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| Last night, Rita sat at the edge of the veranda feeding pellets to the kudus. This photo so much bespeaks her love of wildlife. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| Mom and Babies arrived this morning to greet our guests. |
Yesterday was the actual date of Rita’s birthday, and we’ve been committed to making her birthday as unique as she is. She and Gerhard had hosted Tom’s birthday with an elaborate meal and decorations on December 23rd, which we posted on December 24th at this link.
Our original plan was to host her dinner party yesterday, but with this horrible heat and humidity, we postponed it for tomorrow, Wednesday, when it’s supposed to be cooler. We’ll see about that!
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| Tom at the end of the big table on the veranda. |
Right now, at 11:30 am, the humidity is outrageous, and the four of us, including visiting guests Linda and Ken, are situated on the veranda sweating up a storm. Every so often, I go into the kitchen to work on a recipe for tomorrow’s dinner party, sweating all the more.
As of this moment, I have prepared one dish for tomorrow’s dinner party, with six more dishes to prepare, including salad, sides, and dessert but not including the three main dishes. If it weren’t so hot, this meal would be a breeze.
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| Ken and Linda were at “happy hour” last night before we headed out to dinner. |
Because Rita’s birthday was yesterday, we wanted the evening to be special for her, so we all decided to go out for dinner on Linda and Ken’s first night here.
Most residents of Marloth Park don’t drive to Komatipoort for dinner based on a history of car-jackings on the highway before Ngwenya. But, with all the dining out we’ve done lately in Marloth Park, we suggested leaving Marloth Park to go to Tambarina in Komatipoort, a famous Portuguese dining establishment known for their prawns.
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| Gerhard was conversing during the happy hour. |
It was a little risky, especially when Zef, one of our two outstanding household helpers, was recently attacked at gunpoint on this same road but deftly defended himself with the spray from a hose of scalding hot water from the radiator in his vehicle. He escaped with his life after spraying the perpetrator in the face with the boiling water while ending up with severe burns on his arm.
We hesitated in driving the two cars necessary to carry all six of us. Still, We decided we’d all be extra diligent in devising a plan on how we’d divert any potential criminals trying to get us to stop the car.
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| Rita’s fillet and salad which she enjoyed at Tambarina last night for her birthday celebration. |
I had called ahead and made the reservation for six informing the staff it was Rita’s birthday. They made it special at the end of our meal by singing “the birthday song” and serving each of us a shot of pink marula (a local alcoholic beverage/liquor made from the fruit of the Marula tree).
Rita and I, both low carb, passed the marula shots on to our husbands for their pleasure. By 2200 hours (10:00 pm), we were on our way back to Marloth Park, relieved as we passed the security gate into the park that we’d made it back without incident.
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| Tom’s dinner of Beef Condon Bleu with rice and vegetables. |
The night’s sleep was fitful. I awoke at 2:00 am and didn’t go back to sleep until 4:00 am, dosing in and out until I finally got up, showered, and dressed by 7:00 am, anxious to visit with our lovely long-time friends and houseguests, Linda and Ken.
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| Gerhard’s meal of fried calamari, baked potato, and vegetable. |
Upon entering the living room from the comfort of the night’s airconditioned room, I knew we were in for another scorcher. Although today’s temperature will only be 34.4C (94F), the humidity is running over 80%. Brutal. Brutal.
For this reason alone, we appreciate the fact that we’ll be moving on in less than a month. The rest, not so much. Departure day is looming before us, and as we celebrate with the people and wildlife, we love we know it won’t be easy to say goodbye.
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| Linda, Ken, and I each ordered the chicken stir fry, which was prepared for our dietary needs. |
Goodbye for today, dear readers. We’ll be back tomorrow with more.
Photo from one year ago today, January 15, 2018:
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| Tom was thrilled to be seated in the comfortable big booth in the bar with me at the Prodeo Hotel in Buenos Aires, watching the live Minnesota Vikings playoff game. For more details, please click here. |