South African Safari 2008

We didn't really know what to expect of this first Safari adventure, but of course we are very open minded and mostly flexible; okay, not always. To say the very least, it was an adventure we will treasure for our lifetime. The lodging was fabulous, the food was wonderful and our guide was a hoot! He made it fun for us even on the days when we weren't able to find what we were looking for. It is one of those experiences where if you can't find the one you love, love the ones who appear in your path.

One of those near empty days, we had a French couple with child and an elder gentleman from Australia who had just joined our group. (We felt very privileged to have enjoyed having the guide to ourselves for the first two days.) We couldn't seem to find anything other than Impala and they show up everywhere. Guide drove us to a watering hole which is often times a good place to find game. He stopped the jeep, got out, walked over to the water's edge and picked up a big handful of green mud and then proceeded to paint his face. We tourists just stared at him and he said "okay, who's next?" My first thought was 'you gotta be kidding'. Surprisingly, the very conservative French man was the first to follow and Chris was the second. And of course when we left the water hole, we were all wearing our green mud faces proudly and we got a lot of attention. You will see pictures of most of our adventures by clicking on the following web link, or by doing a copy paste:
http://picasaweb.google.com/donniedayp/SouthAfricanSafari2008

On another slow day, the French couple were gone and we had a British couple who had joined our group. They were full of questions and the Guide knew everything there is to know about dung. He could distinguish between elephant dung and rhino dung and also between white rhino dung and black rhino dung. We had stopped by a big pile of white rhino dung and he was explaining why they spread it around like they do. We asked about the pile of smaller dung pebbles in it's midst. (It was maybe impala dung.) So, Guide said the impala dung is great for a dung spitting contest. That was another of those wide-eyed moments for us tourists. He drew a line in the dirt, proceeded about six feet in front of the line and drew a circle. Then he went over and picked up a handful of the dung balls, walked over behind the line, popped one in his mouth and spit it dead center in the circle. He did one more, but could not rouse any takers for a contest. We all had to pass on that one.

Our meals were at the main lodge, all entirely gourmet and well prepared. We did take a cooler for drinks and a trayed provided by the kitchen for something like a tail gate party at each of our driving sessions. We went out twice a day, once just after daybreak and again in late afternoon until after dark. On two different evenings, the Chef and kitchen staff prepared dinner over an open fire and served it as if in a fine restaurant complete with candle light, large torches to help keep us warm and at one some African singing and dancing by the staff. These are a few of the many experiences we had and enjoyed. You will get more of the flavor from the pictures if you care to check them out.

We realized how grateful we are for being where we are and having the opportunity to do these things and look forward to many more. We also know that since we are living in Africa, this is the time to really take advantage of the ability to travel here. And last but certainly not least, we are grateful everyday for having this opportunity and experience.

We look forward to seeing you in less than a month now! We are very excited about our US tour in the month of October.

Love & kisses,

Donnie & Chris