Contemplating continuing a life of world travel….

In the past almost five months, we’ve only seen one wildebeest run through the garden. Last night two visitors were quite a thrill.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

What a pose!  What was she thinking?  Females’ feathers are brown, and males are black.

In the past several days, after celebrating our 27 years together, we’ve found ourselves reviewing the time we’ve spent together. Like most couples, some of it was easy, and other times were challenging. But, the one constant has been our love for one another.

Elephant viewing from the fence between Marloth Park and Kruger National Park.

Yesterday, while driving through Marloth Park, we raised several questions regarding “what ifs” and how we handled them at this point in our lives. Most likely, this is a conversation some couples dare to discuss from time to time, especially as we age.

While in Kruger, it would be impossible to see these elephants by the Crocodile River based on the terrain. But, from Marloth Park, we often spot these magnificent beasts.
One may ask, “What if I became ill and couldn’t take care of the day-to-day tasks I’ve so easily handled in the past? Would we expect that I’d go to a nursing home or assisted living facility? Would you go with me if that was possible?”
Almost every time we’re out driving through Marloth Park, we spot elephants beyond the fence.

These are tough questions none of us likes to contemplate. The answers don’t come easily if one is honest with their partner. And sure, it’s essential to have a plan in mind as we age, as to what our best options may be in these difficult situations.

There may be one elephant or 40. However many there may be, we’re always thrilled to see them.

Since we have no home, answers to these questions become all the more difficult to answer. Of course, we’ve discussed many possible scenarios and, like you, have ideas in mind what we may do in such a situation or the case of an unforeseen emergency; injury, surgery, or debilitating illness.

An ostrich on a leisurely walk in the park.
But, yesterday Tom brought up a point we’ve never discussed to the degree we did in the car, which we continued once back at the house: What would we “really” do if one of us wanted to stop traveling, not as a result of a medical situation but instead, simply due to being tired of living this peculiar life on the move?
When we initially decided to travel the world in January 2012, we made a pact: That if one of us grew tired or bored with this life, the other would agree to stop. Plain and simple.
This flock of ostriches is often found in a particular area near the river we often visit when on daily drives.  Note the chick on the far left.

Tom’s question, posed with the utmost of love and concern, was, “What if one of us wanted to stop and the other did not want to?” Wow! That would be a challenge, wouldn’t it? We recalled our pact. 

Tom is feeding kudu girls and boys from the veranda. 

However, a lot has transpired in the past number of years, and we both are so committed and dedicated to this blissful life, we can’t imagine ever changing our lifestyle unless we physically could carry on no more (which in the realm of things, most likely will eventually happen).

So let’s assume for clarity, what if I wanted to stop, get a permanent home, stock it with stuff, to live out our remaining years in a warm climate somewhere in the US or elsewhere?

A group of kudus is a “forkl” and often females and males are together in a family unit referred to as a “harem.”

At this point, we were situated on the veranda setting up for the evening’s wildlife watching, a glass of wine or cocktail, and eventually the fabulous dinner I’d spent the better part of the day preparing before we embarked on the late afternoon drive.

We were both perplexed about how we’d answer this difficult question, now with so much experience behind us and our acquired passion for world travel. We never dreamed this would be us, now or ever, for that matter.

He ate a few pellets, looked at us, and was on his way, the other following close behind.

We agreed that the next possible question would be, “Could we talk the “disenchanted” into changing their mind?” At that point, we both decided that we’d be open to discussion as the next logical step.

Tom always says, “It’s a good thing we found each other. Otherwise, we’d be screwing up two other innocent people.” 

In other words, neither of us can imagine, now or at any time in the future, ever become bored or disenchanted with our lives together as it is now. We even laughed at the incredible nature of this concept.

And so…we carry on, fulfilled, content, and hopeful for the future, together as a determined team to see the world, on our terms, in our own time for however long we’ll be blessed to do so.

May your dreams be fulfilled as well. 

Photo from one year ago today, July 2, 2017:

Tom and I dined here in our old lives. Dining here while we were in Minnesota last year didn’t fit into the budget in this life. For more details, please click here.

An afternoon at the fair…Marloth Park Honorary Rangers Winter Fair, that is!….

At the entrance to the Marloth Park Honorary Rangers Winter Fair.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

This was a first…three warthogs sleeping in the yard, from left to right, Tusker, Little Wart Face, and Ms. Warthog, who the two boys were both interested in courting.

Yesterday, Saturday afternoon, we drove the short distance to Henk Van Rooyen Park located on the Crocodile River to attend the annual Marloth Park Honorary Rangers Winter Fair. We had no idea what to expect.
Each year the Honorary Rangers work hard to present this festive fundraiser and social event for the residents and visitors of Marloth Park. The entrance fee was a paltry ZAR 20 (US $1.46) per person, paid at the entrance gate.

Marloth Park Conservancy display with educational information about wildlife.

Once inside the gate, we didn’t have trouble finding a parking spot that had Tom concerned a few days before the event. He always worries about traffic and parking. It must be a “guy thing.” I never give either a thought. With attendees coming and going to the day-long event, it was easy to slide into a convenient spot without concern.

A display of a variety of plant and animals items.

Within moments of entering the fair, we started running into people we knew, which surprised and pleased us both. We knew we’d met many beautiful people in the past almost five months in Marloth Park, but until many were assembled at the public venue, we had no idea how many we’d come to know.

Many locally made handicrafts were offered for sale.

We purchased raffle tickets, played a game, and Tom enjoyed a big glass of beer for only ZAR 25 ($1.82).  Wandering by and stopping at many of the kiosks, we engaged in lively conversations with people we knew and many new people we met. We’re always amazed by how friendly the locals are here in the park. We’ve been made to feel so welcomed.

This lovely Honorary Ranger was equally friendly as all of the others we encountered at the fair.

It’s not always easy for local people to readily welcome strangers to their special place. Often, new people are left feeling like “outsiders,” but this has never been the case here.

Of course, there’s always jewelry for sale at fairs.

We realized that as of late, we’d posted a few “controversial” stories that could make particular residents uncomfortable. Never for a moment did we feel any strain or judgment from any participants at the event or otherwise.

A band played during the festivities.

Let’s face it, and this is a tiny town. There are currently 4355 properties in the park, including yet-to-be-built “stands” (lots or plots of land). These stats may be found at this demographics site here.

Picnic tables were available for those eating, drinking, or chatting.

In speaking with locals since we arrived on February 11th, we’ve heard that there may be less than 1000 property owners in the park at any given time. Of course, there are always several hundred tourists staying in holiday homes, such as us, although not necessarily for as long as we do.

Three of our friends were operating the beer kiosk from left to right in the center, Paul, John, and Sandra.

Many homeowners have homes in other locations, many right here in South Africa in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, and many other cities. Then, many homeowners from the Netherlands, the UK, and many other parts of the world.

Our friend Evan was selling soda and water.

Overall, most of the people we’ve met are native South Africans or have become residents/citizens of South Africa from other parts of the world. Oddly, as we’ve mentioned in prior posts, other than friends Kathy and Don, we’ve yet to meet any residents, property owners, or tourists from the US. 

There were several old telephones on the top shelf in this display, along with other antique-type items.

We assume few Americans here due to the long distance and the high cost to fly back and forth between any US state and Marloth Park. There aren’t many. As of today, the round trip fare to fly from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Nelspruit/Mpumalanga, South Africa, is (as of today’s best rate) is ZAR 38,441 (US $2800) per person, and the flight is over 34 hours. 

Handmade beaded wildlife characters.

Can you imagine how costly and time-consuming it would be for US citizens to fly back and forth to their “vacation/holiday” in Marloth Park three or four times a year? Few people choose this type of location for a second or third home due to these facts.

More jewelry…

We’ve yet to go to Kruger with all the holidaymakers here right now. I’ve seen a few videos from sightings in Kruger, and the cars were backed up on the tar road. As mentioned above, we prefer to go to Kruger when the traffic dies down a little. Perhaps, we’ll attempt sometime this week between planned social events or the following week.

Artist’s renditions of wildlife along with an array of skulls, horns, and tusks.

The “school holiday” for South Africans ends on July 17th. Then, there will be many more Europeans and others coming to Marloth for their summer holiday.  All of this should taper off by mid-August. By the time we return from Zambia on August 23rd, it should be quiet again in the park, at least until Christmas, when it is packed with tourists once again.

This was my favorite.  For ZAR 20 (US $1.46), a participant could pull one of the tangled strings to see which bottles they pulled as their prize.  We took two tries for ZAR 40 ($2.92).  See what I “won” in the photo below.

A special thank you to all Marlothians who’ve made us feel so welcomed in your magical place and, thanks to all of our readers for sharing it all with us!

Here’s what I won, a large bottle of tomato sauce and bottled water, both of which we’ll certainly use.

May your day be as bright and sunny as we expect ours to be.

 Photo from one year ago today, July 1, 2017:

Wayzata Bay is only a tiny portion of huge Lake Minnetonka with over 14,000 acres and 140 miles of shoreline where we boated for many years. For more details, please click here.