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| Although they all had their backs to us, we were thrilled to see these elephants through the fence between Marloth Park and Kruger National Park. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| “Have you got one more bite for me?” asks Mr. Kudu as he began to walk away. |
It’s 9:50 am Sunday, and in 70 minutes, we have to be out the door to head to Frikkie’s Dam in Lionspruit for brunch in the bush with Louise, Danie, and a group of their friends, most of whom we’ve yet to meet.
I prepared a brunch egg casserole (low carb, of course) which goes into the oven in 10 minutes and will bake for about an hour. When done, we’ll tightly wrap in foil and bath towels to keep warm until we arrive at the destination.
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| Several were off to the side on their own, which may have been part of the herd. |
It’s a rare occasion I have only 70 minutes to prepare a post, but not knowing what time we’d return, I was determined to get it done before leaving at 11:00 am.
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| There’s never a time we’re not excited to see elephants. |
There could have been more time to get things done this morning if I’d dragged myself out of bed a little earlier than 7:30, but after a fitful night, I struggled to get up, showered, and dressed for the day.
By the time I entered the kitchen at 8:00, I had got busy preparing the dish, chopping and dicing onions, garlic, and mushrooms to saute in a buttered skillet.
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| There were about a dozen elephants at the Crocodile River from our vantage point. |
You know how mornings may go…one getting distracted by a variety of tasks around the house; I washed a small load of laundry, set out dishes and flatware for tonight’s dinner, and put away dishes Tom had washed that I’d used in the food prep.
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| We waited quite a while for this hippo to turn around for a better photo, but they were busy munching on the grass. |
Then, I packed a bag with forks, spatula, paper plates, paper towels, bottled water, etc., that we needed to bring along to serve our solitary dish at the outdoor brunch in Lionspruit, the wildlife conservancy located within the borders of Marloth Park.
Indeed Louise and Danie have been preparing food for hours, and yet they just stopped by to drop off a pass for us to use to get into Lionspruit. They’re always thinking of us. They didn’t want us to cook anything saying they’d have plenty for us. But, good grief, I had to contribute something!
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| The elephant on the left appeared much larger than the other. She must have been the matriarch. |
Then, of course, we had two female kudus stop by distracting me for another 20 minutes or more. Yesterday, I’d cut up tons of veggies for them and wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to provide them with a nutritious breakfast. They hung around for another half hour, looking wondering if we’d come up with more.
But, I wanted to save some of the veggies for later when we return for the evening while waiting for Scar-Face to show up. We haven’t seen him in two days and we became a little concerned.
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| Their peaceful grazing and the way they honor one another is a sight to behold. |
Last night at dinner at Jabula with Kathy and Don and their friends Jill and Beau, we all discussed the fact that we’d only seen wildlife yesterday morning but none in the afternoon.
That seems the case most weekends when there are more visitors in the park, more traffic, and more noise, keeping some of the wildlife undercover in the bush. Maybe we don’t need to worry about Scar Face.
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| After the drive along the river, we decided to stop by and see the house on Hornbill that we rented four years ago. |
We had an excellent evening at Jabula. Dawn and Leon, owners and friends of the best restaurant around, always fuss over all of us, making the extra evening special. Of course, the food is consistently exceptional. Tom had the ribs and chips (fries), and I had grilled chicken breast with creamed spinach (no flour added). We brought home the bones for Scar Face in a doggie bag.
Last night, dear friend Don told us his story of spotting a leopard in Marloth Park on his daily walk. I must admit we were jealous. That would be quite a sighting! Perhaps, one day soon, we’ll spot it too.
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| It brought back a lot of beautiful memories of our first time living in the bush. Now, here at the “Orange…More than Just a Colour” we’re building new memories. |
We apologize for today’s less-than-perfect photos and short story. The images were taken at a distance our camera cannot easily handle, nor can I, without the tripod with me. Let us start taking it with us when we go for our almost daily drives in the park.
We’ll be back tomorrow to review the news regarding the earthquakes and erupting Mount Kilauea on the Big Island in Hawaii. We were there in 2014/2015 when we had the unbelievable opportunity to see lava flowing when our family visited for Christmas. The lava was flowing toward the town of Pahoa where our holiday rentals were located on the sea. More on that tomorrow with links and photos from our original story.
Have a peaceful and fulfilling day, dear readers!
Photo from one year ago today, May 6, 2018:
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| One year ago today, we arrived back in the USA via the Big Island, Hawaii, as we continued on the cruise. For more details, please click here. |