It’s heating up!…Insects are back…

Bossy is always thrilled to see us, hoping for morsels of pellets.

When it’s winter in South Africa, generally, the weather is cool, at times, even cold, requiring jackets and warm clothes. But now, as winter rolls into spring, as shown on these dates below, its already begun to feel warm and humid:

“Spring 2021 in Southern Hemisphere will begin on
Wednesday, 22 September

and ends on

Tuesday, 21 December
All dates are in South Africa Standard Time.”
Spring is warmer in Africa than it may be in many other parts of the world in the northern and southern hemispheres. Last night for the first time this season, we had to turn on the air-con when we went to bed. Although the previous few days were hot, we only used the fan running in the 90F, 32C. But, last night felt more humid, and air-con was a must if we wanted to get some sleep.
Over the next several days, cooler temps are predicted. This morning when I was baking a batch of lemon-poppy seed muffins for Tom and low-carb lemon poppy seeds muffins for Louise and Danie, I was sweating for the first time in months when the kitchen got hot from the oven being on for a few hours.
Once the weather warms and the humidity rises, insects come out of the woodwork. We’ve seen several huge spiders in the house in the past several days, with flies and mosquitos buzzing around our heads day and night. Again, in the evenings, while sitting outdoors, we now need to use insect coils and citronella candles.
Kudus and bushbucks were stopping by.
We keep an eye out for possible venomous insects that may have entered the house in warmer weather. So far, so good. Last night, I saw the enormous gecko I’ve ever seen on the bedroom wall, more the size of a lizard than a gecko. They are harmless and don’t cause any concern.
Africa would not be the best place to visit during the warmer months for those sensitive to heat with limited air-con options and who are terrified of insects. The cool winter months would be better, such as May, June, July, and generally, August when insect repellent isn’t as necessary as during the warmer months. The past few days, I have been using repellent when I’ve noticed some mozzies here and there.
One can never be too safe using repellent regularly in malaria-prone areas, as shown in this map below:

As shown in the right-mid portion on this map, where we are near Kruger National Park is considered a high-risk area. As mentioned in an earlier post, our dear friend, Alan, lost his wife to malaria a few years ago, and he was deathly ill for months. It should never be taken lightly.

We do not take prophylactic malaria medication since there are potential side effects when taken long-term. For short-term tourist visits, we’d highly recommend that tourists check with their doctors or local travel clinic for guidance in this regard. When we first came to Africa in 2013, we took malaria medication for eight months, the longest we ever had. As we spent more and more time on the continent, we decided to forgo taking the drug.

In total, we’ve been in Africa for almost three years of the nearly nine years we’ve been traveling. Our anniversary date is coming up on October 31, 2021. It’s hard for us to believe we’ve been traveling for so long, minus the 10-month interruption while in lockdown in India last year.

Speaking of which, we’ve had a fantastic response to our published newspaper article that came out a day ago. Here is the report,  in case you missed it yesterday, which we posted on our site at this link. We appreciate all the emails and comments we received from readers worldwide in support of our experiences.

You all mean so much to us. We appreciate how our worldwide readers have continued to follow our posts, year after year through many quiet and uneventful periods, especially since the onset of Covid-19, which had undoubtedly put a damper on our journey for now. Hopefully, once we’ve completed our next upcoming visit to the US, we’ll be able to move on to more exciting and adventurous times.

In the interim, stay safe, stay healthy and please continue to hang in there with us.

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

This photo from the natural history museum in South Kensington, England, in 2014, was posted while in lockdown for ten months while in Mumbai, India, on day #158. A lizard that puffs up the frill around the neck to scare off predators. This could not be very safe. For more photos, please click here.

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Comments and responses It’s heating up!…Insects are back…

  1. Lisa Reply

    Always love reading your posts & really liked the newspaper article. Take care!

    • worldwide-admin Post authorReply

      Lisa, it’s wonderful to know you enjoyed the article. We were quite pleased with it! Hope all is well with you

      Warmest regards,
      Jess & Tom

  2. Thelma May Reply

    Loved the newspaper article! You are famous! I continue to read your posts everyday and you are never boring! I so enjoy your writing and reading your adventures. I enjoy hearing about your family and your visits with them. Thanks again for sharing your lives with so many of us. You are a blessing!

    • worldwide-admin Post authorReply

      Thelma May, you are so thoughtful to say all these nice things about our posts! We love sharing our day to day lives with you and all of our worldwide readers. Thank you for following us!

      Much love,
      Jess & Tom

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