will pass on pictures.

All in all it’s been a busy, inspiring trip complete with some of the best FUBARs possible. Whenever the lack of forethought pops up, they mutter TIA. . . . . this is Africa. I’m beginning to understand that Banana Republics have nothing on this place. Twinkle

Today, Friday, (we have to keep asking each other what day it is….) was lovely. We SLEPT IN !!! until 7:15. Had a wonderful breakfast with a view of the mountains just out the window and then hit the streets . We had four hours to wander this small artist colony and everyone loved it. Purchases were made in many of the galleries and I know that many of the group will have wonderful memories of this town.

We boarded the bus in the early afternoon and headed for the Basotho Cultural Village. This was a double treat – the village itself was really well done and we learned a great deal about the people from the 17^th century to the present …..and several local schools were also visiting and we loved watching the kids running around, being naughty, hiding out in the bathrooms and basically – behaving the way all our kids did !! Some things are just so universal!

The drive there and back was beautiful – because it was dark when we arrived last night, we didn’t see the incredible vistas. This is farm and ranch land as Twinkle said. There are large grazing areas, and huge burn areas. They routinely have controlled burns and the new vegetation becomes the next pasture. We also saw Spring Bok which is a cousin to those in the bush – as well as a fair herd of mountain zebra. Twinkle and I were also the only ones to see the HUGE ostriches strolling through the grass – HEY – you snooze you lose !!

We had a wonderful dinner with our friend Annie in a tiny bistro – it was wonderful – we are happy – life is good

Good Night Mary

ROAD TRIP !!!

After a night in a wonderful hotel in Graskopf we "hit the road" . Everyday brings a new lesson - in this case about four.......expect the unexpected, pack a snack and don't bring your good luggage were among a few. We roll with it.



a quick petro stop and some fruit and the absolute BEST avocados ever take us through to dinner.








no words needed








how wonderful are these ladies - obviously very used to having their photo taken. They are selling freshly roasted macadamia nuts . YUM



We have seen so many wonderful South African women like this - carrying the babies on their backs with baskets of food etc on their heads. Unfortunately the bus is moving too fast to get many photos

This was our favorite and when Twinkle has time and can enlarge this you will see that on the side it says " BAR - BER SHOP" and there is a little guy in there getting his haircut. These are all along the road........one lady was sewing on an old Singer .....most are getting shaves, haircuts, braids or car washes.

AMAZING

We have been so fortunate to see many, many of these South African wild animals - not so lucky in being able to have the time or technology to post for you with some semblance of order ......you'll just have to use your imagination and we will continue to post in bits and pieces.






































This is NOT the giraffe who was caught by the lions........

CIRCLE OF LIFE

OMG- Lions, and Leopards, and Rhinos- Oh My. Today was incredible. But let me start at the beginning. We flew from Jozi to Neispruit, then a 3 hour drive to Sabi Sands, our private game lodge "Arathusa", next to the Kruger National Park. The lodge is a wonderful oasis in and of itself. We did a quick night ride and saw a pride of lions, 4 adults and 5 cubs. It was so thrilling.

What people try to see are the big 5- lions, leopards, rhinos, cape buffalo, and elephants. This morning we saw 4 of them, all but the cape buffalo. We have seen 3 different prides of lions, Sahara- the wonderful local leopard, a mother and baby rhino, and about 4 elephants, along with Impalas, Kudu, giraffe, zebra, mongooses, and hippos.

The afternoon safari starts around 4 and goes for 3 1/2 hours. After such an incredible morning, I wasn't too sure about the pm drive. Well, I was wrong. We went to the spot where a leopard had drug her catch, an impala, up the tree to keep it safe from predators. So the 1/2 eaten Impala was there with leopards no where in sight. Our guide Roy found the female leopard in another tree resting after a Thanksgiving size dinner, see photo. All she needed was the Detroit Lions playing! Next we found the male, equally stuffed. We followed him to a water hole.

Next we saw a cape buffalo. I think these are the hardest to find. We photographed him for awhile, then later saw a bigger group of them.

Just when I thought it couldn't get better, we came upon another pride of lions trying to devour a freshly killed giraffe. They could care less about us, but did not want another lion to get more than they did. We will check this out in the am, for the giraffe should last 2-3 days, assuming males lions don't chase away the pride, and the hyenas are kept at bay.

Our guide, Jason, told us that it is extremely unusual to see all 5 in one day. We are constantly amazed by the animals and the " circle of life" as Elton would say. It is truly an incredible experience.

Gotta get to bed, 5:30 rolls around pretty quickly.

T

NOT A THEME PARK !!

This zebra wasn't aware, but he had 9 lions stalking him. In fact, the main lioness was about 15 feet away, and somehow missed him. We were all pulling for the lions, no pity for zebras here.

The mother and baby rhino were in the field minding their business when we saw them. It is truly amazing how they aren't bothered by a car full of people, but let one of us stand up, and all hell breaks loose. When we came upon the rhinos, there was a warthog with them. We thought the mama rhino had 2 babies! Her baby is 1 year old and quite large. The rhino is the bully of the bush.

Gotta go out again.... more later. T

ON SAFARI - FINALLY

We are still trying to get the glitches out of blogging from hotels and airports and lodges OH MY....however - you can see we are having an AMAZING time. There is something surreal about hearing some crunching and turn to see a few elephants having a snack. This leopard is our heroine.....she is "Sahara". The animals are very transient for the most part - but some are territorial and have been around along time and are very identifiable ....these get named. This beautiful lady is blind in one eye- having her eye scratched out by her mate. That was eight years ago - she is now almost seventeen. She continues to hunt, alludes other predators and has had many cubs - she is a greatgrandmother....we love her !!

SOWETO

The home of Nelson Mandela in Soweto is now a museum. We were only able to drive by and take a photo....we had lunch up the street at a neighborhood cafe and soaked in the sights and smells and sounds. One in our group, Henry, who is from Boston said "If you had told me when I was a little boy - that I would spend a Sunday afternoon in Soweto, South Africa.....having lunch up the street from Nelson Mandela's home ....I would never have believed you".

Here is our group entering the Apartheid Museum.

It was a very emotional day.....Soweto is a much, much larger area than I had imagined. There were so many facts and dates and images in my head at the end of the day - I was on an emotional over-load. At one point, I simply sat on a bench in the Apartheid Museum and wept.