Last night at Jabula…Hot, humid, busy and fun…

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A turaco checking us out.

Note: Yesterday, I posted the wrong year-ago photo, which I have since corrected for the accurate date. Also, not many photos ops right now during the busy holiday weekend.

Yesterday evening, we headed to Jabula for our usual Friday night fun at the Cheers-like bar, followed by a delicious dinner. When we arrived, Dawn and Leon were outdoors with some old friends at the bar by the pool. It was unbearably hot and humid, even in the shade. They invited us to join them, and we did.

I’d brought along my usual bottle of ultra-light white wine with only 5% alcohol, almost one-third the alcohol in a typical bottle of wine, essentially comparable to an alcohol-free wine. We’re always happy to pay a corkage fee wherever we dine out if possible.

When we were in the US, there were no light or low-alcohol wines found at any liquor or wine stores. or served in restaurants. Here in South Africa, it’s common to find at least one light white wine offered on a wine menu. But most of those wines have a bitter taste I don’t like.

Bushbuck Gorden Ramsey and Hal stopped by for pellets.

While we were in the US and out of dinner, I ordered white wine a few times with an average alcohol content of 13-14%. Typically, I order Pinot Grigio, which is one of the few white wines I enjoy. I prefer a full-bodied, dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Pinot Noir. But since I had open heart surgery in 2019, I don’t seem to tolerate drinking full-alcohol red wines.

Instead, occasionally I drink low-alcohol wine from a Cape Town vineyard, Four Cousins, called Skinny Red, with an 8.5% alcohol content. The taste is surprisingly tolerable; although it feels very light. It doesn’t seem to keep me awake at night or leave me feeling hungover after only two glasses in an entire evening.

With these limitations, it would make sense to quit drinking entirely, as I’d done for 20 years. I didn’t start drinking wine again until we were on a cruise in 2016, and drinks were free. With some prodding from our cruise mates, I had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, which tasted good.

I drank in moderation from there, enjoying the taste and socialization until I had the surgery in 2019, after which I found myself still enjoying the taste and socialization but feeling hindered by the aftereffects of red wine. Thus, since that time, I have had regular red wine on a few occasions, always regretting doing so later.

Three zebras with the fourth coming up from the rear.

Several months ago, I ordered several cases of Spier 5% alcohol Chenin Blanc. The taste has been tolerable, but now, as I’m down to the last bottle, I’ve found I’ve lost the taste for that wine and won’t be ordering any more from the vineyard. At Spar a few days ago, I grabbed four bottles of another brand of low-alcohol white sparkling wines. Two of the bottles are alcohol-free, with only .5% alcohol content, and the other two at 5%. We’ll see how these work out. I’ll report back here if they are worth mentioning.

In any case, after we both were sweating profusely sitting outdoors by the pool, after about 40 minutes, we headed upstairs to the bar. I had never seen Tom sweat so much. His new shirt was soaked. With no aircon working due to load shedding and the temp and humidity outrageously high, we continued sweating along with all the other patrons at the bar. Load shedding ended around 7:15 pm, 1915 hrs, and finally, Dawn was able to turn on the two aircon units.

Our food arrived after 7:00 pm, 1900 hrs., and we ate at the bar. The place was packed with customers during the busy holiday period. We were having a good time chatting with familiar patrons at the bar and, as usual, were content to eat at the bar, which other customers often do.

By 8:00 pm, we headed out the door, still warm and sweaty and looking forward to running the aircon in the bedroom to cool off. We’d forgotten, with the frequently changing schedule, that load shedding would be occurring in our area, different from the times for Jabula.

The fourth zebra joined the threesome.

Once we entered the door in the dark, the house felt particularly sweltering after cooling off in the air-conditioned car. Once we headed to the bedroom, we turned on the fan run by the inverter, changed out of our clothes, and looked forward to the load shedding ending an hour and a half later, which it did. We slept peacefully in air-conditioned comfort, although not quite long enough.

At the moment, we’re in the bedroom, with the air-con running. Tom is taking a nap, and I may try to do so also once I get this post completed and uploaded. Again, tonight, we’ll head back to Jabula, but load-shedding will be taking place again during the same hours as yesterday. Today, it’s even hotter and more humid than it was yesterday. But we’ve decided to go anyway. So what if we’re hot and sweaty? No harm done! The fun times are worth it!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 17, 2021:

Please zoom in to see newborn wildebeests with umbilical cords still hanging, indicating they were born most recently. For more photos, please click here.

More lion warnings in Marloth Park…See the site map where they’ve been spotted!…Big storm last night!…

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We are located in Block D, as indicated on this map. Currently, the lions were spotted in Blocks C and D in Marloth Park.
This morning, this notice was posted on Facebook on the Marloth Park Sighting Page.
“‼️ URGENT CARNIVORE ALERT‼️
16th-17th December 2022
The Carnivore Team has released an URGENT WARNING that a lioness has been spotted in THE “C” SECTOR, and a male lion has been spotted in THE “D” SECTOR OF THE ATTACHED MAP. They are moving between the houses, and everyone should be extremely careful and vigilant!
The immediate alert is for BLOCK “C AND D” as per the attached map. For those unfamiliar with Marloth, BLOCK “C” IS FROM RENOSTER, OLIFANT, VOLSTRUIS, CROCODILE NORTH, AND MODDERVIS. BLOCK “D” IS FROM SWARTWITPENS/RATEL, RENOSTER, KINGFISHER/SEEKOEI AND OLIFANT! A follow-up alert will be supplied if they move out of these areas!
EVERYBODY needs to be extremely cautious and an urgent alert for joggers, hikers, and cyclists in the morning and afternoon! Be extra careful at night as the lions are a bigger threat in the dark! If you are having a braai, sit with your backs to a wall and keep the lights on!
PLEASE do not allow children to roam around or play unsupervised – period! The lions could appear anywhere in Marloth Park! 😳
This an urgent alert for joggers, hikers, and cyclists along these areas throughout the day!
Unfortunately, the warnings are not taken seriously! Don’t go looking for lions because the lions will find you! The onus is on each and every one to adhere to the alerts and warn others of the dangers.
PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY LION-SIGHTING POSITIONS ON ANY SOCIAL MEDIA GROUPS FOR SAFETY REASONS! Rather contact any one of the Carnivore Team if you spot the lions! Phone any of the following numbers at ANY TIME:
Rangers 082 802 5894
CPF/ Nadine 082 672 4545 Gerrie Camacho 082 353 9097,
Ernst Röhm /MTPA 083 626 6309,
April Lukhele: 082 807 1057. Jan Koekemoer 063 053 7601.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding – Carnivore Team, Rangers, MTPA, CPF, Security, and the Vet.”
We take these warnings seriously, almost posted daily, of the presence of both male and female lions in the park. You’d think we’d be terrified, but we aren’t. We do everything we can to stay safe including avoiding walking on the roads and wandering about at night.
When we go out to dinner at Jabula on Friday and Saturday nights, we park as close to the building as possible and proceed to the car with extreme caution in mind, watching for lions and snakes, each of which is more active at night. Living in the bush requires diligent observation at all times and during all seasons.
We can only hope and pray that the countless visitors in Marloth Park heed the warnings on Facebook and from their property owners and managers. This is serious stuff, folks. We’ve seen many visitors walking and biking on the road by our house at dusk. This is foolhardy and dangerous!
Last night, a storm rolled over the area with winds, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. We thought we’d lose power, but it only went off and on a few times when it wasn’t due to load shedding. The WiFi went off and on while we were trying to stream the last few episodes of Yellowstone, which we’re thoroughly enjoying. Love that show!
Today is a low-key day. When load shedding ends after 11:00 am, I plan to do a few loads of laundry, which will take a few days to dry with this humidity. Tom only has one pair of shorts left, all of the others were in our missing bags, which he’s wearing now on this hot day. Soon, he’ll have to change into long pants so I can wash the pair he’s wearing.
On December 19, 25 days will have passed per the requirement of Ethiopian Air for us to file a claim for our missing bags. On Monday, we will get to work filing the claims necessary to recover part of the value of the missing items. I can’t tell you how many missing things we used before the bags were lost. It’s frustrating, to say the least.
I just received a notice from Eskom that we’re now back to Stage 6 load shedding, which results in 11½ hours a day without power. Ugh! It will be a long and hot holiday season.
Continue to enjoy your holiday preparations, whatever they may be.
Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 16, 2021:

Open-mouth crocodile on the bank of the Sabie River. Crocs don’t have sweat glands. Instead, they open their mouths to cool off. For more photos, please click here.

Finally, we shopped in Komati…This season’s hottest day yet!…99F, 37.2C, dew point 72, humidity 50%…Plus load-shedding…

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Norman had some branches stuck on his head. It looks as if the branch went through his ear, but it was between his ear and horn. He is fine, thank goodness.

We procrastinated about going grocery shopping due to the 11½ hours a day without power, wondering if whatever we’d bought would stay fresh. Eskom sent a message this morning stating that load shedding was dropping from Stage 5 to Stage 4 today and down to Stage 3 on Sunday with only five hours of outages. That’s a significant relief, but most likely will be short-lived, especially during the holiday season and here in Marloth Park, with almost every house filled with owners and holidaymakers.

We only wish visitors would be more mindful of not wasting power and water, which has an awful impact on those who diligently monitor their usage. Surely over the next few weeks, the situation will escalate, and we all may be out of power for days, not hours. This is when we worry about our food in the refrigerator and freezer.

When we left on November 24, Tom put a single coin on top of an ice cube in each of the two ice cube trays, one in the refrigerator freezer and another in the chest freezer. When we returned, we could see how much ice had melted in the trays, and the coins dropped down into the cubes. This way, we knew the food in the freezers hadn’t spoiled when the coins had hardly moved. A nifty little test, eh?

This side view clearly illustrates it didn’t go through his ear.

We missed our opportunity to go to Kruger since we returned five days ago. When it rained a few days, there wasn’t a good day to go, and I overslept on a few others. Tom didn’t want to wake me, figuring I needed more sleep than seeing more wildlife. In the long run, he may have been right…today is Day #4, with no headache and no facial pain. Surely, good sleep helped in improving this dreadful long-haul Covid issue.

If any of our readers suffer from long-term sinusitis, please see your medical professional for assistance. Two nasal irrigation products worked for me the most; one Pysiomer used three times a day, and the other, a nasal irrigation kit with a dispenser and added medications used both morning and night, using warm sterilized water (not hot). Again, please see your medical professional for guidance in using these or similar products.

He was finally able to shake it off.

Now, to enter Kruger, we’d have to make a reservation and be faced with crowds at sightings. We’ll wait until the holiday season ends and go again when it’s quiet, sometime in January. In the meantime, we’re content with all the wildlife visitors stopping by each day and evening.

Once back at the house, after shopping, it took every ounce of energy to get everything put away in the heat. Since I had open heart surgery, I have had trouble bending over for any time. As always, Tom pulls a dining room chair up to the refrigerator to let me easily put everything away. He stocks the fridge on the veranda and the chest freezer. Before we knew it, we were done and able to enjoy a fresh mug of iced tea while he caught up on tasks on his laptop, and I began doing the post.

Nina was eating “Norman’s Lunch” along with the deceased Hoppy’s two siblings. Note the duiker in the background, most likely Delilah.

Today, at around 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs, I will put a “gammon,” a ham, in the oven to cook for one hour as suggested by the butcher when we bought it a few days ago. He said it would dry out if we cooked on the braai. I wouldn’t say I like the idea of turning on the oven on such a hot day, but we need to cook it today since it’s been defrosted for a few days and sitting in the fridge during countless hours of load shedding.

Tom will have ham, white rice, green beans, and salad, and I will have the same minus the rice. As always, it will be a lovely dinner, but with the mozzies and the humidity, we may have to eat in the dining room with the veranda doors closed. We’ll see if it cools down by then. However, according to the weather app on my phone, that doesn’t look promising.

Nonetheless, we are fine, cheerful, feeling well, and content. What more could we ask for?

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 15, 2021:

Mom and baby hippo on the Sabie River. For more photos, please click here.

Thinking about the future…Facing the facts…

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Last evening, no less than 25 animals were in the garden, including kudus bushbucks, warthogs, wildebeests, and our precious nyala family.

My eyes dart toward the garden every few minutes in case any wildlife stops by. I sat indoors at the dining room table while Vusi cleaned the veranda. Another hot day prompted me to turn on the quiet portable fan to cool off while I sat and prepared today’s post.

A moment ago, I spotted a mom and four piglets dash by on a mad run. I wondered where they were headed. A few kudus wandered in and out but feeling stuck in the chair, for once, I didn’t bother to get up to offer pellets. Earlier this morning, Tom saw the nyala family on several occasions. Still, again, I slept late after not falling asleep until well after midnight, awakening during the night when the 4½ hour load shedding started and the aircon went off.

Moms and babies.

My Fitbit says I slept 8 hours and 57 minutes. It still feels like I am catching up from lack of sleep, but I feel good, rested, and refreshed over the past few days.;.

Today is Day 3, with no headache or facial pain. Could it possibly be over? I am tentatively hopeful. I feel the best I’ve felt since before I tested positive for Omicron last April. With all the meds I was on for the headache, some of which cause weight gain, I am now reducing my food intake to lose the extra 15 pounds. I will undoubtedly accomplish it in a few months, losing from one to two pounds a week, a realistic goal.

Big Daddy, Hoppy’s mom and two remaining piglets, and more.

But, my mind? It’s spinning in circles. We have so much to do in the next few months. We must renew our passports, apply for an extension for South Africa, and complete all the paperwork soon to receive compensation for our lost luggage, requiring receipts for every item in those two bags.

That process alone will be time-consuming. I’d rather that they find the bags. How will we remember every item in those bags and find receipts? Sure, most of the purchases were made online, which will help. Nonetheless, it’s quite a task. It could take a few weeks to complete.

Big Daddy and Stringy jumped the fence.

You know the saying…”You can run, but you can’t hide.”  It’s so true. Regardless of the lifestyle we choose, we can’t escape the responsibilities of daily life; taxes to file and pay, paperwork to complete for general living, expenses to log, and bills to pay. For some reason, I feel lazy and unmotivated to do all this paperwork. But, somehow, I must get myself on track.

We love the bush so much; getting wrapped up in such responsibilities is not easy. It’s almost like being on a blissful vacation/holiday while here, and I don’t care to get wrapped up in piles of paperwork. Instead, right now, I am thinking toward the future, and with a good plan in place for what we’ll do after a 90-day extension is acquired through the law firm, tackling the paperwork will be easier.

My biggest thoughts for the day are now centered around enjoying the wildlife, cooking meals, and spending time entrenched in the beauty of nature and the bush. In the evenings, our goals are simple; listening to music using our JBL speaker, enjoying a refreshment while seated at the table on the veranda, and later in the evening, hunkering down to an excellent show to stream…all relatively mindless drivel.

Then, typically on the weekends, we love socializing at Jabula and attending or hosting parties and get-togethers. Um…it’s all lovely and indeed distracts us from the inconveniences of load-shedding, heat, humidity, insects, and snakes. Then, of course, there are the daily posts I still enjoy preparing each day, even after these past ten years. The constant search for photo ops also adds an interesting element to our lives.

Bad Ear stopped by for a quick hello.

We’ll figure it all out. Right now, we are talking about our options and what makes the most sense for us to do going forward. In any case, we must leave by June 1, 2023, but in this day and age, with everything that’s changed during the pandemic, we must plan as best as we can.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 14, 2021:

Yellow-billed stork. No text or other photos were posted on this date.

Load shedding is impacting the inverter…The heat and humidity are unreal…Trying to stay cool..

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Big Daddy is resting in the garden.

Incredibly, the animals manage to stay cool in this heat. It’s not that the temperature is high. It’s only 82F, 28C. It’s all about the humidity, which right now is at 73%, with the dew point at 72, which is outrageous. It’s sweating weather on an overcast day, drizzling now and then.

Last night, during a 4½ hour load-shedding period, the inverter ran out of power. And then, we had no fan for the remaining three hours until the power was restored and the fan and the aircon could run. I heard the fan go off in my sleep and didn’t fall back to sleep for another hour, not awakening until 9:30 am, another long sleep, which was needed.

Nina and Norman share breakfast.

Tom really hadn’t slept much in the past few weeks. Last night, when we finally started watching the first episode of Season 5 of Yellowstone, he kept dozing off. Eventually, I turned it off and watched a few shows on Philo, the streaming service I downloaded to watch Yellowstone.

There was a free one-week trial on Philo, and we figured we could watch all the episodes and then cancel it, incurring no costs to watch this fabulous show. If not canceled on time, there’s a monthly fee of US $25, ZAR 442. Since we already pay for Amazon Prime, Hulu and Netflix, we didn’t want to start any additional monthly fees.

Louise bought us this portable rechargeable fan. It helps when I am sitting outdoors. Thanks, Louise!

When we go to bed, we’ll watch the first half of the episode that Tom missed again, so he’ll be caught up. I’m glad he got some sleep, and he feels better today. Those long flights and layovers, which consisted of no sleep for four days out of 16, left us both needing to catch up on sleep. I don’t care what “they,” say that you can’t make up for lost sleep. We’ve found the case to be otherwise.

We both feel great today, fully rested, even amid the lost sleep in the heat during nighttime load shedding. I’ve learned a lesson…if I need to cool down during the day for a bit, don’t use the fan during load shedding. Instead, save its accumulated power to use at night during power outages. If we have power during the day, we can use the fan. I may go into the bedroom to cool off for 10 minutes every hour or so during these hot spells.

Big Daddies and Lollie and her three piglets.

We avoid using the aircon during the day to save on electricity, although we don’t pay the electric bill. Some days, Tom takes a nap for 20 minutes and uses the fan, not the aircon. During the hot summer months, by our choice, we give Louise an extra ZAR 1000, US $56.58. We’ve had to insist she accepts this money from us since we know how high electricity is here, even with the daily outages for as much as 11½ hours a day.

Wherever we may live in the world, we are mindful of the power we use. We hear that many renters leave their holiday home, or even hotel room for the day, with the aircon running the entire time they are gone. Think of how much energy would be saved if everyone only used the aircon when they were at the property.

I realize our readers may tire of hearing about the heat, humidity, and load-shedding. But, let’s face it, it’s a big part of our daily lives. Today, I was trying to roast two little cornish hen-sized chickens for dinner. It’s too hot to cook them in the oven. But load-shedding starts at 5:00 pm, 1700 hours. Last night, we cooked two others on the braai, but we weren’t thrilled with the outcome.

This Big Daddy jumped the fence looking for pellets.

Since it’s so hot today, I decided to cook the two birds ahead of time, cool them, and make chicken salad with sliced hard-boiled eggs, onions, celery, seasonings, and homemade dressing. Timing the cooking of the chicken, cooling it, and the hard-boiled eggs were tricky with power outages. But we figured it out, and as I write here, Tom is peeling the eggs, and the chicken is done, which we cooked again on the braai. I chilled the eggs in a colander in the sink topped with ice.

Since it’s already close to 1:30 pm, 1330 hrs, we’ll place the chicken in the freezer to cool before I put it all together. Once the chicken cools sufficiently, I’ll clean off the meat and skin, saving the bones and fat for the next visiting mongooses. This way, we’ll have cold chicken salad for dinner. It takes much planning to prepare meals in this heat with frequent power outages.

Zebras, stop by for a snack.

We’d hoped to go to Kruger today, but after I slept so late, it made no sense. Generally, it’s better to go early in the morning. Plus, I had to fold all the laundry here again, subject to washing during available periods with power, make the dinner, do the post, and work on recording expenditures and receipts from the past few weeks. It’s a busy day.

Norman, Nina, and the baby have been here no less than six times today. Lollie is napping with her three piglets in her usual spot near the veranda. Big Daddies, kudu Bossy, and other kudus and bushbucks have stopped by. The presence of the visitors is a blissful distraction that takes our minds off the inconveniences of living in South Africa right now.

Day 2, no headache or facial pain. Humm…

May your holiday plans be rewarding and fulfilling.

Be well. zzxxlaa

Photo from one year ago today, December 13, 2021:

Mom, with lovely curved tusks and her three piglets. It’s “piglet time” in the bush, which makes it fun to see all the families. For more, please click here.

Gee…it feels good to be back…Nina and Norman’s baby…a joy to behold…

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Duiker Delilah with Norman and Nina’s new baby, who is yet to be named based on gender, which we can’t yet determine.

What a glorious morning. Light rain sprinkled the dusty bush making everything look bright and green. Although the busy holiday season has begun in Marloth Park, there were fewer holidaymakers this weekend than there will be in the coming weeks. As a result, Monday morning brought us many visitors.

Of course, we were thrilled to see Lollie and her three piglets return and also Hoppy’s mom and two piglets (sadly, Hoppy passed away before we left due to her broken leg). Also, our four regular zebras stopped along with bushbuck Gordon Ramsey and duiker mates Delilah and Derek.

Norman is a proud new dad.

But, above all, we were beside ourselves with joy over seeing Norman, Nina, and their new baby, born a little over two weeks ago (while we were away), gender yet to be determined. Noah has wandered off since the little one was born. We can only imagine how frustrated he must be, unable to find a female nyala anywhere in the park. From what we hear, Deidre from Wild and Free is caring for a female who will be released in Marloth Park as a mate for Noah.

Norman got pretty upset with his son Noah sniffing over his mom, Nina. Finally, after the baby was born, he got the hint and moved on. We haven’t seen him since we returned two days ago.

Nina and Norman’s baby has yet to jump the little fence. But Nina and Norman jump over anyway while the baby waits for them.

How exciting it will be when the female is released, and Noah eventually finds her. We can only hope he will return here with her to our garden once they become a pair. Of course, we’ll report that here. But, for now, Noah has moved on to another area in the park to leave his parents to raise his new little sibling.

So far this morning, Nina, Norman, and their new offspring, as shown in today’s photos, have visited us four times, and it’s only 9:15 am as I write this.

We are thrilled to see the baby visiting us with her/his parents.

Last night at Jabula, in the awful heat and humidity with a dew point around 75, only a few of us were sitting at the bar. We were all dripping with sweat with load shedding and no aircon running. It was wonderful to see Leon and Dawn again, but Leon only hung around for a short time when he became tired and had to rest. His illness is catching up with him, and we’re all cherishing every moment we can spend with him.

Such an adorable baby nyala, the only one in Marloth Park.

Our friends Maroi and Peter were also there, and we all shared stories of the time we’d been away, including our awful experience with Ethiopian Air. No, we haven’t heard a word about our bags. In a few days, we’ll check again. Once we returned, it became more apparent how much we missed the items in those bags. Ugh!

We’d planned to grocery shop in Komatipoort this morning, but with five-hour load shedding on the horizon, we decided to shop at the little stores here in Marloth for the next few days rather than risk food spoiling. We now eat cabbage slaw (coleslaw) instead of lettuce salad since lettuce doesn’t keep well, but cabbage does.

We can’t get over the adorable face.

We’ll cook a flattie chicken on the braai with the coleslaw and whatever vegetable I can find at the little market. I’ll make white rice for Tom to go along with it. We took out the big pan of apple crisp I’d made before we left, and Tom will have some tonight after dinner with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Of course, I don’t eat any of it, nor do I eat anything after dinner. Tom lost a few pounds while we were away to enjoy this delicious treat.

Lollie and her three piglets have returned.

We’re off to the little market and the Wild Butchery in the Bush Centre down the road and will be back with more tomorrow.

By the way, thank you for all the thoughtful inquiries about my headache, and facial pain and how traveling on those long flights impacted me. It wasn’t a problem and certainly was no worse while traveling. At the moment, I am pain-free. Maybe it’s getting better after all. Perhaps it’s a matter of time, as I continue to do the nasal rinses several times a day. Fingers crossed.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 12, 2021:

We drove past a few giraffes while out exploring. For more photos, please click here.

We’re baaack!!!….The story of the last travel day…

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Lollie and her piglets with a few kudus.

Yesterday morning, I wrote this post, in part, while on the short flight, less than 40 minutes from Joburg to Nelspruit, finishing and updating it today, on Sunday morning.

Once we landed in Nelspruit, we collected our one bag, and Tom headed to the rental car facility while I checked with Airlink to see if they knew anything about our two missing bags. I explained the loss of the bags had nothing to do with their airline but could they please help us? They were more than willing to assist. The bags are eventually supposed to arrive at their location.

The previous night, when we arrived in Joburg, we spent two hours at the missing bag area working on locating our bags. Finally, a few hours later, we received the necessary documentation we needed to attempt to find the bags. But, no bags yet.

Kudus stopped by for a drink and pellets. We were still sleeping.

From there, we made our way to the City Lodge Hotel at the airport, checking in with our one new bag and then on to the restaurant for a bite. We each had a beverage, including a glass of wine for me and a beer for Tom. I had the fantastic buffet, which had several good options for me, while Tom ordered a delicious club sandwich with chips (fries).

Our dinner was only ZAR 480, about US $27, with two drinks, food, tax, and tip. Gosh, we are happy to be back where everything is much more affordable than in the US. Over the next few months, we certainly have some “wound licking” to recover the losses from this recent fiasco.

With our time frame off, we both had a fistful night’s sleep. We only dozed for a few minutes on the 16-hour flight and assumed we’d be able to sleep at the hotel, but the time difference made it impossible to sleep. But, overall, that long flight wasn’t bad this time. We watched many movies, and the time passed faster than usual. I think I’ve finally adapted to that 16-hour flight and have no angst about it any longer.

A kudu is eating some tasty greens on a tree.

We were in a three-seat center row with an empty seat between us. We ended up in the Premium Economy section, and the seats were bigger with footrests and were better for reclining. That helped me nod off for a few minutes here and there. That also added to our comfort.

It was great to be back in South Africa. The food on the plane was awful, and we didn’t eat a thing precipitating our need for the late dinner at the hotel on Friday night. In the morning, we didn’t have time for breakfast, only coffee at the airport. Our two coffees and one sparkling water were only ZAR 120, about US $7. While in the US, we spent three times that much on the same items.

With the time difference impacting us, we both had a fitful night’s sleep, barely sleeping. But overall, that long flight wasn’t bad at all this time. We watched many movies, and the time passed faster than usual. I think I’ve finally adapted to that 16-hour flight and have no angst about it any longer. It is what it is.

A young male kudu is checking out the scene.

Our dinner at the City Lodge Hotel was only ZAR 480, about US $27, with the two drinks, food, tax, and tip. Gosh, we are happy to be back where everything is much more affordable than in the US. Over the next few months, we certainly have some “wound licking” to recover the losses from this recent fiasco.

Louise invited us to a “bush buddies” party at their house last night. Once we returned to the house in the afternoon, we unpacked our one bag and carry-on bags and attempted to take a short nap before going to the party, which started around 6:00 pm. But, no such luck. Neither of us was able to nap. By 5:00 pm, we both showered, feeling refreshed, and later made our way down the road to their house.

We had a fantastic time at the party, completely forgetting about being tired and staying until midnight, when everyone began to wander off. This morning, Tom shocked me and caused me to scream out loud when he was standing there staring at me. He was concerned that I had passed away in my sleep at 11:00 am and was still sleeping.

It rained a little before we got up this morning. It’s a very humid day!

My Fitbit indicated I’d slept for 10 hours. I can’t remember the last time I slept so long. He was relieved to hear me scream and apologized for awakening me. He only slept for about eight hours and may need a nap before we go to Jabula tonight for dinner.

Yes, there is plenty of load shedding, but we have water. We’ll toss some of the food in the refrigerator, but it wasn’t that full when we left. Everything in the freezers seemed to have survived.

Kudus, early this morning.

We left Marloth Park 17 days ago. Will our favorite animals return to see us soon, or will they wait until the holidaymakers go after New Year? Only time will tell. Yesterday, when we arrived, bushbuck Gordon Ramsey was here resting in the shad with about eight kudus. This morning Lollie and her three piglets stopped by. Tom gave them plenty of pellets.

Thanks for all the love and support over these past weeks and always. We will be back tomorrow with more.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 11, 2021:

Frank, who prefers to walk and run, flew up to the bushbaby house and posed for this photo. For more photos, please click here.

Today, we are on the move!…Back to the bush…

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New friends Barry and Lisa, enjoying one last night together on the ship, on this date in 2017, during a cruise to South America. See the post here.
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We’re packed and ready to leave the hotel to return the rental car at Ace, take their shuttle to the airport, check our bags and begin the long wait until our flight at 2:00 pm. The first flight to Newark is easy, less than three hours,, but the typical five-hour layover is to be expected.

During the layover, we’ll have dinner at an airport restaurant and spend time on our laptops to kill time while we wait for the 16-hour flight to Johannesburg.

This morning, Louise and I texted back and forth on Whatsapp. Apparently, things are not good in Marloth Park right now. It’s very hot and humid, the power has been out for almost a day, and there’s no water from the reservoir due to the 11½ hours of load shedding each day. But now, the power is out due to some type of fault or damage to equipment, and they can’t get the power back on.

We feel bad for Louise. All of her houses are rented with dozens and dozens of guests for a golf tournament in Komatipoort and holidaymakers. Can you imagine the complaints from the holiday renters who don’t have power…or water.  There’s no news on when both of these will be restored.

That night, Tom was having a great time, dining in the private “wine room” in the Tuscan Grill with Lisa and Barry.
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We hope things are resolved by the time we return in a few days, but as we always say, “TIA, This is Africa!” What do we expect? In any case, we’ll be fine. We’ll definitely have to throw away all of the perishables in the refrigerator but hopefully not everything in the freezer. When shopping next, we’ll only buy enough for a few days, knowing power outages are even worse during December.

With all the holidaymakers in the park, we don’t expect to see many animals in the garden when we return. But mostly, we can’t wait to see Norman and Nina’s new baby, born a few days after we left. No news yet on the gender of the baby, but we have a few names in mind, of course beginning with an “N.” Noah has wandered off in search of a mate for himself, but there are no other nyalas in Marloth Park other than their family of four. Wild animals generally do not mate with species other than their own.

Hopefully, the rangers can find another female to bring to the conservancy for Noah. We hope to hear this has been done at some point. He’s certainly entitled to having a mate, now that Norman and Nina are preoccupied with their new baby.

It was easy packing the new suitcase that had plenty of room, and we filled it to the brim. We have no way to weigh it and will wing it hoping it meets the maximum 23 kg. limit. Of course, we have no idea if our missing bags will be waiting for us when we get to Joburg or Nelspruit. Only time will tell.

Last night, we had dinner with Greg and granddaughter Madighan at Champps. We’d hoped to see the other grandkids one more time, but we managed to have some quality time with everyone while we were here.

An antipasto board was served to each couple before our other courses were served.

This morning, I spoke to our friend Connie, whose husband and our dear friend Jeff passed away at our house in the bush, when they’d come to Marloth Park to fulfill Jeff’s dream of seeing Africa. We are so grateful he was able to fulfill that dream with us during the time he, Connie, and their adult daughter Lindsey were with us.  It was good to hear her voice. Next time we come to Minnesota, we will make a point of getting together with Connie and Lindsey.

This unexpected trip to Minnesota was such a flurry of activity with the family, leaving little time to see friends. We’re hoping for better planning next time to make time to see some of our dear old friends, too.

Well, it’s time to load the one bag and our carry-on bags into the rental car and make our way to the car rental facility. We are dressed warmly but without jackets, since we don’t want to carry extra clothes through all the airports. I don’t know when we’ll write again. It could possibly not be until Sunday after we arrive on Saturday, in time to shower, change and hopefully head to Jabula for dinner. It will be nice to see our friends once again and to share the latest news with all of you.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 8, 2021:

When Melissa Grobler of Dubai, currently staying in  Marloth Park with her mom, a resident, captured these lion photos this morning, we were enthralled. Melissa witnessed this fantastic sighting of one of the female lions known to roam the streets of Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here.

One last shopping trip…Why can’t we find this item?…Received all of our items from Amazon but one…

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Penguin statue on the beach made of a penguin dressed in Christmas clothes and various locally inspired pins and decorations. From our post here on December 6, 2016, while living in Penguin, Tasmania, one of Tom’s favorite places in the world.

With Christmas shopping evident in every store we visited, we thought we’d better hurry and buy the one piece of luggage we needed to pack the clothing we purchased while here in Minnesota after having our bags lost from the fiasco we experienced on November 24, explained in detail in Part 1 this post and Part 2 in this post.

There was no way we’d get a big enough bag for under $100, so we headed to TJ Maxx in Bloomington, where they have quality brand-name luggage at reasonable prices. We also needed to buy a luggage tag when they are rarely included with the purchase of a bag.

We lucked out and found the perfect large suitcase in an obvious color and design that may prevent thieves from taking off with it. As I packed it, I wondered if we’d ever get this bag when we’ll arrive at Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger airport on Saturday, let alone our two missing bags from the fiasco on November 24.

This morning we packed the bag, and my carry-on bag, only leaving out clothes and shoes for tomorrow’s departure and toiletries in travel-approved sizes. This time, I packed pajamas and clean underwear in the same carry-on bag since we knew we would spend one night in the City Lodge airport hotel in Joburg to avoid driving in the dark to Marloth Park from Nelspruit on the dangerous N4 highway.

Everything we’d purchased easily fit into the suitcase and I have no doubt we’ll be within the weight limits. This time, we don’t have the portable scale to ensure that fact but based on the contents, I feel confident it will be fine.

The following day, on Saturday, we’ll fly to Nelspruit, collect the rental car at the airport and commence the 90-minute drive to Marloth Park, arriving around 2:00 or 3:00 pm. We’ll stop at Louise’s Marloth Park Info Centre to pick up the house key we left with her and then drive down the dirt road to our holiday house.

If we’re up to it, we’ll go to Jabula for dinner since we won’t have anything defrosted to make for dinner. Of course, with all the Stage 6 load shedding over the past several days, all of our meat in the freezer could have gone bad. Stage 6 is as follows:

  • 5:00 am to 9:30 am (4.5 hours)
  • 1:00 pm to 5:30 pm (4.5 hours)
  • 9:00 pm to 11:30 pm (2.5 hours)

This is a total of 11.5 hours without electricity in 24 hours. Also, there are severe issues with the reservoir based on chronic power outages. We may not have any water when arriving since our JoJo tank doesn’t pump water when the power is out for extended periods.

Oh well, TIA, “This is Africa,” and that is what we expect upon returning after two weeks away. The temperature will be tolerable at a high of 94F, 34C, and increasing in days to come. At least we have the inverter to run to the bedroom’s fan and lamp and the WiFi router. When we cook by Sunday, we can use the gas burners on the stove, lighting it with a lighter, and also use of the braai on the veranda.

We likely won’t grocery shop until next week after we access the power situation to determine what perishables will survive these long load-shedding periods.

Although two male lions were darted in Marloth Park a few weeks ago and moved to Kruger National Park, two females and cubs have been sighted in the park in the past few days. Warnings continue for diligence and caution when outdoors, walking to and from vehicles, and walking and biking only in daylight hours with added attention to one’s surroundings.

Juan, the snake handler we use, has issued warnings that many snakes have come out of hiding over the cooler winter months and to exercise extreme caution outdoors and indoors. Snakes often enter houses during the warm spring and summer months through open doors and thatch roofs, both of which we have.

Nonetheless, we are excited to return to the bush to see our animal and human friends and return to the lifestyle we so much cherish living in the bush.

On another note, we have been searching for thick neoprene Koozies to hold cold canned beverages and glasses. With the heat and humidity in MP. Koozies are an ideal solution to avoid cans and glasses sweating and drinks getting warm on hot and humid days and nights. The mistake we made was not ordering them from Amazon in time for delivery to our hotel.

We searched far and wide to find these neoprene thick-walled Koozies. Most likely, winter-time in Minnesota is not the best time to find these for sale.

We stopped at several stores in the past few days, hoping to find them. We couldn’t find them anywhere, and finally, we gave up trying. They do not sell thick-walled models in South Africa. We’ve searched everywhere online to no avail. And Amazon can’t send us items to South Africa due to high shipping costs and customs issues. It would take months for us to receive them. We’ll be returning to Minnesota next September and buying them at that time.

So that’s it, folks. We’ll do a short post tomorrow, and then we may not post again until Sunday since Saturday will be a hectic day. But, as always, we shall see how it goes, and if we can post sooner, we will. Often, I write the post on my phone on the plane and can complete it on the long drive back to Marloth Park. Thus, Saturday is a possibility.

We hope all of our readers/friends are enjoying preparations for the holiday season. Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, December 7, 2021:

Zoom in to note the difference in size between this massive elephant and the nearby male impala. For more photos, please click here.

Yesterday’s fantastic visit with a dear old friend…Quiet afternoon and early evening in the hotel while Tom was out…

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This photo was taken on December 6, 2013, from Marloth Park. See the link here. The bright glare of the setting sun impeded our photo-taking of these elephants across the river. But, we were thrilled to get these. Soon, we’ll see elephants up close when we enter Kruger Park.

When Tom was meeting with his son TJ at a restaurant about 15 minutes away, I decided to see if I could change my planned visit to my dear friend Chere’s home in Eden Prairie. As much as we treasure time with friends, we have prioritized time with our children and grandchildren over all else.

Based on the time he and TJ were getting together, it didn’t leave time for him to pick me up when he’d be done. Nor did I want him to have to rush his time with his son to come to get me at Chere’s home. When I called and explained the situation to Chere, her husband Gary agreed to drop her off at our hotel. Chere recently had knee replacement surgery and hasn’t been cleared to drive.

By 1:30, she walked in the door, albeit a little shaky on her new knee, and we hugged as close girlfriends do. Instead of coming to our messy room with all of our recent purchases piled up, we sat in the lovely hotel lobby at a table with comfortable chairs and sipped on hot tea, and caught up.

It wasn’t as if we had much catching up to do when we’d last got together during our US visit in 2019 (but not when we were here, sick with Omicron last May). We’ve stayed in close touch over the years via text and email and knew what was going on with one another. Plus, Chere regularly reads our posts which easily fills in the blanks of what we’ve been up to.

Chere is a highly educated nutritionist and holistic dietician who has appeared on many local and national TV news stations over the years, as well as speaking as a keynote speaker at countless conventions on health, nutrition, and wellness, often sponsored by large corporations. It was as if we’d never been apart. I wanted more details about her life over the past few years.

There’s something magical about the skies over Africa from what we’ve seen so far in Kenya and now in South Africa, also from this date, nine years ago.

This passion we share for health, fitness, diet, and food brought us together years ago and remained a favorite topic as we share more intimate details of our lives, as girlfriends often do. It was delightful catching up with her. The almost three hours we spent together passed way too quickly.

Her husband Gary arrived to pick her up a few hours later but only after sitting with us for a while for more lively conversation. By the time they walked out the door after warm hugs and goodbyes, it was 4:30, and Tom had yet to return. But my delightful afternoon wasn’t over yet.

The lovely guest services representative, Kelly, at the hotel front desk, poured me a glass of Pinot Grigio, and another great conversation ensued, only occasionally interrupted when a hotel guest needed attention. Again, the discussion was lively and entertaining, and time flew by. Suddenly, it was close to 6:00 pm, and I headed back to our room. I was getting hungry and opened the meat and cheese tray in the little refrigerator for such an occasion.

A short time later, Tom returned, smiling over his enjoyable time with his son, and we decided to forego dinner. I’d eaten enough meat, cheese, and olives to hold me, and Tom said he had two generous portions of popcorn at the bar and wasn’t hungry. Also, we knew we could head to the included breakfast at this excellent hotel at 6:30 am, and we could easily wait for that.

Speaking of this hotel, Hyatt Place in Eden Prairie, we’ve decided to stay here each time we return to Minnesota. The only inconvenience is the lack of washers and dryers at the property. But everything else is superior to the other hotels where we’ve stayed in this central location. Their breakfast is good, the coffee is excellent, and the service is over-the-top.

The hotel had recently been remodeled and is attractive and modern, whereby the other hotels where we’ve stayed in this area in the past are somewhat dated. This seems to be a popular hotel for business people, with efficiency and competitive pricing the norm, typically at $118 a night, a real bargain for this suburban area. When we return in September, we will certainly stay here again.

Today is a quiet day. No family members were available to get together, so we will head to TJ Maxx to buy a suitcase for everything we purchased. We will also stop at the local CVS pharmacy for more of the sinus treatment product I’ve been using that I’d purchased at the pharmacy in Komatipoort. I hope they have something similar here since I’ll be running out by the time we depart. I don’t want to worry about heading to Komatipoort the day we return.

Otherwise, all is well. We’ll be dining out with Greg’s family tomorrow night on our final evening in Minnesota. We’ll head out for dinner since the cost of takeaway is as costly as dining in at some restaurants we like. We begin the long trek back to South Africa and Marloth Park on Thursday.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago, December 6, 2021:

A male impala is on the lookout in Kruger National Park. For more photos, please click here.