It couldn’t have been more fun!…Meeting four readers/friends from the USA at Jabula last night..

When we have an opportunity to meet people who have come to Africa and Marloth Park after reading our posts, it warms our hearts, making all the effort of putting our daily posts together worthwhile and fulfilling. That’s what it’s all about for us…sharing information about exciting travel opportunities with those who can and do travel and those who’d like to travel but cannot for various reasons.

Besides, that blissful result for us is the pure pleasure of hearing the enthusiasm and excitement of new visitors to Africa, and their experiences, while practically jumping out of their seats with joy when they share their stories of seeing wildlife they never dreamed possible. Wow!

All four of our new friends are longtime travelers. Lisa and Sam sold everything eight years ago and have no home and only a small amount of storage. They live like us, on the move, always searching for the next fantastic spot to visit. They don’t plan ahead quite as much as we have in the past, but now they inspire us to do less planning and “wing it” more often than we do.

Karen and Stan have also traveled extensively throughout the world with a base in Florida but spend little time there since, as they said, “Stan has itchy feet.” We loved hearing about all of them.

Today, they took off at 6:00 am to return to Kruger in search of rhinos which they were excited to see. After thousands of rhinos have been poached from Kruger National Park, any sightings are exciting and memorable. But the four of them have seen everything. We hung onto their every word when they shared the sightings they’ve been fortunate to see over the past few days since they arrived.

Unfortunately, with little time at the holiday home, they rent a few kilometers from here and haven’t had many wildlife visitors in the garden. As the animals have begun to return to us with the school holidays ending this upcoming weekend, we expect to see more each day.

We couldn’t resist inviting our new friends for breakfast tomorrow when soon they are leaving to tour many of the places we’ve visited in the past; Victoria Falls, on both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides of the river, Chobe National Park, Chobe River, Zambezi River, and then off to Kenya for the Ngorongoro Valley and the heavenly Maasai Mara, our favorite safari destination in the world.

Amid their many travel weeks ahead, they will experience a diverse journey filled with wonders. We are so happy for them. Since they are leaving on January 6, we wanted them to experience breakfast at the bush home of friends before they depart. They love it here, and had they known how wonderful it is, they all agreed they’d have stayed longer in Marloth Park.

But, last night, it was such a pleasure to have them experience the uniqueness of Jabula, the great food, the service, and the love and attention provided by Dawn, Leon, David, and their staff. It was an extremely busy night, but they took time out to pay special attention, We’re hoping that they’ll all return sometime in the future and we can be with them again.

This morning, much to our delight Norman was here, and I wish there was a way I could ask him to stop tomorrow morning around 10. We shopped at the little markets this morning, and I bought three bags of small apples, hoping to entice him to return for treats and also for our three orphaned piglets, who continue to stop by several times a day.

Today is another hot and humid day. I’m making chicken salad and coleslaw again, perfect chilled items for such a day. For tomorrow’s breakfast, we’re making a crustless mushroom, onion, sausage, and egg quiche and baking a loaf of coconut banana bread which we’ll serve warm right from the oven with soft butter. We tried to find orange juice for our guests, but none was left at either of the two little grocery shops.

We hope all is well with you and your loved ones as we make our way through this first week of the New Year.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 4, 2022: