Days 67 and 68

(Dan’s comments are italicized)

Even though I’m not very well, we can’t be within a 5 minute drive of a game park and not go in…I mean seriously, what kind of traveler would I be if I were to do that?!

Kruger is interesting! Animals are plentiful, but the topography makes it difficult to get great photos. For example, we’ve seen five leopards and THIS is the best photo… We actually skipped one sighting when an observer said he could only see the ears.

Here are the others 😂

But wait, it gets worse…we were sat by THREE cheetahs and this is what I saw… I was busy tamping down resentment of all the cars that were hogging the good spots and were not moving 🤬😥

As we’re here in the winter (Southern Hemisphere), they have controlled burns throughout which gives the park a menacing look in parts…

Although it can look quite ethereal to see smoke in the distance, it’s also quite disturbing to know that animals attack when panicked…and these animals could do quite some damage!

The good news is that we’re able to do self-drive safaris; the bad news is that we’re able to do so because most of the roads are paved. This almost gives an overdeveloped feel to the place. But it also provides some entertainment by creating a traffic jam in true Kruger style…all because a bull elephant decided to go for a long, VERY SLOW stroll down the middle of the road!

But the animals are showing up and doing their part! Sometimes, however, the images only exist in our memories because we didn’t react quickly enough; such as the time I turned to see a (very fluffy, fat) spotted hyena about 2 feet away from my open window. Or the time we watched impalas leap high into the air onto the road – and beyond – to get away from a hungry lioness; then her looking directly into our eyes before walking away despondently.

But there are always opportunities for beautiful photos and they’re greatly appreciated.

There were a few places we found that allowed us the opportunity to get out of the car and watch the animals from a hideaway. Unfortunately, the distances we had to drive to get to them did not give us as much time as I would have liked. Imagine driving up to Phoenix at a maximum of 33 mph, and frequently, there is gridlock because of hidden cheetahs, leopard ears, or roaming bull elephants; and you have to get there before sundown. Like I said, I had to really battle my resentments toward every vehicle out there. But the beauty was worth it 😊

Two things are certain. Firstly, Africa is absolutely beautiful! Secondly, I’m going to save my pennies to get a good camera before coming back next year as I’m delighted to have been invited to present at the conference again next year!

I’ve been asked what we do of an evening here. Dan has downloaded some shows and we have a phone that projects its images so we lie in bed and watch shows that we project onto the ceiling 😂

Thank you to all who have reached out wishing me a speedy recovery. I’m getting better slowly 🤒