Getting into the groove…It’s heavenly…Plans for our August visa run revealed!!!…

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This female kudu jumped over the fence to see if the “grass was greener.” We don’t feed them when they jump the fence so they’ll avoid eating the grass and vegetation which is newly seeded and planted.

Wow! It’s Thursday morning on a perfect weather day. It’s cool, the sun is shining, and we’re comfortably ensconced at the table on the fantastic veranda. We’re feeling so much better today. The gastro issues are gone. The awful feeling of exhaustion from Covid-19/Omicron continues to improve daily, and we’re almost back to our old selves.

The sights and sounds in the bush are making us both smile. Birds are singing, screeching, and flying overhead. As I write this, the same five kudus, including a baby, have been hanging around for the past few hours. We named Pushy a very bossy warthog since he growls when we don’t give him pellets fast enough. He makes us laugh. We can’t help but respond to his goofy personality.

Bushbucks are sharing pellets with a warthog.

There are a few “Spikey’s” hanging out, young bushbucks with tiny horns, and one of our old favorites, Stingy, from our old house, 2 kilometers, 1.2 miles away. He responded to his name, and we recognized him for the markings and size of his horns, which are always muddy from digging up roots. Indeed, we’ll see some of our old animal friends in time, but it’s easy to welcome new friends when they are so adorable.

Gosh, this feels good. Tom is streaming Garage Logic on his laptop. we’re sipping on ice tea in the big mugs Louise gave us a few days ago, and we’re snacking on chunks of delicious aged cheddar cheese and a fine quality ham. Dinner is made for tonight’s meal, and I’ve already done two loads of laundry.

A Mom and Baby bushbuck partaking in some pellets.

Danie arranged for a plumber to come today since the water at the kitchen sink wasn’t hot enough for washing dishes. There’s no dishwasher here. Tom did all the dishes but quickly became frustrated when the water wasn’t satisfactory for sanitizing the dishes. As soon as we mentioned this issue to Louise, she and Danie were all over it and the plumber arrived this morning to make the necessary repairs. By tonight’s dinner Tom should be able to do the dishes in hot water. The remaining faucets in the house are fine.

With our plans set for the necessary visa run on August 20, as of two days ago, we have peace of mind and can relax until then. We definitely decided that neither of us feel up to any long flights and layovers to go far away. We’ve decided to head back to Zambia.

An adorable baby bushbuck.

Once we arrive at the small airport in Livingstone, our former tour guide Chris will pick us up at the airport and drive us to the rive where four countries intersect, the only such place in the world. We’ll take a little boat across the river to the other side to Botswana where a guide will meet and take us through immigration, and then to Chobe Safari Lodge, where we stayed a few times in 2018.

Each time we were at the resort and went on safari, we longed to spend more time there. This time, we’ve booked five nights at the lodge and two nights at the Protea Hotel to round out an entire week we’ll have been away, hopefully long enough to satisfy South African immigration to give us a new 90-day visa stamp.

Three bushbucks are sharing pellets. Now that we’re back to using the camera, we’ll zoom in more for better shots.

Fortunately, the flight to Zambia is non-stop on Airlink in Nelspruit and is less than a two-hour flight, making the trip easy for us. We’ll pick up a new rental car when we return to Nelspruit, and the 90-day clock will begin once again. But, 70+ days later, we’re heading to Athens. At the end of the cruise from Athens, we’ll return to Cape Town South Africa, about 45 days later.

We are thrilled with this plan. It’s easy, affordable, and less work than applying for another visa extension which we may have to do again sometime down the line. But, this one trip and the cruise take us to March 2023, when again, we’ll leave South Africa for a while to explore other options. All of this, of course, is based on travel restrictions because the pandemic is not over.

There are several Mom and Baby bushbucks. Soon, we’ll identify features and start naming them.

So, God willing, we’re back to life as we knew it, comfortable and content to be here, feeling well, enjoying our animal and human friends. Life is good, once again.

Be well.

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

Little Daddy comes to call. As a youngster, he certainly knows how to give the “look,” indicating he’s up for some pellets. For more photos, please click here.

We’re back…Sorry we missed a post…Brain fog continues…Planning for the future…

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“A large, bulky, gray-brown ibis with an iridescent green-purple gloss on the wings. It has a bicolored black-and-red bill and a white streak across the cheek under the eye. Pairs and small flocks occur in a variety of habitats including open country, wetland margins, and forest edge; they forages on the ground, digging, probing soft soil, and picking up invertebrates with their long bills. The frequently-heard call is one of the most characteristic sounds of Africa: a loud, raucous, trumpeting “ha-da-da,” which gives the bird its name.”

We failed to upload a post which was a fluke. It was the first morning since April 20, when we were first diagnosed with Covid-19 on the last two days on the first cruise; we awoke feeling better. There was no compelling need to be laying down, no lightheadedness, and no body aches.

I looked at our WordPress editing app, and it appeared I’d done a post the previous day but failed to upload it. Ah, I thought, this works. I’ll add that post and won’t have to give it another thought. Well, it didn’t quite work out that way. I had already uploaded that post.

Was it possible after six weeks, we were finally getting better from Covid-19 and, most recently, the dreaded gastrointestinal bacterial infection that began with a vengeance last Wednesday night, only one day after arriving in Marloth Park? Everything Doc Theo prescribed for us had done its job of freeing us from those horrific symptoms.

This was the first time we were this close to one of these birds.

We were so excited to feel better that we ran about the house, organizing cupboards to open up more storage space, knowing in an hour or two we’d planned to drive to Komatipoort to buy groceries, stop at the dentists, Luzaane’s office to arrange teeth cleaning appointments. Suzanne welcomed me with a warm hug inquiring about how we were feeling. It seems everyone in town knew we’d been sick from seeing our Facebook entries or reading our posts. She suggested we wait a few more weeks to recover further before having the cleanings.

After that, I went next door to Doc Theo’s office, and as soon as he came out from seeing a patient, he came right over to me, inquiring how we were feeling. I told him it was our first day out, and we were feeling so much better.  I thanked him profusely for calling and checking on us several times and prescribing medicines that worked so well. I took different meds than Tom since my case of Salmonella/e-coli was so much worse. But, here we were both feeling better.

Tom dropped me at Spar to the grocery shop and headed to the nearby petrol station to fill up the little car. It took at least an hour to shop. With a good list on the Bring app on my phone, were were able to find everything we needed for our various menus for the next week. Tom came into the store to push the car and load up the food at the register in no time at all.

We were thrilled to see the giraffe visiting.

It took everything I had to bag up those groceries into the various bags we’d brought along. By the time we were back on our way to Marloth Park, we were both pooped. On the return drive, I was thinking about reorganizing the kitchen space to fit all the items we’d purchased.

The refrigerator space is no issue as it has been in some past rentals. The kitchen fridge is an enormous side-by-side model. Plus, the an extra fridge on the veranda and a chest freezer in the dining room. We never have to worry about running out of space for perishable foods.

When there is load shedding for 2½ hours, none of the perishable foods spoil. But some outages last for many more hours or even days from time to time. We can move the bulk of the perishables to the chest freezer, where the items will remain fresh for days. Let’s face it; this is the bush. Things are different here.

Giraffes don’t interact with humans in the bush but they are always a majestic sight to see.

I rearranged all of the kitchen food storage space, making room for everything we purchased. It feels complete, and it will be easier to find everything. Since Tom has lost so much weight in the past six weeks, I made a double batch of his favorite blueberry muffins this morning. The muffins he used to pick up at the market were made with many chemicals based on a massive list of unknown ingredients.

If Tom is going to eat sweets, at least they need to be homemade with good ingredients. I baked two dozen muffins, enough to last for 12 days when he eats two each day.

While making the muffins, I also made Low Carb Beef and Mushroom Casserole, enough to last for a few dinners. In one way, it felt good to be cooking again, but afterward, I felt exhausted from all the work. We’ve been lying around for quite some time. I look forward to my energy returning when I can start walking again.

In the past few days, we worked on a plan about where we’ll go when our visas are up on August 20. We’ve made a plan and booked reservations, which we’ll share in tomorrow’s post.

Be well.

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

Three go-away birds at the birdbath. The grey go-away-bird (Crinifer concolor), also known as grey lourie, or kwêvoël, is a bold and common bird of the southern Afrotropics. They are present in arid to moist, open woodlands and thorn savanna, especially near-surface water. For more photos, please click here.

Getting organized in the house…Many new visitors…

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This Big Daddy jumped over the fence to see what treats we may have for him while his brothers grazed beyond the fence.

Since we’ve been sick for two days after we arrived last Tuesday, other than unpacking, we haven’t had time to get organized in the house. We’ve finally worked out a sound system for doing laundry. Danie delivered the clothes rack, making it easier for me to hang clothes. After having open-heart surgery in 2019, I can’t easily raise my arms over my head. Using an outdoor clothesline is impossible for me. This was an easy solution with a good-sized clothes rack in the outside laundry area.

With that problem solved, Louise brought over some items to make life easier for us, including some kitchen items. The spice drawer in the kitchen was already stocked with our spices. All I need to purchase when we go to Spar next is garlic and chili powder to make the spice mix for taco salad which we’ll make some time in the future when we’re feeling better and can eat spicy food.

This morning, we made a good-sized bowl of chicken salad with the leftover chicken breasts from last night’s dinner. We boiled a dozen eggs, peeled and chopped them when they cooled, and chopped celery and purple onion while I made the delicious sour cream dressing. We tossed it all together and placed it in the refrigerator to chill for tonight’s dinner. There should be enough left for tomorrow’s dinner too.

A warthog we don’t recognize. Once we get to know them better, we’ll begin assigning names.

It took everything we had to make the salad when we both were weak and out of sorts. Diarrhea has stopped, but we both still have a long way to be our old selves. Hopefully, we’ll feel well enough to go to Jabula for our usual Friday night dinner by Friday evening. We’ll play that by ear. Right now, it would be impossible. Neither can stand for long, let alone keep our heads up to sit at the bar.

Somehow, I managed to get the laundry done, doing a little bit at a time. When it is so cool outside, it takes two or three days for everything to dry outdoors when not in direct sunlight. Tom has stayed on top of all the dishes and kitchen clean-up. So, the house is orderly and ready for our needs right now.

Vusi just arrived to clean the house and change the bedding. He and Zef don’t clean on the weekends, and the floors get very dusty with the doors wide open. With no screens on the doors and the dusty terrain, it’s no wonder the house gets dusty in a hurry. But, we’re used to this fact and take it in our stride. We are so grateful to have Zef and Vusi taking care of us.

Since we haven’t been outdoors much, fewer animals have stopped by, but we notice that more visitors come to call each time we sit out there. This morning, we saw duikers, bushbucks, warthogs, kudus, and many helmeted guinea fowl who like to get in on the pellet offerings.

More Big Daddies in the garden.

The remainder of the week will be spent taking care of our health. We hadn’t had a sundowner since the first night we arrived when we dined at Jabula. There’s no way a drink sounded good when suffering from gastrointestinal distress, and even yet, I can’t imagine sipping on a glass of light red wine. It makes my stomach turn. Friends Linda and Ken in the UK, who got Covid a week after us, still avoid happy hour when they don’t feel right either.

Do we have lingering effects from Covid? Right now, it’s hard to tell the difference if we’re sick from the residue from Covid or the gastro infections. We feel wiped out and lethargic. Last night after dinner, I was feeling awful. I drank a glass of water with electrolytes, which helped a little. I can’t get any water down today, but I am drinking a Sprite Zero. It seems as if the bubbles offer some relief like 7-Up, which seems to help when sick.

We are looking forward to being excited, upbeat, and positive once again as we embrace the usual pleasant life in the bush. We are anxious to get back to Kruger National Park to see what we can find in the way of big game and, of course, to see our human friends as well.

Take care, and have a great day!

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

Crooked Face, a unique and handsome devil. For more photos, please click here.

Adaptation is the name of the game…

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Tom was feeding eggs to a large band of mongooses. We were happy to see them since they can keep the snake population at bay around the house.

As much as we love being back in Marloth Park, we realize we need to adapt once again after being in the US for almost two months. No, it’s not as if we were out and about much while there, but we quickly rolled back into our old ways of the conveniences offered in the US. Of course, prices on everything are reflected in the significant price differential.

Mom and Babies!

But the differences aren’t all wrapped up in making purchases. They are mainly centered around the nuances of daily life. Here are some examples:

  1. Each time we go inside the house from the veranda, we have to bring our laptops and phones inside with us, even if we are going to the bathroom or getting a coffee cup and closing and closing the doors. There are two reasons for this. Some thieves watch the bush houses to see if anything valuable is left outside. Two, the baboons and monkeys could get into the house or damage the equipment outdoors.
  2. It’s a long drive to the market, about 25 minutes. The little local markets have very few items. Yesterday I needed sour cream to make salad dressing. There was none to be found anywhere in Marloth Park or any salad dressing other than Greek which neither of us likes.
  3. Extra care must be taken when using the septic system and hot water.  Generally, the water pressure is low.
  4. Load shedding: This occurred (power outage) last night from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm and can occur twice to four times a day. It will happen again tonight at the same time as last night. We ensure we’ve had dinner, are doing the dishes, and have battery-operated lights handy.
  5. WiFi can go out during load shedding or other times. Since Louise and Danie installed inverters for us, we’ll have WiFi on most occasions to stream our shows at night.
  6. There is no dishwasher at this house and never a clothes dryer. Zef and Vusi will do our laundry, but we’ll do our own once it’s busy here.
  7. Extra caution must be exercised when driving to avoid hitting the animals crossing the road. This includes watching for snakes, rodents, dung beetles, and mongooses.
  8. No TV on the main floor. It’s not that we spend time watching TV; we don’t. But we may check out news from time to time. Instead, we use our phones and laptops for news updates.
  9. We must drive small, inexpensive cars due to recent increases in car rental prices. These car types don’t handle the pot-hole-ridden dirt roads very well in Marloth Park.
  10. Insects, mosquitoes, snakes, and other “creepy crawlers” are in the bush year-round, although they are considerably less right now since winter is approaching. (We are in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are opposite the Northern Hemisphere). It’s necessary to use powerful insect repellent at all times of the year on all exposed skin.
  11. Limited shopping. If we need a clothing item, there isn’t a local shop that will carry the products we’d be interested in buying. Online stores have inconsistent sizing, making it difficult to order anything online and feel assured it will fit. If we need non-clothing items, brand names are expensive since they are imported.
  12. Shipping items from the US is costly. A typical 20-pound, 9 kg package can cost around the US $400, ZAR 6277 when it’s necessary to use fast shipping through DHL or FedEx and pay customs fees when the items arrive.
  13. Problems using ATMs. If an ATM is not associated with a specific bank and is located at a bank, it’s challenging to get the machines to work to obtain cash. When we arrived in Johannesburg, we had to go to four ATMs to get one to work. This is common.
  14. Due to Covid and employee shortages, it isn’t easy to get responses from many service-orientated businesses.

    An adorable male duiker stopped by.

Well, I suppose I could go on and on. But, what it boils down to is that we so appreciate the wildlife, the scenery, and the people, items such as the above are a small price to pay. In no time at all, we get into the groove, finding ourselves comfortable and fitting into the environment.

This morning we had no less than 25 impalas in the garden with one male and the rest females and babies. It’s called a harem.

Last night’s dinner of well-seasoned bacon-wrapped filet mignon, rice (for Tom), and a big salad was all we needed. We cooked on the braai whilel it was dark outside, and we still had electricity for lights. It was terrific dining at the outdoor table amid the night sounds of the bush.

Our first wildebeest visitor ate some pellets and took a nap outside our bedroom window.

Yesterday, I made the terrible mistake of taking a two-hour nap during the day, which I never do. As a result, sleep was elusive last night. Today, I’ll be more careful and not sleep until bedtime. Since we were infected with Covid, we both have been napping on and off during the day. Hopefully, soon, the need to do that will pass.

Our wildebeest stopped for a drink from the pool before he left with a female impala looking on.

Be well.

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

Frank and The Misses share their seeds with two hornbills. They all got along quite well. We haven’t seen any francolins here yet. But, we set up the bird feeder and shall see what happens. For more photos, please click here.

It’s great to be back…It’s heavenly!!!…

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This is Nina, the nyala mom, who Louise named.

We are unpacked and sitting on the veranda, drinking coffee on a perfect weather day. We couldn’t stay awake when we went to bed at 9:00 pm to watch another episode of Outlander on my new laptop. We turned off the computer and the portable speaker that helps Tom hear the shows we’re streaming and drifted off.

We both woke up for a few minutes during the night but fell back to sleep after chatting a little. Today, we feel great. There is no jet lag, and most of the Covid symptoms are almost entirely gone except for an occasional cough, runny nose, and headache. Tom has fully recovered from pneumonia.

This is dad nyala, whom we named Norm.

Last night we arrived at Jabula for dinner to a warm welcome from Dawn and assistant David, and other staff. We sat at the bar and had an adult beverage for the first time in over a month. I slowly sipped on two small glasses of Skinny Red wine that Dawn keeps stocked for me, and Tom had his usual Klipdrift brandy and Sprite Zero.

The food was perfect as always, but by 8:00 pm, we were on our way back to the house. We needed to sleep more than we needed to socialize. On Friday evening, we’ll return to Jabula for dinner, and being rested; we’ll enjoy the social time all the more.

As it turned out we lost several non-perishable food items we’d stored in the storeroom of this house while we were gone, including one bottle of perfume, when baboons had broken a window and got into the single cabinet and had gone through our stuff. They went through all four plastic bins looking for food but destroyed many items.

This is son nyala, whom we named Noah with dad Norm in the background..

Zef and Vusi went through everything, tossed the damaged items, and cleaned off the salvageable items. Louise warned us to be very careful with doors open since baboons getting inside the house and wreaking havoc have been a real issue at this house. We can’t ever go inside without closing all the doors, and all windows must be locked and closed when we leave.

We have been careful with this potential problem in the past and will be so again in this house. Speaking of the house, we love it here. We’ve managed to make to find a place for everything. Zef took our laundry today and will return it washed and dried tomorrow. For the first time in the bush, we’ll have them do our laundry, which we’d always done ourselves in the past. There is a washer out in the back of the garden, and if we want to, we can wash a few items ourselves as needed.

Noah,, is already bigger than his mom, Nina.

Tonight, we will stay here and enjoy dining on the veranda. We’ve had several visitors so far, but it will take a few days for them to know we are here. So far, this morning, we’ve had impala, bushbucks, duikers, and warthogs. Yesterday, we had a massive band of mongoose stop by, but since we didn’t have any paloney yet, we gave them some of our eggs until we went to Komati and shop sometime next week.

Soon, we drive to the little local market for a few items. I forgot to tell Louise when I made the grocery list I’d given her when I still had brain fog from Covid, which is improving each day.

Nina and Noah grazing on the grass and pellets. They have stripes similar to kudus.

We are excited to share some photos finally. But, they were taken at a distance. I’ll start using the camera and my phone since the camera has a better ability to zoom in. We’re trying to keep the animals from coming up onto the veranda at this house based on the layout, the pool’s wood surface, and the plants we’re trying to protect in the garden.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Of course, we will be back with much more in days, weeks, and months. Soon, we will start working on where we’ll go when our 90-day visa is up and report what we decide here.

Be well.

Photo from one day ago today, May 25, 2021:

This is a Thick Neck. He’s an older bushbuck with long horns and an oversized girth to his neck. He stops by daily. For more photos, please click here.

Part 2…The manatee story…Safari luck in Florida!…We’re off to Arcadia…

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There may have been a small buoy attached to the tail of the frequent manatee visitors, making it easier for the tourists to spot.

This morning, we are off to Arcadia, Florida, to meet our friends, Tom and Lois, who visited us in Marloth Park, South Africa, in October 2018. It’s a 90-minute drive for us and a little more for them, and we appreciate them driving to meet us for lunch at a popular inland restaurant.

We’d hoped to see many more friends and family members while in Florida but after we changed our trip to come to Karen and Rich’s wedding due to Omicron, our timing changed considerably and there just hasn’t been enough time. We apologize to all those special people we won’t have an opportunity to see this time around but with our passion for cruising, surely we’ll be back in Florida at some point in the future. Also, after the pandemic, car rental prices are outrageous in Florida with limitations on mileage, something we haven’t experienced in the past. Driving all over the state would have cost thousands extra.

Thus, today, for time’s sake, we’ve included Part 2 of the manatee story, which I mostly prepared yesterday, to ensure we are on the road promptly at 10:15 am to meet them by noon, leaving a little extra time for traffic. We plan to return to Karen and Rich’s by 5:00 pm for a barbecue rib dinner Rich is making. It will undoubtedly be a busy and fun day with friends.

A manatee is lifting hers/his nose from the water for a dose of air. They do this about every five minutes or so.

We found this excellent information about manatees from the Smithsonian’s website here:

“Weird Animals

14 Fun Facts About Manatees

These roly-poly herbivores, just maybe the teddy bears of the sea. But keep an eye out when boating; they don’t move so fast. Emily Frost

Despite their size and stubbly snout, manatees seem cute and cuddly to many ocean visitors. These large, slow-moving marine mammals hang out in coastal areas and rivers where Florida spring-breakers can easily see them and think it is good to hop on for a ride. Not only is this and other forms of harassment such as hugging the sea creatures illegal (the West Indian manatee is listed as endangered in the United States), but it can also impact manatees’ natural behavior, changing the way they interact with humans.

Stingrays at the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, Florida

All three species of manatee—the Amazonian manatee, West Indian manatee, and West African manatee—and the related dugong are considered vulnerable (defined as facing a high risk of extinction in the wild) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This is due to a variety of threats, including boat collisions, hunting, habitat destruction, and toxic red tides.

It’s unclear if the manatees’ sweet looks can save them. In their favor is the fact that we’re no longer deliberately chasing them down, unlike how humans hunted to extinction their long-lost relative, the Steller’s sea cow, in the 18th century. But even slight disturbances to their lifestyles can do irreparable harm. If you see a manatee this spring break, look but don’t touch.
1. Manatees are typically found in shallow coastal areas and rivers, where they feed on seagrass, mangrove leaves, and algae. These herbivores munch on food for almost half the day, eating ten percent of their body weight in plant mass every day. With weights of up to 1,200 pounds, that is a whole lot of greenery.
Expansive views of Tampa Bay from the center.
2. West Indian (Trichechus manatus) and West African (T. senegalensis) manatees spend their lives on the cusp between salty and freshwater. They can maintain the correct balance in their bodies through an internal regulation system that works with the kidney to ensure salt concentrations never get too high. It is believed that West Indian manatees require some access to freshwater (PDF) to stay hydrated, but they are able to easily move between the two ecosystems.
3. Warm water is a must for the West Indian and West African manatee species. With low metabolic rates and minimal fat protection from cold water, they stick to water that is 60 degrees or warmer. They may look fat and insulated, but the large body of the manatee is mostly made up of their stomach and intestines! In colder months, they find their way to warm river tributaries or warm water outputs from power plants. In 2010 at least 246 manatees died in Florida due to cold stress from the colder-than-normal winter.
A sign was posted at the entrance to the mangroves.

4. Manatees go to the surface of the water every three to five minutes to breathe, although they can remain underwater longer, holding their breath for up to 20 minutes. When they do take a breath, 90 percent of the air in their lungs is replaced (whereas humans tend to replace about 10 percent).

5. The Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) lives entirely in freshwater rivers throughout South America in the Amazon Basin. It is hard to estimate their numbers due to their secretive nature and the murky water where they often live. A fourth dwarf manatee species was described in the mid-2000s, but this claim was called into question, and it is believed actually to be a juvenile Amazonian manatee. The main threat to this species is illegal harpoon hunting for subsistence.

6. Dugongs (Dugong dugon), in the same order (Sirenia) as manatees, spend all of their time in the coastal ocean waters of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific. They don’t ever venture into freshwater. Although they look similar to manatees, dugongs have a more whale-like fluke than the round, paddle-like tail you see on manatees.

We walked along an elevated paved path through the mangroves to the open sea.

The fossil record shows a much more diverse group of sirenians than we have today, with dugongs and manatees living together throughout their range. 7. The closest living relatives of sirenians are elephants. Manatees evolved from the same land animals as elephants over 50 million years ago. 

8. Humans have one round of baby teeth, and then if we lose or hurt an adult tooth, a trip to the dentist is in order. Manatees, like their elephant relatives, continuously replace their teeth throughout their lives, with the older teeth at the front falling out and new teeth growing in at the back of their mouth.

9. Researchers believe that the now-extinct Steller’s sea cow (the largest member of the order Sirenia) was at one point found throughout the Pacific, in waters off Japan and the U.S. west coast. In 1741, Georg Wilhelm Steller first described the sea cow from islands off the coast of Russia (in what would later be called the Bering Sea) as subsisting off of kelp and not being able to submerge underwater. Within 27 years of first being described, the species was driven to extinction by hunting and competition for their kelp food source with an exploding urchin population. 

10. Christopher Columbus and other early explorers claimed to have seen female figures swimming in the ocean—the mermaids in the writings and drawings of this era. Whether they had been at sea for too long or it was a trick of the light, we now know that many of these encounters were with manatees.

11. Manatee brains are smooth (compared to our own, have the familiar ins and outs of cortical folds), and the ratio of their brain to their body size is the lowest of any mammal. They may not be as clever as dolphins, but manatees can learn basic tasks, are extremely sensitive to touch, and can differentiate colors.

This reminded us of the mangroves we visited while in Cairns, Australia, in 2015.

12. Female manatees usually have one calf every two to five years, and the calf then stays and nurses for two years. Calves nurse from their mother’s teats, which are found right where the forward limbs meet the body. The calves also can start nibbling on plants at only a few weeks old.

13. If you are a mammal—whether that’s a human, giraffe, whale, or rat—then you typically have seven neck vertebrae. Only tree sloths and manatees have an irregular number of vertebrae—just six for the manatee. Scientists think this may have to do with their slow metabolism.

14. Manatees have no natural predators in the wild, but humans have played a large part in making all three species at risk of extinction. About half of West Indian manatee deaths are caused by humans, and most are due to boat collisions. Manatees are quite buoyant and use their horizontally placed diaphragm and breathing to control their buoyancy. This and their average speed of 3 to 5 miles per hour means that manatees are way too slow to escape from the path of a speeding boat.”

Before departing, we spotted one more manatee.

Mother Nature never ceases to amaze us. What unusual and exciting animals! Please stay tuned for more as we move toward our next adventure, one week from today, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean on our first cruise since the onset of the pandemic.

Have a fantastic day!

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

This one decided to lay down in the shade. For more photos, please click here.

Part 1…The manatee story…Safari luck in Florida!…

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This was the first shot we got of one of the manatees that appeared in the warm waters by the Tampa Electric Company.

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When Karen and Rich told us about the nearby Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, Florida, we were interested. But, when they explained that it might be difficult to actually spot any manatees near the Tampa Electric Company, where the warm waters from the plant attract manatees, we hesitated to check it out.

When we took off for the grocery store, we decided to visit the center and see if we’d have safari luck. Since the manatees are not confined and may come and go at their leisure, we felt comfortable giving it a try. We avoid visiting caged and confined animals that should be in the wild. Although, on occasion, we visit rehabilitation centers, which is an entirely different scenario. especially when the intent is to return the wildlife to the wild, where they belong.

It would have been nice to get better photos but we were happy to see them.

Not to be negative, but we anticipated a pricey entrance fee and the possibility of never seeing a manatee. Much to our surprise, entrance into the oceanfront setting was free to the public. As shown in our photos, the tourist-like location across the bay from the Tampa Electric Company, somewhat offset the eyesore of the massive power plant (not nuclear).

Many homes in the area have extensive views of the power plant. Perhaps those homeowners feel less intruded upon by this haven for manatees that has been generated (no pun intended) by such an intrusive structural complex so close to their homes.

The entrance to the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, Florida.

On the Manatee Viewing Center’s website, they write:

“Manatees love warm water. And by a stroke of POWERful luck, Tampa Electric can provide it to them! Our Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach circulates water from Tampa Bay for cooling, then sends the water flowing clean and warm back into the bay. The manatees leave colder waters to return to this warm and welcoming refuge in the winter months.

Because of this uniquely unusual migration, we’ve built the Manatee Viewing Center so everyone could have a chance to see manatees gather. Our discharge canal is a state and federally designated manatee sanctuary that provides critical protection from the cold for these unique, gentle animals.

Location: 6990 Dickman Rd., Apollo Beach, FL 33572
Hours: Open daily from November 1 – April 15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Trails close at 4 p.m. We are closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and Easter. Have questions? Call us at 813-228-4289.

Tampa Electric is proud to offer free parking and admission to all who visit!”

Manatees are such unusual-looking animals.

Tom, impatient fellow that he is, seemed ready to leave when we didn’t see anything. When we arrived at the center to find the parking lot full, we persisted and found a good spot. After a short walk up a ramp, we made our way to the major viewing area, wondering if we’d get lucky.

But, knowing me, riddled with persistence and determination, I wanted to wait it out. Within five minutes, we saw manatees. I was almost squealing with delight. My high-pitched talking-to-animals-voice kicked in while my camera clicked feverishly to get a good photo.

Manatees don’t rise above the waterline. Only their noses protrude for a quick moment to collect a good dose of air every five minutes or so. As long as we could see their blubbery bodies under the water, we knew at some point they’d come up for air. And they did.

Tampa Electric Company processing plant in Apollo Beach Florida.

In reality, it would take a scuba diver or snorkeler’s underwater camera to get good shots of these peculiar massive creatures. We did the best we could under the circumstances and were thrilled to get the shots we did. Of course, I was thrilled, as always, to add yet another wonder of nature to our repertoire of online photos on our posts, and we’re delighted to share them with our readers today.

We’re sharing the photos we took between today and tomorrow’s Part 2, a continuation of this story. We decided to break this up into two stories since we have to hurry to get out the door tomorrow to meet with friends Tom and Lois for lunch in Arcadia, Florida.

Ancillary structures at the Tampa Electric Company.

Have a fantastic day!

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

This leaf-like insect stopped by for another visit. For more photos, please click here.

Final post from Marloth Park…Surprising news on our itinerary…Some of our favorite photos…

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We always had a reason to celebrate. Here is Don (Kathy and Don) and Rita (Rita and Gerhard) at Jabula celebrating our friendships.

Note: Due to the high volume of tourists in Marloth Park right now, during school holidays, the WiFi is sketchy and inconsistent. Subsequently, I am unable to make formatting corrections including spacing and adding some links. We’re sorry for the inconvenience. After all, TIA (This is Africa)!

It’s Wednesday morning, and we’re almost totally packed and ready to go. All that’s left is to pack the everyday toiletries when Tom showers soon, and we’ll close our bags. We aren’t worried about overweight baggage this time since we’re allowed two 23 kg (50 pounds) bags each, and we only have three.

We packed one of the duffle bags into another suitcase since we’ll need extra room when we go on the cruises for the dressy clothes we’ll be packing for the Queen Mary 2. Once we get to Minnesota on May 1, we can send the formal attire to our mailing service to hold for us until we need them again.

A female kudu, in a daze from oxpeckers cleaning bugs off her ears and head. For this post, please click here.

I suppose you are curious about our itinerary news, and I should get on with it. After days of research and discussion, we’ve decided to return to Marloth Park on May 24, only 62 days from today. A few factors contributed to this decision, including the difficulty we encountered in traveling to many countries at this time. We considered increased costs, fuel shortages, and overall excessive cost of living due to the ravages of each economy as a result of the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine.

I.B. (Itchy Butt) laying in the wet, muddy cement pond, attempting to ease the itching. For this post, please click here.

There is so much unrest in many countries with poor economic conditions, political unrest, poor medical care, prohibitive medical costs, and the list goes on and on. We’ve decided, for now, making Marloth Park a base from which we’ll continue to travel and embark on cruises makes all the financial sense in the world.

We never figured out what this peculiar apparition that appeared on the night cam could possibly be. For that post, please click here.

Yes, we’ll have visa issues, but we know how to deal with these issues. We can travel to other countries in Africa for short stay safaris and expeditions and then return with a new 90-day visa stamp. Once back here in May, we won’t have to leave until August for a visa stamp. We can either fly to a non-bordering country or start a new visa extension. The new stamp will be good until November when we’re planning to leave anyway.

Our friend Frank, of Frank and The Misses francolins, had a self-tour of our house, including the kitchen. For that post, please click here.

In November, we’ll make our way to  Athens, Greece, for three back-to-back Azamara cruises for a total of 42 days, which brings us to Cape Town, South Africa, when we’ll make our way back to Marloth Park and begin the cruising booking process all over again, as new cruises are posted. These new cruises will take us to many new countries we’ve never visited in the past.

This was the third photo I got of the leopard, hoping for a  better shot, the best of which is the main photo. For that post, please click here.

We realize that spending one or two days on a ship excursion is not the same as living in a country for a few months as we’ve done in the past. But, our travels are an ever-changing adventure, and we have to do what feels right to us. In between adventures, we’ll enjoy our lives to the utmost in our favorite secluded place in the world. Undoubtedly, South Africa has its issues but is tucked away in the bush; we feel far removed from many issues. For now, this plan is precisely befitting our needs.

When thick-tailed bushbabies are around, the usual small bushbabies run for cover. The larger species will kill the little ones. For this post, please click here.

We have lots of wonderful friends here. We have a constant stream of entertainment as wildlife visits our garden. It’s only a 20-minute drive to enter Kruger National Park. We have access to excellent medical and dental care at affordable prices and insurance covering emergencies. Although smaller than Amazon, we can shop at markets that have all the food products we like to purchase and the excellent online shopping service, Takealot, although smaller than Amazon, carries most items we need to buy from time to time.

This adorable zebra was lounging in our garden. He must have spotted something interesting on the ground. For this post, please click here.

On top of it all, we will be moving into a different house when we return, as shown in photos in this post and in this post. We are excited about moving into this property when we return in May. It has everything we could want or need.

Mom, with the perfect curled tusks, whom we now call Tail-Less Mom, who lost her tail, also lost one of these babies, since then only returning with the fast-growing two piglets. For this post, please click here.

We realize and accept the reality that we may lose some of our readers from making this temporary decision. But, we hope those of you who decide to opt-out make a note of days we’ll be visiting other countries and will stop back to see our stories and photos.

The beautiful Christmas dinner table at Sindee and Bruce’s lovely home in the bush. Dawn was taking a photo of Sindee and the serving table, a short time later filled with great food. For this post, please click here.

For now, the next two months will be exciting for us:

  • 15 nights in Apollo Beach, Florida
  • 13 nights on a transatlantic cruise on Celebrity Silhouette to Southampton, UK
  • 3 nights in Southampton, sightseeing
  • 7 nights on transatlantic return cruise on Queen Mary 2 to New York
  • 14 nights in Minnesota visiting family and friends
  • 7 nights in Henderson, Nevada, visiting family and friends
  • Return to Marloth Park
It was Rita’s birthday and she and Gerhard took all of us on a bush dinner and night game drive. For this post including great wildlife photos, please click here.
Louise and Danie hosted the best possible birthday gift for me, a visit to an in-the-wild elephant interaction. For this post, please click here.

The above number of nights doesn’t account for the 62 days we’ll be gone, but the long travel days to and from Africa make up the difference. There are many time zone changes in this period that, hopefully, we’ll adapt to with ease.

Today may be the last time we see Little since we’re moving to another house a few km from here. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll find us once again. Little was thrilled we’d returned from Zambia in October 2021 when he stopped by at his usual 4:00 pm. Immediately, he positioned himself on the right side of the veranda, near where I sit, waiting for his treats and words of affection (from me only). For this post, please click here.

So there it is folks, Next time we write to you, most likely it will be from Apollo Beach, Florida, unless we have time on one of our layovers for a quick update.

Be well. Be happy. Live life to the fullest.

Photo from one year ago today, March 23, 2021:

A male bushbuck with a plant growing from his muddy hoof after a big storm. It made us laugh out loud. For more, please click here.

Two days and counting…A smooth transition so far…

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Mom and Baby mongoose sucking out white and yolk from an egg.

It’s all going well. We are feeling organized, and everything is getting sorted and packed. It seems it works better for us when we pack over several days rather than rushing on the last few days, especially when we’ve accumulated more stuff than usual during the past 14 months.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. We’ll be heading to Komatipoort for the required Covid-19 PCR tests and will get the results by email on Wednesday morning, the day we’re leaving. We’ll have Louise print off the report, the only item we need to have printed.

Over the years, we’ve found we don’t need paper copies of flights, hotels, cruises, and car rentals as long as we have the reservation or confirmation numbers on our phones. The documents may say to print a copy, but we’ve done fine without hauling pages and pages of documents. It’s wasteful and unnecessary in the majority of cases. Once we show our passports, providers can easily find us in their system.

How quickly the youngsters learn the value of an egg.

We’ve gone through all of the Covid-19 restrictions for this upcoming flight and our two upcoming cruises. It’s all under control. We’re pleased with how organized we’ve become over the years. But, it took us a while to learn the best way to handle all the necessary documents clearly and concisely. There is so much paperwork it can be overwhelming without an easy-to-use system.

But, who knew how to travel the world? In the beginning, technology wasn’t as advanced as it is now. And yet, in some countries, technology is far behind, and actual printed pieces of paper are required for many venues, rentals, and other services. We continue to learn as we go.

Today, I did laundry for the last time. With the high humidity, clothes usually take two days to dry, so today was the day to wrap that up. The cupboards are empty of our foodstuffs, and the refrigerator only contains enough food for tonight’s dinner. Tomorrow morning when we head to Komatipoort, we’ll have breakfast at Stoep Cafe.

This little one was unsure how to crack open the two eggs.

We’re going out to dinner at Giraffe with Louise and Danie tomorrow evening. We always enjoy their company. It will be wonderful to spend our last evening in the bush with them.

Throughout all of this busy packing, I’ve continued walking, staying at a full 25 miles, 40 km, per week. Even when we’ve been out for the majority of the day, I catch up when we return or, in a few cases, add to the next day. Surely, while traveling, I should be able to keep pace with all of the walking at airports.

There’s no doubt we’ll be exhausted when we arrive in Tampa. Thank goodness the drive to Karen and Rich’s house is less than 40 minutes, in regular traffic. They are planning a nice dinner for us. Karen wrote a thoughtful message, asking if we would prefer to eat a light meal when we arrive since it will be later at night to us, after being awake all night.

It pays to learn from Mom how to do it.

I explained how that wouldn’t be an issue for us. We prefer to immediately adapt to the new time zone, eating and sleeping based on the times of the day and night where we are currently. This helps us to acclimate more quickly and avoid severe jet lag. Usually, after two good nights’ sleep, we are back to our “old selves.” But, on a few occasions, we were a little tired for a few more days. Missing a night’s sleep in itself can cause that!

When we arrive, we’ll avoid napping and get into the groove as soon as possible. Surely, by 10:00 pm, 2200 hrs, we’ll be ready for bed on Thursday, our day of arrival. Thanks to Karen and Rich for thinking of us and inviting us to stay at your lovely home. I can’t wait to see the ocean once again!

Two little ones were trying to get in on the action.

That’s all for today, folks. It’s time for me to start walking again to ensure I stay on track. When we get to Florida, I may be able to walk outdoors, hopefully, avoiding running into any alligators!!! Then again, it would be fun to take a photo!!!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 21, 2021:

Frank eats out of the seed container. There were so many warthogs in the garden I set this down for Frank. The warthogs love to eat the seeds, leaving none for Frank. This was a good solution at that point to ensure Frank and The Misses got their share. For more photos, please click here.

Four days and counting…Busy packing the house…

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Look how swollen Big Daddy’s neck signifies he’s ready to mate. Amazing!!!

The only time since we began traveling in 2012 that we stayed in one property for over a year was here in Marloth Park when I had heart surgery, and we didn’t leave for 15 months, the final three of which I spent recovering to become well enough to travel.

Now, during times of the pandemic, we will have lived here for 14 months due to many travel restrictions in force all over the world. We would have left sooner had it been a little easier to travel. In the past 14 months, we left, once to Zambia for a week and another time to the US for a  month.

On another occasion, we’d booked an exciting trip to Kenya, which was canceled due to Covid-19. Is it any wonder we were hesitant to book anything when we’d already lost so much money due to the pandemic in the past two years? In many cases, we got most of the money back, but it required hours and hours of phone calls, documentation,  and applying pressure to the providers to give us a refund.

We became weary of all of these issues. We’re facing another possible cancellation on the cruise scheduled to travel to Ukraine. We’ve decided we won’t accept the Black Sea price to swap out for the Greek Islands. We’ve done that route in the past, and we’re not willing to pay twice as much as other such cruises are charging right now.

What a handsome animal!!!

We’ve been watching opinions from other passengers on that cruise via cruisecritic.com. They feel like us. They want their money back. If we apply for the refund now, we will get 100% of what we paid, applied to a future cruise which must be used by the end of 2022 or one year from the original cruise date, whichever is later. That may not work for us. We’d be happy to have them apply the funds to the other cruises we have booked with Azamara.

However, if enough passengers cancel, the cruise line will cancel the cruise. According to Azamara’s cancellation policy, if they cancel a cruise, we’d get 125% of the cost of the cruise as a future credit since it’s only a 600 passenger cruise with most likely only 500 passengers that would account for approximately 250 cabins.

Thus, instead of canceling now, we will wait a few weeks and see if the cruise line cancels. We’ll receive a 100% credit for everything we’ve already paid in advance to Costco Travel in the worst case. Whew!

As for the packing, after living in this house for so long, the packing is more complicated than usual. Since we are returning before too long, we are leaving the non-perishable kitchen items in a big tote. Also, we’re leaving some clothing that we won’t need on the cruises or in the US to lighten the load.

I fed him an entire bag of whole large carrots. He inhaled them in seconds. He was quite thrilled with the treat.

We are allowed two 23 kg (50 pounds) bags each. We will each bring our largest bag, the yellow supply bag, one duffle bag along with two carry-on bags for me, and the computer bag for Tom. We’ll have to pay baggage fees on the US flights (one to Minneapolis and the other to Las Vegas). There’s nothing we can do about that.

After all, we’ll be sailing on two very distinct cruises in the next six weeks, and we’ll need different clothes for each, although some everyday items will work for both voyages.

That’s it for today, folks. Enjoy your weekend!

Photo from one year ago today, March 19, 2021:

This is a monitor lizard that Tom spotted while driving. It happened so quickly I had to take the photo through the windshield. For more photos, please click here.