World travel friends inquire…Visa questions…

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We took this photo on Volstruis Street. The word volstruis means ostrich in Afrikaans.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Wildebeest Willie and a friend, along with some warthogs at night.

Today, as late as it is, we’re rushing through the post to get it uploaded before 1700 hours (5:00 pm) when the evening’s festivities begin. As a result, there’s no rhyme or reason to today’s photos which include a bit of this and that.

Not only do they gravitate toward the river for food but also for water, where they drink, play, and swim.

We just returned from Kruger National Park for another fantastic day we’ll be sharing in tomorrow’s post, for which we’ll have plenty of time to prepare as opposed to today’s limited time frame.

Trying out a few of the camera techniques I learned from friend Ken, I still see that I have a long way to go.

Over this past almost six months in South Africa, we’ve become more and more interested in visiting Kruger, but it seems to make sense to arrive before noon resulting in our frequent late posting. 

If visitors arrive after midnight, it’s required to go into the building to access the park. This may result in a 30 minute or longer wait during busy days.

This photo better represents what I’ve been practicing. 

As it is, driving through the entrance booths can take as long as 10 or 15 minutes per vehicle. Once we cross the Crocodile Bridge, we’re anxious to get inside to begin our favorite route.

On another note, we can’t believe we’re leaving for our next visa run in a little over three weeks. Where did the time go? These 90 day periods we’re allowed to stay in South Africa are flying by so quickly. It’s undoubtedly frustrating we have to leave, but it’s the only solution we see available at this time.

Speaking of visas, a few minutes ago, we were talking on Skype with friends Lea Ann and Chuck, whom we met while on a cruise, Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Sea, from Sydney to Seattle. We’ve stayed in touch over these past many months.  They had visa-related and other questions to ask.

I’m not a “natural” photographer making it extremely difficult to learn all the nuances, but I’m determined to improve over time.

Soon, Lea Ann and Chuck will embark on their own world travel journey, and of course, they encountered some concerns about visas for specific situations. We suggested they contact one of the many visa processing companies for finite details.

But, we were able to give them an overview of a few situations we’ve encountered along the way, including our experience in being “illegal aliens” in Australia last year due to a closed-loop cruise.

A giraffe near two waterbucks.

For one of many posts describing our illegal alien status in Australia, please click here. Luckily, after considerable time and effort, we were able to work it all out and leave on the cruise where we met Lea Ann and Chuck on our way back to the US to see family.

In speaking with Lea Ann and Chuck, we’re reminded of how vast our experiences have been since 2012 and how grateful we are for every experience, good and bad. We’ve learned a lot from our mistakes and, on occasion, prided ourselves on good decisions we’ve made along the way.

We always enjoy watching elephants crossing a river or a road.

However, continuing to travel the world, which we’ll commence with even more mobility beginning next February, is always a “work in progress.” The learning, along with our personal growth as individuals and a couple, is an ongoing process.

Today, as we drove through Kruger for several hours, we relived many of the details of the early stages of our relationship. At that time, we were the most “unlikely” couple to succeed as anyone we’d ever known. Our differences were many.

The green grasses along the river are pleasing to the elephants.

And yet, here we are 27 years later, and we’ve decided we couldn’t have been better matched in general and for this extraordinary life we live. The likelihood of two people willing to live this life and doing so with love, respect, peace, and harmony is hard to envision.

A lone elephant across the river.

We wish Lea Ann and Chuck, another happy couple, the very best life together as they continue to plan their world travel adventures. We have no doubt they’ll be as content and fulfilled as we have been!

Happy day and evening to all!

Photo from one year ago today, July 24, 2017:

The heat and dust create a haze over the desert, often impeding views of the mountains.  For more photos, please click here.

A Sunday drive in the neighborhood…Pinch me, am I dreaming?…

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This was one of our favorite sightings of the day, three giraffes drinking together on the Crocodile River.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

We’ve posted other photos of hornbills in our bird feeder, but we can’t ever get enough of these pretty birds.

After uploading the day’s post and busying myself making a special Sunday dinner, I suggested we go for our drive…in this case, a “Sunday drive.” I recall as a kid going for a drive on Sunday afternoons, and it was extraordinary. 

I grew up in Long Beach, California (except for two years in Boston). A Sunday drive usually consisted of visiting one of many exceptional beaches on the Pacific Coast Highway.

The above main photo is from a distance. 

When Tom was a child, typically, his family would drive from Minneapolis to Winsted, Minnesota (72 km, 45 miles) to visit family. It was often too cool to swim in the ocean in the winter months, but the drive and a stop for an ice cream cone were all it took to make the day special. He, too, had some great memories of those days.

Now, as we’ve aged and are “relatively” retired as world travelers, Sundays are just another pleasant day of the week, especially since we’ve re-instituted our old-fashioned Sunday drive.

Giraffes rarely bend over to the ground other than for drinking. They are highly vulnerable to predators in this position.

However, a Sunday drive in Marloth Park is like none other anywhere else in the world. As always, Tom washed the little car’s windows since, at times, sightings occur in front of us on the road, and we have no choice but to take photos through the windscreen (windshield in the US).

A wildlife wonderland.

We load a newly charged battery in the camera, clean the camera lens with a soft cloth and pack an extra battery in Tom’s pants pocket. We fill our mugs with iced tea, Crystal Lite for Tom, and green tea with cinnamon for me, and we’re off.

Over the past 5½ months, we’ve learned to keep our expectations in check. On occasion, we may see little more than helmeted guinea fowls (of which we have dozens in our garden), impalas, and a variety of baboons and Vervet monkeys.

Zooming in on this “obstinancy” of cape buffaloes, we see where they got this plural name. They certainly do appear obstinate and, in fact, are referred to as the “Black Death” based on the number of people they kill each year.

For first-time visitors seeing the above could be most satisfying. But, now, after a total of 8½ months in Marloth Park, including our prior three months in 2013/2014, impalas, although adorable, guinea fowls and monkeys are seldom subjects of photos unless something is exciting transpiring.

As for baboons, which are destructive and may be dangerous, we have no interest in them at all, preferring to stay away as much as possible. The exception may be if a large troupe came to the garden for a possible photo op. Of course, it’s imperative not to feed them, or they’ll never go away.

In this distant photo, it appeared the many cape buffaloes were piled atop one another.  They do stay close to one another when lounging…safety in numbers.

As for the rest of the wildlife, we’re interested in it all, from the unusual insects to tiny frogs to the massive elephants. I suppose most of the residents in Marloth Park feel the same, except we noticed the next-door neighbors feeding the Vervet monkeys over the weekend. 

They leave for their other home, and then we’re left with the monkeys pestering us. We cannot stress enough how destructive they can be. They can literally destroy every item on a veranda or the inside a house in a matter of minutes.

Elephants are always an exciting sighting.

Side note:  a few minutes ago, a hornbill was sitting on a tree limb squawking at us.  Tom checked and found the birdfeeder almost empty of bird seeds. He refilled it, and moments later, the hornbill was back inside the feeder as content as she could be, with several following her. That precipitated today’s “sighting of the day” photo above.

We began the Sunday drive around 1330 hours (1:30 pm) and never made it back “home” until almost 1600 hours (4:00 pm).  What a day we had while merely on a Sunday drive through Marloth Park, mainly focusing on activity on the river.

As we ended our drive along the river road, we spotted elephants close to the fence between Marloth Park and Kruger National Park. This was a first for us, but Kathy and Don’s friends who live on the river road told us this occurs occasionally.

The areas around the bush houses had few animals since many holidaymakers were still here spending a long weekend or more. But, once we reached the river, the sightings were over-the-top. 

We’d drive a short distance with our eyes peeled toward the river, see something, park the little car on the road to walk through the dense bush at times. I was wearing jeans and socks, but Tom was in shorts, scratching up his legs in the process. 

Wildebeests and zebras visiting holidaymakers. They had a small bag of pellets that tourists often buy when they are here for a weekend or longer stay. 

Some indigenous and invasive plants can cause a nasty rash, infection, or even serious injury, so I always make sure my legs are covered. We’d recently read of a woman who died (in another area in South Africa) by a neurotoxin in a plant that had scratched her leg while walking in the bush. 

One can’t be too careful. Next time, he’ll wear long pants. Also, it’s important to wear insect repellent since we aren’t taking malaria pills this year in Africa except for our visa trips to Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.

There were giraffes munching on trees in Marloth Park and more drinking on the river.

Anyway, the day was outstanding! We spotted more wildlife in this short period of time than we’d ever seen in Kruger during the same period. It kept coming and coming. Each time we thought we were done for the day, we encountered more sightings. 

Back at our holiday home, a few animals were waiting for us, Ms. Bushbuck and Little Wart Face. We gave them each a little pile of pellets and vegetables in separate areas so LWF wouldn’t chase her away. They happily munch on their treats, both returning in the evening for yet another round.

Yesterday, we saw no less than 100 cape buffaloes at the Crocodile River.

Today, we’ll lay low, enjoying yet another hot and sunny day at 25C (77F) while situated on the veranda, as usual, contemplating our next trip to Kruger and drive in Marloth Park. Of course, we won’t be waiting until next Sunday for either.

Have a warm and sunny day!

Photo from one year ago today, July 23, 2017:

The lights on the Strip at night are always impressive. It’s hard to believe it was a year ago we were in Las Vegas spending this fun evening, among many others, with son Richard and friends. For more photos, please click here.

Lions lounging…Anticipation…Dangerous small antelope…

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Difficult to distinguish in this photo. Two male lions are sleeping.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

With the male bushbuck in the yard munching on pellets, this female hid in the bush until he left.

After a pleasant evening out to dinner with friends, we were home shortly after 2200 hours (10:00 pm). I couldn’t fall asleep when I went to bed at least an hour before Tom for some odd reason.

Tom spotted this lion napping across the Crocodile River as we peered through the fence between Marloth Park and Kruger.

Finally, by midnight, I dozed off, only to awaken every hour or so. By morning, I hadn’t slept for more than three or four hours, asking myself what possibly could have caused the poor night’s sleep. Nothing had changed. I hadn’t had any caffeine or eaten anything that would precipitate such a stormy night.

He was at quiet a distance, making me struggle to hold the camera steady for these shots.

Subsequently, I was relatively pooped when I began today’s post, a little later than usual after I’d made breakfast (Tom did the dishes), did laundry (Tom hung it on the clothesline), and prepared the majority of tonight’s dinner. 

I was dozing off sitting at the big table on the veranda on a gorgeous warm sunny day. By 10:30 am, I headed back to bed (an infrequent occurrence for me) to try for a short nap.

Male bushbuck can be dangerous with their sharp horns.  See this article where a farmer was gored to death by a male bushbuck.

After spending an hour and a half in the bedroom, sleeping only about 20 minutes, I felt considerably better and returned outdoors to Tom, who’d stayed in place at the table while I was trying to nap.

Somewhat refreshed, I knew I’d better get going on today’s post, or I’d be sitting here all day. On this gorgeous day, we’d like to do our usual drive in the park, especially after what we’d seen two days ago when we stopped along the river road and walked through the dense bush to get to the fence between Marloth Park and Kruger National Park.

Tourists should not hand feed any animals with horns. 

We’d spotted several vehicles parked on the narrow road and a dozen or so people armed with binoculars and cameras looking across the Crocodile River. We love it when others find incredible sightings, and we follow suit.

The sky changed dramatically while we were in Kruger a few days ago.

But, this is not as easy as you’d think. The terrain and the color of the lions are an identical match, and bringing them into view on a camera is often tricky. Others who’ve spotted them will often say, “Oh, they are near that big bush, next to the tree.”

There are dozens of big bushes and trees on the opposite side of the distant bank of the river. We’ve often seen people leaving in total frustration when they couldn’t see them after trying for an hour or more.

Female bushbuck were preparing for a drink in the cement pond.

As all of our readers so well know, we’re stubborn and determined and will try and try until we get it right. Why is it worth it to go through the angst of trying to get the wildlife in the camera’s lens for such a distant shot?

Tom says it’s like fishing. You sit. You wait. Nothing happens. Time passes slowly. Finally, you catch a fish, only to take a photo, carefully remove the hook from the fish’s mouth and toss it back in the lake, the river, or the sea.

Sugar cane burning at a distance.

Go figure. What’s with us humans? Why do we get such pleasure out of this? The only answer we can come up with is this: ANTICIPATION! It’s a magical thing.

The burning of sugar cane fields is almost daily, often leaving our white tiled veranda covered in soot based on wind conditions.

We’re reminded of Carly Simon’s famous song, found here as we say this word aloud. Yes, it’s anticipation that drives us to make the weekly run to Kruger, the almost daily drive in Marloth Park, and to sit on the veranda when we’re not doing either and wait, morning, noon and night.

A bloat of hippos.

The funny thing about anticipation is that one must occasionally experience “results,” or the interest would fade away in time. Here, in South Africa, in this unusual place, we’re rewarded with results over and over again.

May anticipation bring you the results you’re seeking today and always!  

Photo from one year ago today, July 22, 2017:

As always, we had a great evening at The Elephant Bar with friends while we were in Las Vegas, Nevada, last year at this time. For more photos, please click here.

Part 2, Kruger National Park reaps many rewards…Supporting other travelers in their quest to travel the world…

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The pillow-like puffs of white clouds against the bright blue sky and a few elephants create a heavenly scene in Kruger.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

This cute little bird landed in our bird feeder. According to our helpful friend Lynne, this is a juvenile male red-headed weaver.  Thanks, Lynne!

Not a day passes that we don’t hear from some of our readers contemplating changing their lives to travel the world. They often have many questions we’re always more than willing to answer based on our personal experiences over this past almost six years.

It’s always thrilling to see elephants along the road.

We’ve had little to offer in a few cases when the inquirer is planning to backpack, stay in hostels, or use an RV, camper, or caravan. But, the majority of inquiries revolve around places we’d suggest, holiday/vacation home rental sites we prefer, health insurance and medical care, refilling prescriptions, car rentals, credit cards to use, visas, and the most cost-effective means of converting money.

Elephants crossing the road is extra special.

We are always happy to oblige and most often respond within 24 hours. The irony of it all is that everyone travels differently. No single person or couple seems to do it precisely as we do.

And most exciting when large numbers of elephants cross the road.

That’s the beauty of the vast numbers of primarily retirees/baby boomers who are making the drastic decision to change their lives. The single most significant difference in the way we travel and how others travel or desiring to travel may include some of these:

  • We have no home, apartment, condo, or bedroom in the homes of family or friends where we go for downtime or regrouping. 
  • We have no storage anywhere. We unloaded everything we owned in our old lives.
  • We own no rental property, often the traveler(s) former residence they keep in case “they change their minds” or tire of traveling.  This may be a significant source of worry and stress; maintenance, management, rental issues, wear and tear, and market conditions. We each had owned homes for over four decades.
On our way to the Mug & Bean restaurant on Lower Sabie, we noticed it was raining at a distance. We certainly need rain here but most likely won’t encounter much for several months.
  • Typically we stay in vacation/holiday homes for one to three months. (Although this year in Africa is a rare exception, as mentioned in yesterday’s post, where we’re recovering from the big expense of the Antarctica cruise).
  • Often, for short stays, we negotiate special pricing for hotels while we await the next venue.
  • We use cruising as much as possible as a means of transportation while providing living arrangements during the sailing period. We don’t think of cruising as a holiday or vacation. 

We have minimal luggage. If we purchase something to add to our bags, we must dispose of something else. Maximum kilogram per bag: 23 (50 pounds)

A waterbuck is looking across the river for possible predators.
  • We do not stay in the homes of family and friends.  We don’t want to burden anyone with our peculiarities, nor do we expect a free ride (except for son Richard in Henderson, Nevada, where we’ll stay for a few weeks every two to three years. Thanks, Ricky!)
  • We don’t have a “bucket list.” If we discover something along the way we’d like to do, we research, analyze the costs, and make a decision to include it in our itinerary.
  • We often book some events two years in advance to continue shaping our itinerary. We thoroughly enjoy the planning process, with each of us playing a very active role.
  • Every day, 365 days a year, we spend half of each day documenting our daily lives with photos. Doing so is not a chore for us. It’s a pure pleasure! We can write about the second part of each day we spend experiencing aspects of our lives the following day.
  • Our overall goal: stress-free living.
There’s never a shortage of moms and babies.  From this site: “Elephants have the longest gestation period of all mammals. These gentle giants’ pregnancies last for more than a year and a half. The average gestation period for an elephant is about 640 to 660 days or roughly 95 weeks. By comparison, a human pregnancy lasts an average of 280 days or 40 weeks. Female elephants live for 60 to 70 years, but only have about four offspring throughout their lifetime.”

None of the above is stated to imply that the way we’re doing it is ideal. However, over these years, we’ve fine-tuned our goals, objectives, and expectations and are content with how we’ve chosen this path in life.

From this site: “The South African giraffe (G. c. giraffa) is found in northern South Africa, southern Botswana, southern Zimbabwe, and south-western Mozambique. It has dark, somewhat rounded patches “with some fine projections” on a tawny background color. The spots extend down the legs and get smaller. The median lump of males is less developed. A maximum of 31,500 are estimated to remain in the wild, and around 45 are kept in zoos.”

However, we always welcome inquiries regardless of the ways you may choose to travel. Please don’t hesitate to inquire at any time. Also, if you know of someone interested in long-term lifestyle travel, please forward our site to their email.

Two giraffes are crossing the road near a historical marker on the paved road.

Tonight, we’re heading out to dinner with friends Sandra and Paul (both MP Honorary Rangers), who happens to live a few doors down the road from us. No doubt, as always, it will be an enjoyable evening with this lovely couple.

In certain parts of Africa, giraffes are being killed for their tails used as a status symbol. For a video and story on this horrifying practice, please click here.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with lion sighting photos! Please check back!

Have a beautiful weekend.

Photo from one year ago today, July 21, 2017:

We purchased our new Brother color scanner in Nevada to replace the five-year-old Doxie model we used in the past.  For details on living a paper-free lifestyle, please click here.

Part 1, Kruger National Park reaps many rewards…A gruesome reality…Plus, cucarachas…

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Although this may appear gruesome, this is the reality of life in the wild. Most likely, a lion killed and devoured this cape buffalo which was later “finished off” by vultures that we saw hovering when we first spotted this scene.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

We were parked at the edge of the shore of Sunset Dam when this croc emerged from the water. Wow!

Sometimes when we go to Kruger National Park, we encounter breathtaking and unusual scenes. Yesterday was a little different. There wasn’t any particular incident or sighting that left us reeling as usual. 

Several vehicles had stopped to observe this kill.  We waited until we could get a better shot and zoomed in.  See the main photo for more detail.

Were we disappointed? Not at all. It’s not always the mind-blowing experiences that make it a good trip into Kruger. Instead, we encountered a wide array of birds and wildlife, which we’ll share over the next few days.

Hippos and impala at a distance on the Sabie River in Kruger.

Often, it’s the more subtle sightings that make us appreciate the simplicity of it all…wildlife living in their natural habitat, continually on the search for food, procreation, and a degree of comfort when possible. We, humans, are so much like them, aren’t we?

We take a side dirt road each time we go to Kruger and often see this wildebeest sitting under this same tree.  I guess  that explains how we’re all “creatures of habit.”

We began first thing in the morning to make the 20-minute drive to the Crocodile Bridge with a plan to drive to Lower Sabie to the Mug and Bean restaurant for a leisurely lunch. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but where in the world can one jump into their car and be in wildlife nirvana in 20 minutes? 

Now that we’ve fallen in love with Wildebeest Willie, we are particularly passionate about these calm and peaceful animals.
We never fail to appreciate this fact, nor do we ever get tired of seeing elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, warthogs, rhinos, and so much more. One might think that since we can drive five minutes to the river in Marloth Park and almost always seeing elephants, that after a while, it could become mundane.
From this site: “An omnivorous bird, the Yellow-billed Hornbill, feeds mainly on the ground surface, where they forage for seeds, small insects, spiders, and scorpions. This is the bird we see most often in Marloth and Kruger Park, the hornbill. Termites and ants are a preferred food source in the dry season.”

It doesn’t. Each time we spot the magnificent beasts, we’re reminded of how fortunate we are to be here. Often, we ask ourselves and each other…”How did we get to be here? How could we have lived our lives without these amazing
experiences?”

An “implausibility” of wildebeest.

Previously, we’d mentioned that one of the reasons we chose to stay in Africa for so long was to “lick our wounds” from the costly Antarctica cruise, which was well beyond the limits of our yearly budget. To see the total expenses for the Antarctica cruise, please click here and scroll down the page for the information.

Impalas and warthogs are stopping for a drink.

But, we knew in doing so, it would be “heaven on earth” spending more time on the continent of Africa. Usually, “to lick one’s wounds” requires a certain degree of sacrifice. There’s been no sacrifice here.

This was the first time we’d ever seen a cape buffalo crossing the tar road. They are one of the “Big 5,” including the leopard, lion, elephant, and rhino.

Sure, there are inconveniences and occasional discomforts compared to living in some other parts of the world. However, we’ve adapted so well, we hardly notice anymore. 

Hippos resting on a sandbar on the Sabie River.  Note the number of oxpeckers on the hippos hides!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had many cockroaches (aka cucarachas in Spanish) in the house. Usually, one thinks of dirt and filth about the disgusting cockroaches. We have them here, and we had them in Costa Rica, both very clean and newer properties. 

This is a white-fronted bee-eater from this site: White-fronted bee-eaters nest in colonies averaging 200 individuals, digging roosting and nesting holes in cliffs or banks of earth. A population of bee-eaters may range across many square kilometers of savannah but will come to the same colony to roost, socialize, and breed. White-fronted bee-eaters have one of the most complex family-based social systems found in birds.”

Picture this, you’re taking a shower, and you see a cockroach crawling up out of the drain. The weird thing here is that they were crawling up out of the drain in the shower. This surely could be a scream-worthy event. 

These dark-capped bulbuls hang around for scraps from diners at the Mug and Bean restaurant in Lower Sabie, where we stopped for lunch yesterday. 

We don’t scream. Tom sprayed the shower, but when it didn’t resolve the issue, Louise and Danie came to the rescue with a particular product they use specifically for these situations. For a while, we won’t see them again. 

Yellow-billed storks lined the shore of Sunset Dam in Lower Sabie.

This is Africa, and they’ll return. Along with zillions of mosquitoes when the rainy season comes in the spring and then the humid summer heat with snakes and insects everywhere. We were here in the summer of 2014. We managed then. We’ll manage again.

Zebra stopping for a drink in the lake.

There will be a trade-off then; the return of dung beetles, which we love to see; the newborns of many of the wildlife; the blooming the bright red Flame Trees and the Sausage Trees and, it goes on and on. There’s so much to distract us from any possible inconveniences.

Another croc emerged for a breath of fresh air.  Crocs may stay underwater for up to an hour when they feel threatened.

Soon, we’ll be off for our usual exploratory drive in Marloth Park. Who knows what we’ll see? It’s now approaching the weekend, and holidaymakers are flooding the park once again. Today the wildlife “traffic” in our garden has already diminished a bit as the crowds move in for the weekend.

Several crocs at Sunset Dam, lounging in the sun.

We’ll be patient, and before too long, it will be Monday again, and everything will be right with the world, this world, right here and right now.

May everything be right in your world today and always.

Photo from one year ago today, July 20, 2017:

While in Las Vegas, I made these homemade hamburger buns (the recipe is shown at this link here) are huge enough to hold a 6 to 8-ounce patty with cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onion or other items added. They’re easy to make and delicious!  Please click here for more.

Zebra Day!…Watch our exciting zebra video!!!…It keeps on giving and giving…

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This video of yesterday’s zebra antics in the garden features the tiniest foals
we’ve seen to date.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

One of the older foals needed a rest.

A few hours ago, we returned from our five-hour outing to Kruger National Park. I’m rushing a bit to get today’s post uploaded since the evening adventures begin soon. Tomorrow, we’ll be back with some stunning photos, which we’re excited to share with all new sightings. Please stop by to see!

It started with just a few, but they kept coming to join in on the action in the garden.

Yesterday, we had a steady stream of visitors throughout the day. We were gone for a few hours to shop in Komatipoort, but we were anxious to get back and see what surprises were in store for us.

This foal was so young, it seemed a little dazed and confused, never once paying any attention to the pellets and vegetable.

We weren’t disappointed. No more than two minutes after we parked the little car in the driveway, they started coming. Ms. Bushbuck and baby and friend were the first to arrive, followed by a “sounder” of warthogs, many we know, some we did not.

The dazzle consisted mainly of females along with the three youngsters.

While Tom tossed the pellets, I cut up vegetables. It was only 1600 hrs. (4:00 pm) and we had an inkling it would be a hectic evening in the bush. How right we were!

The baby’s hair was a little curly and fluffy. Her face was dirty from the dust kicked up during the visit.

Still reeling from the 17 kudus that stopped by for an hour on Monday morning after the tourist traffic in the park had considerably thinned out, our expectations weren’t high.

She tried to suckle a few times, but mom was more interested in pellets at the moment than in feeding her young.

We had several excellent sightings on the Crocodile River with more wildlife than we could have imagined, indeed “safari luck,” when the presence of tourists has no bearing on how many animals stop to drink and eat on and near the Crocodile River. 

The gestation period for African zebras is typically 13 months.

After staying busy with the visitors on hand, we heard the thunderous sounds of hooves of zebras as they barreled their way through the dense bush to get to the ample open space in our garden, where they all congregate when they stop by.

Please leave it to Little Wart Face to get in on the action. He always seems to be hovering nearby, watching and waiting.

The next-door neighbors who periodically stay in their bush home purchased a large bale of hay before leaving for their other home somewhere, going it in their driveway for the animals to eat.

Success, a moment of nursing!

(We don’t know these neighbors since they only stay for a few days and then depart. We’ve never made an effort to introduce ourselves, nor have they). We were sad to see the bale of hay, a breeding ground for bacteria, with the animals passing diseases between themselves, especially bovine tuberculosis. 

Zebras tend to stay physically close to one another, although they can be feisty when food is offered.

For this reason, we’ve never considered having one of those at our holiday home, although there was one here, half gone, when we arrived in February. Before we knew about bovine TB and other diseases that wildlife can pass amongst themselves when eating the hay bales or from a trough.

This female stood with her nose touching the glass on the little car for at least 10 minutes. We wondered what that was all about.  She could have been staring at her reflection.

But, how do you approach a neighbor, especially when we don’t know them, and we’re “only renters,” to tell them not to use a trough, a bale of hay, or a mineral block which the wildlife so freely love and share?

This smallest of the foals stayed as close to mom as possible.

First, we noticed the zebras at the neighbor’s home engrossed in the hay.  From time to time, they’d look our way. We are waiting patiently. We knew they’d come. And, they did indeed.

A playful pair.

The most exciting part of their visit saw the tiniest zebra we’d seen during this stay in Marloth Park or four and a half years ago when we were here. Not only was there the smallest foal, as shown in the above video and photos, but there were two other foals in the “dazzle” of 11 zebras. 

After the play, they cuddled and sniffed one another.

Funny thing, as I write this now, a day later, there are three zebras in the garden, all males. They’re now heading over the hay bale along with a half dozen helmeted guinea fowls who followed them.

This female was scratching her nose on the end of the fence.  Zebras often scratch themselves of any available protrusion.

Little Wart Face is the only pig here now, and he enjoys any pellets of vegetables the zebras may have missed. Even the guinea fowl, who find the pellets too large to swallow, peck at them to break them up into smaller pieces. The competition for pellets is astounding, often resulting in head-butting and kicking.

The foal seemed lost and confused.

As an aside, while we stood on the edge of the veranda, one of the zebras bit my shoe when I didn’t tender the pellets quickly enough for her liking. We laughed out loud. I was glad I was wearing my runners since that bite could have been painful!

The mom and baby were the last to leave when the others had wandered next door to the bale of hay.

Now that we’re back from Kruger, we’ll prepare dinner and soon set up the veranda for the evening’s entertainment. Who will it be tonight? We shall find out soon enough!

Oops! Wildebeest Willie just showed up! Have to go…

Have a pleasant day and evening!

Photo from one year ago today, July 19, 2017:

The yellow Costco bag was filled with the remainder of the packages we handled yesterday, including the new portable scanner we ordered when our old unit broke in Minneapolis. For more photos, please click here.

Booking for the future…St. Petersburg…Hard to imagine life beyond the bush…

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When capturing this hippo and cattle egret in the bright sun from quite a distance, we didn’t realize there was a croc in the photo until we loaded the photo on my laptop. 

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

A new warthog visitor with an injured left wart. He’s since been back a few times in the past two days. It didn’t appear to be bleeding or oozing. There are several ways this injury could have transpired.

Today, we’d tentatively planned to go to Kruger. Still, when deciding on what to cook for tonight’s dinner, I realized a trip to Komatipoort to shop was more critical when we ran out of fresh vegetables and other household goods.

Instead, weather permitting, we’ll head to Kruger tomorrow after getting a head start on the day’s post early in the morning. That’s the magic of this life we lead…we can do whatever we’d like, whenever we’d like, and change plans at the last minute if we’d like. 

Mom and baby are on the banks of the Crocodile River with the remainder of their parade nearby.

But changing BIG plans in this life presents several obstacles, mainly due to money with deposits (or full fares) paid for holiday homes, flights, hotels, and cruises we’ve already booked.

Having control over the smaller daily plans is a beautiful part of being retired and free. Often, we awake with a project in mind we’d discussed the previous day or evening to find ourselves simply “not in the mood” to do what we’d discussed. 

Elephants are frequently found by the river when viewing from Marloth Park.

Fortunately, neither of us minds the other suggestions. We change plans for the day, even for no reason at all, if we so choose. Of course, we don’t change the social plans we’ve made with friends, always adhering strictly to the date, time, and location.

As we look to the future, we realize it’s imperative we make plans for several time slots and events arising after we left Kenya in March 2019. This sounds like a long time away, but in fact, it’s only a mere eight months from now. 

This giraffe was on the opposite side of the river, far from view without zooming in or viewing through Tom’s binoculars.

The two of us are always counting on our fingers to figure out how long it is until the next adventure, not because we want the time to fly quickly but more to gain a perspective of how much time we have left wherever we are at any given time.

Recently, when Tom was perusing CruiseCritic.com, which he does quite frequently, he noticed a posting from a booked passenger for the Baltic cruise we’d booked for August 11, 2019, from Amsterdam to Amsterdam on Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas.

Two waterbucks on a sandbar in the river.

The passenger couple sought participants for an upcoming two-day tour (not overnight) when in port overnight in St. Petersburg, Russia. We’ll sleep on the ship but head out each of two days for the nine-hour tours both days of the majestic city.

We jumped at the opportunity to participate in the tours, which will include a maximum of 16 people, which is a lot better and less costly than the tours offered by the cruise line. 

A short time later, an elephant leisurely walks past the two waterbucks.

Most cruise-line-arranged tours are on huge buses, often with as many as 60 passengers per bus, hardly our cup-of-tea making this smaller group option much more appealing.

We committed to participating in the two-day tour from what appears to be a highly reputable company based on reviews, telling the passenger/organizer to let us know when and how to pay the combined around ZAR 7994 (US $600) plus tips for the tour guide.

Zooming in for this scene with many elephants on the river.

After conducting some of our research, we felt this pricing was reasonable for the two nine-hour tours, especially after reviewing the itinerary on the tour company’s website here. 

Here’s the itinerary for the St. Petersburg Russia tour:

2-day Deluxe Tour

16 person max or private | 19hrs. with guide and driver | Includes two lunches | Very active
Our most popular tour–and the most comprehensive tour at the most competitive price on the Baltic–the 2-day Deluxe Tour in St. Petersburg includes two full days of visits to the most sought-after sites, traditional Russian lunches, and an expert but also a personal presentation of the city. This tour is for those who want to make the most of their two days in St. Petersburg.

Guided Visits:

Hermitage Museum (Winter Palace) – Enjoy a guided tour of the museum’s most famous halls, including major highlights such as the Jordan Staircase, the Raphael Loggias, the Pavilion Hall with the famous Peacock clock, and many others, along with the world-class collection of artworks. Our tour is designed to give you a thorough introduction to truly one of the most excellent museums in the world.
Church of our Saviour on the Spilled Blood – The iconic Orthodox church where Alexander II was fatally wounded, the richly decorated exterior, and the exquisite mosaic interior are a must-see for any visitor to St. Petersburg.
St. Isaac’s Cathedral – This is the largest cathedral in St. Petersburg and the fourth largest in the world. This is an awe-inspiring structure from the outside and the inside.
Peter & Paul Fortress and Cathedral – First established in 1703, the original timber fortress was one of the first structures erected in the city. This area has since played an essential role in the history of the town and the country, not only for its military significance but also as a political prison and the burial site of the Russian Tzars.
Peterhof Fountain Park and Gardens – The summer residence of Peter the Great, this estate features meticulously maintained gardens and a collection of gold statued fountains that is unlike anywhere else in the world. The Grand Cascade (the park’s centerpiece) contains 64 sprays alone, with the Samson statue at its center shooting a powerful jet 20 meters into the sky.
**Catherine’s Palace with Amber Room – This Rococo palace was once the summer residence of the Russian Tzars and represented the peak of imperial opulence. A visit wouldn’t be complete without seeing the Amber Room, which has been completed reconstructed in great detail, some say even more exquisitely than the original.
Yusupov Palace – Although not of royal lineage, the Yusupov family was exceptionally wealthy and had significant influence in Russia. Their residence, seated on the bank of the Moyka River, showcases ornately designed rooms, stairwells, and a stunning private theatre. A visit to the room where Rasputin was murdered is also included on tour.
We’re excited about seeing all of these venues but also in having this arranged in advance by a generous passenger who’s chosen to take on the task of organizing it, instead of trying to figure out tours during the cruise itself when WiFi is sketchy and many of the best options are sold out.  

The mom to the right climbed atop a big rock, and the baby tried to follow suit.

In this case, we wouldn’t care to venture off on our own, as we often do, taking a taxi or finding a driver. Also, it’s an excellent opportunity to meet other passengers we may not have met on this 2500 passenger ship.

Mom and baby crossing the shallow water in the river.

We do realize we need to spend more time fine-tuning our itinerary for 2019-2020 and are conducting some online research now. But, it’s pretty hard to tear ourselves away from living in the moment, thoroughly treasuring the gifts Mother Nature presents to us each day.

Another mom and baby as they reached the river bank.

May you experience those gifts of nature as well, whether it be a bird, a flower, or a sunset.

Photo from one year ago today, July 18, 2017:

Dust storm gathering in the desert in Las Vegas. For more photos, please click here.

An outstanding 24-hour period we’ll always remember…

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This morning, we made this video of 17 kudus in the garden. Astounding!
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
We spotted two rangers on the road with rifles. We wondered what that was about. Any comments?

Yesterday was quite a day! With many holidaymakers leaving on Sunday due to the end of the school holiday, the wildlife came out from hiding in the parklands.

This morning’s 17 kudus in the garden. See the above video for details.

Not only did we have visitors from early morning well into the evening, at dusk last night spotted three giraffes in the side yard after hearing the sounds of branches breaking as they made their way through the bush. When we saw the giraffes’ heads through the dense bush, we took off on foot to check it out.

The kudu standing at the edge of the veranda is the same female that constantly licks my foot when she approaches.  I can identify her with a bit of oval notch in her right ear.

We found what appeared to be a mom, dad, and one youngster, most likely around eight or nine months old. We followed them through the neighbor’s garden (no one was there) and out to the parklands, where we stopped to take photos while they were grazing.

Wildebeest Willie and friends stopped by again last night.

The parents didn’t look happy to see us, although we were back by at least 10 meters, so we backed off further, giving them even more space. It was getting late, and visibility was poor from such a distance as we stayed out of sight as much as possible, taking the few photos as shown here today.

Although not all shown in this photo, we had six bushbucks in the garden for the first time.

Soon, we were back on the veranda, ready for the evening’s activities, all of which couldn’t have been more pleasing. They came and came and came, one species after another, often sharing the space with several other species, seem to all be getting along.

Last night, we saw giraffes coming through the parklands next to us.  On foot, we rushed to see them up close to take photos.  But, dad wasn’t too happy with us with his young calf nearby.  We carefully backed away.

When pellets are offered, it’s not unusual to see some head-butting among the same species, let alone among two or more species. Overall, the most aggression we’ve seen is in warthogs amongst themselves. After all, they are “pigs,” right?

This may have been the young giraffe’s mom who hovered nearby.

Yesterday afternoon, we embarked on our usual drive in the park. Although not affected by the number of tourists in Marloth Park, we saw the most striking scenes to date on the Crocodile River, photos of which will follow over the next few days.

We knew better than to get too close.

Was all of this “safari luck” or simply a case of the fact that there were fewer people in the park, resulting in more and more wildlife coming out of hiding to wander from bush house to bush house? We can’t help but assume it was due to fewer cars and fewer people disturbing the peaceful flow of life in the bush.

It was nearly dark when they visited.

The quiet has resumed.  We don’t hear cars passing on the road very often. The tar road is quiet and unencumbered and, fewer animals will be killed by speeding motorists. How long this quiet lasts is unpredictable. More tourists will be arriving over this next month for the summer school holidays in Europe and other parts of the world.

The young giraffe was preoccupied munching on leaves in the bush.

But, for now, we’re reveling in the serenity precipitating the return of the wildlife to our garden. It couldn’t be more heavenly. Even the birds seem happier, singing their tunes and dining on seeds from our birdfeeder.

For today? We may stay put and catch up on some much-needed research to begin filling gaps in our itinerary over the next few years. There’s never a time to sit back, knowing everything we need to plan is in place.

A young zebra in the garden of a house on the river road.

Weather permitting, tomorrow, we’ll head to Kruger for the day. If so, we’ll post a notice as to when we expect to have the day’s post uploaded unless I get ambitious enough today to work on tomorrow’s post this afternoon.

This must have been the above baby’s mom resting nearby.

Of course, that’s subject to how many delightful distractions present themselves throughout the day. We’ll play it by ear, as they say.

Have a pleasant day filled with beautiful surprises.

Photo from one year ago today, July 17, 2017:

Surprisingly, there are some birds in the desert during the scorching summer months in Nevada78. For more photos, please click here.

Female lion sighting from the fence…A short reprieve in the commotion…

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There were other lions in this pride, but they were all lying down in the bush, making it difficult to get a photo. We both were thrilled Tom captured this photo.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Zebras in the bush with an ostrich in the background.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post here, we’d seen a post on Saturday in the Marloth Park Sighting page on Facebook that lions had been sighted at the “Two Trees” overlook.

Planning to head directly to the Henk Van Rooyan Park fundraiser, we didn’t hesitate to make a rapid change in plans to head to Two Trees to see what we could find. An hour had passed since the sighting was posted, and we suspected the lions could be long gone.

Once Tom spotted this female lion through his binoculars, he grabbed the camera to zoom in as shown.

One might think, head to the location, look through binoculars, and the lions could be spotted. It’s not that easy. Like us, many others had gathered at the location and, with utmost frustration, couldn’t quite get the distant scene in their scope or viewfinder.

After trying for almost a half-hour with no luck, we headed to the fair at the park, deciding we might give it another try after we were done there. We were in and out of the fair in less than 30 minutes, with both of us chomping at the bit to return to Two Trees to give it another try.

Female ostrich checking us out as we drove by.

This time, we were in luck. Tom, with much better distance vision than I, found them in no time but couldn’t get a decent photo of the pride hidden in the bush and tall grass. However, he held steady enough at the long-distance to capture these two photos of a female lion while leaning on the car door for stability.

We always say we’re going to bring our tripod, but invariably we don’t because most photos we take while on one of our regular drives are taken from inside the little car. A tripod would be of little use.

Elephants at the river. 

Obviously, the female was on the hunt as she unsuccessfully chased a warthog and impala while we watched. Unless a photographer is willing to maintain a position with a tripod for hours, it’s pure luck to get a shot or video of a lion mounting an attack. 

While in the Maasai Mara in 2013, we witnessed several kills, but in Kruger, we’ve yet to see one. It all has to do with being in the right place at the right time. Perhaps when we’re back in the Maasai Mara in February, we’ll have many more opportunities when on safari for several hours each day, most of which is done off-road.

It’s always a pleasure to see a mom and baby elephant.

In Kruger, neither the public, engaged in a self-drive or with a safari guide, can drive off-road.  There are plenty of dirt roads and the one main paved road, but spot wildlife near the road is more fluke than anything when you think about it.

Fortunately, many visitors to Kruger have that good luck from time to time, having the opportunity to see nature at its finest. With all the wonderful and unique sightings we’ve had in Kruger, we have no complaints. We’re hoping to return to Kruger this week, now that this first round of tourists has left.

Zebras are on the move on the tar road.

Speaking of tourists leaving. Yesterday was the last Sunday or the South African “school holiday.” The kids return to school today. Well, just as expected, the wildlife began returning to see us last night around 17:00 hrs. (5:00 pm) and did they ever!

Once again, we had one of those special evenings where we had no less than eight species coming and going throughout the evening, including about 60 guinea fowl; Frank (Francolin) and the Mrs.; no less than 10 warthogs, including Little Wart Face, Tusker, Mom and Babies and several whom we didn’t know; eight female kudus; three bushbucks including Tom’s “My Girl”; four wildebeest including Wildebeest Willie; the often visiting Mr. and Mrs. Duiker; and of course our noisy frog Loud Mouth.

A good-sized herd of cape buffaloes.

This morning some of the above were back, along with many others. Each hour since we’ve been outdoors this morning on this very cool day, we’ve had visitors. It’s exciting to have our wildlife friends returning.

But, the reality remains that although the South Africa school holidays have ended, school holidays in Europe continue until mid-August. More tourists will arrive in Marloth Park by mid-week, with more of the precious wildlife being killed by speeding motorists on Oliphant Drive. 

The edges of the elephant’s ears get nicked over the years from a variety of hazards.

So far over these past school holidays, 13 animals have been killed on the road. No doubt, animals do dart out onto the roads, but if drivers are extra cautious, deaths can be averted.

Also, we hear stories of tourists feed the wildlife leftover “human” food, potato chips, pizza, and even marshmallows. Of course, animals will eat any of these tasty and sweet human foods. But, they do not have the enzymes in their digestive tracts to digest such foods and can become ill and perish.

These elephants were so close to the Marloth Park side of the fence. We didn’t have to zoom in.

Sadly, some people don’t consider this or care to learn what is appropriate to feed the animals, mainly pellets and certain vegetables. Most fruits don’t contain enough nutritional value to provide them with any sustenance.

Right now, as we close for today, Tom is in the driveway with a long telescopic pole chasing away the monkeys who continue to pester us and the visiting wildlife. They’re always on the food search, including stealing birdseed out of our birdfeeder. 

They congregate near one another, especially when there are youngsters.

If monkeys and baboons weren’t so destructive, we’d feed them too. But, this practice never makes sense when they can tear apart a house in a matter of minutes and are very crafty in getting indoors.

Today, we’ll embark on one of our usual drives, hoping that soon the clouds will dissipate, allowing for a warmer and sunnier day. (If rain were in the forecast, we’d welcome the clouds!)

May you have a warm and sunny day!

Photo from one year ago today, July 15, 2017:

Segura Cactus in Las Vegas, one year ago. For more Las Vegas photos, please click here.