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| Dad and his offspring posing for a photo we’d taken on yesterday’s drive. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| The elephant’s hides appear black after they’ve been in the river. |
It was a slow start to the day today. I spent almost two hours early this morning talking to my sister Julie on Skype, most of which was spent laughing. Then, I spent time prepping for tonight’s dinner with the help of a new appliance Louise and Danie purchased for our use, as a most exciting surprise, a food processor, as shown in the photo below.
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| This handy food processor will save so much time for food prep. |
The use of this handy appliance will cut my chopping and dicing down about 80%, saving time for more important things in life, like watching wildlife, taking photos, socializing, and enjoying our day-to-day lives. With the new knives, cutting board, and this appliance, kitchen tasks have a whole new meaning.
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| We always laugh when seeing ostriches with their mouths open which helps them stay cool. When we took this photo yesterday, it was 37C (98.6F). Today it’s much cooler. |
After my vegetables were ready to be roasted in the oven, we realized it was time for Tom’s haircut at the local salon/barber next to Daisy’s Den. We purchased birdseed and other miscellaneous items.
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| Yesterday we encountered an extraordinary elephant sighting on the Crocodile River when we counted over 50 of the magnificent beasts. |
We turned off the oven, knowing we’d be back in no time and could fire it up when we returned. With these few distractions, we’re now back at the house, and I’m making every effort to get today’s post uploaded before too long.
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| This photo was an optical illusion…quite confusing. |
Today starts yet another school holiday, and three houses close to us are involved in one type of construction or another. There’s lots of noise, to say the least, which will probably continue for several days.
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| This lone elephant, covered in mud from the wading in the river |
When there’s noise to this degree, the wildlife stays away. This morning we noticed our favorite male bushbuck considering coming into our garden. But, he stayed hidden on the side of the house, fearful of all the noise. As hard as we tried to encourage him to approach, he wasn’t willing to take the risk.
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| We realize that many of our photos consist of elephants. But, it’s difficult to resist the lure of these magical animals. |
As much as we talk to the animals and feed them pellets and vegetables, they still are wild animals, and they must feel safe to approach. Subsequently, we expect these next several days until the holiday period ends on Sunday night, to be very noisy from people and very quiet from wildlife.
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| There were quite a few youngsters in the parade. |
We’ll have to entertain ourselves otherwise. We’re curious to see how tonight rolls out when the noise is made for the day, but the park will be filled with arriving tourists, talking loud, playing loud music in their cars, driving fast, and filling up the bumpy dirt roads with traffic.
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| Based on the heat of the day, many of them assembled at the river. |
By the time we return from Zambia and Botswana on August 23rd, the holiday season will almost be entirely over, with tourists no longer arriving as often from summer in Europe and other parts of the world.
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| Waterbucks always stay close to the river. |
After this holiday season ends, it should be relatively quiet here in Marloth Park until the Christmas holiday season begins. Four and a half years ago, we were here during that period, and indeed it was pretty busy.
When we arrived on December 2, 2013 (click here for that link), we had no frame of reference for how quiet it can be here. When the holiday season ended after the first of the year, the peace became blissful. Surely, it will be that way again soon.
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| It’s incredible how they maneuver their heavy bodies up steep embankments. |
For today, we’ll lay low as we continue with research for our future travels. It’s a never-ending process as we delve into countries we’d like to visit in years to come. For now, we’ve decided our current itinerary will work for us, although it will require a very long travel day(s) when we leave Kenya on March 8th.
Tomorrow, we’ll shop in Komatipoort and Lebombo. My phone’s screen suddenly cracked all over (I didn’t drop it), and I need a replacement that can last until we return to the US in April.
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| It’s always challenging taking photos impeded by the wire fence between Marloth Park and Kruger. But, we do somehow manage to work around it for most shots. |
There’s a phone store by the market, and hopefully, I’ll find something satisfactory. In Africa, they tend to carry older models of digital equipment of any type, so we’ll see how it goes. I’ll report back here with what I’ve found.
Enjoy today’s photos taken yesterday on a scorching day as we drove along the Crocodile River. The extreme heat brought many elephants down the steep embankment to the river, and we had the heavenly benefit of watching them cool off.
Have a cool and calm day!
Photo from one year ago today, August 8, 2017:
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| In La Perla villa in Costa Rice, a double garage was below the screening room. The maintenance man and groundskeeper, Ulysses, has an apartment to the left of the garage. Otherwise, we occupied the remainder of the gorgeous house. For more details, please click here. |