Sweet Home Chicago

I'm sad to say that our great adventure has come to an end! After a very long couple of flights, we are home safe and sound. It is so nice to be home and getting unpacked and settled. Debatable how much will get done though - jet lag is taking hold! We are so lucky to have been able to take such an incredible trip and to learn so much about a place so far from what we are used to. It felt weird not to be looking for animals on the side of the road on our way home from the airport!

One last animal count for today though:

2 very happy cats

Thanks to everyone who followed our trip! We hope you enjoyed it. We have a few more pictures we plan on posting over the next few days but I don't anticipate any new stories about monkeys stealing our lunch...

A Quick Update

Yesterday was a really nice and calm day. They moved us from the resort we were in to the fancy game lodge up on the hill for our last night. Wow! It was like night and day. After we got settled in, we decided to go back to the big game preserve Hluhluwe-Imfolozi and do our own game drive with our car. Right as we came through the gate we were engulfed by a huge herd of water buffalo! We couldn't drive out of it because they were on all sides of the car! It was insane. We counted 70 out of the ones right by us and guess that there were around 150.

After the herd cleared we drove around for about three hours. We went to the north side of the preserve this time and it was much more hilly and a prettier drive but not as many animals. We did come across a ton of giraffes and some more dung beetles though! After we left there we went back to the game lodge which is actually located inside the private reserve. On our way to the hotel we saw another herd of giraffe and there were Nyala in front of our door! It was a really good animal day.

We spent the rest of the night enjoying some cocktails on the verandah that overlooked the range. It was stunning. We were up early this morning to get everything packed up and on the road for Johannesburg. It was an uneventful drive and we arrived at the airport with time to spare. We are now about to board for a 17 hour flight to Atlanta. I hope they have movies!!

No pictures today because we didn't have Internet at the game lodge. It is sad to be leaving but we both miss home so it is time. We couldn't have asked for a more amazing two weeks!

Whales and naps Part 2

After about a 25 minute ride out, we came across a mother humpback and her calf! They were humongous. The baby was so cute and playful. He kept jumping up and rolling around. The guide told us that at this point the adult whales are exhausted and haven't eaten so they don't surface as much. An adult whale can stay down for 45 minutes but the calves can only stay down for 5 minutes. He looks for the mothers and calves because they are easier to follow. We stayed with them for 45 minutes or so and then headed back in. The wind was building the whole time we were out and it was getting a little sketchy. It was an extremely soaking wet ride in capped off by the captain gunning the boat at full speed onto the beach ala Hangover 2 style. It was really fun. I kind of want to try it.

The hippo tour wasn't until 4pm and we were soaked to the bone so we decided to head back to the resort for some lunch and a nap. It was a much needed rest. We haven't decided what we are doing tomorrow. It is our last day before the drive to Johannesburg so we kind of want to take it easy. I can't believe it is almost over!

Oh! We also saw three flying fish!! They are really incredible to watch - just happened to be looking in the right direction.

Whales and naps Part 1

Another fun day down here exploring! After a slightly disruptive sleep due to someone who forgot to close the window after drying her hair therefore allowing some bug friends to set up camp while we were at dinner, we were up so very early again and on the road at 5:15am to head to St. Lucia for a 7:30 whale watching ride. After our debacle yesterday morning we wanted to make sure we on time and at the right place. We arrived an hour early so drove through the town and watched the monkeys creating havoc all over. They get into everything but they are so cute!

We got to the tour company place around 6:45 and were told that the 7:30 trip was cancelled due to high surf. There was a 9:30 one that was still on so we booked that one and wasted time looking around the shops and walking on the beach. We saw some hippos in the river! It was a close call but they went ahead with the 9:30 trip. It was the first trip they were able to run in 13 days and the only one that wouldn't be cancelled of the 5 that were scheduled for today. Talk about lucky!

This was another beach launch just with a bigger boat and a crazier captain. The waves were huge when the sets came in so he had to time it perfectly so he didn't kill us all. They pushed the boat into the water using the ole pole-on-a-tractor technique and once he was kind of in the water, he gunned the engines. I wept silently as the lower units and propellers dug into the sand and the two 300hp engines took a beating. He told us later we rebuilds the gear boxes every 12 weeks. Anyways, he was very good at what he does and we were off the beach and flying off huge waves in no time.

***I am getting too chatty. I can't fit anything on one post anymore. Continued in part 2...***

4 out of 5 Part 3

We continued on our merry way around 1pm and had a pretty big dry spell for about 2 hours. Still really gorgeous though and a lot of rhino and some giraffe. As we started making our way back towards the south end of the park, we got word that there were lions sunning themselves near the river. We were able to see 5 of them through the binoculars but were not able to get close enough for any pictures. As we continued our way back we came across two elephants crossing the river about 120 yards down. That was really cool to watch but still too far for good pictures.

We headed down the last stretch for home when all of a sudden we came up the hill to see two HUGE bull elephants crossing the road and about 30 elephants 200 yards ahead in the bush on the move. It was unreal. I couldn't get a good shot of the herd but we were able to spend a good amount of time next to the males. So cool. That meant that we officially saw 4 of the Big 5!! I'm counting the lions and you can't stop me.

I am running out of room again and don't want to write a part 4 :) I listed all of the animals already so throw in all the livestock that jump in front of our car and you have the animal count for today. Whale watching, hippos and crocs tomorrow!

4 out of 5 Part 2

In addition to the warthogs and white rhino, there are impala, nyala and kudu all over. The guide told us how many of these animals work together to watch for predators. For example, zebras and impala are often together. Zebras have excellent eyesight while impalas have excellent hearing. There are also tons of dung beetles. Which makes sense because there is tons of dung. I was able to get a few good pictures today of a male pushing a dung ball with the female riding along. It was very romantic.

After a couple of hours or so we rounded a corner and came upon 2 water buffalo grazing in some bushes. (That is probably an unnecessary description. It is all bush. Hence, the African bush.) They were huge and menacing. Easy to see why they are part of the Big 5. In case you were wondering, the Big 5 are the water buffalo, the rhino, the lion, the leopard and the elephant. They are the 5 most difficult and dangerous animals to hint on foot. Water buffalo make you think they have run away and circle back around to attack you. They hold a grudge.

We stopped for lunch at one of the picnic areas. As we were hanging out waiting for our guide to lay out lunch, Willie and I were standing near the truck. I don't know what we were talking about but Willie all of a sudden shouted to the guide and everyone else within earshot that, 'There's a monkey after getting in the truck!' which in Irish means, 'There is a monkey in our truck and it is stealing our lunch bread!'. I turned around to see a monkey with a long bread roll in each hand jumping out of the drivers side widow into a tree. That little shit sat on a branch over our picnic table all through lunch eating our bread! After lunch as we were all laughing about the monkey incident, I was ribbing Willie a bit about being a useless monkey guard when mid teasing that same damn monkey ran past him again, into the car and got an apple!! Hahahahaha! It was amazing.

***Continued in part 3. Sorry I have a lot of stuff today and it keeps rejecting my uploads!****

CATS! And fish! Part 2

Since we now had a free afternoon, we decided to stop back at the hotel for lunch and then visit the cheetahs for what was possibly the greatest hour of my life. The guide was amazing and knew all the cats at the center for years. They loved him. We started with 2 cheetahs that were brothers that he had raised since they were 7 days old. Moya and Juba were the friendliest little buddies ever and purred like tiny diesel engines when you pet them. They are too domesticated to be released so he uses them to spread awareness of the cats and some of the threats they face. He allowed us to stay with them for almost a half hour petting and taking pictures with them. I swear to god they were posing.

After we left them, we went with him as he fed the rest of the cats they had there: 2 more cheetahs, 4 carcals, 6 servals and 6 wild African cats. They also had a small herd of zebras that just walk around messing with the cats. He knows the cats so well that he knows how they like to eat - there was one serval who never leaves her tree. He actually threw the meat up about 25 feet and she caught it with her claw. One of the carcals like to jump so he throws the meat up as high as he can and the cat jumps about 15 feet straight up and catches in the air. The whole thing was incredible and not just because I have an admitted obsession with cats. Anyone would have enjoyed the visit.

During our time on the road today, the animals were very bold. We had to stop several times to drive around cows or goats that had just decided to hang out in the road. One cow was even laying down across a whole lane. We also drove by a herd of zebras - on the side of the road! Most impressive though, we got to see how local cows are transported from farm to farm. Please refer to the picture below of 4 cows riding in a pickup truck.

Animal count for today:
Cows, sheep, goats, bulls
White tipped shark
Sea turtle
Moray eel
Lots of fishes
Crocodiles
Snakes
Monkeys
Cheetahs
Servals
Carcals
African wild cats

Such a good day. Tomorrow is another very exciting day - we are going on a full day safari in the oldest reservation in Africa. I can't wait to see what kind of animals we come across there! They have hundreds of elephants, rhinos and LIONS!! Until tomorrow....