Feedback about the UK …

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Bossy doesn’t bring her baby to see us every time she visits. In time, she will bring her more often.

In yesterday’s post, found here, we mentioned that we aren’t staying in England after our ship arrives on April 21. We’ll spend one night in Southampton, drive a rental car for over an hour to London Heathrow Airport, and then fly away. We will share details once we book that flight and our chosen location.

We were looking forward to spending more time in the UK and carefully considered the change in plans. I suppose, in part, we may have been dealing with somewhat of a shock comparing prices in South Africa to England, but we considered that fact.

The youngsters are always very skittish around humans, as they should be.

We did receive several comments from readers living in the UK, espousing how reasonable the cost of living is in some areas, especially for food. But, food isn’t our primary expense, although it may be higher for us than some; we only eat high-quality meats, dairy, and vegetables. Most likely,  our weekly grocery bill and 25% to 40% higher than most.

In reviewing meat prices in England, we checked the beef prices considering that we can consume a kilo (2.2 pounds) of meat in a day between us. After all, our day-to-day way of eating is called “ketovore,” where we consume meat and meat products, a small amount of high-quality dairy, and non-starchy vegetables.

In searching at an online grocery store in England, the link is here; it was easy to see how we can easily spend the amounts we listed in yesterday’s post.

She spends most of her time close to her mom.

But, as mentioned, groceries aren’t our most significant expense, nor is dining out. We don’t eat fried foods, nor do we eat fast food. Thus, when dining out, we visit mid-range restaurants that can easily cost US $100, ZAR 1531, with a few drinks, the main course, taxes, and tips. We factored in those costs to our totals, knowing we generally dine out once or twice a week.

Our most significant per day expenses are auto and holiday home rental, which account for most of the listed totals. You may say, “Well, don’t rent such lovely places. Stay in apartments or hostels to reduce the cost.

But, this is our travel journey, and we decided long ago we’d never sacrifice the quality of a rental nor “stay anywhere
to save money. We don’t want to haul our bags up two, three, or four flights of stairs. We don’t want to hear noise from connecting walls if we can avoid it. We seek pleasant surroundings, views, and safe areas when possible.

Bossy always makes herself known. If we aren’t on the veranda, she comes right up to the bedroom window looking for me.

In every case, we strive to maintain the criteria we established when we first began to travel in 2012. That hasn’t changed much over the years, although we have factored in inflation in this world we live in, allowing us to pay more for our expenses, and although our fixed income has increased very little.

All of these decisions we make are predicated on our desires and needs, not only based on cost but also on convenience and our desire to expand our horizons in learning new areas, cultures, and ways of life. We’ve spent considerable time in the UK in the past. Perhaps this change is an excellent opportunity to go after a bit of the unknown, overall, adding to our worldwide experiences and adventures.

Bossy and her recently born calf. Lots of kudus visited the garden looking for marula fruit.

Thanks to all of our readers who wrote to us for your much-appreciated comments and suggestions.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 5, 2021:

Due to a day-long WiFi outage, we could not post on this date.

We were so wrong!!!…

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    Last night, the porcupine returned to the garden.

Sometimes, we write about a decision we’ve made and post it here, only to find out one or two days later that the decision was made hastily. I admit that in my enthusiasm for a new topic, I may prematurely post a decision we’ve made but have yet to investigate seriously enough for it to become a certainty.

This was the case for the post I wrote yesterday, found here with a heading that read: “Enough procrastination for now…Finally, we’re making decisions…Fun new photos…”

Sometimes, Bossy visits without her baby.

I jumped the gun stating this before we conducted ample research to determine if staying in the UK for 68 days made sense or even taking the ferry to Jersey to see our friends there, staying for a week in a hotel. When we started adding the expenses relative to both of these experiences, the cost went far beyond what was practical for our budget.

We don’t mind exceeding our chosen monthly budget when we’re cruising or on a special expedition of one sort or another. But, living in a location for a few months is time we prefer to maintain a tight reign on expenses in order to be able to embark on cruises and such special outings from time to time.

These are pits from marula fruit which the kudu eat and spit out the pits when done chewing. Eight kudus stayed in our garden all day eating the fruit since we have a prolific marula tree hanging over the house. There’s controversy over whether animals get “drunk” from the fermented fruit. But, based on the numbers of kudus we had sleeping in the garden yesterday, we considered this may be true.

Long ago, we made a decision to avoid tapping into our investments to support our world travel. If we started doing this, it could easily get away from us. Plus, if we take money out, we are taxed on it, thus increasing the cost of any particular event.

In the post, on October 22, 2019, found here, we listed our final expenses for our stay for 62 nights in the UK as indicated below:

Expense     US Dollar       GBP
Holiday Rentals  $ 8,381.40  $ 6,426.17
Southampton Hotel (2)  $    276.94  $    213.35
Car Rental + Fuel  $ 1,985.64  $  1,529.73
Dining Out  $    675.07  $     520.07
Groceries  $ 1,502.48  $  1,157.50
Pharmacy  $    478.20  $     368.40
Tours  $      42.00  $       32.36
Total  $13,341.73  $10,247.58
Avg Daily- 62 ngts  $     215.19  $     165.28

Here is an estimate of expenses, if we spend 68 nights in the UK, (rounded off to the nearest dollar for illustrative purposes):

Expense     US Dollar           ZAR
Holiday Rentals  $ 10500.00  $ 160538.00
Hotels  $  2500.00  $   38223.00
Car Rental + Fuel + Ferry  $ 5800.00  $   88751.00
Dining Out  $ 2300.00  $   35194.00
Groceries  $ 1800.00  $   27544.00
Pharmacy & Shopping  $    650.00  $     9946.00
Tours  $    400.00  $     6121.00
Total  $23, 950.00  $ 366482.00
Avg Daily- 68 ngts  $     352.21  $  5389.00   

The above totals clearly indicate the approximate 30% increase in expenses we’d mentioned in a prior post, that we’re seeing three years after our visit in 2019, after carefully researching expenses in each of these categories.

It’s unusual to find kudus laying down in our garden. But, after eating dozens of marula fruit, they may be sleepy.

We fully realize inflation would impact the costs wherever we may go in the world. We are prepared to adapt to those increases. But 30% in an already high-cost country makes us realize we need to shop elsewhere.

As a result of yesterday’s extensive research, we reviewed the list of non-Schengen countries and have gone back to investigate which may be excellent options for the 68 nights we need to fill. Keeping in mind, the purpose of researching the expenses for a potential 68 nights in the UK is while we await news from Azamara as to the new itinerary for the cruise at the end of June, sailing out of Istanbul.

If we find the ports of call on the new Azamara itinerary are those we’ve visited in the past and don’t care to see again, we’ll have the option of canceling and receiving a full refund. If that proves to be the case, the 68 days in the UK becomes a moot point and we must find where we’d like to go until the next cruise on November 8, 2022. In that case, we’d be left with 202 days to fill. We have some ideas in mind and will share that information when we know more.

The kudus stood at the edge of the veranda eating the marula and dropping the pits onto the veranda floor. Tom swept them off a few times.

It’s not that we’re running out of countries to visit. It is just that after the pandemic with many travel changes throughout the world, and now the war in Ukraine, we look at where we’d like to travel with a new and different perspective.

To wrap this up, next time we post statements about what we plan to do, we’ll make sure it’s affordable and logical, considering the above situations and also the cost of living in any specific area. Now, our only option is to wait and hear what happens with the Azamara cruise to Russia via the Black Sea, and then, from that point, we’ll conduct the appropriate research, sharing details when we pin things down.

Thanks for your patience. Humm…19 days and counting until we depart South Africa for a short stay in the US, then off to Fort Lauderdale for our transatlantic cruise on Celebrity Silhouette. We love this cruise line and this class of ships and look forward to cruising once again.

Be well.

 Photo from one year ago today, March 4, 2021:

There were several fast-growing ostrich chicks close to a house in the bush. For more photos, please click here.

Enough procrastination for now…Finally, we’re making decisions…Fun new photos…

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A lovely female kudu was sound asleep in our garden. She didn’t move for over an hour.

It’s been easy for us to procrastinate after many cancellations have occurred over the past two years. We no more than book a trip to another country, and close to departure time, everything changes, and either our flight is canceled or changed, or we decide not to go for one safety reason or another.

In the 14 months we’ve spent in South Africa since January 13, 2021, we’ve only left the country twice; once to fly to Zambia for a visa run and another to fly to the US for a visa run, vaccinations, and see family. We accomplished our objectives and returned for yet another 90 days in each case.

On one occasion, President Ramphosa provided an automatic visa extension for visitors already in the country. That worked well for us since it was close to when we had to leave anyway. Recently, we applied for and received a 90 days extension that runs into April 23. But, in this case, we’re leaving in 20 days, a month earlier than the extension date, to get to Florida in time for our cruise on April 8.

Eight female kudus hung around our garden all morning.

Then, of course, we were scheduled to go to friend Karen and Rich’s wedding on February 11. But, based on negative news in the US about Omicron, which was minimal here and extensive in the US, we would have had to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days before the wedding. That didn’t work for us. We had no interest in hotel quarantine after what happened in India in 2020, resulting in a 10-month quarantine in a hotel.

Now, with the upcoming cruise on April 8, leaving from Florida and feeling comfortable it won’t cancel, we booked our flights to Tampa, a rental car for 15 days while we’ll stay with Karen and Rich. On the morning of the cruise, we’ll drive to Fort Lauderdale, drop off the car at the airport, and take a taxi to the port.

With the high cost of living in England, we recently wondered if it made sense to fly to a less expensive country and enjoy its wonders. The dilemma begins at the end of the cruise in Southampton, England, on April 21. We have two months “to kill” until our next cruise in Istanbul, Turkey, at the end of June.

Our resident tree frog lives atop this structural post on the veranda. She croaks off and on during the day but ramps it up at night, communicating with other frogs.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post here, we listed all the non-Schengen countries we could visit during the gap in our itinerary. But most of those countries are around Russia, and we don’t feel it is sensible to stay in many of those countries right now, based on the war in Ukraine.

I awoke during the night and started thinking of what would make the most sense for us. In my mind, I came to a decision. All I had to do was present it to Tom and see how he felt.  As we have often mentioned, we never choose to stay anywhere in the world without both of us totally in agreement.

This morning when I bolted out of bed, I approached Tom, who was sitting at the table on the veranda, as usual, and posed the question, “Honey, shall we just “bite the bullet” and stay put in England for the entire two-plus months as originally planned, staying one to two weeks in each location we visit.” When we did that in 2019, we had a wonderful experience, enjoying each unique experience along the way.

This was the tiniest mongoose baby we’d ever seen.

Tom immediately replied with a resounding “yes!” It means we’d have to move frequently, but we’re good at that, living out of suitcases from location to location. We can rent holiday homes, cook our meals and haul our leftover food with us from one locale to the next. That way, we’d reduce the cost of eating dinner out every night, although we’ll still dine out once or twice a week.

Now, we go back to the drawing board, searching for holiday homes, using the VRBO link on our website while accepting the reality that we’ll be paying a lot more than we did last time, which was also expensive. From what we can see online, average prices for holiday homes are as much as 30% higher than before the pandemic.

I suppose some property owners have been trying to make up for lost revenue during travel hesitancy and restrictions in the past two years. Ultimately, this philosophy may not serve them well when their overpriced holiday rentals are sitting empty.

That’s it for today, folks. We’ll be back tomorrow with more!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 3, 2021:

Last year at this time, we were scheduled to travel to the Maasai Mara in Kenya in 37 days to stay at Little Governor’s Camp. We had to cancel the trip when Kenya closed its borders. For more, please click here.

The house we’ll move to in December…Exterior photos…

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We look forward to sitting here watching the visitors stop by.

It’s been a busy morning in the bush. First off, I postponed doing the post since my space bar isn’t working due to the humidity. I can’t tell you how hard it is to write anything. Hopefully, it will resolve soon. I’ve had this happen here, and a few days later, it improves. I’ve tried all the fixes to no avail.

Once we get to the USA, I may need to purchase a new laptop. Two years ago, while we were in Udaipur, India, this cheap laptop I bought may have seen its better days. However, it was only US $365, ZAR 5662, so I may not flinch from replacing it to make life easier. I am constantly having trouble with the keys.

There’s a table on the veranda now that comfortably seats eight.

I’ve finally become used to using a Chromebook, and since we often replace our old laptops every few years, another Chromebook would be my choice. When checking out similar models on Amazon.com, I see they are no more expensive than what I paid in India. Since we won’t be returning to the US for a while, this might make the most sense.

In any case, I am banging the spacebar with enthusiasm to write here today. I may end up giving up a little short of our usual post. We’ll see how it goes.

The two lounge chairs look appealing.

When we arrive in the US, we’ll need to head to a Costco store and check out laptops there, along with purchasing some vitamins we take and other miscellaneous items we use. Of course, we can’t buy much since we’ll be flying again in a few months with strict weight restrictions.

It seems the airlines are charging more and more for luggage, which will only worsen as oil prices rise due to inflation and the war in Ukraine. We have to consider the added expense of traveling as we add more to our itinerary. We’ve noticed the prices of holiday homes have increased, especially in the UK where we recently searched in light of our upcoming trip.

Bang, bang, bang, on the spacebar!

This is a perfect area for us to spend our days and nights.

Right now, it looks as if staying in England for a few months is not unlike staying in Hawaii. The cost of living is very high. Based on our number of upcoming cruises and those related expenses, we may decide not to stay in the UK for the entire two months.

We may visit our friends in Jersey for a week and return by ferry to England to see Ken and Linda a week later when they return from Holland. We are considering heading to other non-Schengen countries, so wait out the next cruise at the end of June.

We will set up a few chairs on the wood deck to be closer to the abundance of wildlife who visit this garden.

Schengen visas rule visitors’ visa rights to most countries in Europe, allowing visitors only to stay for 90 days out of 180 days. Due to the itineraries of many of our cruises, we cannot stay in any Schengen countries before the cruises begin to ensure we don’t violate the ruling.

Here is a list of non-Schengen countries in Europe:

  1. Albania
  2. Andorra
  3. Armenia
  4. Azerbaijan
  5. Belarus
  6. Bosnia & Herzegovina
  7. Croatia
  8. Cyprus
  9. Georgia
  10. Ireland
  11. Kosovo
  12. North Macedonia
  13. Moldova
  14. Monaco
  15. Montenegro
  16. Romania
  17. Russia
  18. San Marino
  19. Serbia
  20. Turkey
  21. Ukraine
  22. The United Kingdom
  23. Vatican City

Of course, some of these countries are foolish to visit due to the war in Ukraine. We are considering the other options to see if it makes sense to visit them during this gap in our itinerary. We will figure it all out in the next few weeks, hoping to have established some bookings for the next few months. But, in the worst case, we can always do some booking while on the cruise across the Atlantic Ocean when we have some free time during the day.

Enjoy the exterior photos of the house we’ve booked for our return in December. Have a safe and purposeful day!

Photo from one year ago today, March 2, 2021:

Mongooses share a pan of raw scrambled eggs. For more photos, please click here.

Last night, the house we’ll move to when we return in December…More photos tomorrow…

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The master bedroom with ensuite bath.

Rita and Gerhard’s friends from the US, Karyn, and Dan, arrived on Sunday after they’d moved into the bigger house on Ratel St., which Danie and Louise own and recently remodeled. Louise has mentioned this house to us many times. They lived in that house for several years, and we’d seen in 2018, before the remodeling, on several occasions.

Another view of the master bedroom with ensuite bath.

Once they finished the recent remodeling, Louise suggested we see the house to consider it a possibility for us when we return next December. Somehow time slipped away, and we didn’t get over there until last night when Rita and Gerhard invited us for dinner with Louise and Danie, joining them and their houseguests for steaks on the braai and side dishes. I brought a huge salad, and Tom cooked everyone’s steaks, as usual.

The upper-level bedroom.

It was fun to meet Karyn and Dan, Americans who’d never been to Africa. Of course, as we sat there enjoying our sundowners amid lively conversation, the animals came to call at an unbelievable pace; we were shocked. Karyn, who’d gone nuts over them, feeding them what she called “kibble,” actually pellets, did so with such enthusiasm we all couldn’t stop laughing and reveling in her sheer joy! Dan was less vocal but couldn’t put down his phone when he was constantly taking videos and photos.

The upper-level ensuite bathroom.

It’s such fun to see a first-time visitor to the bush, like Karyn, become so enthralled with the wildlife that she literally could not sit still for five minutes. We couldn’t stop laughing and encouraging her. Like me, she also uses a high-pitched ‘animal-talk” voice. She reminded me of myself eight years ago when I couldn’t believe what I saw when we first arrived. I eventually settled down in time, but even today, eight years later, I’ve never become tired of seeing them.

Upper-level shower.

Last night was truly a feast, not only with the delicious food but also a “feast-for-the-eyes” when not only did we see an endless stream of kudus, bushbucks, and warthogs but later in the evening, the very elusive steenbok, which is rarely seen in the bush or even in Kruger National Park. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me and could not get good photos with my phone.

Indoor dining and lounge area.

However, when we return in December, a mere nine months from now, we will stay in the Ratel house as shown in today’s photos, which Louise sent me this morning. We told her to block it off for us for about six months since we plan to make a visa run after the first 90 days.

View of kitchen from the dining room.

It will be fun to stay in a house with a more oversized veranda, enabling us to entertain more easily. The place looks fantastic, and there’s a master ensuite bedroom on the main floor, which we like with another ensuite bedroom upstairs for guests. We’re hoping by then our friends, Karen and Rich, will come to visit and we’d have plenty of room in that house when we don’t have room in the house that we’re in now.

The spacious open kitchen.

It’s a beautiful thought to know we will move into the Ratel house when we return in December. We’ve certainly enjoyed this house, but mainly for the wildlife in the garden and the seclusion, so far from other bush houses. Although the Ratel house is closer to other properties, none that we can see from the grounds. It appears to have even more wildlife than we have here.

The six-burner gas stove.

Besides, the open garden will certainly bring giraffes and zebras, which we seldom get here other than in the driveway. The bush is too dense for them to maneuver their way to the garden. But, how will we feel about not returning to be with the animals we know and love now?

The scullery is a separate area for doing dishes.

We have no doubt thatLittle will find us eventually. Some of the others may also find us there. Surely, we’ll have to come up with new names for many of the wildlife we’ll meet while living there. For now, we are OK with this.

Of course, Louise has everything there we could need.

Yesterday, Karyn and Dan shared an exciting story. They saw and heard one of the lions loose in Marloth Park run through the side yard. How exciting was that? Of course, that’s not to say we will see the lions when we move there but, no doubt, we’ll enjoy all the wildlife and this house.

Here are Louise’s recent photos of the house after the remodeling was completed. Tomorrow, we’ll share the exterior photos, including the spacious veranda.

Have a lovely day!

Photo from one year ago today, March 1, 2021:

When we were gone, Vusi was cleaning, and Little returned and tried to get inside again. Vusi suggested moving the big bags of pellets from the lounge to another area. We moved the bags of pellets to the second bedroom. For more photos, please click here.

Power outage for 14 hours…Long night without aircon….Amazing responses from readers…

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Spikey Kudu has only recently begun to sprout his lifetime horns. Look at his tongue sticking out a little. Cute.

Last night when we were sitting indoors watching the final emotional episode of the excellent prequel to Yellowstone, 1883, the power went out. With numerous short-term outages lately, we expected it to be restored shortly. No such luck! It never came back on until this morning, 14 hours later.

We did the usual, putting the metal bowl of ice in the refrigerator, which Tom refreshed with more ice this morning. Last night’s meaty casserole was still cold, but since we will be going to Rita and Gerhard’s for dinner tonight, we tossed it out to the few dozen mongooses waiting in the garden for paloney. They loved it! Their digestive systems are sturdier than ours. After all, they can eat venomous snakes!

I keep thinking about Little stopping by several times after leaving and not finding us here.

Luckily, we still had hot water but could not make coffee when we got up. The side burner on the braai wasn’t working for some reason. I made myself an iced coffee using decaf crystals and added ice leftover in the freezer. That worked ok for me. Finally, when the power was restored, Tom could have his coffee.

After carefully checking the food in the fridge, I determined it all survived, but I threw out a few questionable items. Since last Wednesday, we hadn’t shopped, so the refrigerator wasn’t overly stocked. Everything in the freezer was still frozen solid, including fish and prawns. No worries there.

As far as homely warthogs go, Little is a fine-looking specimen, although he has small tusks.

Luckily, with our laptop’s long-lasting batteries, we were able to watch shows until finally we shut it down, played with our phones for a while, and drifted off to sleep. Of course, we awoke several times during the night, never even using the top sheet. It was too warm. Thank goodness, yesterday wasn’t the hottest day in the past week.

Today, I’ll continue walking and make a salad to bring to R & G’s tonight. They have friends visiting from the US, whom they picked up yesterday at the Nelspruit Airport. They are all going on a road trip in about ten days and won’t return to Marloth Park until next September.

Last night, Mom and babies stopped by, accompanied by Barbara and Lori (not shown in the photo), her daughters from her previous litter.

Maybe another surprise will be on the horizon!! We probably won’t see Rita and Gerhard when we return in December since they spend Christmas in the US at their home in Washington. But, they surprised us by showing up on New Year’s Eve at the party at Flo and JiJi’s. That would be fantastic.

Tonight there will be eight of us, with Louise and Danie joining in on the dinner party. Gosh, it’s fun to go to a dinner party on a weeknight. We never did that in our old lives when we had to get up and go to work the following day. It’s one of the many joys of retirement.

In yesterday’s post here, I apologized for our mundane posts and lack of exciting photos since the pandemic hit the world over the past two years. As for many of you, traveling became cumbersome and complex with all the Covid restrictions, closed borders, and regulations.

Mongooses sleep close to one another, even when it’s hot. After this morning’s breakfast, they stay around for a few hours, lounging in the side garden.

In response to that post, the email messages came in by the dozens, if not more. All of them were kind and thoughtful, expressing their support of what we do each day to bring you our latest news. There wasn’t one “hater” or negative comment. We thank every one of you for taking the time to write and for your thoughtful and generous words.

One of these email messages particularly stuck in my mind overnight from a longtime reader/friend, Liz. It’s a bit self-boasting to post this, so in advance, let me say that it is not our intention to “fluff our feathers.”  Here’s what Liz wrote:

“Dear Jess,

It should be us who thank you and Tom to allow us ‘homebodies’ to travel vicariously through your experiences. The time and effort it takes to photograph, create the post idea, write and edit is not lost on me. The fact that, unless in exceptional circumstances, you have provided a daily post for many years now is amazing.

On the one hand I too am ‘champing at the bit’ to get back out there to see more of my beautiful country, but on the other hand circumstances, health, and finances.

In the mean time I am able to watch the world through your eyes informing and learning not only about the far flung places but my attitude, likes and dislikes. Geography, social history, politics and the human race are all presented there in your blog giving me the chance to learn something new.

Thank you!

Liz”

Another slightly younger Spikey Kudu arrived in the garden.

This email brought tears to my eyes. We posted for the first time in March 2012, almost ten years ago, and our readership continues to grow with many new readers each year. Is this why our readers have stuck with us through boring, mundane, and repetitive posts, year after year?

All we can say is “thank you” to Liz and to every reader who wrote to us, and every reader continues to read our post. With your support, we stay motivated and engaged in bringing you more content, especially now as we hope to enjoy more freedom of travel.

Will this war in Ukraine have an impact on our future travels? As always, only time will tell. But, again, travel freedom can change in a moment, as we’ve seen over the past two years. In the interim, we continue to make as many plans as possible at this point.

Have a pleasant Monday!

Photo from one year ago today, February 28, 2021:

Tom and I and Ken and Linda, great friends from Marloth Park who happened to be in Sydney at the same time as us! Small world! In May, we’ll see them again in England. For more photos, please click here.

An apology for our readers…Newly posted photos from elephant encounter…

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At Kwa Madwala, guests can opt for safaris on horseback.

It was almost two years ago that our hotel lockdown began in India. It’s been over 13 months since we arrived in Marloth Park. Overall, we’ve only been to these two places, other than a week-long visa-stamp trip to Zambia in April and then a one-month visit to the US in July. We’ve been contrary to our self-imposed nomenclature as “world travelers” since we began this years-long journey in 2012.

Don’t get me wrong. We’ve enjoyed every moment in Marloth Park with our human and animal friends, of which there have been countless opportunities. But we are ready to move on. Our wanderlust has taken over! We’re chomping at the bit to get back “into the world.”

The pool from the veranda at Kwa Madwala is soon to be renovated and re-opening within a year.

We don’t mind staying put for extended periods, which accounts for the many times we’ve stayed two, three, and even four months in one location. Doing so has allowed us to learn about each country, its people, culture, nature, and fascinating points of interest.

Sure, we could have done more while we were here. We could have gone on road trips and stayed at various safari camps. But, it’s been hard to motivate ourselves to travel to see precisely what we can see here in our backyard and on a short drive to enter Kruger National Park.

The beautiful male elephant tossed his trunk back for the guide to place pellets inside.

Plus, with so many cruises booked, we needed to watch our spending. It’s only due to the low cost of living for us in the bush that we’ve been able to select a few more expensive cruises than we would have by living here than in other countries. where the cost of living is so much higher. In reality, our lowest cost of living has been in South Africa in partial years: 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, and now in 2022.

In total, we’ve spent 32 months living in Marloth Park in the past nine years and hope to be back, if all goes well, returning next December, just before Tom’s birthday, the 23rd, and Christmas. We won’t be staying so long when we return, leaving no longer than six months after we arrive, requiring another visa extension, or a short trip away for a visa stamp.

Nonetheless, I should get to the point of our heading; an apology to our readers…

The property manager was familiar with the elephants allowing him to do a pull-out. Wow!

We are sorry for the redundancy of our posts, especially over the past two years since the onset of the pandemic, and now the endless stream of animal photos of wildlife we’ve surely posted time and time again. You’ve seen me walking in the corridors in India during the ten tedious months of repeated photos from past experiences. Now it is one or multiple bushbucks, one or multiple pigs, one or numerous kudus, and one band of mongooses after another.

We posted numerous photos from our night trail cam, most often of genets and porcupines and many elephants from the river, Kruger National Park, and our recent elephant experience on my birthday. Frank and The Misses and other francolin pairs have graced these pages repeatedly. Recently wildebeests Hal and Broken Horn have been shown and mentioned over and over again.

The veranda where we had brunch last Sunday at Kwa Madwala.

Occasional bush babies, hornbills, go-away birds, and other small creatures have been highlighted on countless posts. On top of all of that, we’ve prepared innumerable posts about Covid-19, lions in Marloth Park, cruises, and now, challenges in traveling due to the horrific war in Ukraine.

Don’t think for one minute that we haven’t been aware of the repetition, the redundancy of various topics and photos, ad nauseam. I justify the repetition because the concept of writing a new story 365 days a year is a daunting task. If someone had presented such a task for me to accomplish daily, I would have run the other way.

The sign for the property as we left after the beautiful experience.

But doing so has been of my own volition, and we’ve continued to do so with love and caring for our surroundings and our fine audience, who miraculously have stayed with us while it continued to grow over the years. For this, we are very grateful. Thank you, dear readers, for your commitment to reading our posts year after year. You amaze me! My attention span is not quite as good as yours!

Hopefully, soon as we reach out to the world before us, our stories and photos will be more exciting and varied. That’s our intention.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 27, 2021:

This photo was taken from the car window when we drove along the Crocodile River. For more photos, please click here.

Uncertainty prevails…We continue on…

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We looked up to find a female impala and her youngster in the garden searching for pellets. The baby is so tiny.

Today is a quiet day. It’s hot and humid, leaving both of us with low energy. I didn’t sleep well last night, waking up every hour or so, having one weird dream after another as soon as I fell back to sleep. Finally, by 4:00 am, I drifted off and slept until 7:45, bolting out of bed knowing I needed to get up and start walking and prepare tonight’s dinner.

I’m making a dish Tom particularly likes; Low Carb Hamburger Scramble, a meaty, cheesy hamburger casserole with cream cheese, onions, and mushroom. I also like it a lot, but it’s so delicious that I tend to overeat. Lately, I’d gained some weight, and I have been working hard to lose it before heading to the US and then on a cruise.

They are both adorable.

Although I eat a keto diet and have done so for over 11 years, it’s easy to gain weight by overeating. Plus, I was making low-carb cakes for a while, and regardless of the low number of carbs in them, they are calorie-dense. There’s no “free lunch,” as they say. There’s never a way of eating that one doesn’t have to control portion size to some degree.

I have found that I never lose an ounce from walking vigorously, even when I do 10000 steps. Few people ever lose weight from exercise alone unless jogging or running or performing intense exercises for extended periods. It’s all about what goes into our mouths. If we overeat, we can gain weight, regardless of the carb count.

The baby impala is very shy.

Maintaining my weight has always been a struggle for me due mainly to my bad genes on my mother’s side of the family, most of whom were overweight and diabetic, eventually succumbing to heart-related consequences, a byproduct of high blood sugar uncontrolled blood pressure.

Luckily, I have been working hard to keep my blood sugar and blood pressure as low as possible by eliminating most carbs except non-starchy vegetables and dairy. I take one low dose medication for blood pressure, but no medication is required for my blood sugar due to my eating.

Chevy stops by each day. Could he be the dad of the young one?

It was always somewhat of a health-nut. It surprised me to discover I had coronary artery disease, although nothing is wrong with my heart itself. It is the arteries that are bad. I am grateful to be alive today, unlike many relatives who died from these conditions long before they reached my current age.

That is why I am so diligent about walking, diet, and lifestyle. Now, if I could be more consistent in sleeping better, I feel as if it’s all under control. Also, keeping stress under control is crucial. Overall, our lives are relatively stress-free. The only time I get my “hair in a bundle” is when I make a mistake and have to correct it promptly or when there’s some issue with a booking caused by human error.

Hal is at far left, Bossy in the center, and Bossy’s baby, who she only brings here once in a while.

Fortunately, neither of us has felt overly stressed about Covid, although we have spent plenty of time researching how it impacts our travels. Knowledge is the best means of reducing fear and anxiety. Now, with the war in Ukraine, expecting our cruise to be canceled, we know we’ll figure out how and where to travel until the following cruise. It always works out one way or another.

In the interim, our concern is for the citizens of Ukraine and this horrific experience and, of course, how this event will impact the economy in the US and the world. All we can do in the interim is pray for a quick resolution to end this madness.

Be safe.

Photo from one year ago today, February 26, 2021:

We call this male bushbuck Torn Ear. His left ear had an injury, leaving a flap of hair and skin. He used to visit several times a day. But we haven’t seen him in months. For more photos, please click here.

Horrific war in Kyiv, Ukraine…Our upcoming cruise in June to Ukraine…

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Our upcoming June 29 Azamara cruise to Ukraine’s scheduled itinerary raises significant concerns.

Our first concern is for the people of Ukraine and their families and friends throughout the world, who are impacted by this cruel and senseless attack on the citizens of Kiev, also known as Kyiv. From now on, I will refer to the city under attack as Kyiv since many may not be aware of this alternate spelling.

My great grandfather was the mayor of Kyiv in the late 1800s. Many of my ancestors immigrated from Kyiv in the early 1900s, which I was well aware of in my childhood. Tom has conducted considerable research in Ancestry.com and has confirmed the lineage as far back as Ancestry.com records display.

Of course, our concern for the people of Kyiv and Ukraine, in general, supersedes our interest in sailing on this itinerary in June. In no way do I minimize the importance of the safety of human lives over the prospect of a cruise for our pleasure. There’s no comparison. From that viewpoint, I proceed with this post discussing the travel relevance to this awful situation.

This morning, as I began typing this post, we received an email message from Azamara that reads as follows:

Brand

February 24, 2021

Dear Azamara Guest,

We have been monitoring the situation between Ukraine and Russia for the past several weeks. Based on the latest overnight developments, we have found it necessary to change our current voyages to visit either of these countries. As a result, your Black Sea Voyage, which is scheduled to depart on June 29, 2022, on Azamara Onward®, is one of the voyages we will be adjusting to remove Ukraine and/or Russia as a port of call.

We need a little time to ensure the changes we make still result in a memorable, deeply immersive cruise vacation, so we just wanted to inform you that these changes will be shared with you soon.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and thank you for your cooperation throughout our journey as we have worked to manage this fluid situation. We assure you that your upcoming Azamara vacation will deliver the highest standards of service and quality for which we are known.

Should you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor for more details or visit https://www.azamara.com/contact-us for your local Azamara call center number.

We look forward to welcoming you on board.

Sincerely,

AZAMARA®

For years, Tom always talked about sailing the Black Sea. I often hesitated to consider this possibility based on the outrageous cost of cruises to this magical area. When we first started traveling, we decided we both must be enthused about any future travel plans to make the bookings.

Recently, when we started booking cruises again, I knew we’d better fulfill Tom’s dream of the Black Sea after seeing how the pandemic impacted the world of travel to such a degree. As we age, we need to consider fulfilling the dreams of where we’d like to visit. No doubt, at some point, we’ll have to stop traveling.

Finally, a few months ago, we booked the Black Sea cruise on Azamara. As of yesterday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated the war against Ukraine, we wondered if yet another venue we’ve booked would be canceled. After all, countless plans we’ve made in the past few years have been canceled by the provider, or we had canceled due to concerns over Covid-19 when we weren’t vaccinated.

Based on the above letter, it will be interesting to see what alternatives Azamara makes for the above itinerary. Since we’ve sailed on 27 cruises since the onset of our travels over the past nine years ago, and we have several other cruises booked into 2023, there may be some redundancy.

Surely, if that’s the case, Azamara will give us an option for a full refund or a future cruise. Then, we could transfer the funds we already paid for the cruise mentioned above of US $9862, ZAR 150773, over to one of the other upcoming Azamara cruises we have booked into the future.

Once we sail on the Celebrity Cruise on April 8, the remaining six cruises are on Azamara, on which we’ve never sailed. Why did we book so many cruises on an unfamiliar cruise line? Their itineraries matched where we wanted to travel, their ships are much smaller at around 600 passengers instead of 3000, and the reviews were fantastic.

Sure, Azamara may not have many amenities that many cruisers insist upon, but we are less picky. We are content if we have a clean, well-appointed cabin, working WiFi, and a chef who will cook meat and veg for me. Tom is easy to please with food selections. Plus, we hear Azamara is superior in all these areas and more.

We continue with prayers for the people of Ukraine and their loved ones and hope this massacre will end quickly. But nothing Putin can do going forward will ease the sorrow and fear being felt by the Ukrainian people, now or in the future.

Be safe.

Photo from one year ago today, February 25, 2021:

No doubt, giraffes like to get a load off their feet from time to time. Giraffes are the tallest land animals. “Female giraffes are up to 4.2 meters, 14 feet tall, and weigh up to 680 kg, 1,500 pounds. Meanwhile, males are up to 5.5 meters, 18 feet tall, and can weigh 1361 kg, 3,000 pounds.” For more photos, please click here.

Making plans for England…Yesterday…a fun and varied day!…Photos of Komatipoort…

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Rita and I each had this fantastic smoked trout salad at Stoep Cafe. I can’t wait to return to order it once again.

Yesterday, the plan was for Rita and me to go to lunch while Tom and Gerhard drove to Nelspruit to return the last rental car before we depart Marloth Park in 27 days. Yesterday, knowing that Rita was picking me up to go to lunch at 11:30, I was determined to get in as much walking before we headed out. I managed to do 6000 steps before Rita and Gerhard pulled into the driveway.

It was great for Tom to have company for the over three-hour trip, and of course, Rita and I enjoyed the quiet time together, when in a few weeks, they will be leaving Marloth Park for a while. They aren’t sure when they’ll return, but hopefully, we’ll see them sometime after we return in December.

Tom stopped at Mohammed Moussa shop to get his Cole Haan shoes repaired. The total cost was ZAR 80, US $5.26.

Initially, we’d planned to go to lunch in Malalane, but Rita changed her appointment, so we decided to head to Komati, which is half the distance. It’s an excellent little restaurant where we’ve had many breakfasts, but I’d never been there for lunch. We decided on lunch at Stoep Cafe, a favorite haunt of ours and other locals.

Kathy got us all excited about Stoep when she often stopped there for coffee and a light breakfast a few times a week. In 2013/2014 and again in 2018, Tom and I often had breakfast there before grocery shopping. But, this time around, he and I hadn’t been there at all.

The shoe repair guys sit outside the general store waiting for customers who may need repairs.

However, before Rita and Gerhard returned to Marloth Park on New Year’s Eve, Kathy and I often got together at Stoep for breakfast and lively chatter. Once Rita arrived, the three of us would go, and she and I continued the ritual once Kathy and Don returned to the US a few months ago. We all miss them terribly. We are fortunate to have such good friends all around.

The lunch continued longer than we’d expected, and finally, by 3:00 pm, 1500 hrs, we were back at the house. A short time later, Gerhard and Tom arrived in the same car we had rented earlier. Budget Car Rental was low on vehicles and based on our excellent pricing. Tom didn’t hesitate to re-rent the exact vehicle.

Another strip of shops with vegetable stands in the parking lot.

With much for Rita and Gerhard to do back at their house, as they prepared for friends from the US visiting in a few days, they took off. It was too hot to be standing in the kitchen prepping for a meal. With nothing chopped and diced for dinner and the awful heat, I suggested we go out to dinner at Giraffe Cafe, a short distance down the road, and Tom agreed.

Before we headed out the door, friends Linda and Ken called, and we wrapped up plans as to when we’ll be seeing them in England around the first of May when they return from visiting the tulips in Holland. Gee, we should do that someday! That sounds like something we’d love to do as well. Most of our friends are world travelers in one way or another. They may not be homeless like us, but they do get around the world!

There are countless vegetable stands on the side of the road.

By 4:30 pm, 1630 hrs, we reached Giraffe, running into a few locals we know and making our way to the bar where we chatted endlessly, sharing the details of our partial day apart and discussing plans for the future. Based on the information we’ve read online, it appears all of our cruises should sail as planned.

I ordered a small salad with grilled chicken, and Tom had the chicken schnitzel, which he’d ordered there in the past. The food isn’t as good as Jabula, nor is the atmosphere quite as lively. But, we had a pleasant evening and returned home to get into comfortable clothes and watch an episode of Billions on Showtime and “1883” (my new latest favorite show) on Paramount Plus on Amazon Prime,

Huge bags of onions are sold at cheap prices.

After a reasonably good night’s sleep, we were both ready to tackle another day. Time is flying so quickly right now; it’s astounding.

Yeah, the power just came back on! That certainly changes my attitude about walking today. At least I can turn on the air-con from time to time to cool off.

Many locals’ only source of income is from selling vegetables and fruit from local farms.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 24, 2021:

There were no photos on the post from one year ago today, but there was a video from Garage Logic, a podcast Tom has listened to for years on which he is mentioned every day! To listen to the video, we posted one year ago, please click this link. Now, one year later, Tom continues to be mentioned each day. They usually mention him toward the end of the podcast. If you’d like to hear more mentions of Tom, please click here.