Our return flight from the US back to South Africa was canceled…Now what???…

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Lots of helmeted guinea-fowls in the garden. They kept coming and coming!

Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 11 warthogs – inc. Little, Lonely Girl, Lonely Boy, Fred, and Ethel, Peter, Paul and Mary, Benny, Henny and Lenny
  • 9 bushbucks – inc. Chewy, Thick Neck/Bad Leg, Spikey, and others
  • 8 kudus – inc. Bossy, Notches, Little Daddy, Mom and Baby, and others
  • 21 helmeted guinea-fowl
  • 1 wildebeest – inc. Broken Horn
  • 2 hornbills
  • 1 grey lourie (go-away bird)
  • 2 Frank and The Misses

When we received an email two days ago stating that our return flight from Las Vegas to Johannesburg on July 24th had canceled the leg of the flight with British Airways, we didn’t panic. Instead, we decided to wait a few days to book anything in hopes of some additional flights opening up. Also, we didn’t want to be on hold for two hours, as many have experienced when trying to rebook canceled flights.

Tiny and Bossy are waiting for treats.

But, today, for peace of mind more than anything, we’ll rebook the return flight but may have to sacrifice price and convenience. We don’t want to change our departure date when our hotel in Las Vegas is already booked at exceptional pricing.  Also, we got an excellent price on the rental car we’ll be picking up upon arrival.

In this case, the car rental was a great price, a fluke with Dollar Rental at the Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger Airport when lately fees have been almost twice as much as we paid last January when we first arrived in South Africa. Rental car prices have been increasing this year, all over the world.

Bossy and a youngster were waiting for pellets.

We weren’t surprised to see the cancelation come through when our friend Kathy experienced several cancellations for her return flight to Marloth Park in mid-July. Therefore, when we rebook the flight today, we will not select British Airways for any legs of our flights, fearing this would transpire again.

It’s scary enough traveling such a long distance in light of Covid-19, but at least by the time we return, we’ll be vaccinated, easing a little of the concern of flying and waiting in airports. Several airlines are hesitant to schedule flights to and from Johannesburg when cases of Covid have been rising daily, especially in this hub.

New lockdown restrictions have returned in South Africa, as listed below from this site:

The new restrictions include:

  • The hours of the curfew are from 22h00 – 04h00
  • Non-essential establishments such as bars and fitness centers must close at 21h00
  • All gatherings will be limited to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors. Where the venue is too small to accommodate appropriate social distancing, 50% of the floor space may be used.
  • Attendance at funerals and cremation may not exceed 50 people.
  • Night vigils and after-funeral gatherings remain prohibited.
  • The sale of alcohol for off-site consumption is permitted between 10h00 – 18h00 from Monday to Thursday.
  • On-site alcohol consumption may continue until 21h00, subject to liquor licenses.
  • Alcohol in public is strictly prohibited.
Big Daddy was looking forward to pellets.

None of these restrictions impact us at this time, but the fact that there is more infection certainly affects everyone, and added caution must be exercised during this spike in cases. Of course, when we depart in 11 days, we will use every available resource we have to protect ourselves; masks, gloves, face shields, and hand sanitizer, as well as social distancing when possible.

Bossy is pregnant. We’re looking forward to seeing her youngster when we return or shortly after that.

No, we’re not excited about traveling right now without having had the vaccine, but we feel we don’t have many choices when our visas expire on June 30th. Once we arrive in Minnesota and get the jab, we’ll be very relieved, especially after the waiting period has ended.

That’s it for today, folks. I will head to the kitchen as soon as the floors dry (Zef and Vusi are cleaning) and make cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast. We’ll dine on the veranda, as usual, enjoying every visitor that wanders into the garden. At the moment, the two hornbills are banging on the kitchen window, an almost daily occurrence.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, June 18, 2020:

The back of the 300-year-old stone property we rented in 2013 in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy. For more photos, please click here.

Visitor in the kitchen on crumb patrol…Little pleasures…

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Our friend Frank, of Frank and The Misses francolins, had a self-tour of our house, including the kitchen.

Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 20 warthogs – inc. Tiny, Lonely Girl, Fred, and Ethel, Peter, Paul and Mary, 2 sets Mom and Babies and others
  • 7 bushbucks – inc. Chewy, Thick Neck/Bad Leg, Spikey, and others
  • 12 kudus – inc. Bossy, Big Daddy, Notches, Little Daddy, Mom and Baby, and others
  • 21 helmeted guinea-fowl
  • One wildebeest – inc. Broken Horn
  • 1 female duiker
  • 12 mongoose
  • 2 Frank and The Misses
Moments later, he turned around and went the other way.

When I entered the house to refresh my glass of ice tea, I nearly fell over laughing. Frank was wandering about the kitchen, perhaps looking for bits of food on the floor. Fearful of scaring him off, I quickly grabbed the camera to take the two photos included here today. Please excuse the blur in the photos caused by my laughter and inability to hold the camera still.

After taking the photos I wandered into the kitchen to find him quite “at home” to see me there. I didn’t have to do a thing. Also, he had no issue or confusion in finding his way out the door. After a few minutes, he wandered toward the veranda door and “saw himself out.”

Every day, it’s something new that piques our interest, leaving us in awe of nature and the world around us. Whether it is a laugh-worthy experience or a tender or disappointing moment, we can’t help but notice little details. These “little things” make our time in Marloth Park and elsewhere in our world travels that make life so fascinating.

Spikey and kudus.

While seated at the table on the veranda, Little appeared as he often does, multiple times each day. But, this morning was slightly different. His right eye was oozing blood, not from the eyeball but the corner of his eye. We wondered what had happened to him, concerned for his well-being.

Could he have been in a fight with another animal? Could he have incurred the injury while walking through the spiked branches of trees and brush in the bush as he continues on his daily tour of the park? We’ll never know. The injury doesn’t look life-threatening. Warthogs are sturdy animals, and most likely, in time, they will heal on their own.

Lots of kudus in the garden.

With so many warthogs in Marloth Park, few with injuries are attended to by the rangers and local vets who oversee the well-being of the animals. The attitude is to “let nature take its course.” When an animal is caught in a snare or suffering significantly, the vet may work with the rangers to treat the animal properly.

But if it’s a warthog, which many consider annoying and less “important,” they may be “put down” if they suffer from a disabling or life-threatening condition. This is a reality in the bush that all of us animal lovers must face. One day, a favorite “visitor” may not appear in the garden, leaving residents wondering what happened to that animal when in fact, they may have been killed on the road, died in a fight, or died from natural causes.

Some of these animals are old. Tiny is one of them. Warthogs can live 15 to 18 years, although the average lifespan in the wild is 7 to 11 years due to stats when they are killed by apex predators. But, here in Marloth Park, where they rarely face a lion, cheetah, leopard, or other apex predators, they can live many more years.

Another busy morning in the bush.

We consider the reality that when we return from the US at the end of July, having been gone for 28 days, some of our favorite animals, including Tiny, Little, Frank, and others, may never be seen by us again. They could easily be killed or lose interest in returning here when we’ve been gone so long.

The only encouragement I have is the fact that almost two years after we left Marloth Park in 2019, Little found us once again and visits every single day. We’ll hang onto the hope that we’ll see them all again, maybe not immediately upon our return, but in the days and weeks to come.

May your day bring you joy in the little things…

Photo from one year ago today, June 16, 2020:

We highlighted Venice, Italy, one year ago. Check out the crowds! For more photos, please click here.

An excellent afternoon with friends, at the Crocodile River and an evening in the bush…

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It had been a while since we’d spotted a waterbuck. But, this female was on the move and was out of sight in seconds.

Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 5 warthogs – inc. Lonely Girl, Fred and Ethel, and others
  • 10 bushbucks – inc. Chewy, Thick Neck, Bad Leg, Spikey, and others
  • 5 kudus – inc. Bossy and others
  • 48 helmeted guinea-fowl
  • 1 duiker
  • 2 Frank and The Misses

Yesterday, Rita and Gerhard picked us up at 3:00 pm, excited to show us their new vehicle, an upscale 4-door Toyota pickup known as a bakkie in South Africa. They couldn’t have been more thrilled with their purchase, and we shared the excitement with them.

Rita and Gerhard with their new “bakkie.” It was a very smooth ride!

The ride to the Crocodile River in this four-wheel-drive vehicle was comfortable on the bumpy dirt roads in Marloth Park, compared to the cheap small car rentals we hire when more smooth riding vehicles are three times the cost of what we’re willing to pay. Unfortunately, the cost of car rentals throughout the world has increased outrageously over the past year of the pandemic, as have many travel-related expenses.

You’d think that the prices of travel-related venues and services would be a little lower to encourage hesitant travelers to begin booking again after this long haul. But, no, the prices continue to climb, which ultimately will impact the future of the travel industry.

Once we arrived at the river, we pulled out our camping chairs, arranging them in a tight row to leave room for others who’d come to the river hoping for exciting sightings. It was busier at Two Trees than we’d seen in a long time. Louise told us that bookings were up, mainly with South Africans, who longed to get out to the bush from the bigger cities in South Africa.

Please increase the size of the photos to see everything in the shot. There were two ostriches and two warthogs eating out of a trough made from a tire. The warthog was attempting to tip it over when he couldn’t reach the food. Very funny!

Few guests were international. For most travelers, flying into South Africa is not appealing at this time, with the Covid variants, increased cases lately, and the lack of available vaccines. We’ve yet to hear back on an opportunity for booking the vaccine in South Africa. However, our friends Linda and Ken, living in Johannesburg, did manage to get called for the first jab.

But, we’ve yet to hear of anyone getting vaccinated in this more remote area, other than healthcare professionals. We doubt we’ll listen to anything before we leave in 16 days to head to the US, where we feel confident we’ll be able to get the jab, now that walk-ins are available at some locations in Minnesota.

A mating pair of warthogs cuddling during a nap in our garden.

After the river, around 4:45, we left, and Rita and Gerhard dropped us off at our house, where we picked up our car and followed them to Jabula for dinner. Tom suggested we drive ourselves to avoid them having to backtrack to take us home at the end of the night. It all worked out fine, and we reached Jabula at 5:30, with plenty of time for fun at the bar and dinner shortly after that.

For a Saturday night, it wasn’t as busy as it had been pre-Covid. The four of us sat at the bar, chatting among ourselves and others, and by 6:30, our meals were ready, and we headed to our usual table on the veranda. It wasn’t as cold as it had been a week earlier, and we all thoroughly enjoyed our delicious meals and the lively conversation.

A mom and baby bushbuck have been stopping by each day.

We’ll be busy getting ready for guests coming for dinner tomorrow, including Don (of Kathy and Don), Rita, and Gerhard. Kathy will arrive in Marloth Park a few weeks before returning from the US at the end of July. Even more, fun social times are on the horizon!

Have a fantastic Sunday! We plan to!

Photo from one year ago today, June 13, 2020:

Us in front of one of the most exciting ruins of Ephesus Jordan on this date in 2013. For more year-ago photos, please click here.

Fun outing today…A logical solution for load shedding!..Thanks, Gerhard!…

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Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 13 warthogs – inc. Little, Lonely Boy, Lonely Girl, Fred and Ethel, and others
  • 12 bushbucks – inc. Chewy, Thick Neck, Bad Leg, Spikey, and others
  • 5 kudus – inc. Bossy, Big Daddy, and others
  • 41 helmeted guinea-fowl
  • 2 Frank and The Misses

Today, Rita and Gerhard are picking us up at 3:00 pm, 1500 hrs., in their newly purchased vehicle, and we’re all heading to the Crocodile River for game viewing, photos, and sundowners. As soon as darkness falls, we’ll head to Jabula for dinner. There’s load shedding tonight from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm, 1900 hrs to 2130 hrs.

Since we’ll be at Jabula for dinner, most likely, it will only be a short time until we have power, when later they’ll drop us off at our bush bouse. We usually sit at the bar for an hour or more and dine around 6:30, 1830 hrs. It’s easy for us to entertain ourselves for several hours.

An oxpecker on the back of a kudu.

Recently, when load shedding ramped up again, I thought we could watch a few shows during the outage to download some movies or TV series. However, after trying several possibilities, I realized how difficult it is to download movies or tv series on a Chromebook.

As mentioned in a prior post, we can no longer use Graboid, a straightforward monthly fee download site. It just doesn’t work for Chromebooks. As it turns out, for the same reasons, Graboid doesn’t work, nor do Hulu downloads, and many others available online. This was frustrating.

Tom’s new device is also a Chromebook; since he disliked Windows 10 so much, he didn’t want to start that up again. Had we known this when we purchased Chromebooks, we undoubtedly would have stayed with Windows 10, although we weren’t keen on that operating system with its weird nuances. So, here we are, with what we have.

This morning, Big Daddy stopped by to see what was on the menu.

Gerhard doesn’t use Chromebook. However, he had read our previous post, where I mentioned our inability to download movies, and he surprised me while we were out to dinner at Bos.Restaurant here in the park. He handed me a flash drive with approximately 50 movies on it from 2016 and 2017, all Academy nominees, and offered to let us download them and return the flash drive to him when we were done.

This way, during power outages, we can watch movies in the dark. How do we do this with no power? Simple. Our Chromebooks have a massive advantage over other operating systems and devices; the batteries may last as long as 14 hours since a recent charge. This was a big motivator for us in choosing Chromebooks.

Of course, playing downloaded movies may reduce the available charged time considerably. But, with the inverter Louise and Danie provided for us in this house, if our laptop or phone’s batteries are low during load shedding, the inverter will recharge them. The inverter kicks in when the power goes out.

At times, bushbucks nibble on these plants in the side yard.

The inverter doesn’t provide enough power for the entire house, only one lamp in the bedroom, two-floor fans, and sufficient ability to recharge our phones and laptops. Nevertheless, it’s all we need during load shedding. So, when Gerhard gave us the movies, I downloaded them onto our external hard drive, which fortunately had enough room for all of them.

Then, a dilemma presented itself. There was no sound in any of the movies, although the video quality was good. Unfortunately, Chromebooks have lousy sound systems. We’d downloaded an app, Ultimate Volume Booster, from the Google store for our regular viewing. It works excellent for Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon but wasn’t available to use for Gerhard’s movies.

Then, I downloaded the app, VLC Media Player, and finally, we had sound, easily adjustable for Tom’s loss of hearing. Next, the challenge was finding all the movies on our two terabytes hard drive that is almost full after adding the movies. I needed to know each movie’s name to find it or spend at least 30 minutes or more scrolling through all the files.

Little and some friends.

Yesterday, on an app on my phone, entitled “Keep,” I created a list of every movie. Once we watch one of the movies, I’ll make a note next to each item, “watched.” That way, we don’t have to recall what we’ve watched. In going through the list of approximately 50 movies, there were 8 to 10 of them I know we’ve already watched. Tom rarely remembers the names of movies or TV series we’ve seen in the past.

Now, when the power is out, I open VLC, type in the name of the movie we’d like to watch (from my phone app), watch it, and mark it as “watched.”  Easy peasy. Of course, all of this took a few hours to set up. But, now, when there’s no power, we have an easy solution to keep us from staring at our phones, playing the same dumb games over and over again. Thanks, Gerhard! We so appreciate the movies!

That’s it for today, folks. We hope that you, too, find workable solutions for the challenges facing you!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today,  June 12, 2020:

After returning from Kruger on a Sunday, we headed to Amaazing River View, Serene Oasis, to watch the sunset and wildlife on the Crocodile River. This waterbuck was busily grazing on the vegetation as we captured his reflection in the river. For more photos, please click here.

Load shedding shortly…Trying to hurry and get post uploaded…Rental car challenge…

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This wildebeest came up onto the veranda to let us know he was looking for some pellets.

Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 12 warthogs – inc. Little, Lonely Boy, Lonely Girl, Fred and Ethel, and others
  • 8 bushbucks – inc. Thick Neck, Bad Leg, Spikey, and others
  • 11 kudus – inc. Bossy, Baby Daddy, Medium Daddy, two youngsters, and others
  • 5 wildebeest – inc Crooked Face, Hal, and others
  • 32 helmeted guinea-fowl
  • 2 Frank and The Misses

Tom was chasing Little this morning, spraying him with water from an orange spray bottle to keep him away from Frank and The Misses’ birdseed in the little container on the veranda. He comes right up onto the veranda and eats from the container making an awful mess. Besides, he’s well-fed by us; pellets, carrots, and apples.

T75

I can’t help but laugh when this happens, although I say, “Little, don’t eat the seeds each time.” Pigs are intelligent and can quickly learn commands, not unlike a dog. Pigs are listed as smarter than dogs, as the 6th most intelligent land animals on the planet.

I suppose it’s one of the reasons I like warthogs so much. They make eye contact and respond to being spoken to, tilting their heads, stomping their feet, and moving about in animated ways, easily indicating they are paying attention. Of course, we laugh at every instance! I know it’s hard to believe but, if my favorite warthogs are anywhere in the area, they come when responding to my voice.

T75

Now, of course, we’re wondering what happens when we are gone for almost a month, leaving Marloth Park in a mere 18 days on June 29th. Even the wildebeests who frequently visit have begun responding to my voice. Surely, all of these animals will return not long after we do, at the end of July.

Now that my cough is finally improving, I feel more at ease about traveling to the US and, a day or two later, getting a Covid vaccine. It appears we’ll be able to make an appointment for the jab before we even leave Marloth Park, which will give us peace of mind.

Today’s photos include a few shots of the porcupine from last night’s trail cam that we were thrilled to see once again. Unfortunately, there was only one, not two, as the last time, but the one is fine for us. Any chance we have for photos of the more unusual visitors is always extraordinary.

They didn’t take their eyes off us until we offered them the pellets.

We’ve been trying to get Thrifty Car Rental located in Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger Airport to return the rental car on the day we leave rather than today on June 11th. This is because Tom had driven back to Nelspruit a month ago for the mandatory car inspection, and we didn’t want him to have to make that half-day round trip once again.

Speaking to the manager of Thrifty a few weeks ago, we got him to agree to us sending him dated photos and a video of the car to avoid the long trip. He hesitantly agreed. First thing this morning, we headed outdoors with the camera in hand to take the photos.

But, it’s not as easy as you’d think. Taking photos on a camera and then loading them on Google Drive to attach and send via WhatsApp wasn’t as easy as you’d think. The images didn’t roll over to Google Drive as quickly as we needed, and I spent no less than 90 minutes figuring out a workaround. Load shedding was around the corner.

Tom stayed busy for quite a while tossing pellets to these five wildebeests.

Finally, I called the manager and asked if we could email the photos, make a video of the car, and send him the link. He agreed. Finally, we got it all done and sent everything to him only 30 minutes before load shedding started when WiFi would also be out.

We anticipated we wouldn’t hear back from him that he approved the photos and video until the power returned a few hours later. But, much to our relief, he sent a message stating he agreed to the photos and video and could keep the car until June 29th. Of course, we’d already paid through June 30th, but Thrifty required the vehicle be returned for an inspection every 30 days, something we’d never experienced in the past.

Whew! What a relief! Tom didn’t have to drive to Nelspruit today, and we could relax about the car, one less thing on our minds with so little time remaining until we leave South Africa.

They scattered throughout the garden to get every last pellet.

The load shedding period ended by 1:08 pm, 1308 hrs., 22 minutes earlier than expected. Finally, I was able to get back to work finishing today’s post and getting it uploaded by 2:30 pm, 1430 hrs, another relief!

Today, we’re staying in, cooking on the braai, and enjoying a quiet evening with the animals, for as long as we can stay outdoors in the chilly air.

We changed our usual reservation for Jabula Lodge and Restaurant on Friday evenings with Rita and Gerhard to tomorrow, since today they were busy with the new vehicle they purchased and dropping off their rental car in Nelspruit. So instead, we’ll all meet at Jabula on Saturday for another enjoyable evening.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, June 11, 2020:

The contrast between old and new is breathtaking in Istanbul. For more photos, please click here.

Load shedding is annoying…New friends in the garden…

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Here is our new friend, One Tusk. We’ve seen another warthog with only one tusk, but this one has a substantial remaining tusk.

Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 5 warthogs – inc. Little, Tiny, Lonely Boy, Lonely Girl, and others
  • 11 bushbucks – inc. Thick Neck, Bad Leg, Spikey, and others
  • 12 kudus – inc. Bossy, Baby Daddy, Medium Daddy, two youngsters, and others
  • 1 wildebeest – inc Broken Horn,
  • 2 Frank and The Misses
This is another new friend, Old Man, who had lost both of his horns. He is very old based on visible signs of aging on his face and body. However, he seems to have a friendly disposition. We hope to see him again.

Load shedding during the evening is the most annoying time for us, especially from dark to 10:00 pm, 2200 hrs. Now, as the cold winter weather rolls in, staying outdoors is uncomfortable. Also, we noticed very few animals stopping by after dark, based on photos on our trail cam during this cold spell. They, too, are chilled and prefer to hunker down together for warmth or find a warm spot for the night in the case of solitary animals.

If the power is out for 2 ½ hours from 7:00 pm, 1900 hrs, there’s not much to do in the dark other than play mindless games on our phones. Unfortunately, when the power is out, so is the WiFi, and we cannot stream any of our favorite shows. I tried downloading some movies from various sites, but this is not easily accomplished with a Chromebook. Doing so would get us through these dull and boring periods.

Old Man and Broken Horn arrived in the garden within minutes of one another. Of course, they could be related, but many of the animals in Marloth Park are related in one way or another.

We can add a few apps to aid in this process, but at this point, I don’t feel comfortable downloading these obscure apps with few, if any, reviews, which could easily create some issues. We don’t want to take any chances right now. Tom’s new laptop should arrive today and my keyboard, although improved, is still acting up.

Before having Chromebooks, we used the fantastic downloading site Graboid for US $19.95, ZAR 271 a month. When we tried to download the app after buying the Chromebooks, we were disappointed to find out that it wouldn’t work on them. Downloading a different browser wouldn’t help. It was due to Chrome’s operating system. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do about that.

Old Man’s small horns could have been from fighting over the years.

Tonight from 7:00 pm, 1900 hours, load shedding will commence for 2 ½ hours. When Rita and Gerhard suggested we all get together, as usual, it dawned on me that if they came here for sundowners at 4:00 pm, 1600 hours and the four of us entertain ourselves in idle chatter, we can head to a restaurant (most have generators) for dinner by about 6:30 pm, 1830 hrs, and take our time ordering diner and dining.

It’s not too difficult to spend three hours in a restaurant with fun friends. At least, we’ll get through another night this week during load shedding. As for restaurants, meals and drinks must be paid in cash since WiFi is out during load shedding, and they aren’t able to use their credit card processing machines. Makes sense.

Another thing we noticed about Old Man was the length of his tail which almost reached the ground. Broken Horn’s tail is half a meter shorter.

Load shedding requires residents to do a little planning, especially in the evenings. Daytime is less bothersome when most have tasks and projects they can do around the house during the day. Heading to Kruger National Park is a great way to spend time during power outages.

Walking in the park is also an excellent way to pass load shedding time. Unfortunately, with my legs less steady from the surgeries two-plus years ago, we don’t take a risk and walk on the uneven dirt roads in Marloth Park. Reading books, either paper or on devices, is an excellent way to spend time during outages.

He appeared rather content in our garden, staying for over an hour, spending most of the time looking at us.

For us, we had both read so many books in the first few years of our world travels that we have since lost interest in reading any fiction, preferring to read non-fiction on topics we enjoy online, at any given time which may not work during load shedding.

Some locals may stay busy with puzzles during load shedding if they have some suitable source of light. I like this idea, but we don’t have a proper table where I’d be willing to leave an unfinished puzzle. Moreover, Tom has no interest in puzzles. And, after years of playing Gin and me beating Tom, he lost interest in that. Ha!

Today, Tom will set up his new Chromebook that just arrived from Takealot, South Africa’s version of Amazon. Tonight, we’ll have a delightful evening with Rita and Gerhard.

Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, June 9, 2020:

An appropriately named Fish Eagle stood watch over the “catch of the day.” For more photos, please click here.

Lovely early evening at the Crocodile River…Now, I’m having computer issues…

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An elephant is drinking and playing in the river.

Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 13 warthogs – inc. Little, Tiny, Lonely Girl, Fred and Ethel, The Imposter, Peter, Paul and Mary, and others
  • 15 bushbucks – inc. Thick Neck, Bad Leg, Spikey, and others
  • 2 kudu- inc. Little Daddy, Bossy
  • 10 helmeted guinea-fowl
  • 1 wildebeest – inc Broken Horn
  • 1 Frank and The Misses – inc. Frank, by himself
  • 1 go-away bird
  • 1 – Miss Dove

This morning, Tom called out to me to hurry and come outside. There were ten bushbucks in the garden, the most we’ve ever seen at one time. Immediately,  we started cutting up carrots, breaking up a head of cabbage into bite-sized pieces, and tossing pellets their way.

I took a few photos and made a video which we’ll share tomorrow since today we have photos from yesterday’s trip to the river with Rita and Gerhard that we’re posting today.

Such wonderful beasts…

On another note, I am having trouble with the keys on my keyboard, making it very difficult to type. This has worsened over the past few weeks. I researched some fixes, removed the problematic keys, and cleaned them as recommended by the manufacturer.

I am not in the mood for this right now. However, we have other fish to fry with our travel date coming up in 22 days. I followed the online instructions carefully, which resolved some of the bad keys, but the space bar remains the biggest problem. It’s challenging to type without easily pressing the spacebar.

He walked further and further into the Crocodile River.

It may require that I purchase a new device when we get to the US, but for now, I can do a few workarounds until we get there. I have set up to use voice activation on a google document and then copy and paste it into the WordPress editor. I am doing it the hard way right now and will decide which will be the best way to go by tomorrow.

Right now, Broken Horn (wildebeest) is resting in the garden, leaning his head against his body for support, as shown in the photo below. We love to see our regular visitors be so at ease when visiting us that they can relax and sleep without constantly being in defense mode in anticipation of apex predators.

Broken Horn, peaceful and content sleeping in our garden using his side as a place to rest his head. Wildebeests can weigh as much as 600 pounds, 272 kg.

Although there is little risk of being killed and eaten by other animals in Marloth Park, their instinct is always alert. Of course, there are lions inside Marloth Park from time to time and always a few leopards at any given time, who mostly hunt at night, when most of the wildlife is hunkered down in spots they feel are safest.

Many animals in herds and groups may have a few group members on the lookout during the night. We see this with impalas and other animals who tend to habitat in numbers, instead of loners like warthogs, (some) wildebeest, and bushbucks, all of whom may wander the park on their own, except for those families with young.

An elephant was coming down the hill in a hurry.

I often think about the loners, wondering why they don’t assemble for safety and companionship. But, like humans, they don’t always gather in groups to make their way through each day. If not close to tight family members and friends, humans can easily be loners if shy, reclusive, and withdrawn.

It’s not surprising to us to see how much alike we are, humans and animals. We learn so much about them and ourselves by watching their behavior, day after day, month after month. We all find great comfort in lingering in a safe space, with or without others at our side.

This elephant’s left tusk looks broken, but it’s not. Enlarge to see the complete tusk.

That’s it for today, folks. We’ll keep coming back for more as our three-week countdown begins tomorrow, with us leaving Marloth Park On June 29th since we must go South Africa on June 30th, and we have a long travel experience ahead of us.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, June 7, 2020:

It looked like smoke, but it was fog in Madeira, Portugal, in 2014. I took most of this photo from the freeway through the car’s windshield. For more historic travel photos, please click here.

Rainy Sunday morning…Will our plans for the river be dashed?…A decision is made…

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Wildebeests in the driveway near the rental car.

Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 9 warthogs – inc. Little, Lonely Girl, and others
  • 12 bushbucks – inc. Thick Neck, Bad Leg,
  • 6 helmeted guinea-fowl
  • 1 kudu- inc. Medium Daddy
  • 3 hornbills – banging on the kitchen window for hours
  • 2 Frank and The Misses

With plans for river sightings with Rita and Gerhard today at 3:00 pm, a rainy morning may indicate that we won’t be heading out today. Anxious for new photos to share here, after a steady stream of regulars in the garden, day after day (which we love but our readers may not), we have been looking forward to seeing our friends again with an opportunity to take big game photos.

The wildlife tends to hunker down on rainy and windy days, so if we go, regardless of the weather, we may not see much action on the river today. However, right now and last night, we could hear lions Fluffy and Desi roaring in Lionspruit, which abuts the end of our back garden. We’ve listened to that roar over and over again, and it always makes us smile. What an exquisite sound!

Hornbills next to the veranda enjoying Frank’s seeds.

It’s not only the photos and videos we take that make this experience so delightful. The sounds, day and night, are thrilling and, at the same time, heartwarming; whether it’s birds or animals, it all sends a chill down our spines. So many of these sounds may be heard when viewing any of our videos, over and above my endless chatter describing the current scene in view.

Of course, our big concern is that our readers will become bored with photos of warthogs, bushbucks, and kudus and lose interest in our site. So we always strive to “shake it up,” but with the limitations for travel due to Covid-19, we’re fast running out of new and exciting photos.

Then again, I have been under the weather for almost three weeks, continuing to cough, and haven’t felt like doing much of anything other than sitting on the veranda watching our furry friends stop by for a warm “hello” and, of course, pellets, carrots, apples, and cabbage.

A dark-capped bulbul. Sorry for the blurry photo. They don’t stay still for a good shot.

Well, folks, maybe it will get more interesting coming up here in 23 days when we are finally leaving South Africa for about a little over three weeks to return to the US for several reasons; 1. to see our family members in Minnesota, Nevada ad Wisconsin; 2. to get the Covid-19 J & J  vaccine, which is readily available at many locations in the Twin Cities; and 3. to get that darned visa stamp we so much need, when our visas expire on June 30th.

It doesn’t seem realistic that SA President Cyril Ramaphosa will be extending visas for foreign nationals again in the next 24 days. He opened visas last time at the beginning of a month to June 30th, not at the end, as we need at this point. So it’s doubtful the dates will coincide with our needs.

Thus, yesterday afternoon, we began booking rental cars and hotels for our already-in-place flight from Johannesburg to Minneapolis on June 30th with Lufthansa Airlines. So all we have left to book is:

  1. A round trip flight from Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger to Joburg
  2. A one-way flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas to visit son Richard
  3. A return flight from Las Vegas to Joburg

    Warthogs and mongoose get along well, paying little attention to one another.

We have yet to book the Las Vegas/Henderson hotel, which we’ll do today, planning on staying at the Green Valley Ranch Spa and Casino in Henderson, which is close to Richard‘s home. Unfortunately, we will be in Las Vegas during the hottest month of the year, so we won’t spend much time outdoors if we can help it.

As for visiting Tom’s dear sister, Sister Beth, a nun in a nursing home in Milwaukee, we will drive from Minneapolis, returning a few days later to fly to Las Vegas from there. We’ll see Sister Beth, and then Tom wants to visit a few cemeteries for his Ancestry stuff.

It will be a busy time, and we hope to take many photos along the way. But, of course, we’ll continue to post each day, even during the long travel days while on long layovers.

At this point, regardless of the visa scenario changing again for foreign nationals in South Africa, we’re committed to leaving Marloth Park on June 29th to begin the long journey to the US. We hope to get our J & J vaccine on July 2, which we plan to book before leaving here.

Also, the rain stopped, and the sun came out. It looks like we’ll be able to go to the river today, after all! We’ll be back with more tomorrow, including what we’ll be doing with our vacation home during our absence.

Have a fantastic Sunday!

Photo from one year ago today, June 6, 2020:

While in Campanaria, Madeira, Portugal, we heard the music coming from the fish guy’s truck and raced up the hill to meet him. He held up a tuna for us to inspect. It was smaller than some of the others, but this size was perfect. It weighed 7.7 kg, 17 pounds, and the cost was INR 2569, US $34. He cut them into portion-sized pieces, wrapping each piece individually. For more photos, please click here.

Tom’s laptop died…Its not easy to replace it in South Africa..A time consuming recipe…

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Kudu females and their young stop by frequently, wondering what’s on the menu.

Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 4 warthogs – inc Lonely Girl and others
  • 10 bushbucks – inc. Thick Neck, Bad Leg,
  • 15 helmeted guinea-fowl
  • 1 dove – inc. our favorite, Miss Dove
  • 4 Frank and The Misses

Regardless of where we’re living in the world, at some point, our digital equipment has to be replaced. But, unfortunately, ordering replacement products is pointless to ship to South Africa due to the high cost of shipping, delayed shipping times, and customs inspections and fees.

Crooked Face and Hal stop by for a few pellets.

In some countries, ordering a laptop from the US is relatively easy and painless such as when Tom needed a replacement laptop while we were in Fairlight, Australia. We ordered a new laptop for him from Amazon.com, and a week later, it arrived, not incurring customs fees. But, of course, we always have to figure in the shipping costs, which exponentially impacts our final price for the product, at times as much as 40% or 50%.

Yesterday, when Tom’s Samsung Chromebook’s screen cracked when he opened the lid, we knew we’d better order another from South Africa. But, unfortunately, he couldn’t take the risk of a later delivery and the fact it could easily go “belly up” with its current touchscreen status, and he’d be without a device.

A busy garden on a sunny morning.

We considered the possibility that we may be in the US on July 1, and he could purchase a new device when we were there. But, with that trip up-in-the-air at this point, we couldn’t take a risk and possibly leave him without a working machine. Thus, the online search for another Chromebook, an operating system we both have learned to use and like, after total frustration with Windows 10, we were determined to find another Chromebook.

Chromebook is not popular in South Africa. After hours of research on numerous websites, we finally found a suitable Asus model with a touchscreen and the Chromebook operating system. Recently, we’ve been ordering several items from South Africa’s version of Amazon.com.

But, finding such a model was tricky regardless of what I entered in the search field. It was more of a fluke that I stumbled upon the model we purchased. Fortunately, it will arrive on June 9, only four days from today. Takealot is fairly reliable regarding its promised delivery dates, so Tom needs to make his last only four more days.

A little altercation between Medium Daddy and warthogs.

Tax and delivery were included in the price of ZAR 6200, US $462, a little more than we paid in the US in 2019 when he purchased his current model. If a laptop lasts us two years, we are fine with that. With all the stress on laptops when traveling, we figured two years is a reasonable amount of time for them to last. We haven’t noticed any other more expensive models lasting any longer.

On another matter, since Tom is at his lowest weight and holding his own, even when eating a few higher carb items, I decided to make him some of his favorite low carb meals, maybe once a week, making enough for two or three nights for him. However, because these recipes have too many carbs for me, I won’t eat these meals; instead, I will make separate meals for myself such as chicken, fish, liver, and lamb, all meats he doesn’t care to eat.

Kudus stopped by in the muddy garden after the rain.

I don’t mind making separate meals for us for a few nights each week. But I’d forgotten how labor intensive some low-carb recipes can be. Today, I made Low Carb Chicken Pot Pie, one of his favorites, and long ago, one of mine. But, I have no problem resisting this meal. To aid in my determination, I made individual servings for him in rectangle-shaped tin foil pans. This way, I won’t be tempted to take bites of a single bigger pot pie. For my dinner tonight, I made extra chicken breasts and chicken liver. This will be fine for me.

This morning I got up earlier than usual to begin the multi-step process of making five nights of chicken pot pie for Tom, freezing the extras for other meals. By 11:00 am, I had everything completed and his first pot pie ready for the one tonight. While prepping the many ingredients, I ran back and forth to my laptop, searching for Tom’s new laptop.

Bossy, Big Daddy, and Little hanging around for pellets, carrots, and apples.

With both tasks completed, my dinner ready to re-heat at dinner-time, the remainder of the day can be spent wrapping up today’s post, working on corrections while continuing to recover from my recent illness. All that remains from the flu I had (not Covid) is a cough, no longer painful and gradually waning, a little each day.

Last night, as always, we had a fantastic dinner with Rita and Gerhard at Jabula Lodge and Restaurant. It was so cold, we all wore jackets while eating on the restaurant’s veranda. We didn’t stay long after dinner since it was so cold. When we returned to the house, I was so cold; I wore socks to bed. I haven’t done that since we were in Minnesota in 2019.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Photo from one year ago today, June 5, 2020:

Even imperfection has a certain beauty. For more from the year-ago post, please click here.

Car rental woes…Video..Wildebeest fighting in the garden…What will we do in 26 days?…

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Who’s in the garden this morning?

  • 2 warthogs – inc Little, Tiny, Lonely Girl, One Wart, Narrow
  • 4 bushbucks – inc. Thick Neck, Chewy, Bad Leg,
  •  4 kudus – Bossy, Notches, Mom, and Baby
  • 1 wildebeest – inc. Broken Horn
  • 4 Frank and The Misses
  • 1 impala
We were worried for Broken Horn, who was picked on by the three other wildebeests, including Crooked Face. Maybe now, that explains why he often visits alone instead of with “friends.”

It’s windy today. Many animals will hunker down on windy days, either fearful of the wind or anticipating further inclement weather. Does a sunny day like today reassure them that a rainstorm is not necessarily following the winds? Who’s to say how wildlife can determine upcoming temperature when we humans are not good at predicting coming storms with finite accuracy?

The high today will be in the range of 60F, 15.6C, not considered cold in many parts of the world, but for us, after years of hot climates, it feels cold us. It’s still reasonably cool, but we remain outdoors on the veranda. Tonight, we’ll be dining at Jabula Lodge and Restaurant with Rita and Gerhard, most likely on the veranda, and will need to dress warmly. I suppose I’ll wear one of my two jackets and most likely, Tom will do the same.

Although the birdbath always has fresh water, some animals still prefer to drink from the pool.

I’m not totally over the recent sickness, still coughing and congested. Fortunately, I don’t feel too bad and don’t hesitate to go out tonight. We hadn’t been to Jabula in two weeks, while I was too ill to go out. So it will be good to get out at long last.

This morning, we called Thrifty Car Rental in Nelspruit to ask if we could keep the rental car until June 30th when we either have to leave the country for our visa stamps or rent another vehicle for 90 days, if President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa provides an additional 90-day visa extension for foreign nationals.

A young kudu suckling in the bush.

The condition under which we can avoid returning the car on June 11th for an inspection, one of Thrifty’s goofy rules, is to take photos and videos of the interior, the odometer, and the car’s exterior, date stamped and sent them to the manager in Nelspruit. If the manager approves the photos on that date, Tom won’t return the car until June 30th. That will save him half a day in both driving and time at the facility at the airport. Then, a week from today, we’ll take the photos and forward them to the manager. Hopefully, he’ll approve.

As our regular readers are aware, one of two scenarios has to transpire in 26 days. When Cyril extended visas last time, allowing us to stay until June 30th, the announcement wasn’t made until two days before our visa expiration date. If this happens again, we will be thrilled not to have to leave.

In any case, we will have to be prepared to leave South Africa on June 30th if the new extension is not issued and we have to high-tail out of here, fully packed. So we have made a decision, after weeks of contemplation and conversations, that if the visa extension is not issued, we will use our still-in-place flight to the US on June 30th.

It’s not unusual to see the hornbills eating Frank and Misses’ seeds and drinking their water while on the veranda.

We’ll stay for a total of approximately three weeks, including family visits in Minnesota, Wisconsin (Tom’s sister), and Nevada (son Richard). In the process, if we haven’t yet been vaccinated in South Africa, we will be immunized in Minnesota since two weeks must pass after vaccination to be allowed to visit Tom’s sister in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is currently in a nursing facility.

Regardless of this, we will have to completely pack up this house and move out on June 30th, allowing Louise to rent it to others while we’re gone. It makes no sense for us to pay for this house and hotels, meals, and car rentals in the US, which are expensive.

No doubt, it’s frustrating to have to entirely pack up this house toward the end of the month when we aren’t sure yet that we’ll be leaving until the visa announcement is made, if it is, at all. We are so organized and settled in here, I’m dreading the packing, but in reality, I could accomplish this in one day if I had to.

Two or three hornbills will loudly peck on the glass of the dining room window for hours. At times, they give up and go peck on the rental car windows. But, most likely, they are interacting with their reflection in the glass. It’s hilarious!

Days before the “big” packing, we’ll both pack bags with items we’ll need in the US. Then the filling of the balance will begin, including all our food, food supplies, toiletries, clothing, etc. Louise and Danie will store everything for us while we’re gone. We don’t see any other way to do this.

Last time, the visa extension occurred before we began packing, and then, when the visa extension announcement was made, we decided to stay. This time, we’ll be a little more proactive and get as much done ahead of time as possible. Of course, it will be easier for us to get the vaccine in the US, with many walk-in locations now available, even without an appointment.

No, I don’t like not knowing. I am a planner. But, in this case, this time, we may not have many options. We’d considered visiting other countries, but, bottom line…we need to get a vaccine. If we can get it here before June 30th, everything may change. But, it’s in our hands, hearts, and minds to decide what ultimately will be the best for us. We can decide, last minute, if we so choose.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, June 4, 2020:

Mumbai cyclone
This is the first such storm to hit Mumbai in over 100 years. Dark clouds hang over the city ahead of cyclone Nisarga making landfall in Mumbai. For more photos, please click here.