Raining in buckets for over 48 hours…Crocodile Bridge flooded over…Roads closed…Hazardous driving…

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Marloth Park.
Note: None of today’s photos of flooding are ours.

With over 229 mm, 9 inches, of rain in Marloth Park in the past 48 hours, it’s safer if we don’t go out. Many roads are impassable and closed, including the roads to Komatipoort and the road into Kruger National Park at the Crocodile Bridge, which according to reports, is entirely underwater.

The Crocodile River is flooding its banks, leaving many animals in distress. There were warnings this morning for those in Marloth Park to stay away from river roads and the fence between Marloth and Kruger, where many animals are trapped. Humans are warned to stay away to avoid stressing wildlife even more than they already are in dire situations.

Following is this article about the flooding, including photos of the Crocodile Bridge as shown below:

The Crocodile bridge is flooded. This is the first time in 23 years that the bridge was entirely underwater, and the river breached its banks.> Photos: Facebook.

Hundreds of tourists in various camps in Kruger National Park won’t be able to leave, regardless of their travel plans. They won’t be able to go on game drives, use WiFi with numerous outages, and basically will be stuck in their tents or sitting around, only entertained by the companionship of others in the same situation. Unfortunately, wildlife sightings are limited in inclement weather such as this.

Most guests will start sundowners earlier in the day while commiserating over their plight. We feel lucky to be at our lovely bush house, undercover on the veranda’s roof, or safe indoors from any potential leaking. Many homes have thatched roofs, which are known to leak during storms such as this. We had a little water on the floor in the bathroom, but that’s it so far. Vusi mopped it up this morning, and it doesn’t seem to be leaking now.

The road between Lower Sabie and Skukuza. We were on this road only a few days ago.

Our WiFi is working, and of course, we have power, although load shedding continues today. It could be days before we can head to Komatipoort to shop. Instead, we’ve decided to get whatever we need from the little local shops for the next few days, but we won’t be venturing out today with the flooded potholes on the dirt roads.

According to the weather report, the rain may continue for days. Hopefully, by tomorrow evening, we’ll be able to make our way to Jabula for dinner. This is entirely predicated on how much more rain we have in the next 24 hours and how the roads are in Marloth Park.

It was in 2000 that the worst floods were recorded in Marloth Park. What an exciting time that must have been! The flooded Crocodile River was so significant that the fence between Marloth Park and Kruger National Park came down, and larger animals, such as elephants, could freely enter Marloth Park. That would be exciting! We already have plenty of lions and leopards in the park!

With rain expected to continue for days to come, we have no idea how much of an impact there will be in Marloth Park. We can only wait and see, staying in for as long as necessary to avoid getting stuck on the roads.

Here are a few comments on Facebook right now:

“Please only travel to Komatipoort if absolutely necessary. The Ngwenya Road is flooded in a couple of places, and already people are getting stuck there. Be safe!”

“Spar is closed. No staff to man tills, Shoprite has only 2 tills open, so very long queues. Most other shops closed due to lack of staff.”

*To all residents of Marloth Park:*
Please do not drive along the river in *Seekoeie or Crocodile road*, as animals are trapped between Kruger and Marloth’s fence lines. They are stressed. Your presence will stress them out even more and could cost their lives. We closely monitor these animals and will take action if necessary.
For any animal that needs help, please get in touch with the wildlife rescue team or rangers.
Rangers Jaco – 079 089 8424
Deidre – 079 988 5748
Mark – 082 498 6599
Nadine – 082 672 4545
Juan – 060 665 5000″

We’ll be back tomorrow with updates on the floods and how we’re all holding up in Marloth Park and other nearby areas.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 9, 2022:

On average, dung beetles can handle a dung ball 50 times their weight. For more photos, please click here.

Raining since last night…Final Kruger National Park photos, for now…

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Although we aren’t fans of baboons, this mom and baby in the tree caught our eye— zoom in for detail.

We’d planned to shop in Komatipoort today since it’s almost been two weeks since we last grocery shopped, but the rain and possibly flooded roads prompted us to stay home. We have plenty of food to get us through the weekend if we don’t feel like going until next week.

We always dine at Jabula on Friday and Saturday nights. This morning I prepared a new recipe that should last for two evenings, tonight and Thursday. The next time I will cook again will be on Sunday, with plenty of meat left in the chest freezer and plenty of ingredients for salad and sides. There’s no rush.

Our next pressing issue is getting our 10-year passports renewed, which it appears we’ll be able to do while we’re in South Africa. his morning, we drove to the US Embassy in Pretoria to apply for our passports. e could mail in our passports, but as mentioned in a past post, we don’t want to take the chance of being without our passports in hand while the new passports are being processed.

Two zebras with wildebeests in the background.

We will try and coordinate the trip to Pretoria when we have to drive to Nelspruit to pick up our visa extensions when those come through. That way, we’ll be a third of the way to Pretoria by the time we get to Nelspruit. Hopefully, the timing on all of this works out well. Pretoria is a five-hour drive from Marloth Park.

Once we arrive in Pretoria, we’ll have to stay overnight to avoid driving on the N4 in the dark. We’ll be able to accumulate more points for staying in a hotel for our Hotels.com account. Plus, we have thousands of reward points we can use on our other credit cards, leaving us with several options.

Over the past few days, we’ve been busy with several projects while the work on the house has been wrapping up. It appears all the electrical work is completed, and now we can sit back and relax, knowing that we are immune from load shedding. The only way we noticed load shedding is occurring is when the WiFi goes off for about five to ten minutes when the power is restored.

Two wildebeests with zebras in the background.

Most of the time, we have to wait patiently until the WiFi returns. Of course, this isn’t an issue late at night, but it certainly is noticeable during the day when we’re working online. It’s a minimal inconvenience. When the load shedding starts; we notice a little “beep” that has no impact on our power usage.

Of course, we’re mindful not to use the oven during load shedding periods. If we plan to use the oven for baking, we must check the schedule at the Eskom app on our phones to ensure it won’t drain the system since the oven requires so much power when in use, although the gas stovetop does not.

Perhaps a mom and dad wildebeest and their baby. Female wildebeests also have horns.

Also, we aren’t running the aircon at times when we’re using other appliances, which also drains the inverter system to a substantial degree. However, we only run the aircon at night when we’re in bed when no other appliances are in use. It’s working out perfectly, and we’re enjoying the sense of being relatively load-shedding-free. It’s almost as fantastic as having an elaborate solar power system.

We’ve been busy taking photos of events in the garden, and now that we’re finished with our most recent Kruger National Park photos, we’ll be posting some new and exciting photos tomorrow. We’ll be back tomorrow with more.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 8, 2022:

Little looked a little drunk after eating several fermented marula fruits that had fallen to the ground. Many animals, especially kudus,  elephants, and monkeys, enjoy the intoxication effects. For more photos, please click here.

A warm and friendly visitor this morning…Social media benefits…More photos from Kruger National Park….

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The baby elephant just discovered his trunk.

This morning while I was lounging in bed at 7:00 am (Tom was already up and outside as usual), I received a text from the lovely woman, Agnes, who’d delivered both of our lost duffle bags. Over the period when both bags were found, after being missing for two months, she and I texted back and forth on WhatsApp, building a warm and friendly relationship.

When she texted this morning that she’d be dropping off a bag in Marloth Park and wanted to meet up face to face after all of our interactions. She met Tom last week at Louise’s office when she dropped off his lost bag but had not met me at that time

I was flattered that Agnes wanted to take the time out of her busy day to stop by our house. It was lovely to meet this exceptional woman who has been through so much in her life but was a wealth of love, faith, and kindness that was a treasure to behold. How lucky we are to meet such fine people as we travel the world!

“I love this thing,” he says.

After Agnes left, I had difficulty wiping the smile off my face. Each day brings some unique experiences we will never forget. Whether it is an encounter in Kruger National Park, on the road in Marloth Park or out to dinner at Jabula, or shopping in Komatipoort, we never take for granted the people, the wildlife, and the scenery that surrounds us everywhere we go.

It would be easy to assume that special situations are a normal part of daily life, but the moment we’d start doing that, we could stop traveling the world. The little things and simple experiences make this lifestyle meaningful to us. Whether it’s a tiny, noisy frog on the edge of the splash pool, a rambunctious piglet in the garden, or a colorful flower blooming in the parkland, it is all a part of the bigger picture of nature at its finest.

We spotted this small family of elephants with a few babies.

Then, add all the warm and loving people; we couldn’t ask for more. That’s not to say our friends and experiences in our old lives were less meaningful. They were not. And it’s not unusual for us to reminisce about many treasured memories with family, friends, wildlife, and nature.

Our friends in the US remain a big part of our lives when we easily stay in touch via social media, email, texts, and phone calls. Calls on Facebook, Skype, and WhatsApp are free when both parties use the apps. Many don’t know that calls using Facebook’s Messenger are totally free of cost if both parties are talking on the app simultaneously. This also includes calls made from anywhere where Facebook is allowed. (Believe it or not, some countries don’t let their citizens use Facebook. See below:

“Many countries have banned or temporarily limited access to Facebook. The website has also been restricted in various ways in other countries. As of July 2022, the only countries to continually ban access to the social networking site are China, Iran, North Korea, Uganda, and Russia.”

A mom and her baby.

Most South Africans use WhatsApp for “free” communication, although it does require an internet connection. We feel fortunate we have access to social media, which has become an integral part of our ability to stay in touch with family and friends. Also, we frequently use social media to keep in touch with local friends here in Marloth Park.

In the US, WhatsApp is used less frequently, from what we could ascertain while there, although everyone seems to know about it. I suppose this is because most Americans have a monthly cell service that may or may not have an unlimited country-wide WiFi service, calling, and text plan.

An elephant on his own.

Here in South Africa, few use a monthly cell service plan, instead finding it less costly to use a SIM card to which data and calling are added regularly. That’s why we have the South African phone with a SIM card installed for making local calls. Our Google phones don’t have an extra slot for an additional SIM card other than the one provided with Google Fi, our pay-as-you-go WiFi, calling, and text plan. When we are at the house, with WiFi, we can use WhatsApp at no charge, eliminating the need for using data on the South African phone.

That’s it for today, folks. We’re staying in today with excellent leftovers for dinner. It’s not very hot, but the humidity is awful, with a dew point of 73, nine points above “tropical.”

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 7, 2022:

An orange-billed and a black-billed oxpecker peeking out over a kudu’s back. For more photos, please click here.

Yesterday’s fantastic party day…Slim pickins’ in Kruger National Park…

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A secretary bird with a “froggy” breakfast, or is that a tiny crocodile? Zoom in to see.

Yesterday morning we got a phone call from Leon inviting us to his last-minute birthday party starting at noon and ending around 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs. We’d already made plans to get together with Louise and Danie for sundowners at our house, their last night here before they left for a family holiday in Cape Town. Plus, we’d already prepped everything for last night’s dinner.

We decided to come but wouldn’t stay to eat the meal when most guests brought food to cook on the braai. We’d leave before the food was served to return home in time to attend to our dinner that needed to cook for a few hours and Louise and Danie’s pending arrival.

Thoughtful warthogs were using the crosswalk to cross the road as we entered the park.

It all worked out well; We had a great time at the party of about 25 people and, of course, back home when Louise and Danie arrived. We invited them to stay for dinner, but they, too, had food ready to be cooked that they needed to use before leaving. Instead, the four of us had drinks while seated at the table on the veranda for the usual lively conversations the four of us so frequently enjoy.

A solitary giraffe gingerly crosses the paved road in Kruger.

After they left, with many hugs and goodbyes for the two weeks they’ll be gone, we parted, unable to wipe the smiles off our faces, and proceeded to finish the details for our planned dinner. With the mozzies out in full force, we shut the doors and ate indoors at the dining room table, enjoying a fabulous dinner consisting of keto bacon-wrapped meatloaf stuffed with hard-boiled eggs, along with salad and rice for Tom.

Not much wildlife to photograph? Take scenery photos.

By the time we finished dinner and Tom did the dishes, it was close to 9:00 pm, 2100 hrs., and we watched a few episodes of the series, “Accused,” before we settled in for what proved to be a good night’s sleep. This morning, with the electrician returning to do more work on the inverter system, Tom bolted out of bed early while I lingered for a few more minutes of sleep.

One can only imagine the age of this rock formation.

We’d discussed heading to Kruger National Park once again, as we had last Monday, and when I got up, we confirmed it would be a good day to go. The weather wasn’t too hot, the humidity wasn’t outrageously high, and the sun was bright with blue skies, a perfect day for photos.

After last week’s photo-taking success in Kruger, our expectations were low. We didn’t expect it to be another day comparable to last Monday. And right, we were. The photo ops were few. But, we were totally entertained with breakfast planned again at the Mugg & Bean in Lower Sabie and plenty of lively conversation during breakfast and on the long drive through the park. We still had a good time despite a few good photo ops.

The first elephant we saw today. More photos will follow in tomorrow’s post.

Tonight, we have great leftovers, which we always enjoy, and have little that we “have to do.” Tom’s contemplating a short nap while I am still busy with today’s post and Kruger photos. It will be an easy remainder of the day and evening which we often enjoy as much as socializing.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 6, 2022:

Bossy with a different species of oxpecker without the usual orange beak. As it turns out, oxpeckers without the orange beak are youngsters whose beaks will later turn orange. For more photos, please click here.

A new and exciting booking came through!..

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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%
Click for additional rates: Singles
Email or Print this FastDeal
Prices include gratuities, unlimited internet, and select alcoholic beverages during the cruise portion only.

Captain’s Club Benefits! Your current status is Level Elite. Book this cruise and receive a free upgrade in select categories, an invitation to the Captain’s Club welcome celebration, priority tender service (where available), private disembarkation lounge, free daily cocktail hour from 5-7 pm, an invitation to the senior officer’s party, a free wine tasting, a free backstage tour, a 15% discount on drink packages and spa, a 20% discount on wine, a 30% discount on wifi packages, a 40% discount on photo packages, and one free bag of laundry (wash, dry and fold).

Promotions may not be combinable with all fares.

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…

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This appears to be a martial eagle.

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.

We never tire of seeing giraffes.

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…

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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!…

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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.

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

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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!!!

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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.

This was the other female.

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 couldn’t take our eyes off of them.

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…
She looks sleepy.

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.