Further planning for trip to Zambia…

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This is Mom and Baby. They visit many times each day.
This tiny bushbuck is most likely only a few weeks old. Mom keeps her young hidden in the bush for a few weeks to protect them from predators. She visits her young daily to nurse and to eat her excrement to prevent predators from finding her. Once the baby is grown enough, she’ll be introduced to the wild, where she’ll learn to forage for food. Even a youngster such as this enjoys eating pellets but is very skittish around humans and other wildlife.

Louise, our dear friend, property manager, and travel and event planner, is busy getting us the best possible price for our exciting upcoming event once we arrive in Zambia on October 21st. By the end of today, we will have booked a three-night cruise on a fantastic upscale houseboat on the beautiful, wildlife-rich Chobe River.

We’ll stay in the familiar-to-us hotel on the first night, the Protea Hotel in Livingstone, and again on the last night on October 25th. We’ll return to South Africa the following day after our 5-night trip for our visa stamps.  The Chobe River is located in Botswana, a short distance from the hotel.

Today, we’re awaiting a quote from Chris, the same driver/tour company operator we used on our previous two trips to Zambia, to provide transportation to and from the Livingstone Airport and back and forth from the boat landing. Once again, we’ll embark on a small boat to get across the Zambezi River to our houseboat.

These three bushbucks visited together and shared pellets. Could this be Mom, Dad, and Baby? Dads don’t usually don’t participate in the raising of the young.

While making this crossing, we’ll be at what is called a quadripoint as indicated below:

A quadripoint is a point that touches the border of four distinct territories. Also known as the “four corners of Africa,” these four countries meet at the eastern end of the Caprivi Strip – Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. There are more than 150 tripoints in the world but only ONE international quadripoint.

I should mention the Chobe River runs into the Zambezi River, the largest river in Africa. However, based on where we can fly from Nelspruit, it makes sense for us to sail on the Chobe hundreds of miles (km) further upstream. Thus, we’ll experience this interesting scenario that fascinated us the last two times we visited this unique point on the river for the third time.

We are trying to keep our costs down and accomplish this goal of getting our visa stamps. Why not have a great adventure in the process?

Stringy, who arrived months ago with vines hanging from his horns, has become quite a regular, even responding to his name.

This morning Tom booked our hotel reservations on either end, two nights at the Protea Hotel in Livingstone, where we’d stayed previously. It is a lovely property, and the price includes a king-sized bed, free WiFi, and a lovely breakfast. We had two remaining free nights to use from Hotels.com (the link on our site) that covered most of the cost. We only had the pay the shortfall of about US $70, ZAR 1052 for both nights combined.

While we were in lockdown in India for ten months, we continued to use our free nights toward the bill, leaving us with a handful of free nights for the upscale hotel in Henderson, Nevada, in July when we used in part we visited the US. With only these two free nights left, we decided to use these now.

With this plan, we’re excited to travel for our visa stamps. There was no way either of us was willing to sit in a hotel room in Livingstone for five days and nights. Going on the water, which we always love to do, seemed to be the most exciting and adventurous for us when we’ll see plenty of many unique sites and take fascinating side trips on a smaller boat.

Wildebeests, who have small eyes and poor vision, love to hang out with zebras whose stripes tend to confuse predators and thus provide some protection for the gnu.

That’s all on that trip for now. We’re also busy planning our trip to Florida at the end of January. We both are very busy with all these plans. By the end of this month, after we return from Zambia, we’ve decided to prepare and post our new itinerary for the first time in a few years on the day of our ninth world travel anniversary on October 31, 2021.

Many of our readers have inquired about our itinerary, and as we’ve begun to book more and more into the future, we realize the time has come to put together this essential part of our world travels. Please stay tuned for more.

Be healthy. Be safe. Be content.

Photo from one year ago today, October 5, 2020:

We posted this photo one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #196. This appeared to be some horse far as we made our way to the Maasai Mara in Kenya in 2013. Look at the reflection of our plane on the ground! What a sight! I couldn’t believe we were inside that tiny thing! For more photos, please click here.

Short post today…Busy, busy, busy….

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Frank’s and The Misses’ chicks have come to call!

What a productive past 24 hours we’ve had! Yesterday, we changed our flight from Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger to Phoenix to Tampa, Florida, on January 23, 2022, the day we will have to leave South Africa. There were no charges or penalties, and as a matter of fact, we ended up with a credit with Delta Airlines for around US $250, ZAR 3726 that we’ll use sometime in the future.

As it turns out, we’re planning to spend time with friends Karen and Rich in Apollo Beach and then take off and visit many friends we have that have full-time or winter homes nearby. We’ve contacted some of those friends already and have received enthusiastic responses. Most have offered that we stay with them, but we’ll see how that all rolls out. We don’t expect to be invited to visit and are fully prepared to stay in nearby hotels.

This will be a real “road trip” for us, something we haven’t done much of during our almost nine years of world travel. On this occasion, with stops for a day or two, it won’t be constant driving. Tom just booked a car in Florida for 74 days at the cost of US $3638.68, ZAR 54409, which averages to about US $49, ZAR 733 per day. (Here in South Africa, we pay about 70% less for a similar car with no mileage restrictions).

There is a mileage limit of 5600 miles, but with time spent with Karen and Rich and not driving much, plus staying put for several days while visiting friends, we should be fine on the mileage restriction. We won’t worry about that now and will keep an eye on the mileage at the time.

The chicks are more colorful now. But I will look like Frank in the future.

In any case, we feel enthused about our new plan and look forward to the time we need to occupy while awaiting our upcoming cruise on April 8th.

As for today, Tom dropped me off at Louise’s parking lot to meet up with Kathy and Rita for the three of us to head to Stoep Cafe for “girl talk” and breakfast. Since I had an appointment to see Dr. Theo for my prescription refills (planned before we decided to stay here another three months), it was great to see the fine doctor who saved my life back in 2019 by discovering I had blocked arteries and would need open-heart surgery.

The warm hug from him, coupled with his diligent medical care, left me smiling on my way out the door. I sent Tom a text explaining he could pick me up at the lab across the street where I’d gone for a few blood tests Dr. Theo suggested. Afterward, Tom drove me to the pharmacy to drop off a six-month supply of my three low-dose prescription drugs. I told the pharmacist we’d be back in an hour to collect them.

Frank and The Misses, two chicks now know to come to the veranda for seeds and freshwater. So cute!

In the interim, we shopped at Spar with a revised grocery list that had significantly changed now that we aren’t leaving in a few weeks. We stocked up on every item on the grocery app on my phone, picked up the meds, and headed home. Once we put everything away, I knew that I would prefer to do a shorter post in time for our usual evening on the veranda with our animal friends before darkness falls. It has all worked out well.

Louise has been busy checking into options for our Zambia trip, for which we depart in 17 days. By tomorrow, we’ll have a plan in place and share what we’ve decided. We’re pretty excited about the options.

That’s the latest here, folks. Be well. Be safe and be happy.

Photo from one year ago today, October 4, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #195. Pretty scenery at Liliuokalani Gardens in 2014. For more, please click here.

A sad event impacts our future travels…Changing plans…Changing lives…

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It’s Sunday morning at 11:00. We’re going out to dinner on Tuesday with Alan and Fiona for her birthday. I just spent two hours in the kitchen making Tom’s favorite low-carb, grain-free pizza, which we’ll bake at dinnertime, and a three-night portion of sauteed chicken breast tenders with mushrooms, onions, and garlic for me. We’ll enjoy these main dishes Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. I won’t have to cook for days. I don’t eat the pizza when it’s too fattening for me since I dropped a few more kilos.

But, of course, you don’t care to read about my morning in the kitchen, do you? What is happening with no post yesterday and some arbitrary change in plans?

On Friday afternoon, Minnesota-time, our dear brother-in-law, Gene, husband of Tom’s sister Colleen, sadly passed away after a long and challenging illness exacerbated by a brain injury that occurred years ago when he fell on ice and snow in Minnesota. We often hear of injuries seniors suffer from falling in the long winter months in Minnesota, which is certainly one reason we don’t want to visit Minnesota in the winter, especially with my unstable legs.

Multiple species in the garden.

When Colleen wrote to tell Tom the sad news, it was 11:30 pm here, and I was sound asleep. He didn’t want to awaken me, knowing this information could keep me awake all night, wondering what we’d do when we leave here on October 21st, less than three weeks away.

As it turned out, I awoke at 4:00 am, unable to go back to sleep, almost anticipating something had happened. At 5:30, Tom asked me if I was awake and told me the news. We were sad to hear about this, but it also significantly impacted our upcoming plans.

Colleen is Tom’s sister, whose home we planned to stay in for three months in Apache Junction, Arizona. With Gene’s passing, Colleen wanted to get out of Minnesota for the winter and spend time with her sisters in warm, sunny Arizona.

I ran out onto the road to take this giraffe photo.

She hadn’t been able to go to her home in Apache Junction due to Covid-19 and Gene’s poor health since 2019, when we were last there with them before we took off for India in January 2020. We could not prevent her from going to her property by staying in it for three months during the winter.

Lying there in bed at 5:30 am, discussing this, we considered a few options. We could rent a holiday home somewhere in the US. But, before deciding on Arizona, we’d extensively searched for holiday homes in the US states with warm winters. Since the onset of Covid-19 and losses incurred by holiday homeowners, prices for long-term rentals have gone through the roof.

In suitable locations, even without being overly picky, any properties we may have considered were three times the cost of our rent here in South Africa. Of course, after India, we’re not willing to stay long-term in a hotel. The handwriting was on the wall. We needed to stay in Marloth Park and fly to a non-bordering country in Africa to get our visas stamped.

At a decent hour, I contacted Louise, who we know is an early bird, to see when we could stop by to discuss our possible living arrangements if we did decide to stay another three months. We met up with her at 10:00 am.

When I walked back up the driveway toward the house, Tom distracted Broken Horn with pellets to ensure my safety. This vast animal could be startled and gore an unsuspecting human.

An important fact remained in our minds. Recently, we booked several cruises, a few of which are expensive compared to our average day-to-day expenses. We figured if we could live inexpensively for several months, we could stay within our budget for the year with the costs of these cruises.

But, if we had to pay enormous rent over the following months, we may have to reconsider what we’ve booked. Let’s face it. We’re not getting any younger. I am approaching 74, and Tom will be 69 sooner than later. When we return to South Africa by a cruise in December  2022, we will celebrate Tom’s 70th and, two months later, my 75th birthday during those first three months we are here.

We’ve decided to budget to the best of our ability to ensure we can visit new places we’ve longed to see throughout the world for whatever time we have left that we can do so. Traveling like this isn’t easy. It requires a lot of careful planning and physical energy on travel days and a lot of work necessary to pack and move all the time. Many seniors would find this simply too exhausting and too much work, which we understand. But for now, we still have the stamina to do it. For us, it’s not a chore. It’s an adventure every single time.

Lots of kudus this morning, including Bad Eye, whose torn eyelid looks much better.

It appears we can move our original flight to Arizona without penalty from Delta Airlines due to Covid-19 changes, and thus, we won’t incur any losses by changing our flights. Louise can let us stay in this same house until January 23, 2022, when we’ll leave for Florida, where we’ll stay with friends Karen and Rich before and after their February wedding.

We booked round-trip direct flights to Zambia on October 21st and returned on October 26th for our visa stamps. Louise is helping us book some events in Zambia, which we won’t wrap up for a few days when the tourist offices reopen on Monday.

We called Colleen, offering her our heartfelt sympathies, and told her she could now go to Arizona for the winter since we’ve made other plans and won’t tie up her one-bedroom property. She was so sweet and more than willing to let us stay. But we knew her going there would suit her during this grief and sorrow.

We’ll report with definitive plans for Zambia to stay in the next few days, one of the few countries we can fly to on a direct flight from Nelspruit. There was no way we were interested in booking an expensive trip with long flights going through Johannesburg. Nelspruit is a 75-minute drive from here, and the flight is less than two hours to Livingstone.

We’re good. We were not worried. Not stressed. It was the right thing to do.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, October 3, 2020:

One year ago, this photo was posted in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #194. In Bali, a dragonfly fluttered around the two koi ponds by either side of the front entryway. Much to my delight, it returned almost every day to the exact location. For more, please click here.

We understand that many seniors would find this simply too exhausting and too much work

, physical energy on travel days, and a lot of work necessary to pack and move

We’re not willing to stay long-term in a hotel after India

Exciting day in the bush…New visitors add to the adventure…See our photos!…

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This adorable zebra was lounging in our garden. He must have spotted something interesting on the ground.

I’d stepped inside the house to hang wet laundry on the indoor track. Tom, who was outdoors, whispered in an excited tone through the screen door, “Hurry and come outside. We have a zebra lying down in the garden.”

His friend posed nicely for us between two trees.

Dropping what I was doing, I gingerly opened the screen door with the camera in hand, on and ready to shoot. And there he was, a handsome young-looking male, lounging as if he’s done this many times in our garden. He had not. This was the first time we’d seen him. Moments later, we noticed another male standing nearby, checking us out.

The standing zebra inched his way forward to the awaiting pile of pellets on the ground while the lying zebra contemplated whether or not he should get up and check out the situation. Were we safe? And, of course, did they have pellets? Without waiting for a second, Tom began tossing pellets their way.

A convenient spot to scratch one’s head.

We laughed. Was he that well-fed from residents in Marloth Park that his protruding belly was full? They both looked well fed.

Zebras are “non-ruminants, so plant matter passes through their system in one fell swoop. Their single, relatively small stomach necessitates several small meals a day. The nutrients from cellulose digestion are absorbed into the zebra’s blood next via the large intestine walls.

Before arising, a little preening was necessary.

As a result of this and their daily consumption of the plant, matter results in frequent expulsion of gas: “Large quantities of gas are released as a by-product, and this inflates their bellies so that they always look fat and healthy. It is also the cause of the flatulence experienced when zebras take fright and run away.”

We’ve been well aware of these facts about zebras since we came to Africa in 2013. Mainly, their big bellies alerted us that they have only one stomach, unlike many other animals. Most antelopes, buffalo, and other wild animals are ruminants.

Once on his feet, he began staring at us for pellets while his friend was already eating.

What precisely is a ruminant?”

“Ruminants include cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, deer, elk, giraffes, and camels. These animals all have a digestive system that is uniquely different from our own. Instead of one compartment to the stomach, they have four.”

Here is an interesting article that further explains the ruminant digestive system, if you’re interested. However, I anticipate few readers will be interested in this information.

Once he was on his feet, I noticed an injury on his rear right leg. Zebras are mighty kickers. This injury could easily have come from another zebra.

But, as somewhat obsessed observers of animals in the wild, this becomes an exciting fact that further explains animals’ eating habits and associated behaviors. After all, we’ve spent the better part of over two years observing wildlife. Each new visitor brings a wealth of opportunities for us to learn more.

Finally, the lying zebra perked up, using his front legs to lift him with a bit of effort, and he joined his cohort in the pellet eating frenzy. Tom must have tossed ten one-quart (about one liter each) containers of pellets to them, and they easily could have stayed for more.

Zebra’s tails appear to be braided, but they are not. The pattern on their tail hair creates this illusion.

During their visit, several kudus joined in and Broken Horn, who was lying in wait in the bush and could hear the sound of Tom tossing pellets. There were numerous helmeted guinea-fowls, a few warthogs, and bushbucks. We realized that the ten-day school holidays starting today with holidaymakers flooding the park that this plethora of wildlife may be the last we’ll see for a while.

Zebras form strong bonds with the same sex, often spending their lives together.

This morning, the two zebras returned, remembering the generous pellet offering, ate their fill, and took off. Since then, we’ve seen several bushbucks, including Torn Ear, Spikey and Thick Neck, a few warthogs including The Imposter, Fred and Ethel, Little and Frank, and The Misses, who are always here regardless of the numbers of tourists in the park.

Tonight, we’re off to Jabula with Rita and Gerhard and Kathy and Don. For us, this will be one of three remaining Friday nights at Jabula until it’s time for us to go on October 21st.

Lots of playful teasing and biting occurs, especially around food and other distractions.

Have a fantastic first day of October!

Photo from one year ago today, October 1, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #192. Tom was thrilled to be in Hawaii in 2014. For more photos, please click here.

Thick Neck/Bad Leg and Broken Horn, two of our favorites…

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It’s easy to see why we call him Thick Neck. His neck is almost twice as thick as other bushbucks.

At the moment, Thick Neck/Bad Leg, Broken Horn, Frank, and the Misses are here. We’ve hardly seen many warthogs since last week’s holiday ended on Sunday, and by Monday, most holidaymakers were gone. Starting tomorrow, a new round of tourists will flood Marloth Park for the ten-day school holiday. We’re preparing ourselves because we may only see the wildlife mentioned above until October 11th, after the holidaymakers leave.

Now that I’m beginning to heal from the dry socket and feeling more like myself, we’ll make a point of staying busy with our friends during this period, knowing few animals will entertain us during the day and evening. We will attempt to keep the knowledge we’ll be returning in December 2022 amid the realities of the Christmas season in busy Marloth Park and focus more on having fun with friends during that visit.

This is Mom from “Mom and Baby” bushbucks. Baby was in the bush while Mom checked out the pellet situation. We have countless helmeted guinea-fowls in the garden all day.

We’re still contemplating applying for the four-year retiree visa. Still, the problem is it requires an extraordinary amount of paperwork, legal fees, and lots of our time to get everything done. Plus, it must be done while we’re in the US. Once approved, the four-year time clock begins. Ultimately, we could lose the first eight months of the four-year visa before we get back to South Africa. It’s a lot to consider.

Before we return to Africa, we’ll have to decide if we’re only staying the three months allowed by our visas or if we should book a visit to another country in Africa for the new 90-day visa stamp to be able to stay for a total of six months less the short break in between.

He spends his days and nights in our garden. He’ll have to find another location when we leave in three weeks. It will be sad to think of him waiting for us. But, with the bush turning green now, he’ll have plenty of vegetation available for him soon.

Many of these types of decisions are based on what happens with Covid-19 over the next 18 months. We do not want to risk losing money or dealing with deposit refunds for housing, flights, and other travel-related expenses. We’ve already been through this five times since the onset of the pandemic and don’t care to deal with this again if we can avoid it.

Speaking of Thick Neck/Bad Leg, we’re considering dropping the second part of his name and going back to Thick Neck only. His bad leg seems to have healed, and he’s no longer limping. A long time ago, Danie told us how many wild animals have robust health and strong immune systems, often healing without incident from various injuries they may get living in the bush.

This morning, Broken Horn has a muddy face. He could have been digging in the dirt or rolling in mud at another location.

Over the collective two years we’ve spent in Marloth Park, since 2013, we’ve witnessed countless animals with injuries, only to watch them heal over time. Recently we posted about a female kudu whose eyelid had almost been ripped off. It looked awful, and we contacted the rangers when blood was dripping down her face. You can see that post with her photos here.

Now called Bad Eye, she stopped by a few days ago, a full two weeks since her injury. It looks as if it’s already begun to heal nicely. She may never be able to close that one eye, but she’s alive and appears to be thriving. Often, injured animals attract the attention of wildlife-lovers such as us, and we feed them more than the others. The added food surely must be instrumental in their recovery.

Broken Horn spends considerable time in our garden with his head down, looking for pellets. He doesn’t look undernourished.

Broken Horn, a wildebeest, is also known as a gnu, pronounced “new.” I recall learning about gnus in grade school but didn’t realize they were also called wildebeests until we arrived in Africa in 2013. They are fascinating animals with prominent personalities, memorable bark, and a keen sense of their safety and protection ability. Broken Horn has a quirky disposition we’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

After speaking to Louise yesterday, we may consider a different, larger house when we return. My only hesitancy is we won’t see these same familiar animals when they only wander a specific area. It’s a big decision we’ll address in the future.

Guinea-fowls don’t fly much, preferring to walk. But they do fly when they are frightened of seeking higher ground to check out their surroundings, as in this case.

May your day be pleasant!

Photo from one year ago today, September 30, 2022:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #191. My dinner in 2013  in Kenya was seasoned grilled red snapper with sautéed non-starchy vegetables. For more photos, please click here.

Packing has begun…Fashion trends…Tried a different restaurant last night…

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An oxpecker drinking from the birdbath, which needed more water, Tom refills it almost daily.

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to start going through some of my clothes, making a pile to donate, and packing what I will keep and bring. We are leaving a plastic tote with Louise with some items we won’t need until we return in December 2022. But, most of the things we’ll store here will be cooking and other supplies, not necessarily clothing.

While in the US in 2019/2020, before we left for India, I purchased some clothes, but since then, I am now over 20 pounds less, and most of them don’t fit. I plan to donate most of those items and restock my wardrobe once we get situated in Arizona.

I don’t purchase expensive clothes; generally, prices are found at The Gap and Old Navy. But now that Old Navy no longer carries jeans long enough for my legs, I won’t be shopping there anymore. This trend of “highwater” pants will go out of style before the blink of an eye, and I don’t want to be stuck with ridiculous-looking pants. With my long legs, shorter pant lengths don’t look good on me.

Pretty kudu resting in the garden on a sunny day.

Honestly, I don’t think shorter-length pants/jeans look better on most people. I try to be a little bit fashionable, but I won’t wear anything that suits my body type. Finding longer pants in the US won’t be easy. I liked the higher-waisted jeans but was never in a location where I could try them on. Now, I read these are going out of style, and low-rise jeans are making a comeback.

Oh, good grief. Who can keep up? No more skinny jeans??? No high waist? No boot cut? Short? Long? Bell bottoms? Hems or unhemmed? Go figure!

I’m no fashion maven, but I do like to dress in a manner that doesn’t make me appear to be an out-of-date senior citizen who doesn’t know a thing about style. After all, I can only own enough clothes to fit into one suitcase. I have to be picky on what goes in there. It will be interesting to see what I can find in Arizona. The closest mall is 10 miles away in Mesa.

Another warthog with an itchy butt, using the sand in the empty water hole for friction.

Also, while in Arizona, we’ll need to find clothes to wear to Karen and Rich’s wedding. Soon, I’ll check with her to see what type of clothing she suggests, so we’ll blend in. Whatever we buy, we’ll keep for the formal nights on many upcoming cruises over the next few years.

At this time, Tom doesn’t own a blazer, suit, or sports coat. Those are heavy items to pack in our bags. Plus, I’ll need appropriate shoes and a small handbag. I am not opposed to shopping at the discount shoe and clothing stores, such as DSW or TJ Maxx, where I’ve often found great options at reasonable prices.

Well, I can’t worry about that now when I need to think about packing and preparing to clear out of this house entirely, not an easy task after being here for over nine months. As always, we’ll get it all done and certainly be ready to go when the time comes.

Torn Ear stopped by for another visit. He’s chewing on pellets.

This morning we stopped at Louise and Danie’s to say goodbye to her parents, a lovely couple who’ve been visiting here from Cape Town.

It was fun planning our return with Louise in December 2022. On December 23, 2022, it will be Tom’s 70th birthday, and of course, we’ll be planning a party at Jabula for whatever friends of ours will be here during the holiday season. Many leave to return to home countries during the holidays.

At 4:00 pm (1600 hrs), we met Rita and Gerhard at The Giraffe Bar and Grill at Phumula Lodge. We had been to this establishment several times over the years but hadn’t noticed many changes since the last time. After sundowners, while sitting at the bar, which the four of us love to do together, we got a table for dinner and carefully perused the menu. The food was OK but not spectacular, but the service ambiance and prices were excellent.

Little was picking up the pellets I dropped on the veranda with no hesitation.

Our dinner and drinks for the evening, including tax and tips, were US $30.43, ZAR 452, prices that can’t be beaten for an evening out. When we get to the US in several weeks, dinners out will be three times that amount or more. I imagine we won’t eat out as often as we have here.

Nothing much on the horizon today. It’s cooler and a little cloudy. There are few animals in the garden, many still hiding away after the noisy weekend. In two days, the school holidays start for ten days, and we won’t see many animals during that period. It changes the entire “nature” of our day.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 29, 2020:

baked, low carb, almond flour chicken stuffed loaves
This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #190. One of our favorite recipes: baked, low carb, almond flour chicken stuffed loaves. We tripled the recipe to result in four meals, freezing part of it. Please see this link for instructions and the recipe. For more photos, please click here.

Hot today…High 97F (36C)…Not a breeze to be found…

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A female kudu with an oxpecker on her head.

It was 9:00 when I began today’s post, and we were both situated on the veranda. The animals have gradually returned to our garden, but it’s not as busy as it had been a week ago before the holidaymakers arrived. The heat might be a factor after the cool winter, and they are hunkered down in any shade they can find when the sparse bush is devoid of leaves to provide cover.

According to the weather report, today will be the hottest day of the week. A breeze would help, but the air is still and the humidity high. If it gets too uncomfortable, we can always turn on the outdoor fan, although it makes a lot of noise and defeats the purpose of being outdoors in this exquisite solitude.

The oxpecker must have been at the back of her head, causing her ears to be in this odd position.

Tonight’s dinner is primarily already prepared, so not much time will be required to spend in the kitchen. Soon, Vusi and Zef will arrive to clean the house and veranda, although everything is pretty clean and tidy. I thought about packing, but it’s still too soon.

Bushbuck Thick Neck/Bad Leg is within a meter of me, staring in expectation of some pellets or carrots. We’ve been out of carrots for a few days. We have begun chipping away at the last of the food on hand, including everything in the freezer. We plan to head to Komaipoort the following Monday for what could be our final grocery shopping trip when we purchase our last big bag of carrots.

I have accepted the fact that we are leaving Marloth Park and leaving Africa for a while. Many of our friends will be gone, even Dawn and Leon will be on holiday from tomorrow until after we’ve left. Rita and Gerhard leave in a little over two weeks. Surely we’ll have fun with them and Kathy and Don before we go. We plan to see Alan and Fiona next Tuesday to celebrate her birthday.

She was in a somewhat dazed state with two oxpeckers working on her ticks, fleas, other insects, and hide-related conditions.

Last night, when we played songs using our speaker while sitting outdoors, the Spotify playlist included the song “Africa” by Toto, popular in 1982. We both always loved that song but never knew in 1982 that the song would have such meaning to us now.

Yesterday, I concentrated on doing as many corrections as possible, and now I have only 39 pages with 20 posts to go.  Today, I will do the same, hoping to get down to 37 pages in the next 24 hours. Yesterday, while doing them, I streamed two sci-fi movies on a separate screen on my laptop, easily paying attention to both.  Doing so helps the process seem less boring.

We plan to go to Kruger National Park this week on a cooler day since school holidays are coming this weekend, from October 1st until October 11th. Both Marloth Park and Kruger National Park will be packed with holidaymakers during this period, and it’s unlikely we’d be able to get into Kruger with the crowds having to book appointments to enter. We have no desire to deal with bumper-to-bumper traffic in the park.

Suddenly, we noticed a male kudu in a similar hypnotic state with oxpeckers working on him.

Currently, I am sitting on the bed, propped up with pillows with the fan blowing. We don’t use the aircon to save on electricity during the day, although electricity is included in our rent. During the hot summer months, we insisted on paying Louise an extra ZAR 1000, US $66.25 each month since we were using it every night, even on the slightly cooler nights.

She didn’t want to accept this, but we felt it was essential and persisted. We ceased those payments once we no longer needed aircon during the cooler winter when we didn’t use much electricity. We’ve only recently been required to use the aircon at night, on the hottest days.

Today, we paid our final rent payment until October 21st, the day we leave. The rent is always higher during peak holiday periods, and thus the ten days are at the higher rate, included in our final total. We are OK with this since Louise has been so fair with us based on our long-term rental.

That’s all, folks! Have an unforgettable day wherever you may be in this world!

Photo from one year ago today, September 28, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #189. While on a cruise in 2014, I was served this fantastic dish, Pistachio Duck Terrine. I ordered a second serving which I rarely do. For more, please click here.

No WiFi Sunday…Are we too dependent on WiFi?…

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Peter, Paul, and Mary (she’s in the center) couldn’t have posed better for this shot.

It’s getting hot here now that winter has ended and spring is in full bloom. Yesterday was 93F (34C), and today should be the same. Although this doesn’t sound that hot, when sitting all day outdoors under the shade of the veranda roof, coupled with the humidity, we are well aware of how warm it is already.

We’re well prepared that when we return here in December 2022, it will be even hotter. South Africans find this weather to be pleasant, but for us, living in mostly cooler climates, we can certainly feel the impact of the heat. But we will easily handle it when we return in the summer in months to come.

After all, this is Africa, and with the pleasures, sights, and sounds of this amazing continent, we all pay the price of heat, humidity, snakes, mozzies, other insects, and power outages. Speaking of power outages, we’re grateful there hasn’t been any load shedding since we returned from the US, other than a few short periods of “overuse” issues. Of course, last month we experienced five days without water. That was challenging.

An older photo of Tiny and Narrow. We’ve yet to see Tiny since w returned. He may have been culled, which makes me sad.

However, among power outages, there are WiFi outages. The infrastructure here is unstable, and WiFi outages also happen from time to time. Usually, they last for short periods, but yesterday we were without WiFi from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm (1700 hrs), a total of six hours.

I had already started the post, and in order not to lose what I’d already written, I had to use my phone’s WiFi as a hotspot to complete and upload the post. Once I was done, I turned off the hotspot to save on the outrageous expense of using the phone’s data for any longer than necessary.

Keeping in mind, we’ve never turned on the TV in this house, we no longer read books after years of doing so, and neither of us felt like playing cards or games. I could have done a puzzle, but we don’t have table space, other than in the dining room, where there’s no airflow. I decided against it.

Warthogs enjoy drinking from the birdbath since they can’t reach the pool. (Photo was taken during the greener season).

Tom played the same solitaire game on his phone that he occasionally plays while I fussed in the kitchen for a short period, preparing a few items for dinner. Needless to say, once I was done, we both were bored. We couldn’t go to Kruger National Park or sit overlooking the Crocodile River due to overcrowding and traffic from holidaymakers.

It had been a long time since we were bored. If we lived in a home of our own, we could have watched a movie on the TV using our DVR, cable TV, or non-WiFi services. If we lived in a home of our own, we could have tackled some projects around the house.

I thought about packing, but I have so few clothes I need to access over the next 24 days until departure. It was quite a dilemma. Gerhard had given us some movies on a flash drive, which I downloaded to our external hard drive, so we decided to see if we’d like any of them. As it turned out, we’d seen most of the movies, or they were those Tom doesn’t care for, such as superhero, fantasy, and science fiction.

I turned on the WiFi on my phone long enough to look up details of a few of the movies. Fortunately, I found one with Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, a peculiar film called Florence Jenkins Foster that we watched and found mildly entertaining. In the middle of the movie, Tom needed a nap but only slept for 15 minutes, after which we finished the movie.

Hal is drinking from the birdbath.

At 4:00 pm (1600 hrs), we decided to head back to the veranda for sundowners. With our new speaker with songs we play using YouTube and Spotify, we realized we couldn’t enjoy the music without WiFi as we’ve done on other evenings. Instead, we sat there with the heat of the sun shining on us at 93F (34C) while we chatted. At times, we wondered when the WiFi would return, hoping it would be back on for our usual after-dinner streaming when we go inside due to the mozzies.

Much to our delight, at 5:00 pm (1700 hrs), I heard a ping on my phone that the WiFi was back on. We were thrilled. We proceeded to make dinner on the braai consisting of steaks and chicken breast. On the side, we had a salad with sweet corn and rice for Tom and grilled eggplant for me. It was a lovely dinner.

We’re making roast beef and chicken breasts on the braai, with sauteed mushrooms and salad tonight. Tom will have rice and sweet corn on the side while I have shrimp salad and grilled eggplant. It will be another great dinner. The boredom is gone.

Yes, based on our lifestyle, when WiFi is out, we scramble to find ways to entertain ourselves. It’s the “nature of the beast.” Thank goodness this doesn’t occur frequently, and most likely, while back in the US for a few months, it won’t occur at all.

Have a pleasant day!

Photo from one year ago today, September 27, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #188. This is where we planned to lounge on the chaises at Madafoo’s in Diani Beach, Kenya, in 2013. It was a guarded area overlooking the Indian Ocean.  For more photos, please click here.

Another fantastic evening in the bush…Holiday weekend in the bush…Heritage Day…

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Thick-tailed bushbaby eating yogurt we left out.

Note: The WiFi is out today due to overuse by holidaymakers in the park and a fault with the line. I am using my phone as a hotspot. But it’s slow and uses lots of data. As a result, few photos today. Thank you!

Friday was Heritage Day in South Africa, resulting in many long weekend visitors to Marloth Park. We have often mentioned that holiday seasons and long holiday weekends are our least favorite times in the bush.

Last evening, on our way to Kathy and Don’s home for dinner, we couldn’t believe the number of cars, bakkies (trucks), and safari vehicles encountered on the roads. The majority of tourists are South Africans who want to get away for the long holiday weekend. After the long constraints of lockdown, many people come here to “let their hair down.”

In essence, Marloth Park is not a place to “let loose.” It’s a place of tranquility, reflection, and quiet contemplation of nature and its many wonders. But, many groups of people come here to socialize. That in itself is fine, as long as they respect the rules of the bush, management of the road, the safekeeping of the animals, and the expected quiet that the bush invites.

Often, we’ll see bakkies with their truck beds filled with people standing up, yelling, drinking, and playing loud music, men shirtless and women scantily dressed. Many are here to “party!” Others seek the quiet and solitude of the bush and the gentle meanderings of the wildlife. It’s an oxymoron, often making it difficult for the two groups to cohabitate well in this special place.

This morning, only Frank and The Misses appeared along with a few bushbucks, which is a rarity for us on a Sunday morning. We have meat treats for the mongoose, but we wonder if we’ll see them until Monday or Tuesday after the park has cleared out.

When thick-tailed bushbabies are around, the usual small bushbabies run for cover. The larger species will kill the little ones.

When we arrived at Kathy and Don’s lovely home, overlooking the Crocodile River, Don suggested we enjoy the evening on the main floor instead of heading up to their third-level veranda with expansive views of the river.

There were so many vehicles on the river road. There’s no doubt we’d all be annoyed by the traffic noise. The ground floor outdoor area is fenced and provides excellent privacy. As the night progressed, we didn’t even notice the vehicles passing by.

Once we were situated outdoors with our beverages and snacks on the patio, Rita asked Gerhard, “Did you bring our meat?” Gerhard shrugged and said, “Nope, I forgot the meat!”

Rita chimed in, “It was my fault too. I should have reminded you.”

Then, I looked at Tom, “Did you pack our meat in the cooler?” We all laughed out loud when Tom said, “No, you didn’t remind me to pack the meat.”

Rita and Gerhard laughed over the fact we’d also forgotten our meat. In minutes, Tom and Gerhard took off in Gerhard’s off-road vehicle to head to our house and theirs to pick up the meat for the braai.

Once on the road for about 5 minutes, Tom realized our house keys were in our car back at Kathy’s and Don’s home! They drove back to pick up the keys, arriving back at the party about 45 minutes later. There were lots of vehicles on the road, making driving time much slower.

Finally, back at the dinner party, we had a lovely evening with great conversation, excellent food, and again, the perfect host and hostess, with the six of us, plus Michael and Lorraine, Don’s cousin and his wife. We hadn’t seen them in three years, and it was delightful to see them again.

By 9:45 pm (2145 hrs), we were back at our bush house and headed to bed for a good night’s sleep shortly after that. As we count down until we leave Marloth Park, we realize how quickly the time will go. We will spend every possible moment cherishing that which is before our eyes and the blissful nature of Marloth, significantly when the peace of the bush is restored in a few days.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 26, 2020:

One year ago, this photo was posted in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #187. In places, the path from our holiday home in Kenya to the beach in the Indian Ocean was filled with flowers. For more photos, please click here.