Trail cam wonders…The loss of a monarch impacts many of our English friends and others worldwide…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 9, 2022 with 0 Comment

Today, I will be working on chopping and dicing for tomorrow’s dinner at our house with Rita, Gerhard, Alan, and Fiona, who are leaving the park during the hot spring and summer months and will return when it’s cool again next winter. Rita and Gerhard changed their plans and are staying until the beginning of October, which we’re thrilled to know.

This was the first photo the trail cam picked up this morning.

Rita, Gerhard, and new friends Roz and Les are joining us at Jabula for dinner tonight. We met Roz and Les several months ago at Jabula, and now we are looking forward to fun social plans with them as permanent property owners in Marloth Park. How fortunate we are to make new friends, enabling us to enjoy social activities during those times of the year when many of our other friends are away.

Soon, she lost interest and moved along.

In 10 days, on September 17th, our friends Connie and Jeff will arrive and stay until around October 1st. They will live in the charming guest house on this property, which is ideal for their needs. It reminds us of when friends Lois and Tom came to Marloth Park in 2018, and the four of us had the time of our lives, leaving them reeling with beautiful memories of this unique environment.

We had lunch with Lois and Tom in March when we were in Florida awaiting the transatlantic cruise; we all reminisced over all the fantastic times we had. On one occasion, while driving through Marloth Park searching for wildlife, we spotted Norman for the first time, longing to see it up close. But that never happened, leaving us all disappointed.

“Should I bother to bend over for a drink?” she asked herself.

Now, two or three times a day, Norman and his family, Nina and Noah bless us with their visits starting early in the morning, as shown in one of today’s trail cam photos. Norman wastes no time coming to visit in the early morning. This morning we weren’t up when he arrived, but a short time later, he was here with the family while we revelled, once again, in their beauty and grace, tossing lots of pellets their way.

Is that “thing” I was looking at still there,” she wondered.

Yesterday, at Spar Market, I purchased a huge bag of carrots. as shown in the photos below. I’ll be using some of them for tomorrow’s dinner and salad, but at the cost of ZAR 17.90, US $1.04 for the 3 kg bag, 6.6 pounds, we’re delighted to be sharing them with our animal friends. Norman loves them. Maybe next time I’ll buy two bags.

The weight of this huge bag of carrots is not listed on the bag, but we think it’s about 3 kg. Many of the animals love them.

Tomorrow, for dinner for the six of us, we’re making cashew chicken stir fry with vegetables and rice, along with a big green salad. I’m not making fussy starters for sundowner time when everyone gets too full to enjoy the main meal. I’ll serve a few crackers, pate and cheese, and julienne vegetables with hummus, nuts, and chips. The main meal will follow a few hours later.

Today, I will work on cutting some vegetables and chicken, but I’m a bit slow with this ongoing headache and doing one task at a time. I chose to make this dinner since it’s easier than making many starters and now different from something we would have made for ourselves. The only difference is the amount of chicken and vegetables I need to prepare. The rest will be easy.

A moment before we wandered outdoors, Norman appeared.

Sure, I could pamper myself and avoid planning social events at our house until I feel better, but I’ve found staying active is good for me, and once the parties begin, I forget about my aching head and face for a while.

I couldn’t avoid mentioning the passing of the Queen of England, sending our condolences to the Monarchy and all of our British friends who have been feeling her loss since it was announced yesterday. Our friends Linda and Ken, living in England, sent the photo below of Buckingham Palace after the news of the passing of the Queen was announced. Wow! Amazing!

Buckingham Palace after the announcement of the Queen’s passing.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 9, 2021:

No photos were posted on this date, one year ago. For the text, please click here.

Off to Komati with Rita…Planning for Saturday night’s dinner party…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 8, 2022 with 0 Comment

Danie is having a JoJo (a water storage receptacle) installed. Then, when the water is out in the park, we’ll have water we can use to shower, flush the toilet and do dishes. Many properties in Marloth Park have such JoJos. Having this will be very helpful for us.

Soon, Rita will arrive to pick me up for our outing to Stoep Café in Komatipoort. Afterward, Rita and I will head to Spar Market to shop for groceries. Since I need quite a few things and don’t want to keep Rita waiting while I shop, she will drop me off, and Tom will pick me up when I’m done.

He always loads the food at the register while I help the bagger pack the groceries into our various bags, some insulated, some not. He loads the car and brings everything into the house. Next, he empties all the bags while I put everything away. It’s a practical system that works well for us.

Since I had that dreadful open heart surgery 3½ years ago, I have had trouble bending over, a common lingering side effect of having one’s sternum cut in half. Tom pulls up a chair to the refrigerator so I can load the food neatly on the lower shelves and in the produce drawers. This would be impossible for me to do otherwise.

Stringy was taking a nap in the side garden. I took this photo through the kitchen window.

Besides that, I can do almost everything required for household tasks and cooking, but I have a fantastic helper who makes life much easier. I never have to ask for his help since he pays attention to everything I’m doing, either out of curiosity or love. In either case, I always appreciate sharing tasks chosen by one’s abilities, strengths, and interests.

How lucky we are to have one another, and neither of us ever forgets that for a day. Often, in the evening, while sitting at the table on the veranda, watching the animals, while listening to oldies (not too loudly) using the fantastic JBL Bluetooth speaker. It’s our favorite time of the day. Sometimes, we have sundowners, and sometimes we drink iced tea, but we enjoy this pleasant break from responsibilities and household tasks.

The only exercise we get on those evenings is getting up and down to feed the wildlife. Speaking of iced tea, this is the first time in our travels that we’ve been out of Crystal Light iced tea. As mentioned, our shipment is tied up in customs to ensure the iced tea isn’t a bomb or toxic chemical. Good grief.

I made cinnamon green tea, using tea bags to make iced tea for me. I added non-caloric sweetener, and it tastes pretty good. But Tom doesn’t like it, and right now, he’s drinking water or Sprite Zero since he ran out of Crystal Light only yesterday. We should have had the package delivered weeks ago but now it’s held up in customs due to the many packages of Crystal Light.

We’ve had this tea sent to us while in South Africa in the past and have never had such a problem with it. We can only wait and see what happens in the next week. It would be nice to get this shipping fiasco off our minds. I am considering if we’ll ever order supplies again and make purchases in the country we are in at any given time.

Within the year, an Amazon facility is opening up in South Africa. Hopefully, they will carry most of the products they sell in the US. If so, that will eliminate the need to ship items to us from the US.

Have to run now, folks. Rita will be here shortly and I am trying to get this uploaded before I leave the house.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 8, 2021:

Flowers bloom in the front garden. After all, it’s almost spring. For more, please click here.

Back from Komati..Doc Theo appointment and grocery shopping…Back at the house for a nice surprise…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 5, 2022 with 0 Comment

It was my second appointment with Doc Theo this morning after a series of blood tests were done last week at the lab across the road from his office. All of my tests were normal except for a few, which prompted him to order additional tests I had this morning. I will call him back tomorrow at 10:00 am for the new test results and a plan of action, if necessary.

In the interim, the pain in my left forehead and cheek remains, but only after testing a very low dose of a drug to help trigeminal neuralgia, which I started a week ago. Now that we know I can tolerate the drug, he’s doubling the dose tonight, again in two nights, and then if there is no relief, on September 15, we will up the dose again.

My fingers are crossed that this will do the trick and get rid of this headache and facial pain I’ve had since April when I got Omicron. I don’t like taking medication but there are times it’s necessary and this seems to be one of them.

After we were done there, we headed to Spar Market where we shopped for enough food to last until we shop again just before Connie and Jeff arrive around September 17, only 12 days from now. Speaking of Connie and Jeff, when we returned to the house with our groceries, Danie had a crew here building a ramp at the front door. Our friend Jeff is in a wheelchair due to a neurological illness and he’d never been able to walk up the two uneven steps to the front door.

With the ramp, we can wheel him inside our house, through the living and dining room and outside onto the veranda where there is a very small half step that we’ll be able to maneuver to help him outdoors onto our veranda, where we’ll spend the bulk of the time while they are here, other than when we are all on trips to Kruger National Park and other game drive activities.

We’d mentioned to Louise and Danie weeks ago that we’d need a ramp, but not surprisingly, they remembered, and as we speak now, the ramp is done. They began working on it while we were in Komatipoort, and we returned to the surprise that it was nearly done. It will be easy to wheel Jeff into the house with this wide and sturdy built-in ramp. We are always so grateful to Louise and Danie for all they do for us.

It’s very hot today, already 95F, 35C, with a slight increase expected before the afternoon winds down. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be much cooler, with temps not rising again until the weekend. The humidity is low at 10%, making the high temps easily tolerable as we continue to sit outdoors on the veranda.

We’ll get ready to go to Jabula tonight for dinner in a few hours. This will be the last dinner for this group of nine, including Rita and Gerhard (who are returning today from their trip away) and their friend Lee; Marylin and Gary (who are leaving in a few days); Louise and Danie, and the two of us.

Bad Ear wonders when he’ll get some pellets.

Rita and Gerhard leave for several months on September 18 and don’t know when they’ll return. But we have no doubt we will all be together again before too long. Indeed, before that time, Rita and I will have one more “girl talk” event at Stoep Cafe in Komatipoort.

With all the groceries put away and the kitchen organized as well as possible with the limited cupboard space, I won’t have to cook again until Wednesday and Thursday since we’ll return to Jabula again on Friday night. In the interim, we’re working on planning a get-together at our place with Rita, Gerhard, Fiona, and Alan (who also leave soon) before Connie and Jeff arrive.

Bossy and three kudu babies and other family members. She must have been babysitting.

Once Connie and Jeff leave around October 1, many of our friends will be gone as we work through the heat of the summer months, which often drives part-time residents away. But die-hards like us and permanent residents like Louise and Danie and several other friends who stay during the summer, we’ll plan get-togethers regardless of the heat.

That’s it for today, folks. I am anxious to do a little more kitchen organizing and then get ready for the evening out. Although I am not feeling 100%, I am still up for a fun evening with friends.

Be well.

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

We scurried indoors when this Big Daddy came right up to the door from the house to the veranda. For more photos, please click here.

Seven giraffes in the garden!…What a pleasure to behold!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 4, 2022 with 3 Comments

Yesterday early afternoon, we were gifted with the presence of seven giraffes in the garden. We couldn’t have been more thrilled, holding our breath in awe as we shot as many photos as possible. With their heads in the trees munching on a few sparse trees, it wasn’t easy to get great images of their heads and faces, but we did the best we could.

Photo from the trail cam a few nights ago.

Taking the above video was the highlight of the experience, and we hope you’ll take a moment to view it. I know it can be annoying to watch videos on a website, considering the possibility of advertisers, which we have. Still, you may be pleasantly surprised by what you’ll see on the many videos we’ve posted over the years.

They all stood close at certain points while eating from the treetops.

Often, when giraffes stop by, they don’t stay for long. They fall into the “eat and run” visitor status, but we are always happy to see them regardless of how long they stay. They don’t interact with humans at all here in the park, although there’s enormous interaction with them at a resort in Kenya called Giraffe Manor. I’ve always wanted to visit there, but both times we had booked such events, they were canceled, once by us due to heart surgery and another time due to the pandemic.

There were a total of seven, but they mostly stayed in two groups.

Giraffes are fascinating animals. Here are 14 facts about giraffes you may find to be enjoyable from this site:

14 fascinating facts about giraffes:

There are four distinct species of the giraffe: Northern giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis, Southern giraffe giraffa, Reticulated giraffe G. reticulata and Masai giraffe G. tippelskirchi.
Giraffe are already extinct in at least seven countries in Africa.
Just like human fingerprints, no two giraffe have the same coat pattern.
Giraffe feet are the size of a dinner plate with a diameter of 30 cm.
Giraffe tongues are bluish-purple and between 45 and 50 cm long.
Both male and female giraffe have horns already at birth. These ossicones lie flat and are not attached to the skull to avoid injury at birth. They only fuse with the skull later in life.
It was exciting watching the giraffes enter the garden.
The giraffe is the tallest mammal in the world. Even newborn giraffe are taller than most humans.
Female giraffe give birth standing up. Their young fall about 2 m to the ground and can stand up within an hour of birth.
In some populations, over 50% of all giraffe calves do not survive their first year.
A giraffe’s neck is too short to reach the ground. To drink, giraffe first have to splay their forelegs and/or bend their knees, and only then can they lower their necks to reach the surface of the water.
Giraffe only drink once every few days. Even when water is readily available, evidence shows that many giraffe do not drink regularly – sometimes not at all.
To protect the giraffe’s brain from sudden changes in blood pressure when it drinks, the jugular veins have incredibly elastic walls and large one-way valves that allow the veins to expand significantly and prevent the blood from flowing back to the brain when the giraffe’s head is lowered.
We hoped they’d drink from the pool.
Alternatively, to help fight gravity when blood returns to the heart from a giraffe’s feet, their blood vessels are thickly walled and muscled, and the skin on the legs is so tight it acts like giant compression socks. These unique adaptations have been studied by scientists at NASA to get inspiration for human space suits.
A giraffe heart weighs approximately 11 kilograms (almost 25 pounds) with an average resting heart rate of 40-90 beats per minute. While people thought that the giraffe had a larger heart compared to other mammals to pump blood around its body, this is not true. Rather the giraffe’s heart has a thicker muscle on the left side (ventricle) of the heart so it can generate enough force to fight gravity.

More Giraffe Facts

One curious giraffe turned his head and looked at us.

When reading #10 in the above list, it makes sense why giraffes aren’t interested in eating pellets from the ground. I suppose if the pellets were on a high ledge, they’d probably like the pellets since they are herbivores. So far, other than carnivore animals that only eat meat, we’ve yet to see an animal here in the park that doesn’t care for the pellets other than a variety of cats including civets, lions, leopards, genets, lizards, crocs, snakes and mongooses.

Who’d ever imagine sitting on the veranda and seeing giraffes stop by?

Bushbabies are omnivores and eat fruit, nuts, insects, and small rodents occasionally. We’ve never seen a bushbaby eating a pellet. Also, the commonly seen helmeted guinea-fowl love to eat pellets. They usually break them up into small pieces since they are the size of half a human finger, but they will occasionally swallow them whole. Other birds don’t seem to be interested in the pellets.

Today will be another warm day with a high of 91F, 33C, with a low of 56F, 13C. As the temperature rises, so does the humidity, which is why it may be unbearably hot here in the summer months and why there are so many mosquitos. We’ve yet to turn on the air-con in the bedroom at night. There are not a lot of insects yet, but as it warms up, there will be insects everywhere. Between the heat, the humidity, the mosquitos, and other insects, many tourists stay away during the summer months.

The sparse trees and bushes make life hard for the wildlife, especially right now, before the rainy season from November until April, when the bush is lush with bright green foliage for the animals to eat. For the next few months, unless we get some rain, the bush will be dry, a fire hazard, and lacking in food for the animals. For this reason, we don’t hesitate to feed the animals pellets, fruit, and vegetables.

This afternoon at 3:00 pm, 1500hrs., we’re heading out to visit friends Sindee and Bruce at their home in Marloth Park. I did a little baking this morning so we could bring them an entire pan of homemade coconut banana bread. We seldom visit anyone’s home empty-handed.

The recipe called for two cups of ripe bananas, but we were left with several ripe bananas. Norman, Nina, and Noah stopped by, and they each ate a few of the bananas. We had enough to share with the four bushbucks in the garden. We couldn’t stop laughing when Jasmine literally peeled her banana with her mouth before eating the insides. We’d seen kudus do this but never a bushbuck. It was the cutest thing.

Now, at noon, the garden is quiet after a busy morning packed with many species. Enjoy our photos from the past 24 hours and our above new video.

Be well.

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

Fred and Ethel lie butt-to-butt in the garden with a helmet guinea-fowl looking on, hoping for more pellets. For more photos, please click here.

Finally, Norman returned today…Streaming our favorite shows…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 2, 2022 with 0 Comment

This is Marigold, resting comfortably in our garden. There were still uneaten pellets, but she was content to lounge rather than eat.

It’s Friday already. The week flew by in a blur. We haven’t done much since dinner at Marylin and Gary’s holiday rental on Monday evening other than research for future travels and “paperwork” and bookkeeping we needed to tackle. We’re hoping to go to Kruger National Park next week.

This annoying headache has made me not feel like doing much since we returned from our trip. On Monday, we’ll return to Doc Theo when he’ll up the dose of the medication I’m taking based on how I am feeling. There’s been no improvement yet, but I am on a low dose to see how I respond to the drug. Hopefully, a higher amount will cause the progress we’re seeking.

She’d look away from time to time when she heard a noise.

We’ll head to Jabula as we always do on Friday evenings. Although Rita and Gerhard don’t return until Monday, Lee has stayed at their holiday home while they are away. Tonight, Lee will join us at 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs., at the bar where we always sit until dinner, often ending up eating our meal at the bar as well. As you know, it’s an enjoyable ritual we repeat weekly.

This morning at 8:00 am, we called friends Kathy and Don, who live in Hawaii when they aren’t in Marloth Park, and had a great chat. They wanted to hear about our trip and visa situation, and we wanted to hear how they were doing. It’s always so wonderful to chat with them. Kathy and I stay in touch almost daily on WhatsApp. We are so fortunate to have such great friends all over the world.

Our boy Norman is always happy to see us and us, him.

While I was getting ready for the day, Tom popped his head into the bedroom to let me know Norman was in the garden. I couldn’t get dressed quickly enough to bolt outdoors to see his adorable face. When I called out his name while he was bent down eating pellets, his head snapped up to look at me. If a nyala could smile, Norman was smiling at me. It warmed my heart.

Hopefully, the drones will be gone after today, and all of our animal friends will return. We now have warthogs Mom and Babies who are almost fully grown. Also, bushbucks Tulip and Lilac are munching pellets in the side garden. It’s always a delight to see any of our bushbuck friends. They are so gentle and adorable.

We are always thrilled to see our favorite male bushbuck, Gordon Ramsey from the old house, whom we call Gordy.

This past week we’ve been streaming season eight of the series, The Blacklist. Wow! Has that show been exciting? Usually, after many seasons, some dramas lose their appeal when themes are repeated too frequently. But this show has ramped up to a fantastic eighth season. I looked online to see if there will be a season nine; much to our delight, it is showing in some countries.

Since we use a VPN, Express VPN (a virtual private network) set to the United States, we can watch Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix, and other streaming services available in the US. After researching and reading some articles about the show online, it appears season nine has been streaming from different countries, including India. After resetting the VPN to show we’re watching from India, we can watch season nine now instead of waiting until it’s released in the US.

Mom Tulip, who always visits with her daughter, Lilac.

We pay an annual fee for Express VPN of about US $99, ZAR 1714, plus the monthly or annual fees for the above streaming service. This unique service blocks the location from which we’re browsing online to show we’re coming through from the city/country we designate. Plus, it provided an added layer of security and a secure tunnel between us and the internet, protecting us from online snooping, interference, and censorship.

You can use this link from Express VPN for coupons, promotions, and free trial periods. We do not benefit from your membership but are happy to share this information with our readers. When we consider how much we spent on cable TV in the US and how much less we pay now for the above-combined services, the costs are about 70% less.

Noah is getting much bigger than his mom Nina as shown on the right.

It’s pleasant that at night when we’re done spending time outdoors, we can hunker down in the bedroom and stream a few episodes of our favorite shows before we’re ready to fall asleep. The trick is staying awake while watching when either of us has been known to nod off now and then.

Have a great weekend! We’ll be back tomorrow with more.

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

Frank and his family give us so much joy every day. For more photos, please click here.

Drones overhead scaring the animals…Not many visitors now…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 1, 2022 with 0 Comment

Lilac was taking a nap in the garden while mom Tulip grazed nearby.

The only reason we can think of why only a few animals are visiting us this week is the following notice that was posted on Facebook a few days ago:

“DRONE MAPPING OPERATION:

Dear Property Owners

Please be advised that a Drone Mapping Operation will take place in and around Marloth Park from 08h00-15h00 on Tuesday, 30 August, until Friday, 2 September, to assist us in opposing the mine threat. All permissions and legal compliance have been obtained. The two pilots will be clearly visible with yellow high viz jackets and will make every effort possible to limit the time over properties while doing the grid flights. Please note that all security has been notified, along with all relevant authorities of the operation. Please do your part by showing caution and respect to the pilots during the day while the operation is taking place to allow them to do the task on hand as quick as possible. Thank you for your support

“

Bossy was eating birdseed off the bushbaby stand. Kudus will eat anything. But we only give them fruit, vegetables, and pellets.

A mining company has been trying to gain approval for mining in this area, not specifically in Marloth Park, but nearby. I don’t know much about it, so I dare not write much, but whatever is happening has kept many animals away from our house since Monday.

After returning on Saturday and seeing a few of our favorites, on Saturday and Sunday, it’s been so sparse that it feels as if it’s a holiday and the park is filled with tourists, keeping the wildlife away as usual. Hopefully, once this dreadful task is completed, the wildlife will return to our garden.

We’ve seen a few impalas, a few warthogs, including Lollie, and a lone zebra who yipped loudly when he finished eating pellets in an attempt to find the rest of his pals. Seconds later, we heard a return yip, and he dashed off on a dead run. This morning bushbucks, Tulip and her daughter Lilac, and Jasmine and her son Johnny stopped by for lettuce tops and pellets. But the sound of the drones sent them off in a frenzy.

Now, mid-morning there isn’t a single animal in the garden other than a few birds and two Vervet monkeys eating the birdseed Tom put on the trolley and bushbaby stand. With his orange squirt bottle filled with plain water, he squirted them away. We keep the doors to the veranda open all day unless we are both inside, at which point we close and lock the double doors to keep the monkeys and baboons out along with any possible burglars nearby.

Norman visited within hours of our return from our trip.

We often hear of burglaries occurring at night, but they also can happen during the day when residents keep their digital equipment on their outdoor table while they venture indoors for a few minutes. They return, three or four minutes later, to find their equipment gone.

This morning on a perfect weather day, I am doing laundry using our new washing machine. It is a pleasure to have the clothes come out clean and well-spun, making them dry more quickly than the old dysfunctional washer. Since I enjoy doing laundry, this new washer has made doing laundry easier than ever. Today’s gorgeous sunny weather won’t take long for the laundry to dry.

Ah, the simple things in life can give us so much joy. We always giggle over how the most simple scenarios can make us both smile. Last night’s dinner was a perfect example, but before that, we talked on (free) Facebook Messenger with our friends Linda and Ken in the UK. In the next 24 hours, we’ll talk to friends Kathy and Don on Whatsapp (again free) living in Hawaii. Modern technology has enabled us to stay in close touch with family and friends.

Today is a quiet day. Besides a few household tasks and cooking another great dinner, we are content. Tom is listening to podcasts on his laptop. I’ve already paid the bills for September, completed my part of the taxes for the accountant, and recorded our expenses from the recent trip. For the first time in a while, I don’t have any “paperwork-type” tasks hanging over my head.

May you have a stress-free Thursday!

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

This photo was taken from the veranda at Buckler’s Africa Restaurant with several waterbucks in the Crocodile River. For more photos, please click here.

Fun photos from friend’s holiday home in the bush…Email posts issue resolved…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 31, 2022 with 2 Comments

Zoom in to see a warthog between the table and the bench, hoping for some pellets and hiding from the wildebeests.

It was a busy morning, not in the way of animals since we’ve had few in the past two days, but in the household. Tom is finishing off the last of the blueberry muffins (not low carb) since he’s decided to give them up for a while when they cause him acid reflux, a sure sign that eating sugar and flour is not suitable for him.

When we arrived at Marylin and Gary’s holiday bush home, we were greeted by a dozen wildebeests living at their house for days.

I had avocado toast using the keto bread I’d purchased online from local keto bakers with salad for breakfast, a weird combination but a delicious and nutritious way to start the day. I am full and won’t eat another morsel until dinner tonight. Tom will have bacon-wrapped filet mignon with rice and salad, and I’ll have seasoned garlic prawns with green beans and salad. I don’t mind making two separate dinners a few nights a week.

They had lucerne delivered, and within hours, the wildebeests had consumed all of it.

I’ve already prepped everything for tonight’s dinner except cooking the steak and the prawns, which we’ll prepare at the last minute. The salad is made, the green beans cleaned, and Tom’s seasoned pan of purified water for his rice is ready. Since I make rice for him every other day (two batches at a time), I’ve got it down to a science. I can get everything ready in about 30 seconds, other than later, boiling the water, adding the rice with the lid, and cooking it for 20 minutes at a low temp. So far, he’s not tired of rice with dinner since we don’t eat potatoes, bread, or other starches.

Marylin and Gary get a huge kick out of their resident wildebeests but are disappointed they can’t feed the bushbucks and warthogs when the wildebeests won’t allow it.

After breakfast and some work online, we both got busy making our favorite breakfast, a crustless quiche with cheesy Russian sausages, mushrooms, onions, and hand-grated mozzarella cheese topped with parmesan cheese. The two big pans are baking in the oven now.

Once cooked and cooled, I’ll cut the quiche into single serving squares and freeze them to take out one at a time to reheat in the microwave. There should be enough to last Tom for a month since I’m on this avocado and keto toast kick right now. Once I find something I love, I tend to eat it day after day until I’m sick of it and then switch to something new.

A determined female warthog hung close to the veranda, hoping for a pellet or two. Marylin didn’t hesitate to give her a little pile of her own.

Right now, while I am not feeling well, I am focusing on good food, good sleep and rest, and a degree of exercise via steps in the house. I am taking the meds Doc Theo prescribed, but it could be weeks before I see any improvement. From time to time, the headache and facial pain are gone for an hour, and I get hopeful. But a short time passes, and even a single hair brushing my face hurts like an electrical shock, typical symptoms for trigeminal neuralgia, in this case, triggered from having Omicron in April.

With the increased dose of meds, my blood pressure is back to normal, which is a huge relief. Regardless of how I feel, we continue to live as we would, socializing, cooking, and spending time with the animals. Oddly, we haven’t seen Norman and his family since Monday.

After eating, they all lay in a clump, cuddling with one another to nap. We couldn’t stop laughing.

It’s been cold and windy, and the animals tend to stay in the bush when the wind blows. Finally, this morning the wind stopped, so hopefully, they’ll all return soon. Of course, Lollie, several kudus, our favorite bushbucks, and some impalas have stopped by. Now we wait for the rest.

We don’t have big social plans over the next few days except for Jabula on Friday night, a visit to friends Sindee and Bruce’s home on Sunday, and a group get-together again at Jabula on Monday evening. It will be the last time we’ll see Rita, Gerhard, Lee, Marylin, and Gary for a while when they are all moving on to other adventures or back to their homes in the US.

Since Rita and Gerhard haven’t returned from their trip to Botswana yet, their friend Lee joined us. At the table from left to right; Lee, Tom, Gary, me, Marylin’s sister Jean and niece Debbie (from Pretoria). Marylin was taking the photo.

The time we’ve all spent together has been fantastic, and we’ll miss them all. Soon, in a little over two weeks, friends Connie and Jeff will arrive to spend two weeks with us. We’ll undoubtedly be busy with game drives, bush dinners, drives through Marloth Park, dinners in and out, and enjoying time together in the bush. We are looking forward to their arrival. I will not let this pain in my head and face impact our time together while sharing this magical place with them.

Yesterday afternoon, I started receiving messages from many of our readers that they are now receiving the auto email with our daily posts again. I hope this problem is resolved once and for all. However, if you have an issue, please let us know, and we’ll try to figure it out. Thank you for your continued patience through this tricky situation.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, August 31, 2021:

A young giraffe drinking from Frikkee’s Dam in Lionspsruit. For more photos, please click here.

The trip ended…Final expenses…Back in Marloth Park…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 28, 2022 with 0 Comment

My dinner at Chobe Safari Lodge in the fine dining restaurant was grilled prawns and chicken. Delicious.

Our expenses were done a little differently this time. When we first arrived, we understood that we’d need about 20000 kwacha (Zambia currency) to pay for transportation and tours. When one ATM was out of cash and another only dispensed 18000 kwacha, we decided we could figure out the rest later.

When we arrived in Botswana, the rep there required either pula (Botswana currency) or the use of a credit card. We used a credit card to pay for the tours we’d booked in Botswana. Well, it got confusing, so that I won’t go into it. But, we managed to use most of our kwacha before we left Zambia and have a remaining 2900 kwacha (ZAR, US $178), which we’ll exchange for rand at the bank when we go to Komatipoort tomorrow. There’s no point in carrying 2900 kwacha with us around the world.

After some confusing figuring, we came up with the following for our expenses for these seven nights away. They are as close to accurate as possible.

USD Kwacha

Hotel Botswana $1736.92 28292.37

Hotel Zambia $236.18 3833.49

Meals/Tours Zambia $1109 14800.00

Tours in Botswana $280 4544.75

Airfare $1302.78 21145.74

Includes all tips

Total $4664.88 72616.35

Total daily expense $ 666.41 10373.76

Breakfast of two fried eggs, grilled mackerel, and sauteed mushrooms at Chobe Safari Lodge.

Our primary reason for this trip was to acquire a new 90-day visa. As it turned out, we encountered some difficulties at immigration which we’ll share in tomorrow’s post.

If we had filed for an extension, using the law firm in Johannesburg, which we can only do once per year in South Africa, we would have paid approximately US $2500, kwacha 40578.50. Thus, we ask ourselves, was this trip worth the difference? We thoroughly enjoyed this trip and felt the experiences were worth it.

Now, as we returned to South Africa to our bush house in Marloth Park with a new 90-day visa in hand (providing nothing went wrong at immigration), we won’t have to leave again until our upcoming cruise in Seychelles in November. This means we can relax during the next three months with only the flights and transportation to book and a two-night stay in a hotel in Mahe, Seychelles.

Mixed salad with artichoke hearts and green beans.If we were feeling up to it, we decided we would go to dinner tonight at Jabula, which we did shortly after we arrived back in Marloth Park around 5:30 pm, 1730 hrs. Even though the flight was only a few hours long, the trip began at 11:30 am when Chris picked us up to take us to the Livingstone Airport and ended when we arrived at our bush house, as mentioned above. It still is a long day.

I’m still not feeling 100% with this headache and face pain, and I have an appointment with Doc Theo on Monday at 10:00 am. We will grocery shop after the appointment. Monday night, we are headed to Marylin and Gary’s holiday home for a braai and final get-together (seven of us) before they leave a few days later. It’s been wonderful spending time with readers/friends who have now become great friends we’ve met due to our site. We feel so fortunate.

Today, we’re sharing food photos from our one-week trip, but we still have many photos to share from game drives and boat tours. It will be fun to share those with all of you here and to see our animal friends (and taking photos) again in Marloth Park in our garden. It will be wonderful to see Norman and his family again. I can’t wait to see him, Lollie, and the others.

Note: This morning, Norman, Noah, Nina, Gordy, Tulip, and Lilac were waiting for us in the garden. No sign of Lollie yet. More tomorrow. Norman and Nina are here for the second time in two hours.

Be well.

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

Bossy is always thrilled to see us, hoping for morsels of pellets. For more photos, please click here.

The tours have ended…Lots of photos to share…Tomorrow, our final expenses and back to Marloth Park…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 26, 2022 with 0 Comment

We have completed the last of our land and river adventures and are now spending our last day and night at the hotel in Livingstone. Tomorrow afternoon we fly back to Marloth Park, hopefully getting a new 90-day visa stamp and be able to relax for the next three months until we fly to Seychelles for a one-week cruise of the islands.

The upper deck of the Lion king sunset cruise boat.

This has been one of the most enjoyable times we’ve spent on a “visa run,” having planned many activities that kept us busy a part of each day. Of course, all of this costs money. But not nearly as much as we’d spend living in countries other than South Africa as our current base. By early June, we’ll be leaving South Africa for quite a while to explore other countries we’re considering.

There were only a few hippo photo ops during the cruise on the Zambezi River.

Most countries only allow us to stay for 90 days, many for less, so visa issues are always a consideration when we’d like to stay for an extended period. The pandemic has changed everything for our world travel, but increased costs and lack of availability have made traveling freely more difficult.

Little plates were served on the boat, along with drinks. I ate the chicken leg, and Tom tried the rest.

Even this morning, when we entered the dining room for breakfast at this Marriott Hotel, we were told we had to wear masks while dining. We didn’t bring our masks after checking and discovering they weren’t required in the countries we were visiting on this trip. When we couldn’t eat breakfast without masks, and thus, we requested them from the front desk.

A crocodile is lounging on the Zambezi River bank.

Right now, we are sitting in our hotel room waiting for the cleaner to do our room since neither of us wants to wear a mask to sit in the lobby and work on today’s post. So we will sit here until the cleaner arrives and head out to the lobby wearing the masks.

There were many homes and resorts on the river.

We had a fantastic day yesterday. Chris picked us up at the resort by 11:30 am to make the drive back to Livingstone. There was much monkeying around to wrap up our exit visa for Botswana and entrance visa back into Zambia. But Chris was persistent, and eventually, we were on our way. He dropped us at the Protea by Marriott in Livingstone, where we promptly checked in.

This appeared to be a setup for a wedding.

We were thrilled to see how warmly we were welcomed. Most of the staff remembered us from past visits and made a point of making us feel special. This is the fourth time we’ve stayed at this hotel. When we entered our room on the ground level, we were surprised by the noise coming from the room next door that was being renovated. There was a loud, ear-splitting drill that continued for a few hours.

This is a new luxury resort that will be opening soon.

We asked to be moved to another room but didn’t have time to pack up when the tour operator for the Lion King boat ride on the Zambezi River was coming to get us at 4:00 pm. The hotel manager approached me while we waited for our ride to explain they had stopped the construction work for the time we were here. That was so nice to hear and appreciated. Otherwise, we’d have been quite annoyed by this time today. Now, it’s as quiet as a mouse.

Our outdoor dining table at the Royal Livingstone Hotel at the Old Drift restaurant. We are returning tonight for another dinner.

The Lion King sunset cruise on the Zambezi River was packed. The last time we had done this cruise, we had the entire upper deck to ourselves. But, we were entertained by the antics of the other guests, mostly young tourists from Scandinavian countries, devouring the included drinks and having the time of their lives. It was actually as fun to watch them as it was to watch the scenery.

The savory, not sweet, crackers reminded us of Christmas sugar cookies. Tom ate all of them with delicious garlic butter.

We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife, a few crocs on the river banks and a few gurgling hippos surfacing from time to time. But the live African music was a treat, and as always, Tom and I enjoyed ourselves whatever we may do. When the boat ride ended, a driver took us to the Royal Livingstone Hotel for our dinner reservation. Oh, my goodness, was that ever fun!

Tom enjoyed this pumpkin soup as a starter. Tomorrow, I will post a photo of Tom’s main dish. The image was too blurry to post.

It felt like a romantic date when we swooned over one another, as we often do, reveling in past experiences and hopes for the future. We laughed, we teased as we dined on the finest of gourmet foods in a fantastic atmosphere. It was dark dining outdoors, but the lighting was inviting, the seating comfortable, and the service over the top. While we sat at our outdoor table, we spotted three zebras and three warthogs wandering around the exquisite grounds of the luxury resort.

We’d had a long busy day and were content to be seated for a relaxing fine dinner.

My left eye is puffy from the headache and facial pain I’m still feeling. Maybe it’s an allergy.

Last night, we decided that the next time we come to Zambia, we’ll bite the bullet and spend a few nights at the expensive resort. The food was over-the-top, as shown in today’s photos. As planned, we’ll incorporate more food photos into our final post tomorrow when we add the final expenses. However, we still have many photos we’ve yet to share and will continue to post them in days to come.

This was an eggplant dish I ordered. The orange drops are mashed butternut squash. It was delicious, although it had small potato chunks, which I offered to Tom.

We’re returning to the Royal Livingstone Hotel for one more dinner tonight. We have lots of kwacha left that we need to spend, so what better way to spend it on than a repeat of last night’s outrageously wonderful dinner?

We’ll be back with more tomorrow. As much fun as we’ve had on this trip, we’re not dreading its end. It is delightful to return to Marloth Park for more unique experiences in the bush with our animal and human friends. We couldn’t ask for more.

Be well.

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

Old Man wasn’t looking his best. For more photos, please click here.

Sunset cruise on the Chobe River…A huge hit with animals and people…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 25, 2022 with 0 Comment

Our favorite mom and baby elephant photo was taken while cruising on the Chobe River.

When a driver picked us up yesterday to take us to a resort down the road, we were a little surprised we’d be boarding a boat on the Chobe River from Chobe Marina Lodge, not Chobe Safari Lodge, where we were staying. The three-minute drive down the road and the 30-minute wait to board the boat were no big deal.

Male Cape buffalos heading to the water from an island in the Chobe River.

We were seated at a table for four on the pontoon-style boat in no time, ready to embark and begin the sunset cruise lasting three hours. As soon as we sat down, we were seated across the table with a lovely couple, younger than our adult children from Milan, Italy. Andrea and Jenny spoke good English, and we chatted endlessly, later meeting up for dinner at the restaurant up the hill from our resort.

Two fishermen on a small boat on the river.

Unfortunately, the photo I took of the two of them ended up being obstructed by a person walking by, and I could not post it, much to my disappointment. I should have checked the camera, but I caught up in the lively conversation with this adorable and intelligent Italian couple and failed to see if the photo came out. It was an oddity that this happened.

Waterbucks and a few Egyptian geese were foraging on the island.

We enjoyed the time spent on the boat with them and later for dinner up the hill. While on the boat, we met another couple, who were friends, and the man, Dwight, lives in the suburbs in Minnesota, leaving us with endless stories to share, especially with Tom, a native of Minnesota. Christie was from Denver. It was also fun talking to Americans whom we seldom meet in this part of the world.

Seeing the elephants on the island in the Chobe River was such a joy.

The three hours passed quickly, and before we knew it, we returned to our resort to meet up with Andrea and Jenny later. We shared a delightful day and evening while taking many beautiful photos, some of which we’re sharing here today. Many more will follow in days to come. We haven’t put a dent in the pictures worthy of posting but have plenty of time to do so in the days and weeks to follow.

Two young male elephants were practicing sparing.

This morning, we had a nice breakfast in the resort’s restaurant buffet. We never had dinner at the buffet since there were few foods suitable for my way of eating. In our last post for this trip, we’ll share food photos and final expenses for our one week away from Marloth Park.

As always, we’re a little tentative about getting another 90-day visa stamp when we return to South Africa in two days and go through immigration. If we are turned down, we’ll have to devise a plan which, of course, if that happens, we’ll share here. Each time we get another 90 days, we sigh with relief. The law is vague in this regard…are we required to return to our home country each time? The answer isn’t clear. We’ll see how it goes one more time.

In a little over an hour, our trusty Chris from Chris Tours will arrive at this resort, who will drive us back to the border between Botswana and Zambia, and then take us to the Protea Hotel by Marriott we’ve stayed many times in the past. It’s a pleasant hotel, with good breakfast included, lovely rooms with comfy beds, and free WiFi.

A crocodile lounged on the grass on an island in the Chobe River.

We will check into our ground floor room, unpack a little, and within a few hours, be heading out to the Zambezi River for another sunset cruise, this time on the Lion King boat with live entertainment. This will be our second time on this boat. We enjoyed the scenery, the included drinks and snacks, and the African music last time and looked forward to this repeated event.

Elephants are excellent swimmers, using their trunks as a snorkel. Cool, eh?

When the boat ride has ended, Chris or his staff will pick up up to take us to the Royal Livingstone Hotel, where we will dine tonight and again tomorrow night, overlooking the Zambezi River. We’ve embarked on quite a few adventures this time, more than in the past, and have had nothing but great experiences.

We couldn’t take our eyes off the swimming elephants.

Saturday afternoon, after a late checkout, Chris will transport us to the Harry Mwanga Nkumbula Livingstone Airport for our short flight (less than two hours) back to Nelspruit. At that point, we’ll go through immigration and see how it rolls out again. After getting a great rate at the US $15, ZAR 253 a day, we’ll collect the rental car at Budget and make the hour-plus drive back to Marloth Park.

The water was shallow in this spot, and he could stand up and walk the rest of the way.

By 5:30 pm, 1730 hrs., we should be back at our holiday home in Marloth Park to decide if we’ll dine in on frozen leftovers or head to Jabula for dinner. We’ll play that by ear, providing all goes well with our return.

Yesterday, I attempted to process the ZAR 196, US $11.64 customs fees due on our UPS package from the US. For some odd reason, UPS’s system wouldn’t accept an international credit card, like all of ours. Only South African credit cards can be used. Louise was so kind to help, using her card, which we’ll reimburse when we see her next. All went through Ok, and we should receive the package sometime next week.

We are packed and ready to leave in about 40 minutes, so I’d better wrap this up and get it uploaded so I won’t have to rush later this afternoon when we have plans.

Be well.

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

Tag: Animals

14 fascinating facts about giraffes: