A new and exciting booking came through!..

Posted by worldwide-admin on February 5, 2023 with 0 Comment

This photo clearly illustrates the vast difference in the size of a male kudu and a male impala. They cohabitate well in the bush.

When Heather, our Vacations-to-Go rep, notified us that she’d be out of town until the 15th, she would book our cruise when she returned. We weren’t worried about losing our spot when she explained she’d reserved a cabin for us, with only two left on the popular Celebrity Galapagos cruise and tour.

When the cruise confirmation arrived by email last night, we were thrilled to see she’d made time to firm up the booking using our credit card on file for the US ZAR 900 155721 deposit. It is a pricey cruise; we’d put it off for some time in the future, figuring eventually, we would book it.

This dung beetle made an enormous ball of dung that he could barely move. His mate may be on the right side of the ball, trying to help him bury it.

But, as price increases have occurred for many cruises and cruise lines since the pandemic, we felt the time was right, especially when we plan to spend about ten months in South America in the latter part of 2023 and the first half of 2024. That sounds far away, but it really isn’t. The cruise/tour begins on October 12, 2023, a mere eight months from now.

Gosh, we are making many plans for the next 18 months, and it’s exciting again. Of course, we make these plans with a bit of trepidation after so many plans went awry in the past three years since the onset of the pandemic while we were in India on a country-wide tour in February 2020.

This little frog croaks so loud it practically shakes the house!

About a week ago, we wrote a post explaining why we still considered ourselves world travelers when we haven’t traveled much since 2020. See that post that describes all the cancellations and changes we experienced in the past few years. It’s unbelievable, even to us! But we are world travelers, and we want to return to touring the world again after using South Africa as somewhat of a base since we returned here in January 2021.

But now, feeling more confident about traveling, we’re ready to get back out there. Yesterday, we began preparing a new itinerary for the first time in a few years, which we’ll post once we firm up more bookings. It’s looking good already.

Two female kudus and our newest male warthog friend, whom we’ve named Tusker, a name we had used at the Orange house in 2018.

Once we start booking, we both get enthused about the future and the beautiful places we’ll visit, and touring the Galapagos was on our desired list due to its fascinating history and unique wildlife. Here are the details about the cruise and a photo of the ship below.

FastDeal # 37576

11-Night Quito & Galapagos Southern Loop
4-night land tour plus 7-night cruise departing October 12, 2023
Celebrity ❘ Celebrity Xploration

Brochure Balcony$34,396

Our Balcony$9,054

You Save74%

Brochure Suite$34,396

Our Suite$9,054

You Save74%

Prices are in US dollars, per person, based on double occupancy. Prices are subject to change without notice by cruise lines until a deposit has been made, and must be reconfirmed at the time of booking. Prices include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees. Prices and promotions are for new bookings only, in accordance with cruise line policies. Click any price to convert to other currencies.

Covid-19 Requirements: Travel insurance with medical and evacuation coverage for Galapagos is a government requirement, and guests may be asked to show printed or digital proof upon arrival in Baltra.

Date	Port	Arrive	Depart
Thursday, October 12	Tour begins in Quito, Ecuador On the first day of your journey, you’ll be greeted at the airport by a Celebrity Cruises® representative and transferred to the JW Marriott hotel. Enjoy free time to relax and settle in.
Friday, October 13	Quito, Ecuador During a guided tour of the capital of Ecuador, situated at an altitude of 9,350 feet, you’ll stand on the equatorial line at the Middle of the World Park and Museum, and marvel at the monastery of San Francisco and La Compañia Church. Your Tour Director will escort you throughout your Quito stay and serve as your personal concierge. Breakfast is served at the hotel. Lunch with a spectacular view of the city, and enjoy a welcome dinner at a local gourmet restaurant.
Saturday, October 14	Quito, Ecuador / Baltra, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador After breakfast, you will transfer to the airport for your flight to Baltra, Galapagos. During World War II, Baltra served as a U.S. military base protecting the Panama Canal from enemy attack. Now the cactus-strewn landscapes of Baltra are home to the region’s main airport and where you will meet the ship. From the airport, it is just a short bus and Zodiac ride to the ship.
Saturday, October 14	Cruise begins in Baltra, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador		2:00pm
Saturday, October 14	Mosquera Islet, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador	4:00pm	6:00pm
Sunday, October 15	Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Dragon Hill)	7:30am	11:30am
Sunday, October 15	Rabida, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador	2:30pm	6:00pm
Monday, October 16	Isabela, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Puerto Villamil)	7:30am	11:30am
Monday, October 16	Isabela, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Wall of Tears)	2:00pm	6:00pm
Tuesday, October 17	Isla Floreana, Ecuador (Post Office Bay)	8:00am	11:30am
Tuesday, October 17	Isla Floreana, Ecuador (Cormorant Point / Champion Bay)	3:00pm	6:00pm
Wednesday, October 18	San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Cerro Brujo / Kicker Rock)	8:00am	Noon
Wednesday, October 18	San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Los Lobos)	3:00pm	5:30pm
Thursday, October 19	Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Puerto Ayora)	8:00am	6:00pm
Friday, October 20	Espanola, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Suarez Point)	8:00am	11:00am
Friday, October 20	Espanola, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Gardner Bay)	2:30pm	6:00pm
Saturday, October 21	Daphne Islands, Galapagos	6:00am	7:00am
Saturday, October 21	Baltra, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador Baltra is home to the region’s main airport and where you will fly out. You will have a zodiac and bus ride to the airport.	8:00am
Saturday, October 21	Tour begins in Baltra, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador / Quito, Ecuador Upon your arrival in Quito, a Celebrity Cruises® representative will escort you to the JW Marriott hotel. Dinner is served at the hotel.
Sunday, October 22	Quito, Ecuador Day at your leisure. Breakfast is included.
Monday, October 23	Quito, Ecuador Your Celebrity Cruises® representative will once again escort you to the airport for your return. Breakfast is included.

This is a small ship with only eight cabins. As Elite members of Celebrity, we’ll enjoy some extra perks, but everything is included on the cruise: tips, taxes, WiFi, and beverages.

This price is high but always has been for these particular cruises with so few passengers. But, the intimate nature of this cruise is an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a small ship, including fine food, service, and socialization, which we always appreciate.

We’re taking off shortly for a small gathering of friends to celebrate a birthday but staying only a few hours since I’d already prepared our dinner for tonight. We’ll be back tomorrow with more.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 5, 2022:

We were worried about Gordy when we saw this O-bone stuck on his foot. Fortunately, a few days later, it was gone. For more photos, please click here.

Making decisions, at long last…Planning for the future…Final Kruger photos…

Posted by worldwide-admin on February 4, 2023 with 0 Comment

We’ve been having WiFi issues this morning that put quite a damper on projects I hoped to get done before starting today’s post. After booking several trips, we must log the information onto our spreadsheet while it’s fresh in our minds to ensure we don’t miss a thing.

We have accurate records in Expedia, Hotels.com, Google, and TripIt. Still, we like to keep detailed records on our Excel spreadsheet with all of our upcoming expenses to plan finances and events for the future. So, at a glance, we can see what we’ve prepaid, what we’ll have to pay in the future, and any credits or perks we may receive on any trip.

I just received a message from Louise that the WiFi provider stated, “The fiber supplier is down. We have logged a call with them and are waiting for feedback. We will update you as soon as we get any news.” We can only wait and see what transpires. I am writing the text for today’s post in the Notepad app on my laptop.

Yesterday, we booked the hotel in Minneapolis for September 9 to September 23 after hearing back from the general manager of the Hyatt in Eden Prairie, where we stayed only months ago. He suggested we contact him when we knew we’d be returning, and we did so yesterday by email due to the time difference. We liked the ambiance, the spacious room, the breakfast, the cleanliness, and the friendly staff.

This appears to be an older male since his spots are dark.

He offered us a reasonable US $25, ZAR 437 off per night, the best rate we found online, for the 14 nights we’ll be staying. Also, we booked the hotel at the Boston Logan Airport, where we’ll stay when we visit cousin Phyllis on August 30 before heading to Nevada. All we have left to do for that trip is book a rental car and a flight to Minneapolis, and we’ll be set for both trips to see family.

It made sense to stay at the airport hotel and take an Uber to meet Phyllis for dinner closer to her home, so she won’t have to drive far. Our flight the following day, the only non-stop we could get to Las Vegas, departs Boston at 7:00 am. This way, we won’t have to deal with leaving so early for the airport for the upcoming domestic flight.

We’re always thinking of ways to make travel days easier and less stressful. Sometimes we may pay a little more for such conveniences, but overall, we manage to make it work each time affordably, barring a few errors we may make from time to time, all of which we’ve shared here.

Giraffes don’t approach humans in a wild environment. They are relatively shy and stay away from humans, even in Marloth Park.

Once we had these bookings completed, we started discussing where we wanted to spend the remaining ten months until we returned to Marloth Park, when in July, August, or September 2024, daughter Tammy and family are coming to visit and stay with us at this house. That’s very exciting to us. It will be the first time any of our kids will come to see us in Africa. It’s a long way to travel and must take a lot of vacation time, considering four days is required for travel alone.

After many discussions over the past few months, we’ve decided we’ll be spending those ten months or so in South America, where we’ve been longing to see a few particular World Heritage locations, the Galapagos Island, and our long-time dream of traveling to the Pantanal, the largest marsh and ecologically diverse place on the planet.

This appears to be a mom and her youngster, who may be about a year old.

Yesterday, our rep at Vacations-to-Go reserved a cabin for us on a 16-passenger expedition ship which will take us to see the Galapagos for 11 nights, including a four-day land tour and a seven-night cruise. Our cruise rep was going on vacation, so she reserved one of the two remaining cabins for us until she returns on February 15, at which point we’ll pay the deposit and firm up the details about the cruise. We’ll share more information at that time.

We had been using Costco for cruises, but this particular cruise’s pricing and response time were better at Vacations-to-Go.

Over the years, as we’ve mulled over visiting the Pantanal, more venues and houseboat-type cruises have become available, making the journey a little easier for us than sitting in a small row boat for hours each day. After all, we are senior citizens, and although we’re relatively sturdy, comfort enhances our experiences. In any case, it’s not the most comfortable journey, basically staying in a swamp/marsh for a week or more. But we’re anxious to see all the unusual wildlife in this unique area.

A mom and a curious youngster, as we drove past.

Last night, once again, we had a fun evening at Jabula, laughing, chatting, and commiserating with Dawn, Leon and David, and many other guests at the restaurant. Oddly, we ran into a couple from The Netherlands we’d seen at the immigration office in Nelspruit only days ago, also applying for a visa extension. It’s a Small world.

On another note, last Friday, we met a lovely young couple from the US at Jabula on Sunday night, and then on Monday, we ran into them driving on the paved road in Kruger. They, too, had been taking photos of the lion kill we’d posted on Tuesday this past week. What another funny coincidence.

The WiFi returned with a nice message from Tech Connect, our provider. They are very responsive, which means a lot to us. Now, I can get today’s post uploaded and work on entering information for the bookings mentioned above.

Be well.

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

No photo was posted on this date one year ago.

Finally, we researched and booked a stay…More photos from Kruger National Park…

Posted by worldwide-admin on February 3, 2023 with 0 Comment

Two hippos were playing in the Crocodile River.

No, it may not be the most exciting booking we’ve done, but we were pleased to finally get a booking done for our upcoming one-month trip to the US, beginning in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 30, 2023, when our two cruises come to an end, sailing into Boston Harbor.

We’ll spend one night in Stoughton, Massachusetts, visiting cousin Phyllis, and then head out on an early non-stop flight to Las Vegas, Nevada, where we’ll spend nine days in Henderson, Nevada, once again at the Green Valley Ranch Resort and Spa, close to son Richard‘s home.

This was likely a “Go-Away” bird known for its go-away sounds.

We were able to get great pricing from Expedia on our site. The rate included our airfare (for the two of us) from Boston to Las Vegas and nine nights at the fabulous five-star resort for a total of US $2041.37, ZAR 377932, which includes all taxes, fees, and the nightly resort fee of US $51, ZAR 875.

We’d checked pricing at multiple sites and ended up booking this package which saved us almost US $1000, ZAR 17160! Plus, we get a 10% discount on all meals and non-alcoholic beverages as Expedia’s VIP members after considerable bookings with them over the years. This also entitles us to early and late check-out, which is helpful for us on many occasions.

Kudus, waterbucks, and impalas hang out in the dam’s green vegetation.

We are thrilled with this booking. We prepaid everything but the resort fee yesterday of US $1579.67, ZAR 27125, and will pay the resort fee of US $461.70, ZAR 79260, at the hotel when we check in, which totals the above US $2041.37, ZAR 377932. Now, we will work on booking the remaining time in the US in Minnesota from September 9 to September 23 for a total of two more weeks.

Next, we’ll book where we’ll stay in Scotland from June 8 until August 1, 2023, but we won’t do this until we know if we received our visa extensions. If we are rejected, we’ll have to leave next month in March. We hope to know within about four weeks. Once we see if we can stay, we’ll book this leg of our upcoming journey while we are away from South Africa for over a year. We have many bookings to set up but await the visa info before proceeding further.

Waterbuck at a distance. Excuse the blur.

As mentioned above, we’ll spend one night in Boston on August 30, but we have yet to book it. The hotel where we stayed last time in Boston after a cruise, the Four Points by Sheraton, is now priced at almost US $500, ZAR 8583 per night. No, thank you. There is no way we’d spend that much for one night in a hotel in the US. The other options were few to be near my cousin’s home in Stoughton, but we’ll figure it out in the next few days.

We’re having an easy day today. It’s cooler today than it’s been over the past several weeks, and we enjoy every moment. The laundry is done, and the clothes are put away. Our paperwork, for now, is under control. All I have to do today is finish this port, search for some photo ops in the garden, and do my nails which I usually do on Fridays.

Small elephant family crossing the road.

Tonight and tomorrow evenings, we’ll head out to Jabula for dinner, and as always, we’re looking forward to seeing Dawn, Leon, David, and other staff, along with any locals who may stop by for lively chatter. Each time we head out the door, we always say…”Gosh, that was fun, wasn’t it?” and “Watch for snakes!”

TIA.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 3, 2022:

Little was resting in the cement pond on a sweltering day. For more photos, please click here.

We are load shedding free!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on February 2, 2023 with 0 Comment

Bats hanging from the ceiling at Lower Sabie, outside the Mugg & Bean Restaurant and the gift shop.

Aside from not running the aircon when other power hogs are running, we don’t seem to have any limitations on what we can use during load shedding, other than the oven, now that we have this fantastic inverter system. This morning, during load shedding, I had light in the bathroom, I could use the teapot and the toaster for my keto bread, and the refrigerators and chest freezer were humming along as when the power was on.

This is amazing for us. We lost WiFi this morning for about 40 minutes, but this had nothing to do with us. When there is a 4½ period of load shedding, such as this morning, the batteries in the towers for WiFi and cell service run dry, and no one has WiFi, not just us. After a while, it came back on.

It was great to see a Cape buffalo when we hadn’t seen many recently.

This morning, during load shedding, I was able to do laundry. I won’t be using the dryer since I’ve found it uses too much power when we can just as easily hang the clothes on the portable rack. It takes about five minutes to hang a load onto the rack instead of running back and forth, checking to see if the dryer is done. Plus, our clothes last longer when line dried as opposed to using the dryer.

Last night, we cooked a boneless prime rib roast on the braai for dinner with whole mushrooms roasting in the pan. We have half of the roast left, which we’ll finish off tonight. It’s always a challenge to reheat rare beef to maintain its proper level of doneness. I will cut the meat into even-sized slices, wrap it in a foil pack, and then place it in a skillet with a bit of water in the pan, not touching any of the meat. This will heat it quickly and maintain its pink color.

Several birds were cooling off in the birdbath near the walkway to the Mugg & Bean.

I saved enough mushrooms to saute a new batch with butter, garlic, spices, and fresh ginger. Once again, we’ll have a delicious dinner, one that Tom particularly enjoys. He has always been a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but now, to avoid starchy carbs, he doesn’t eat potatoes. Instead, he eats white rice, which is considered to be a “resistant starch’ explained here:

“Rice is made up of digestible starch, and a special type of carbohydrate called resistant starch, which recent research suggests may be key for weight control. Humans don’t have the enzymes to digest resistant starch, so it isn’t transformed into sugar and absorbed quickly in the bloodstream like digestible starch.”

A yellow-billed stork and a crocodile at the Sunset Dam.

Unfortunately for me, this concept is useless. White rice raises my blood sugar, so I don’t eat it or any other starchy foods. But I’d love to be able to eat rice. It’s not worth having my blood sugar respond as if I’d just eaten a candy bar after consuming only a half cup of white rice. Instead, I eat non-starchy vegetables and salads.

Today, I’m wearing long pants, one of my “Bugs Away” long-sleeve shirts, and short socks to cover my ankles. After all of the rain, the mozzies are out in full force, and I have been getting lots of bites while attempting to wear short sleeve shirts while it’s been so hot. No more short sleeves for me during the summer months. It’s not worth being up all night when no cream can stop the extreme itchiness. I have tried every cream they have available at the pharmacy.

A crocodile was resting on the bank of Sunset Dam.

We’re hoping to return to Kruger National Park again on Monday. We had such a good time; it makes sense to do this as much as possible. If I plan ahead and get dinner prepped in advance and start the post before we leave, I can avoid being rushed when we return for dinner. Plus, it was fun having breakfast at the Mugg & Bean. Their meal options are limited for me, but a mushroom omelet always works for me with a side of avocado and sour cream.

It feels good the recent bulk of paperwork behind us. Next week, we’ll begin the process of applying online to renew our passports. We’ll see how that goes.

There was water from a pump feeding fresh water into Sunset Dam. This crocodile seemed to like the feel of the running water.

Have a fantastic day, and we’ll be back with you soon.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 2, 2022:

Mom appeared to want to show her offspring how to drink from the river. For more photos, please click here.

Calm amid the chaos…What a wonderful cool and rainy day…More Kruger photos…

Posted by worldwide-admin on February 1, 2023 with 0 Comment

We happily stopped to let this adorable, if turtles can be adorable, crossed the road.

The work to install the new inverter system has been a five-day process, with most of the work conducted over the past three days. Fortunately, we were out of the worker’s way on Monday when we went to Kruger National Park and again yesterday when we drove to Nelspruit to drop off our documents at the immigration office.

It’s always a thrill to see the majestic elephants close to the road.

The house has been an upside-down mess, but with Zef here this morning, cleaning around the chaos to somewhat return to normal. Slowly, everything will be back in order. Danie spent time with us explaining the nuances of the new system, which will prevent us from noticing load shedding except for a few things:

If we are running the aircon, we won’t be able to use power grabbers like the oven, the teapot, the toaster, the hair dryer, and the microwave. But, the only time we run the other appliances is during the day, when we don’t run the aircon, other than on a few occasions when we go in the bedroom to cool off for a few minutes when it’s above 42C, 104F. But, if we were in the bedroom to cool off, we wouldn’t use other appliances.
The two refrigerators, chest freezer, lights, WiFi, and recharging of our equipment will always be available to us, regardless of load shedding. Mainly, for us, load shedding caused concern over food spoilage. Now we can grocery shop for two weeks and never worry we’ll lose food.
When there is an area-wide power outage, we will lose power after a day or two if we don’t use the aircon, which drains the most energy from the system. This only happens once or twice a year. In four months, we’ll leave for over a year and return to this same house in 2024.
We will still have water. We’ll have plenty of water using the pump for our JoJo tank, which is located outside. This makes a huge difference when the reservoir runs dry due to load shedding.
Moments later, we spotted this elephant family grazing on the side of the road.

Now, the system is running smoothly, minus a few necessary tweaks over the next few weeks, and we will no longer experience any nuances whatsoever. We are content with this and appreciate the time and expense on Louise and Danie’s part. It’s a costly task. An, it’s set up for the eventual addition of solar panels, another considerable cost.

Last night, when we had no WiFi all evening, we wondered if it resulted from the work being done. Later, we discovered the outage was a fiber problem with the grid, and the entire area was out of WiFi all evening. But we didn’t want to bother Danie to come back once again.

This elephant continued walking on the road, preventing us from passing for over 30 minutes.

With no possibility of streaming, we ended up watching a bad Steven Seagal movie on the hard drive, most of which I slept through.

I mentioned yesterday’s post about a challenge we encountered at the immigration office. After the law firm sent us a detailed list of the documents we’d need to bring, in a specific order, to our appointment, we discovered they wanted two more documents, our flight out of South Africa by June 8, the day our visas expire and copies of the last three bank statements. The reason we didn’t have these documents on hand is that the law firm never explained we’d need to bring them.

Occasionally, she’d turn sideways, and we thought she’d enter the bush, but she only continued to graze from the road. She was missing her left tusk.

When we heard we’d need these documents, which I had on my phone, we headed downstairs to a packed Internet Cafe to make copies. The tiny space wasn’t airconditioned and was packed body to body with about five old computers for users who wanted something printed.

Then, she was on the move again, staying on the paved road.

Of course, I didn’t feel comfortable printing our bank statements, but we had no choice. We brought all the documents back upstairs to the immigration office and only had a short wait to submit the final documents. After we were done, I watched the experienced owner/manager of the tiny shop delete them, one by one, from the computer. I didn’t feel 100% sure they were gone, but we had no choice. It had to be done.

Last night, we received confirmation that our documents had been submitted. In the next several weeks, I’ll receive an email stating that we have to return to Nelspruit to their office to open the sealed envelopes to determine if our applications have been approved. If so, we will most likely be able to stay until June 8, 2023. If not, we’ll have to leave on March 9. We’ll play it by ear.

After over 30 minutes, she turned and headed into the bush, and once again, we were on our way.

That’s it for today, folks. Enjoy our photos from Kruger National Park; we’ll be back tomorrow with more.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 1, 2022:

Hal stopped by for a visit as usual. For more photos, please click here.

We’re off to the immigration office in Nelspruit…More Kruger photos!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 31, 2023 with 0 Comment

We don’t often have an opportunity to see baby wildebeests, so seeing this family with a calf was special.

In a short time, we’ll be heading out the door to make the drive to Nelspruit. We have all our papers ready for our 10:45 am appointment. It’s a place where they do the equivalent of “musical chairs,” whereby we sit in rows of chairs, moving over each time a person(s) is called for their turn. Even with an appointment, the wait can be long and boring.

With my short attention span, just sitting and doing nothing is torture for me, whereby Tom is quite at ease with his thoughts. It’s funny how we get along so well and enjoy each other’s companionship when we are so different. The old adage about “opposites attract” may well be true after all.

We accidentally left out this photo from yesterday’s many lion photos. That woman is taking a big risk with her arms hanging out the window. One of those lions could grab her and pull her out of that vehicle in seconds.

We don’t plan to do anything else in Nelspruit. We have no interest in shopping and have enough groceries to last until the end of this week or the beginning of next when we’ll return to Komatipoort. People always suggest we shop at the massive Woolworth’s market, which the locals call “Woolies.” But, based on the fact that primarily we eat only meat, veg and small amounts of dairy, shopping at a fancier market with more variety isn’t important to us.

Once we return by around 2:00 pm, 1400 hrs, there will be plenty of time to prep for dinner, finish and proofread this post and upload it for our readers. We had a huge response yesterday after posting the lion photos. Thank you for all of your comments here, on Facebook, and by email. It always means so much to us to hear from you, our readers, when you enjoy new and exciting photos.

We drove the loop of Verhami Dam and spotted quite a few species.

We certainly understand that you can become bored with our endless stream of photos of kudus, bushbucks, zebras, and mongooses. Oddly, we never tire of seeing them, but that’s a whole lot different than looking at a photo.

A vulture in a tree with what may be a bit of carrion for lunch.

Today, the work will be completed on our new inverter system after we experienced our last session of load shedding last night. This morning, we’re leaving a few minutes before the start of the 9:00 am session, and by the time we return, it will be done.

We just returned from Nelspruit, and the electricians are still here. The house is an upside-down mess with wires and equipment everywhere, but we are fine. Vusi will clean tomorrow when he comes, but we’re fine overnight. With the doors to all the rooms open during the electrical work, tonight Tom will spray thoroughly since the insects are many.

Many vultures were sitting in a tree, scouring the area for possible carrion.

Last night I got up during the night to use some calamine lotion, and there was a nasty-looking black insect on my hanging bath towel. I didn’t do anything about it; this morning, it was gone, where we don’t know. I’m sure it will pop up somewhere.

This may not look like a hippo, but upon closer inspection, we confirmed it was a hippo with an oxpecker sitting on its head.

We ran into some obstacles at immigration this morning, but all is resolved now. We left with peace of mind, knowing the process will continue. It will be weeks before we receive an answer. We’ll share more details in tomorrow’s post.

The first elephant sighting of the day. Many more followed, which .we’ll share shortly

When we returned, I busied myself with prep for tonight’s dinner of saucy (low carb), sliced grilled chicken strips, which Tom will have on his little white buns, and I’ll have on my homemade keto bread with a side of coleslaw for both of us, and white rice (for Tom). It’s not as hot today as it’s been lately, and we’re delighted to be able to enjoy a cooler evening on the veranda with our animal friends.

Enjoy today’s photos from yesterday’s self-drive in Kruger, and have a lovely evening wherever you may be. More photos will follow.

Photo from one year ago today, January 31, 2023:

Yesterday, I made Tom’s favorite dinner, low-carb pizza with cheese and egg crust, sausage, onions, green olives, and mushrooms. It was delicious! For more photos, please click here.

Enjoy this amazing sighting in Kruger National Park with us!!!

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 30, 2023 with 4 Comments

The two females were enjoying their feast of a warthog they killed from the time we first spotted them until we returned a few hours later. More photos, below.

Today, while driving on the paved road In Kruger National Park, a gigantic matriarch elephant was blocking the road for quite a while. We couldn’t go forward. We couldn’t back up with multiple vehicles behind us. We waited patiently. This is their home, not ours, and they lead the way on what they’d like us to do or not.

There’s nothing more exciting than seeing lions on the road. There were two females.

Finally, after about 30 minutes, we could pass, but only after she wandered into the bush. Many vehicles were in front of and behind us, undoubtedly anxious to be on the move again.

Such beautiful animals. She wandered off on the road into the bush but was still visible.

We’d had so much safari luck today that we were patient and ready to move on only when it was made possible by the wildlife. We’d already seen and taken many photos, and if our day had to end there, we would have been content. But it didn’t end there, and more wonders awaited us as the day progressed.

A short time later, we were holding our breath when the two female lions wandered on the road in front of us; we were squealing with delight over the much-revered sighting that tourists long to see and some never see. There were four or five cars near us jockeying for position, but we started in a perfect position, so the photos weren’t challenging to take.

Finally, we saw the two of them together.

We can drive through Kruger 20 times and never see a lion. Of course, we were excited, to say the least. This fantastic sighting only added to the joy of what we’d already spotted. Then again, we said, “If our day ends here, we are content with what we’ve seen so far.” But, how wrong we were. More safari luck was on the horizon.

We continued on the long drive to Lower Sabie, looking forward to breakfast at the Mugg & Bean and a quick restroom break. We both had delicious omelets, accompanying mine with a small pot of Rooibus tea while Tom added a strawberry shake to his breakfast. Now I know why Tom likes to eat breakfast at the Mugg & Bean. It’s all about the shake.

A pretty pose after settling down in the bush…

The day was young, and after a quick trip to the Sunset Dam to check for more wildlife, we turned around and headed back the way we’d come in. I wanted to leave ample time to do today’s post when we returned, fold yesterday’s laundry hanging outside on the rack, and prep for dinner, none of which I’d started when we bolted out the door at 8:30 am.

The workers arrived to work on the new inverter system, which should be done by the end of the day tomorrow. We won’t notice load shedding with this new system in the future. Tomorrow morning we’ll head to the immigration office in Nelspruit to submit our documentation, again being out of the way of the workers since we expect to be gone for four or five hours. Besides, the post will be completed and uploaded later, such as today.

They both seemed to be enjoying their meal.

On the return drive to the Crocodile Bridge gate, we were gifted with a sighting of these two same females eating their kill, which must have occurred between our first and second sighting. Wow! We couldn’t believe our eyes. As we often say to one another under these circumstances, “Who would have thunk?” Who gets to see this stuff in their lifetime? We feel so lucky!

Over the next few days, we will post more photos, but we decided to share the lions first, which were the most exceptional sightings in our minds and, certainly, the day’s favorites.

She’s certainly possessive of their kill.

We were gone less than six hours on a perfect weather day, cooler and overcast, ideal for sightings. Once we returned, at least a dozen animals were waiting for us. Since we stay home a lot, they couldn’t imagine where we were. Immediately, I started cutting vegetables and apples for Nina, Norman, their baby, and all the others. Even the mongooses were waiting for us. Quickly, while they waited, squeaking in their usual funny little tones, I chopped paloney for them. They couldn’t have been more enthused.

It was a good day all around, and it’s not over yet!

Be well!

Photo from one year ago today, January 330, 2022:

Mom and Baby Bushbuck stopped by in the rain this morning. For more photos, please click here.

Today at 7:00 am, the missing bag was delivered…65 days later…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 28, 2023 with 0 Comment

The lovely woman, Agnes, who works for BidAir who’d delivered the first of our two missing bags on New Year’s Day, was in touch with me all day yesterday as to when the second bag would arrive at the airport when “it” missed its first flight in the morning.

Finally, while we were sitting at the bar in Jabula, I got a text and a photo of the bag from Agnes. She’d collected the bag and would keep it safe overnight. We didn’t want her to drive in the dark on the N4 and suggested she bring it to us at her convenience. She said she could arrive in Marloth Park in the early morning when Tom would meet her outside at Louise’s Info Centre if she’d call when she was close.

Agnes called a few minutes before 7:00 am and said she’d arrived. Tom quickly headed out the door to meet her so we could give her a generous tip. A few minutes later, she wrote, thanking us profusely for the tip, explaining she’d be using the money to buy food for her family. Heartbreaking. Workers in South Africa are generally paid low wages.

Once Tom returned with the bag, with the tag missing, he started going through it. So far, it appears everything that had been packed in the bag was still there, including his two new pairs of Cole Haan shoes and several of my items. Over the next few days, we may realize something was missing, but it looks good now.

Bushbucks, kudus, duikers, and nyalas love cabbage.

As it turns out, I spent no less than 40 hours working on the insurance claim for all the items in the bag. On Monday, I will call the insurance company to find out if we are entitled to any compensation for the things we had to buy to replace many items in the bag or whatever compensation we may be entitled to. We shall see. I am not optimistic we’ll get any compensation.

Also, we submitted a claim with Ethiopian Air a few days after the incident but have yet to hear anything from them. I will also contact them on Monday. I don’t feel like spending hours talking about this over the weekend. I need a break from paperwork for a few days.

We’ll stay home tonight since tomorrow is Dawn’s birthday, and we’ll see her and Leon at Jabula on Sunday evening to celebrate with her. Last night, we had a lot of fun with both of them and David as we sat at the bar, as well as lovely conversations with other patrons such as our friends Patty Pan and her husband Sydney and another friend Wimpy (pronounced Vimpy). It couldn’t have been fun.

We got home in the dark to a sweltering house when the relentless heat and humidity has lasted for weeks. We might get a little reprieve on Monday when it is supposed to be slightly cooler with slightly lower humidity and dew point. That will be nice.

With the number of mozzies flying around after lots of humidity and rain, I have to wear long pants and long sleeve shirts to avoid getting bit by them and other flying things. Wearing repellent on bare arms doesn’t seem to protect me, although I wear products with DEET. Sweati8ng wears off the product, leaving me vulnerable to getting bit. I don’t like applying DEET every hour. Right now, I m wearing long workout pants (to the ankle) with short socks and a long sleeve Bugs-Away khaki shirt. It’s hot.

Later today, the temperature will be a high of 99F, 37C, but fortunately, by around 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs., the humidity is expected to be a low of 21%. When the humidity is low, the heat is quite bearable, even at night during 4½ hour stretches of load shedding.

It’s too much of a scorcher for a hot dinner tonight, so we’ll make “unwich” (breadless) sandwiches with a cold lettuce salad on the side.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 28, 2022:

It’s not easy to spot baby mongooses. They run very fast and stay close to their moms. For more photos, please click here.

Holding our breath!…Could it be?…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 27, 2023 with 0 Comment

This is Torn Ear looking around the side of the house to see if we’re here. When he spotted us, he got in position to receive pellets.

Yesterday afternoon while I was in the bedroom folding laundry and Tom was taking a quick nap, I heard our South Africa phone ringing in the dining room. I didn’t want to wake him, so I let it ring since opening and closing the bedroom door is noisy. Often, we get robocalls on that phone, and I seldom answer it unless I recognize who’s calling.

When I checked the phone, I saw a call from Bidair Services in Johannesburg, which handles lost luggage. What do you think flashed through my mind? Of course, Tom’s missing bag! I called the number when no message was left, and it took me over an hour to find out who had called me and why?

Torn Ear was waiting for treats. Note that his right ear has healed nicely after being torn many months ago.

The information was not in their system, and only one person knew about the bag. I kept getting cut off with the call disconnected in the hour I spent calling, waiting on hold, only to get the message on the phone “call ended.” My frustration level was palpable. But, in my usual way, I didn’t give up and kept calling and calling until finally, I reached the person who’d called.

Yep, the bag was found and was going to be put on a flight this morning at 9:45 am. Immediately, by WhatsApp, I contacted the kind woman who works for BidAir in Nelspruit, who’d brought my bag out on New Year’s Day, and asked if she could help us again. She said she’d be happy to bring us the bag as soon as it arrived.

Five Big Daddies arrived simultaneously last night, with three shown in this photo.

This morning I got a call from BidAir once again, but this time I had the phone next to me to report the bag didn’t make the flight and would be on a flight arriving at 1655 hrs, 4:55 pm later today. Alas, Tom’s bag missed its flight this morning! It’s too late in the day for the driver to pick up and deliver the bag to us since driving on the N4 highway at night is very dangerous due to carjackings, spiking, and murders. We wouldn’t ask the driver to travel on that road at night!

As it turns out, she has a funeral to attend tomorrow morning. Since the airport in Nelspruit won’t hold the bag for more than 24 hours, I asked if she could pick up the bag within 24 hours, keeping it safe in the interim, and bring us the bag during daylight hours in the next several days. She was happy to comply.

We hadn’t seen Norman in days, but yesterday, he visited five or six times, once with Nina and their youngster.

If the airport would hold the bag until Tuesday, we could get it after our 10:45 am appointment at immigration to file our papers. But, I’d asked them this question when we were at the airport after the bags were lost, and they stated emphatically that they could not “hold” bags waiting for passengers to pick them up. They’d send it back to Joburg, which would be a nightmare of a similar situation.

So, we have no choice but to wait and see how it rolls out in the next few days. Once we get the bag in our possession, ensuring nothing is missing, we’ll contact the insurance company and see what has to be done with the claim we filed that I spent no less than 40 hours working on. Will they reimburse us for the items we had to purchase to replace those missing in the bag? We’ll see how that rolls out.

Baby nyala, gender yet to be determined, visited with dad Norman and mom Nina early this morning.

Why do we need someone else to pick up the bag? Simple answer. We both don’t like making the drive from Marloth Park to Nelspruit. I despise that drive, especially through the gorge area when the two-lane road is packed with trucks and recklessly speeding vehicles. It’s a nail-biting trip for about 75 minutes each way.

Plus, we are making that drive on Tuesday morning, and there’s no way we’d want to make that trip again. Once again, we’ll give the driver a nice tip which is well worth it.

As for today, we’re busy working on our laptops until it’s time to get ready to go to Jabula tonight. We have many bookings to research, and I have several email messages I need to respond to that have arrived over the last 24 hours. Yesterday afternoon, I caught up on all of the expense records for charges incurred since the first of January. Generally, I do this once a month. In the next 24 hours, I’ll set up “bill pay” for payments due around the first of the month. There’s always plenty to do to keep me busy.

Of course, we’ll report back on the status of the bag and if, in fact, we get it back.

That’s it for today, folks. Have a fantastic Friday, and be well!

Photo from one year ago today, January 27, 2022:

Piglets suckling from Tail-Less Mom. The male is looking too big to keep suckling! Soon, the mom will wean them. For more photos, please click here.

Invitations to my 75th birthday party went out today…Done with our immigration documents…Tuesday we head to Nelspruit to deliver the docs in person, as required…

Posted by worldwide-admin on January 26, 2023 with 0 Comment

Norman and his friends stopped by today.

Gosh, we wish we could invite everyone we know and like in Marloth Park. But based on the venue, we can only manage 25 to 30 guests. This morning, Louise and I sent out all the invitations on WhatsApp. In a matter of minutes, we had no less than 12 RSVPs and expect to see many more in days to come as our invitees check their calendars and get back to us.

It’s funny to be planning my own party, but it’s a whole lot easier for me and Louise to do it than leaving it to Tom. Yesterday, we ordered 12 bottles of Prosecco, 12 bottles each of red and white wines. All we have left to buy is dry roses, and we already have several cases of Tom’s favorite local beer, Lion, which is hard to find at local shops.

I am making two birthday cakes, one regular and one keto, on the day of the event. Louise and Danie are helping with all the food. They are experts at this, and we so appreciate the help. Their helper Martha will come and do all the dishes the next morning.

We named this male warthog, Tusker, for his giant tusks.

As stipulated on the invitations, I specified, “Please, no gifts!” which I mean sincerely. My luggage has absolutely no room for anything other than what I already have. Plus, finding gift items with limited shops with few selections here in the bush makes gift buying too challenging.

We look forward to our guests arriving in casual attire, and if they drink beer and wine, they don’t need to bring anything. If not, they can get their choice of drinks. The party starts at 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs., and can easily go long into the night. This is no sundowner party. It could well go late into the night, which is OK with us.

It wasn’t easy creating the guest list. No doubt, we had to leave some people out that we would have invited if we’d had a different venue, but it all boiled down to one aspect: connections. It’s all about those unique connections with people whose hugs and conversations warm my heart, and in this magical place, unique connections can easily be made.

Tusker and a little bushbuck sharing pellets.

Sure, I’ll be missing many of the close friendships we’ve made here in Marloth Park, who may not be here now: Rita and Gerhard, Kathy and Don, Linda and Ken, Lynne and Mick, Janet and Steve, and dozens more we have mentioned in past posts whom we’ve come to know and love. We can’t possibly name everyone here, but please know that you are in our hearts and minds.

We’re looking forward to the date of the party, February 25, which is actually five days after my birthday. Still, we wanted it to be on a Saturday evening to accommodate those who may not be able to come during the week. On the 20th, the actual date of my birthday, most likely, we’ll have a quiet evening at home or out with a few friends. That we’ll play by ear, as we often do. There are no expectations for that day.

On another note, this morning, we headed to Louise’s office and wrapped up the documents required for next Tuesday’s 10:45 am appointment at the South African Immigration office in Nelspruit. We have all the documents neatly arranged, in the required order, and ready to submit.

Two male bushbucks, Gordy and Stringy, another female bushbuck, and our two usual duikers, Delilah and Derek, are enjoying pellets this morning.

We should have an answer on the extension in four to six weeks. Once they decide, we’ll return to Nelspruit to open the “secret” envelope with our extension approval. We may have only seven days to leave the country if they don’t approve it. We feel pretty confident it will be approved.

We’ve yet to hear anything about our insurance claim for the missing luggage. That, too, we’ll be waiting for a response.

Have a pleasant day!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 26, 2022:

Tag: Marloth Park

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