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| Aptly named Clive by Facebook friend Peggy, (feel free to ‘friend me” in Facebook using my email address: jessicablyman@gmaiil.com), we considered that he may be the same ostrich we’d seen on December 7, 2013, (click here to see that post) only a week after our arrival. |
Leaving Minnesota 431 days ago, with the next almost 500 days planned, it reminds us of how much planning we’ve actually done. Beyond the end date of our planning thus far of May 14, 2015, we’ve yet to decide where we’d like to go next.
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| Last evening slightly before 6:00 pm while busy indoors chopping and dicing for dinner, I did my usual checking outside for wildlife every 10 to 15 minutes. At first, all I saw was the oblong ball of black feathers of this ostrich. He appeared to be leaving, but when I called out in my high-pitched voice, he turned and came our way with little fear of us. At one point, he was within 5 feet, 1.5 meters, from us. |
Some readers have assumed it may be the end of our worldwide travels, when in fact, health providing, we look forward to many more years to come. However, we’ve determined that planning more than two years in advance is unnecessary.
Early on in the process, we booked as far as 2½ years in advance. Why some have asked? Perhaps, it was a part of making the commitment, to dig deep, to ensure we would stick to it, giving ourselves ample time to adjust
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| After he’d turned around, he wandered close to us. Although not apparent in this photo, he was at least 8 feet, 2.44 meters tall, weighing as much as 295 pounds, 134 kg. His cheerful disposition was evident in his confident demeanor, causing us to laugh while enjoying every moment with him. |
Adjust, we did. Now, if we had to wait 30 days in advance to plan, emotionally, we could do it. Financially, it could be a challenge when last-minute planning ultimately is more expensive. Also, we’d sacrifice certain options; lesser accommodations, taking the “leftovers.” There’s no need to put ourselves into a potentially stressful last-minute situation.
In the next six months, we’ll begin tacking on to the end of the 2015 date, as yet to decide where we’d ideally like to travel. Leaving from Hawaii at that point does precipitate certain distance challenges that we’ll manage to figure out.
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| His feathers looked silky up close. His funny knee joints are backward, compared to ours and most other animals. His flat two-toed feet were steady and he walked with confidence. “Though they cannot fly, ostriches are strong runners. They can sprint up to 43 miles (70 kilometers) an hour and run over distance at 31 miles (50 kilometers) an hour. They may use their wings as “rudders” to help them change direction while running. An ostrich’s powerful, long legs can cover 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) in a single stride.” |
So here’s our firm itinerary, including the remaining days in Marloth Park but not including side trips we’ll take from various locations, such as the upcoming three-day outing to the Blyde River Canyon, a 3½ hour drive, on the famous Panorama Route, stopping to see the many sites along the way.
Itinerary # of days Dates
| South Africa Rental – Marloth Park/Kruger Park House – remaining |
53 | 12/1/2013-2/28/2014 |
| Flight South Africa to Marrakesh |
1 | 2/28/2014 |
| Marrakesh, Morocco House |
75 | 3/1/2014-5/15/2014 |
| Madeira, Portugal House |
76 | 5/15/2014-8/1/2014 |
| Flight Madeira to Paris, France |
0 | 8/1/2014 |
| Paris Hotel |
15 | 8/1/2014-8/16/2014 |
| Tunnel (Chunnel) Paris to London |
0 | 8/16/2014 |
| London Hotel |
15 | 8/16/2014 -8/31/2014 |
| London to Boston – Cruise | 14 | 8/31/2014 – 9/14/2014 |
| Hotel Boston | 3 | 9/14/2014 – 9/17/2014 |
| Flight Boston to Vancouver |
0 | 9/17/2014 |
| Hotel Vancouver |
6 | 9/17/2013 – 9/23/2014 |
| Vancouver to Honolulu – Cruise | 12 | 9/23/2014 – 10/5/2014 |
| Honolulu/Waikiki Rental |
11 | 10/5/2014 – 10/16/2014 |
| Maui Rental | 57 | 10/16/2014 – 12/1/2014 |
| 1st house Pahoe Hawaii Rental |
46 | 12/1/2014 – 1/14/2015 |
| 2nd house Pahoe Rental (family visiting) |
0 | 12/20/2014 -1/3/2015 |
| Kauai Hawaii Rental |
120 | 1/15/2015-5/14/2015 |
| Number # of days remaining before adding future plans |
504 | |
| Over the next several months we’ll begin to add to the continuation of our travels. |
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All of the above locations have been booked with deposits paid, a few of which have been paid in full. Forms of transportation far out have not been booked which is impossible this far in advance.
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| The time had come for Clive to leave. Hoping he’ll return again, we watched as he lumbered his way down our long dirt driveway, obviously content with his visit. |
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| He looked back at us a few times as he followed the path.. |
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| Goodbye, Clive! He fluttered his wings as he wandered away. |