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....

CATS! And fish! Part 1

Today my dreams came true and I played with cheetahs. But first things first. We were up very early this morning to drive to Sodwana bay for scuba diving. Our trusty GPS guide bird, Fawkes tried his best but led us down the geographically shortest but not the realistically easiest route. We ended up driving through the game ranges and down dirt roads for about 40 minutes. Willie had to get out to check the water level in a giant mud pool at one point but we made it! We even arrived at the dive center precisely at 7am.

After we got all geared up we headed to the beach where the base was. This was unlike any dive either of us had ever done. After the briefing, they use a tractor with a pole on the end of it to push a large RIB bow first through the sand into the water. All the divers stand next to it and when you are deep enough they yell for everyone to jump in. The surf is not small. At all. The driver was extremely good - he made giant circles until he timed it perfectly and shot out between wave sets. With all the time the Willie and I have spent on boats this was still pretty nerve wracking! After an extremely bumpy ride to the dive site in 10 foot+ swell, the dive master counted to three and everyone fell backwards into the water at the same time.

The dive was actually a pretty difficult drift dive. We spent most of our time around 60' but it wasn't deep enough to escape the swell. When the big waves went overhead, we would be sucked side to side pretty drastically. Despite this, we still had a great time. We got to see a white tip shark hiding in a cave, a sea turtle, a giants yellow eel, and couple of huge schools of fish, some conch and a ton of little fishes. I even saw three Gills! (I don't know what the real name is but that is what his name was in Finding Nemo)

After about 50 minutes or so we came back up and had to hold onto the side of the RIB, take off our weight belts and BCDs and get in all while battling serious current and big swell. The ride back was upwind in building waves that put my RIB wave launching history to shame. Needless to say, we opted out of the second dive. The waves were just getting bigger so most people ended up bailing as well. While we were back at the beach changing we were greeted by about 15 monkeys who were all just running around! Many of them had babies that were hanging on their bellies. Willie had to drag me away from them.

***For some reason if I put too many pictures or have too long an entry, the mobile app that I am using to publish this wont work. So I am going to post a second one with the rest of the day's adventures...

Two good game drives

We had a great dinner last night and I beat Willie on the mini-me sized pool table. It was close though. Then we were treated to a traditional Zulu drum dance. It was awesome! We turned in around 930am and found a surprise guest on the wall in our bathroom! See the picture below. This little lizard wanted to stay with us. His name is Charles. We don't know where he is now but I am sure he will pop up again and scare the living hell out of one of us. As long as it is not a spider...

We woke up this morning to gale force winds and impending thunderstorms. Since that didn't stop them yesterday, we grabbed an early breakfast and went to the meeting spot for the 8am drive. Unfortunately our game driver said the weather was only going to deteriorate further so everything was postponed until later.

We took the opportunity to get some napping and reading done as well as explore the grounds a little before it started raining harder. The crocodiles were out sunning in the lagoon that is about 50 feet from our front door. There was a lot more of them in there than we expected - we counted 7 just on our side alone. We also walked over to the outer area where the tented rooms are. There was a herd of Nyala and zebras just walking around! After a few pictures and both of our hats blowing off we retired in the room until the storm passed.

At noon we went out for the first of two drives today. We got to see the cheetah and her two cubs napping under a tree! The ranger let us get out of the truck and walk right up to about 20 feet from them. The cubs are still all fuzzy. They all laid down together for a nap as we left - it was adorable. After we saw the cheetahs we rounded the corner to a tower of giraffes (as we learned they are called). They were absolutely stunning.

After the giraffes we drove around for about an hour looking for the elephants. The game range we are on is small but they 3 elephants as well as rhinos, giraffes, tons of Nyala and zebras, water bucks and a handful of other large animals. We weren't successful in finding dumbo but we did find some dung beetles! I am surprisingly entertained by these bugs. We saw one ball of dung that was being rolled by the male while the female just hung on and went for a ride. Then we saw another dung ball that two males were fighting over. They were both trying to push the poo-ball in opposite directions which just resulted in hilarity.

After lunch, we went back out and found the elephants! They were deep in the range and it was kind of sketchy getting there. At one point we got stuck with only two wheels on the ground and we all had to move to one side so we didn't tip over. They were very beautiful and really humongous. They are kind of aggressive though so we didn't spend too much time there. We made our way back out and came across two baby giraffes, a bunch of zebras, more dung beetles, a herd of water buck, a wildebeest, and a bunch of birds that the guide pointed out.

We are now back at the resort for dinner and off to bed early. We are leaving at 530am to head to Sodwana Bay for scuba diving tomorrow. We have two dives scheduled. I hope we see some whale sharks! And that I am not too terrified to swim with them!

Animal count for today:
Giraffes
Cheetahs
Nyala
Zebras
Water bucks
Wildebeest
Dung beetles
Crocodiles
Elephants
Lots of birds

The rainy season

As I sit here enjoying my African Sunset cocktail, it continues to rain buckets outside. The good news is that the ten year drought has ended! The bad news is that it ended this week. It hasn't dampened (no pun intended) our adventure though! We slept in this morning, grabbed breakfast and left Durban around 10am and headed north to Richards Bay. We didn't have any actual destination there, we just needed to kill time before arriving at the resort in Hluhluwe. We drove around Richards Bay but didn't see anything too interesting except a McDonalds. Which was delicious. I don't feel bad. We lasted 8 days with only local food and that cheeseburger was like heaven.

We got to the Zulu Nyala resort around 230 after navigating a long dirt road to access it. It is a beautiful location and very natural. We went on our first game drive at 330pm. They have those trucks with the seats in the back that you see in tv. Unfortunately it stormed like crazy - serious thunder and lighting. Think the scene in Jurassic Park just without a velociraptor and Newman trying to steal dinosaur DNA. The guide cut it short because of the imminent threat of lighting strikes, mudslides and cheetah attacks. We still got to see a giraffe, 3 warthogs and a herd of Nyala though!

Hopefully the rain will let up in a day or so. We are going on another drive at 8am tomorrow then heading to the cheetah rehabilitation center in the afternoon. If I get to hold a cheetah I may die of happiness. I don't think I will be allowed do make it a cat hat like I do with Kevin though.

So, I promised some funny observations - here they are...

-KFC is huge here. There are stores everywhere. One of the ad signs on the side of the road seemed to get the old saying wrong though. It read, 'Do you feel like lickin' your fingers today'. Emmm...not when you say it like that.

-There are these white vans with color ribbon decals that seem to be some type of cab or van sharing service. There are literally thousands of them. People wait on the side of the road seemingly wherever they please and the vans slow down and pick them up. In Port Elizabeth though, the vans slow down next to you while laying on the horn and some guy slides open the side door and yells at you to get in the van. They don't even come to a complete stop - they just pull you on. It is terrifying. We call these the scary vans.

-We have been listening to a lot of radio during or drives. They talk about America a LOT. After playing the latest Mumford and Sons song, the DJ got on and said that he felt like he was in the Wild West. Apparently they think that band sounds like American country and western, despite the fact that they are English. To further complicate the cultural reference, the DJ then went on to say that the song makes him want to, 'Cut holes in a white sheet and chase people around with a gun'. As he said this he played the sound of fire and people yelling. I don't even know if it counts as being politically incorrect it was so bizarre!

-One of the restaurants we went to had a regular burger and a 'ladies burger' on the menu that was smaller.

-Wide loads on the road are called 'abnormal loads'.

Anyways, I am sure there is more but that is what I can remember right now.

Ok- animal count for today:
Cows
Bulls
Horses
Sheep
Momma chicken with a bunch of baby chickens
Goats
Pigs
Monkey sitting in the grass eating a piece of fruit
Giraffe
3 warthogs
Herd of Nyala

Off to dinner now and a few more African sunsets...

I've seen the rains in Africa

We are back in the land of technology just north of Durban in Umhlanga. We have had quite the adventure over the last two days! We left Port Elizabeth yesterday morning at 6am and did not end up having any problems on the road. We took a smaller highway that paralleled the major one so we avoided the giant sinkhole altogether. The place we were heading to is on the wild coast and very remote to say the least. The highway took us to Kei Mouth which is a tiny town on an inlet from the sea. From there we took a ferry across to the other side and followed a series of dirt roads for about a half hour until we arrived at Trennerys resort.

The Eastern Cape is much more rural than the Western Cape was, at least what we have seen. There is livestock everywhere - both on and off the roads. Check out the pictures below. You will see that most of the animals are looking at the camera. That is because I made sure to make the appropriate animal noises to them out of the car window, much to Willie's chagrin. I felt confident I could step on it in time to avoid any confrontations. The dirt roads were insane. Thank god we had our GPS and Fawkes leading the way. (Fawkes is what we named the bird icon that represents our car on the GPS. HP rulz! Hahaha)

Let's talk about this ferry for a second. You'll see in the picture below that it wasn't quite coast guard approved. Apparently batteries work here regardless of if they are submerged in river water. The engine was on a 270 degree mount so the captain spun the outboard around and reversed us out to the middle of the river, spun it back around and drove us in forward up the bank of the other side. We were the only car on it when we went but there were 4 on it for the trip back. Totally safe? Possibly not. Really awesome? Definitely!

I haven't mentioned yet that it started raining around 10am yesterday morning and still hasn't stopped. So now take the ferry, dirt roads and animals everywhere and combine it with the rain and you have an idea of what we have been doing. Anyways, we got to the resort around 1230pm yesterday and it was a cluster of little chalets set among dense foliage just next to the ocean. When we checked in we asked about any trails or paths on the beach. The women told us there was a shipwreck about 4km down that was very cool. Then she mentioned offhand to watch out for the tide, handed us our room key and sent us on our merry way. Even though it was raining, I really wanted to walk to the beach because it is mostly deserted for miles. We started walking to the shipwreck only to find that you cross several inlets. Ones that clearly fill up during high tide and would definitely strand you for HOURS if you weren't careful. Luckily we had checked and high tide was only 2 hours away so we knew to turn around. It seems like the lady might have given a sterner warning but they seem to let natural selection work its process down here more than they do elsewhere. Nevertheless, the beach was stunning!

The rain just didn't let up though so we headed back to our room and took a nap since there was no tv or Internet. We had a nice dinner there, I beat Willie at darts and we enjoyed another sleep with the ocean in the background.

Today was the longest drive of all of them. We left around 830 from Trennerys, back down 30 minutes of dirt roads to the highway and then spent about 8 hours making our way to Durban. The whole way is rural with no cities or '1st world' settlements. Tons of shacks and livestock and farms. The highway runs right through a bunch of little towns all of which have people selling goods on the side of the road and general chaos. A few nervous moments here and there but mostly just very interesting to see. Willie wanted to buy a chicken but we decided against it.

Tonight is our last night of traveling. We have an easy 3 hour drive to our final hotel - Zulu Nyala - where we will stay for the next 6 nights. We are a little road weary and are looking forward to staying in one place for a while. At this point we have driven about 1300 miles around the coast. It has been incredible! We are greatly looking forward to seeing the safari animals now though! The landscape has gotten less foresty and considerably warmer as we head north. Hopefully the rain will stop tomorrow.

I have a list of hilarious observations that I am going to include in an entry tomorrow. For now I am going to enjoy a hot water shower, some dinner and sleeping in tomorrow morning!

Animal count for the last two days:
Cows
Bulls
Sheep
Donkeys
Monkeys
Pigs
Horses
Dogs (one was standing on a roof)
2 cats
Chickens and roosters
Goats
Ostriches

A relaxing drive

Today was a nice and calm day. We slept in a bit and enjoyed the beautiful view from our little cottage. We left Oudtshoorn around 8am and stopped about two hours later in Knysna for a late breakfast with our friends Chris and Lucia, their son and his friend. We went to a beautiful place that overlooked an inlet where the ocean fed into a river. Their puppy also made an appearance! It was great to spend some time with people we knew.

Today's drive took us back to the shore and out of the western cape and into the eastern cape. The landscape was surprisingly foresty with tons of pine trees. After we left Knynsa we made an impromptu stop at the worlds tallest bungy jump. For once, it was an activity that we both agreed we didn't want to try. They jump off of a huge single span arch bridge and fall 600 feet. No thanks! It was a beautiful outlook though and there were some fun shops.

Our drive took us into Port Elizabeth which reminds me a lot of Long Beach, CA. We are staying next to the board walk and a casino. Not really our scene though. We had a nice dinner and are going to watch a movie and call it a night. We have a very early start tomorrow - the recent rains caused a sink hole in the route we are taking so we may hit some delays. Our next stop is on the wild coast about an hour past East London. It is supposed to be a beautiful and very natural place - we are excited to see it!

Not a huge day for animals but we were successful in some more monkey sightings!!

Animal count for today:
Cows
Bulls
Ostriches
Baboons
A little monkey jumping from the side of the road who was really cute
Sheep
One really cute puppy
Horses

Ostriches and caves

We had another incredibly fun day here today. We took off from Gansbaai around 6am after getting some amazing farewell breaching from our whale friends while we were eating breakfast. Looked like it was straight out of a nature film and was so loud we could hear it through the windows. No pictures though - we tried but it was too tough to get a good shot. Our drive took us inland through miles (kilometers) of rolling farmlands with the mountains as a backdrop. After 2 hours or so we reached the mountains and went through some spectacular passes. We finally saw the elusive baboons! They were running along the side of the road on one of the curves and one was climbing the mountain side. He looked at me. We locked eyes.

After recovering from nearly crashing the car while yelling, 'Baboons! Baboons! Look! Baboons!', we left the mountains and made it to the valley where Oudtshoorn is. We made good time so we stopped for an ostrich tour first. It. Was. Awesome. They let us hold baby ostriches and feed some of the big ones. And yes - I fulfilled my dream of riding an fully grown ostrich. I also fulfilled Willie's dream by falling off of it much to the amusement of the rest of our tour group. Those big birds are freaking fast. And extremely simple minded. After the 1 other person ridiculous enough to ride one them got their turn, Willie got an Ostrich 'neck massage' which basically consisted of holding a bucket of food while multiple birds attacked it over your shoulders.
Seriously - who knew ostriches could be that hilarious?

We finally stopped laughing long enough to finish the tour and headed 25 minutes up the road to the Cango Caves. This was an unbelievable experience. We opted for the 'adventure tour' which takes you on a 90 minute walk/shimmy/crawl through the cave system. The formations were breathtaking and the adventure part of it probably wouldn't fly in America without some significant waivers, proof of insurance, promise of first born child, etc. Here though - nothing but the purchase of the ticket. Check out of the pictures below. There were spaces that you actually had to army crawl through. Not for the claustrophobic or faint of heart. By the time you finish you are filthy from crawling around and from the 85% humidity. It was so fun though.

It was a big day for animals today!

Animal count:
Cows
Sheep
Goats
Ostriches
Baboons
Rabbits (on a rabbit farm)
2 zebras (as a teaser near the entrance of an animal park)
Deer
Some weird turkey birds that run across the roads while I am driving
3 camels (part of a tourist attraction)
2 Emu

We are staying on a farm outside of town tonight and have our own little cottage. Too bad it is cloudy tonight - I can't even imagine how amazing the stars must look on a clear night. Tomorrow is a nice down day. We have a 6 hour drive into Port Elizabeth and are staying in a hotel on the beach. Nothing planned beside for some lounging by the pool!

PS Ostrich is delicious - I had it for lunch and dinner. It tastes just like steak!