Missing bags…Today is the 25th day…

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Last night, we found this bat inside the house near the front door. We opened the door and gently let her go back out. Bats eat mosquitoes. We welcome them as visitors.

Today is the 25th day since our bags were missing, the day Ethiopian Air said we could contact them to file a claim. When I called this morning, I was told two black bags had arrived, and they may be ours. If that’s the case, the only claim we’ll need to file is for the clothes we had to buy when we arrived in Minnesota on November 26, with only the clothes on our backs.

We’ll see how that goes. We’d be much happier to get the bags back than filing the claim for the entire contents since we’d need to find receipts for every item in those two bags, which, as mentioned earlier, would be a daunting task, requiring days to complete.

Although most of us think of cockroaches as vermin, they have a useful ecological role. Cockroaches are professional recyclers, chowing down about anything, including dead plants, animals, and waste. Last night, we spotted this one in the kitchen. They are commonly found in houses in the bush and do not necessarily mean the house is dirty or unkempt.

The rep said she’d call me back in an hour with an update. I’ll give her a few hours based on the fact they rarely call back when they say they will, from what we’ve seen so far. It seems they’ve made it so difficult to file a claim that many passengers with lost bags will not follow up with the claim since doing so is confusing and cumbersome.

We are determined to do whatever it takes to get the bags back and, in the worst case, file the appropriate claims to be reimbursed for the contents. If the bags are found and sent to Nelspruit, we’ll have to arrange for a courier to pick them up or make the over three-hour round-trip drive ourselves. With all the traffic, accidents, and crimes on the N4, it’s worth it to us to pay a courier as we did when our bags were lost and eventually found last year after a trip to the US.

Tulip and Lilac stopped by. We hadn’t seen them in a while.

Many would say we should bring enough stuff to fit into carry-on bags. But with new carry-on bag fees and restrictions, it isn’t worth not having enough of our belongings with us. We’re not backpackers, and packing that light wouldn’t work for cruising and our varied travels. Plus, we like nice clothes for dining out and social events, not necessarily dressy but more upscale than what we wear casually when staying in.

Big Daddy was looking for treats, although he had plenty of nutritious vegetation he could eat.

After today’s effort to locate the bags, I will report back on what we’ve discovered. In the meanwhile, we’re staying at home today to have easy access to all the accumulated paperwork from the missing bag fiasco and receive a phone call when voice signals are poor right now with many visitors in the bush.

With so many people in Marloth Park, we cannot stream any shows after 6:00 pm, 1800 hrs., due to the poor signal. This will continue until about a week into January after the holidays officially end. Neither of us is into reading books right now, so come the evenings after dinner, when we are ready to be indoors; there is absolutely nothing for us to do. This is frustrating. I contacted Louise to see if the WiFi provider could do anything. We’ll see what they say.

Three Big Daddies in a little horn scuffle over pellets.

This morning, it was nice to see some animals in the garden, not a lot, but a few, and we were able to take a few photos here and there, which we’re sharing in today’s post. We’ll keep an eye out today since it’s a little cooler, not a lot, but more tolerable for sitting outdoors. We haven’t seen Norman and his family all weekend, although he did show up on a trail cam photo very early this morning. I have a big bowl of “Norman’s Lunch” ready for him, chilling in the refrigerator. We hope to see him today.

A Big Daddy was looking for even a single pellet that may have been missed but the other visiting wildlife.

This morning load shedding is from 7:00 to 11:30. I can only do some of the prep for tonight’s dinner when I can’t use the oven or microwave. Also, we try not to open and close the refrigerator often during these 4½ hour-long outages. This morning Tom placed the big metal bowl filled with ice into the main refrigerator, which should keep the food safe.

Be well.

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

This photo is from visiting an animal rescue center in South Africa in 2014. The conscientious guide ensured our safety with this cheetah. But, we had no fear. For more, please click here.

It’s different in the park during the holiday season…New video…

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Note: Due to the lack of wildlife visitors during the holiday season, other than these in the above video, we are seriously lacking in photos. After the first of the year, when most tourists depart the park, we’ll have plenty of new images to share.

Last night, on our way back to Jabula for our regular Saturday night dinner, there were numerous vehicles on the road, more than we’d seen in a long time. Walking into the bar, we noticed a couple occupying our usual seats. Instead, we sat to their right at two empty barstools.  We started talking to them in no time, and the conversation was ensured throughout the evening.

We had a nice dinner again, seated at the bar close to one of the air-con units which was turned on when load shedding ended. Dawn was ultra-busy with the countless guests, but everything ran smoothly with her hard work supplemented by her competent and friendly staff. As always, it was delightful to chat with Dawn and Leon.

Load shedding is quite a challenge for restaurants and businesses. Constant attention to generators running, food preservation, and patron satisfaction creates a lot of stress for owners and managers. Often, customers are from South Africa and are used to load shedding since few areas in the country are exempt from the ongoing shut-offs. But still, when people come here for a much-needed and often barely affordable holiday in this magical place, they become frustrated with the inconveniences.

When paying for a vacation/holiday, guests often expect perfection, and rightfully so. But the ideal scenario is not to be had when visitors come here. Unbearable heat, much hotter than in the big cities, humidity, rain this time of year, insects, snakes, and a possible 11½ hours a day without power can result in complaints.

Also, every few weeks, there seems to be an issue with the reservoir due to load shedding, which only exacerbates the frustration expressed by visitors. Plus, with all the extra people here, the animals often go into hiding. This further frustrates tourists when they come for a long weekend and hardly see wild animals, inspiring them to visit here in the first place.

Since it’s so hot now, we decided to make a cold dinner for tonight, our favorite bread-free subway sandwiches, which we call “unwiches,” like the popular takeaway restaurant in the US, Jimmy John’s, where we first discovered these breadless sandwiches and copied the concept for our use, modifying them to our taste.

This morning I prepped the tomatoes, purple onions, cheese slices, bacon, and lettuce and made a salad to go with the unwiches. It’s a perfect hot-weather day meal. We have enough deli meats, cheese, and vegetables to last for three dinners. Each day, I’ll cut up more fresh vegetables, cook a new batch of bacon and make another coleslaw salad.

Today is a lazy day. The heat and humidity have taken their toll. With few animals visiting, we’re spending some time in our bedroom, staying cool with the powerful fan turned on with an occasional burst of cool air by turning on the air con when we have power for a few minutes. This will probably be our fate over the next few weeks while we wait for the holiday season to end and for things to return to normal.

Last night, after returning from Jabula, we watched the Minnesota Vikings game on Tom’s streaming app, NFL Game Pass. It was quite a shocking game, considered the biggest-ever NFL “comeback.” It was fun to see the turnaround in the second half and subsequent overtime.

Have a fantastic day, and be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 18, 2021:

Fluffy was the king of Lionspruit, the game reserve within Marloth Park. In the past year, he passed away. Not our photo. For more, please click here.

Last night at Jabula…Hot, humid, busy and fun…

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A turaco checking us out.

Note: Yesterday, I posted the wrong year-ago photo, which I have since corrected for the accurate date. Also, not many photos ops right now during the busy holiday weekend.

Yesterday evening, we headed to Jabula for our usual Friday night fun at the Cheers-like bar, followed by a delicious dinner. When we arrived, Dawn and Leon were outdoors with some old friends at the bar by the pool. It was unbearably hot and humid, even in the shade. They invited us to join them, and we did.

I’d brought along my usual bottle of ultra-light white wine with only 5% alcohol, almost one-third the alcohol in a typical bottle of wine, essentially comparable to an alcohol-free wine. We’re always happy to pay a corkage fee wherever we dine out if possible.

When we were in the US, there were no light or low-alcohol wines found at any liquor or wine stores. or served in restaurants. Here in South Africa, it’s common to find at least one light white wine offered on a wine menu. But most of those wines have a bitter taste I don’t like.

Bushbuck Gorden Ramsey and Hal stopped by for pellets.

While we were in the US and out of dinner, I ordered white wine a few times with an average alcohol content of 13-14%. Typically, I order Pinot Grigio, which is one of the few white wines I enjoy. I prefer a full-bodied, dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Pinot Noir. But since I had open heart surgery in 2019, I don’t seem to tolerate drinking full-alcohol red wines.

Instead, occasionally I drink low-alcohol wine from a Cape Town vineyard, Four Cousins, called Skinny Red, with an 8.5% alcohol content. The taste is surprisingly tolerable; although it feels very light. It doesn’t seem to keep me awake at night or leave me feeling hungover after only two glasses in an entire evening.

With these limitations, it would make sense to quit drinking entirely, as I’d done for 20 years. I didn’t start drinking wine again until we were on a cruise in 2016, and drinks were free. With some prodding from our cruise mates, I had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, which tasted good.

I drank in moderation from there, enjoying the taste and socialization until I had the surgery in 2019, after which I found myself still enjoying the taste and socialization but feeling hindered by the aftereffects of red wine. Thus, since that time, I have had regular red wine on a few occasions, always regretting doing so later.

Three zebras with the fourth coming up from the rear.

Several months ago, I ordered several cases of Spier 5% alcohol Chenin Blanc. The taste has been tolerable, but now, as I’m down to the last bottle, I’ve found I’ve lost the taste for that wine and won’t be ordering any more from the vineyard. At Spar a few days ago, I grabbed four bottles of another brand of low-alcohol white sparkling wines. Two of the bottles are alcohol-free, with only .5% alcohol content, and the other two at 5%. We’ll see how these work out. I’ll report back here if they are worth mentioning.

In any case, after we both were sweating profusely sitting outdoors by the pool, after about 40 minutes, we headed upstairs to the bar. I had never seen Tom sweat so much. His new shirt was soaked. With no aircon working due to load shedding and the temp and humidity outrageously high, we continued sweating along with all the other patrons at the bar. Load shedding ended around 7:15 pm, 1915 hrs, and finally, Dawn was able to turn on the two aircon units.

Our food arrived after 7:00 pm, 1900 hrs., and we ate at the bar. The place was packed with customers during the busy holiday period. We were having a good time chatting with familiar patrons at the bar and, as usual, were content to eat at the bar, which other customers often do.

By 8:00 pm, we headed out the door, still warm and sweaty and looking forward to running the aircon in the bedroom to cool off. We’d forgotten, with the frequently changing schedule, that load shedding would be occurring in our area, different from the times for Jabula.

The fourth zebra joined the threesome.

Once we entered the door in the dark, the house felt particularly sweltering after cooling off in the air-conditioned car. Once we headed to the bedroom, we turned on the fan run by the inverter, changed out of our clothes, and looked forward to the load shedding ending an hour and a half later, which it did. We slept peacefully in air-conditioned comfort, although not quite long enough.

At the moment, we’re in the bedroom, with the air-con running. Tom is taking a nap, and I may try to do so also once I get this post completed and uploaded. Again, tonight, we’ll head back to Jabula, but load-shedding will be taking place again during the same hours as yesterday. Today, it’s even hotter and more humid than it was yesterday. But we’ve decided to go anyway. So what if we’re hot and sweaty? No harm done! The fun times are worth it!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 17, 2021:

Please zoom in to see newborn wildebeests with umbilical cords still hanging, indicating they were born most recently. For more photos, please click here.

More lion warnings in Marloth Park…See the site map where they’ve been spotted!…Big storm last night!…

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We are located in Block D, as indicated on this map. Currently, the lions were spotted in Blocks C and D in Marloth Park.
This morning, this notice was posted on Facebook on the Marloth Park Sighting Page.
“‼️ URGENT CARNIVORE ALERT‼️
16th-17th December 2022
The Carnivore Team has released an URGENT WARNING that a lioness has been spotted in THE “C” SECTOR, and a male lion has been spotted in THE “D” SECTOR OF THE ATTACHED MAP. They are moving between the houses, and everyone should be extremely careful and vigilant!
The immediate alert is for BLOCK “C AND D” as per the attached map. For those unfamiliar with Marloth, BLOCK “C” IS FROM RENOSTER, OLIFANT, VOLSTRUIS, CROCODILE NORTH, AND MODDERVIS. BLOCK “D” IS FROM SWARTWITPENS/RATEL, RENOSTER, KINGFISHER/SEEKOEI AND OLIFANT! A follow-up alert will be supplied if they move out of these areas!
EVERYBODY needs to be extremely cautious and an urgent alert for joggers, hikers, and cyclists in the morning and afternoon! Be extra careful at night as the lions are a bigger threat in the dark! If you are having a braai, sit with your backs to a wall and keep the lights on!
PLEASE do not allow children to roam around or play unsupervised – period! The lions could appear anywhere in Marloth Park! 😳
This an urgent alert for joggers, hikers, and cyclists along these areas throughout the day!
Unfortunately, the warnings are not taken seriously! Don’t go looking for lions because the lions will find you! The onus is on each and every one to adhere to the alerts and warn others of the dangers.
PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY LION-SIGHTING POSITIONS ON ANY SOCIAL MEDIA GROUPS FOR SAFETY REASONS! Rather contact any one of the Carnivore Team if you spot the lions! Phone any of the following numbers at ANY TIME:
Rangers 082 802 5894
CPF/ Nadine 082 672 4545 Gerrie Camacho 082 353 9097,
Ernst Röhm /MTPA 083 626 6309,
April Lukhele: 082 807 1057. Jan Koekemoer 063 053 7601.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding – Carnivore Team, Rangers, MTPA, CPF, Security, and the Vet.”
We take these warnings seriously, almost posted daily, of the presence of both male and female lions in the park. You’d think we’d be terrified, but we aren’t. We do everything we can to stay safe including avoiding walking on the roads and wandering about at night.
When we go out to dinner at Jabula on Friday and Saturday nights, we park as close to the building as possible and proceed to the car with extreme caution in mind, watching for lions and snakes, each of which is more active at night. Living in the bush requires diligent observation at all times and during all seasons.
We can only hope and pray that the countless visitors in Marloth Park heed the warnings on Facebook and from their property owners and managers. This is serious stuff, folks. We’ve seen many visitors walking and biking on the road by our house at dusk. This is foolhardy and dangerous!
Last night, a storm rolled over the area with winds, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning. We thought we’d lose power, but it only went off and on a few times when it wasn’t due to load shedding. The WiFi went off and on while we were trying to stream the last few episodes of Yellowstone, which we’re thoroughly enjoying. Love that show!
Today is a low-key day. When load shedding ends after 11:00 am, I plan to do a few loads of laundry, which will take a few days to dry with this humidity. Tom only has one pair of shorts left, all of the others were in our missing bags, which he’s wearing now on this hot day. Soon, he’ll have to change into long pants so I can wash the pair he’s wearing.
On December 19, 25 days will have passed per the requirement of Ethiopian Air for us to file a claim for our missing bags. On Monday, we will get to work filing the claims necessary to recover part of the value of the missing items. I can’t tell you how many missing things we used before the bags were lost. It’s frustrating, to say the least.
I just received a notice from Eskom that we’re now back to Stage 6 load shedding, which results in 11½ hours a day without power. Ugh! It will be a long and hot holiday season.
Continue to enjoy your holiday preparations, whatever they may be.
Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 16, 2021:

Open-mouth crocodile on the bank of the Sabie River. Crocs don’t have sweat glands. Instead, they open their mouths to cool off. For more photos, please click here.

Finally, we shopped in Komati…This season’s hottest day yet!…99F, 37.2C, dew point 72, humidity 50%…Plus load-shedding…

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Norman had some branches stuck on his head. It looks as if the branch went through his ear, but it was between his ear and horn. He is fine, thank goodness.

We procrastinated about going grocery shopping due to the 11½ hours a day without power, wondering if whatever we’d bought would stay fresh. Eskom sent a message this morning stating that load shedding was dropping from Stage 5 to Stage 4 today and down to Stage 3 on Sunday with only five hours of outages. That’s a significant relief, but most likely will be short-lived, especially during the holiday season and here in Marloth Park, with almost every house filled with owners and holidaymakers.

We only wish visitors would be more mindful of not wasting power and water, which has an awful impact on those who diligently monitor their usage. Surely over the next few weeks, the situation will escalate, and we all may be out of power for days, not hours. This is when we worry about our food in the refrigerator and freezer.

When we left on November 24, Tom put a single coin on top of an ice cube in each of the two ice cube trays, one in the refrigerator freezer and another in the chest freezer. When we returned, we could see how much ice had melted in the trays, and the coins dropped down into the cubes. This way, we knew the food in the freezers hadn’t spoiled when the coins had hardly moved. A nifty little test, eh?

This side view clearly illustrates it didn’t go through his ear.

We missed our opportunity to go to Kruger since we returned five days ago. When it rained a few days, there wasn’t a good day to go, and I overslept on a few others. Tom didn’t want to wake me, figuring I needed more sleep than seeing more wildlife. In the long run, he may have been right…today is Day #4, with no headache and no facial pain. Surely, good sleep helped in improving this dreadful long-haul Covid issue.

If any of our readers suffer from long-term sinusitis, please see your medical professional for assistance. Two nasal irrigation products worked for me the most; one Pysiomer used three times a day, and the other, a nasal irrigation kit with a dispenser and added medications used both morning and night, using warm sterilized water (not hot). Again, please see your medical professional for guidance in using these or similar products.

He was finally able to shake it off.

Now, to enter Kruger, we’d have to make a reservation and be faced with crowds at sightings. We’ll wait until the holiday season ends and go again when it’s quiet, sometime in January. In the meantime, we’re content with all the wildlife visitors stopping by each day and evening.

Once back at the house, after shopping, it took every ounce of energy to get everything put away in the heat. Since I had open heart surgery, I have had trouble bending over for any time. As always, Tom pulls a dining room chair up to the refrigerator to let me easily put everything away. He stocks the fridge on the veranda and the chest freezer. Before we knew it, we were done and able to enjoy a fresh mug of iced tea while he caught up on tasks on his laptop, and I began doing the post.

Nina was eating “Norman’s Lunch” along with the deceased Hoppy’s two siblings. Note the duiker in the background, most likely Delilah.

Today, at around 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs, I will put a “gammon,” a ham, in the oven to cook for one hour as suggested by the butcher when we bought it a few days ago. He said it would dry out if we cooked on the braai. I wouldn’t say I like the idea of turning on the oven on such a hot day, but we need to cook it today since it’s been defrosted for a few days and sitting in the fridge during countless hours of load shedding.

Tom will have ham, white rice, green beans, and salad, and I will have the same minus the rice. As always, it will be a lovely dinner, but with the mozzies and the humidity, we may have to eat in the dining room with the veranda doors closed. We’ll see if it cools down by then. However, according to the weather app on my phone, that doesn’t look promising.

Nonetheless, we are fine, cheerful, feeling well, and content. What more could we ask for?

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 15, 2021:

Mom and baby hippo on the Sabie River. For more photos, please click here.

Thinking about the future…Facing the facts…

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Last evening, no less than 25 animals were in the garden, including kudus bushbucks, warthogs, wildebeests, and our precious nyala family.

My eyes dart toward the garden every few minutes in case any wildlife stops by. I sat indoors at the dining room table while Vusi cleaned the veranda. Another hot day prompted me to turn on the quiet portable fan to cool off while I sat and prepared today’s post.

A moment ago, I spotted a mom and four piglets dash by on a mad run. I wondered where they were headed. A few kudus wandered in and out but feeling stuck in the chair, for once, I didn’t bother to get up to offer pellets. Earlier this morning, Tom saw the nyala family on several occasions. Still, again, I slept late after not falling asleep until well after midnight, awakening during the night when the 4½ hour load shedding started and the aircon went off.

Moms and babies.

My Fitbit says I slept 8 hours and 57 minutes. It still feels like I am catching up from lack of sleep, but I feel good, rested, and refreshed over the past few days.;.

Today is Day 3, with no headache or facial pain. Could it possibly be over? I am tentatively hopeful. I feel the best I’ve felt since before I tested positive for Omicron last April. With all the meds I was on for the headache, some of which cause weight gain, I am now reducing my food intake to lose the extra 15 pounds. I will undoubtedly accomplish it in a few months, losing from one to two pounds a week, a realistic goal.

Big Daddy, Hoppy’s mom and two remaining piglets, and more.

But, my mind? It’s spinning in circles. We have so much to do in the next few months. We must renew our passports, apply for an extension for South Africa, and complete all the paperwork soon to receive compensation for our lost luggage, requiring receipts for every item in those two bags.

That process alone will be time-consuming. I’d rather that they find the bags. How will we remember every item in those bags and find receipts? Sure, most of the purchases were made online, which will help. Nonetheless, it’s quite a task. It could take a few weeks to complete.

Big Daddy and Stringy jumped the fence.

You know the saying…”You can run, but you can’t hide.”  It’s so true. Regardless of the lifestyle we choose, we can’t escape the responsibilities of daily life; taxes to file and pay, paperwork to complete for general living, expenses to log, and bills to pay. For some reason, I feel lazy and unmotivated to do all this paperwork. But, somehow, I must get myself on track.

We love the bush so much; getting wrapped up in such responsibilities is not easy. It’s almost like being on a blissful vacation/holiday while here, and I don’t care to get wrapped up in piles of paperwork. Instead, right now, I am thinking toward the future, and with a good plan in place for what we’ll do after a 90-day extension is acquired through the law firm, tackling the paperwork will be easier.

My biggest thoughts for the day are now centered around enjoying the wildlife, cooking meals, and spending time entrenched in the beauty of nature and the bush. In the evenings, our goals are simple; listening to music using our JBL speaker, enjoying a refreshment while seated at the table on the veranda, and later in the evening, hunkering down to an excellent show to stream…all relatively mindless drivel.

Then, typically on the weekends, we love socializing at Jabula and attending or hosting parties and get-togethers. Um…it’s all lovely and indeed distracts us from the inconveniences of load-shedding, heat, humidity, insects, and snakes. Then, of course, there are the daily posts I still enjoy preparing each day, even after these past ten years. The constant search for photo ops also adds an interesting element to our lives.

Bad Ear stopped by for a quick hello.

We’ll figure it all out. Right now, we are talking about our options and what makes the most sense for us to do going forward. In any case, we must leave by June 1, 2023, but in this day and age, with everything that’s changed during the pandemic, we must plan as best as we can.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 14, 2021:

Yellow-billed stork. No text or other photos were posted on this date.

Load shedding is impacting the inverter…The heat and humidity are unreal…Trying to stay cool..

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Big Daddy is resting in the garden.

Incredibly, the animals manage to stay cool in this heat. It’s not that the temperature is high. It’s only 82F, 28C. It’s all about the humidity, which right now is at 73%, with the dew point at 72, which is outrageous. It’s sweating weather on an overcast day, drizzling now and then.

Last night, during a 4½ hour load-shedding period, the inverter ran out of power. And then, we had no fan for the remaining three hours until the power was restored and the fan and the aircon could run. I heard the fan go off in my sleep and didn’t fall back to sleep for another hour, not awakening until 9:30 am, another long sleep, which was needed.

Nina and Norman share breakfast.

Tom really hadn’t slept much in the past few weeks. Last night, when we finally started watching the first episode of Season 5 of Yellowstone, he kept dozing off. Eventually, I turned it off and watched a few shows on Philo, the streaming service I downloaded to watch Yellowstone.

There was a free one-week trial on Philo, and we figured we could watch all the episodes and then cancel it, incurring no costs to watch this fabulous show. If not canceled on time, there’s a monthly fee of US $25, ZAR 442. Since we already pay for Amazon Prime, Hulu and Netflix, we didn’t want to start any additional monthly fees.

Louise bought us this portable rechargeable fan. It helps when I am sitting outdoors. Thanks, Louise!

When we go to bed, we’ll watch the first half of the episode that Tom missed again, so he’ll be caught up. I’m glad he got some sleep, and he feels better today. Those long flights and layovers, which consisted of no sleep for four days out of 16, left us both needing to catch up on sleep. I don’t care what “they,” say that you can’t make up for lost sleep. We’ve found the case to be otherwise.

We both feel great today, fully rested, even amid the lost sleep in the heat during nighttime load shedding. I’ve learned a lesson…if I need to cool down during the day for a bit, don’t use the fan during load shedding. Instead, save its accumulated power to use at night during power outages. If we have power during the day, we can use the fan. I may go into the bedroom to cool off for 10 minutes every hour or so during these hot spells.

Big Daddies and Lollie and her three piglets.

We avoid using the aircon during the day to save on electricity, although we don’t pay the electric bill. Some days, Tom takes a nap for 20 minutes and uses the fan, not the aircon. During the hot summer months, by our choice, we give Louise an extra ZAR 1000, US $56.58. We’ve had to insist she accepts this money from us since we know how high electricity is here, even with the daily outages for as much as 11½ hours a day.

Wherever we may live in the world, we are mindful of the power we use. We hear that many renters leave their holiday home, or even hotel room for the day, with the aircon running the entire time they are gone. Think of how much energy would be saved if everyone only used the aircon when they were at the property.

I realize our readers may tire of hearing about the heat, humidity, and load-shedding. But, let’s face it, it’s a big part of our daily lives. Today, I was trying to roast two little cornish hen-sized chickens for dinner. It’s too hot to cook them in the oven. But load-shedding starts at 5:00 pm, 1700 hours. Last night, we cooked two others on the braai, but we weren’t thrilled with the outcome.

This Big Daddy jumped the fence looking for pellets.

Since it’s so hot today, I decided to cook the two birds ahead of time, cool them, and make chicken salad with sliced hard-boiled eggs, onions, celery, seasonings, and homemade dressing. Timing the cooking of the chicken, cooling it, and the hard-boiled eggs were tricky with power outages. But we figured it out, and as I write here, Tom is peeling the eggs, and the chicken is done, which we cooked again on the braai. I chilled the eggs in a colander in the sink topped with ice.

Since it’s already close to 1:30 pm, 1330 hrs, we’ll place the chicken in the freezer to cool before I put it all together. Once the chicken cools sufficiently, I’ll clean off the meat and skin, saving the bones and fat for the next visiting mongooses. This way, we’ll have cold chicken salad for dinner. It takes much planning to prepare meals in this heat with frequent power outages.

Zebras, stop by for a snack.

We’d hoped to go to Kruger today, but after I slept so late, it made no sense. Generally, it’s better to go early in the morning. Plus, I had to fold all the laundry here again, subject to washing during available periods with power, make the dinner, do the post, and work on recording expenditures and receipts from the past few weeks. It’s a busy day.

Norman, Nina, and the baby have been here no less than six times today. Lollie is napping with her three piglets in her usual spot near the veranda. Big Daddies, kudu Bossy, and other kudus and bushbucks have stopped by. The presence of the visitors is a blissful distraction that takes our minds off the inconveniences of living in South Africa right now.

Day 2, no headache or facial pain. Humm…

May your holiday plans be rewarding and fulfilling.

Be well. zzxxlaa

Photo from one year ago today, December 13, 2021:

Mom, with lovely curved tusks and her three piglets. It’s “piglet time” in the bush, which makes it fun to see all the families. For more, please click here.

We’re baaack!!!….The story of the last travel day…

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Lollie and her piglets with a few kudus.

Yesterday morning, I wrote this post, in part, while on the short flight, less than 40 minutes from Joburg to Nelspruit, finishing and updating it today, on Sunday morning.

Once we landed in Nelspruit, we collected our one bag, and Tom headed to the rental car facility while I checked with Airlink to see if they knew anything about our two missing bags. I explained the loss of the bags had nothing to do with their airline but could they please help us? They were more than willing to assist. The bags are eventually supposed to arrive at their location.

The previous night, when we arrived in Joburg, we spent two hours at the missing bag area working on locating our bags. Finally, a few hours later, we received the necessary documentation we needed to attempt to find the bags. But, no bags yet.

Kudus stopped by for a drink and pellets. We were still sleeping.

From there, we made our way to the City Lodge Hotel at the airport, checking in with our one new bag and then on to the restaurant for a bite. We each had a beverage, including a glass of wine for me and a beer for Tom. I had the fantastic buffet, which had several good options for me, while Tom ordered a delicious club sandwich with chips (fries).

Our dinner was only ZAR 480, about US $27, with two drinks, food, tax, and tip. Gosh, we are happy to be back where everything is much more affordable than in the US. Over the next few months, we certainly have some “wound licking” to recover the losses from this recent fiasco.

With our time frame off, we both had a fistful night’s sleep. We only dozed for a few minutes on the 16-hour flight and assumed we’d be able to sleep at the hotel, but the time difference made it impossible to sleep. But, overall, that long flight wasn’t bad this time. We watched many movies, and the time passed faster than usual. I think I’ve finally adapted to that 16-hour flight and have no angst about it any longer.

A kudu is eating some tasty greens on a tree.

We were in a three-seat center row with an empty seat between us. We ended up in the Premium Economy section, and the seats were bigger with footrests and were better for reclining. That helped me nod off for a few minutes here and there. That also added to our comfort.

It was great to be back in South Africa. The food on the plane was awful, and we didn’t eat a thing precipitating our need for the late dinner at the hotel on Friday night. In the morning, we didn’t have time for breakfast, only coffee at the airport. Our two coffees and one sparkling water were only ZAR 120, about US $7. While in the US, we spent three times that much on the same items.

With the time difference impacting us, we both had a fitful night’s sleep, barely sleeping. But overall, that long flight wasn’t bad at all this time. We watched many movies, and the time passed faster than usual. I think I’ve finally adapted to that 16-hour flight and have no angst about it any longer. It is what it is.

A young male kudu is checking out the scene.

Our dinner at the City Lodge Hotel was only ZAR 480, about US $27, with the two drinks, food, tax, and tip. Gosh, we are happy to be back where everything is much more affordable than in the US. Over the next few months, we certainly have some “wound licking” to recover the losses from this recent fiasco.

Louise invited us to a “bush buddies” party at their house last night. Once we returned to the house in the afternoon, we unpacked our one bag and carry-on bags and attempted to take a short nap before going to the party, which started around 6:00 pm. But, no such luck. Neither of us was able to nap. By 5:00 pm, we both showered, feeling refreshed, and later made our way down the road to their house.

We had a fantastic time at the party, completely forgetting about being tired and staying until midnight, when everyone began to wander off. This morning, Tom shocked me and caused me to scream out loud when he was standing there staring at me. He was concerned that I had passed away in my sleep at 11:00 am and was still sleeping.

It rained a little before we got up this morning. It’s a very humid day!

My Fitbit indicated I’d slept for 10 hours. I can’t remember the last time I slept so long. He was relieved to hear me scream and apologized for awakening me. He only slept for about eight hours and may need a nap before we go to Jabula tonight for dinner.

Yes, there is plenty of load shedding, but we have water. We’ll toss some of the food in the refrigerator, but it wasn’t that full when we left. Everything in the freezers seemed to have survived.

Kudus, early this morning.

We left Marloth Park 17 days ago. Will our favorite animals return to see us soon, or will they wait until the holidaymakers go after New Year? Only time will tell. Yesterday, when we arrived, bushbuck Gordon Ramsey was here resting in the shad with about eight kudus. This morning Lollie and her three piglets stopped by. Tom gave them plenty of pellets.

Thanks for all the love and support over these past weeks and always. We will be back tomorrow with more.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 11, 2021:

Frank, who prefers to walk and run, flew up to the bushbaby house and posed for this photo. For more photos, please click here.

Today, we are on the move!…Back to the bush…

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New friends Barry and Lisa, enjoying one last night together on the ship, on this date in 2017, during a cruise to South America. See the post here.
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We’re packed and ready to leave the hotel to return the rental car at Ace, take their shuttle to the airport, check our bags and begin the long wait until our flight at 2:00 pm. The first flight to Newark is easy, less than three hours,, but the typical five-hour layover is to be expected.

During the layover, we’ll have dinner at an airport restaurant and spend time on our laptops to kill time while we wait for the 16-hour flight to Johannesburg.

This morning, Louise and I texted back and forth on Whatsapp. Apparently, things are not good in Marloth Park right now. It’s very hot and humid, the power has been out for almost a day, and there’s no water from the reservoir due to the 11½ hours of load shedding each day. But now, the power is out due to some type of fault or damage to equipment, and they can’t get the power back on.

We feel bad for Louise. All of her houses are rented with dozens and dozens of guests for a golf tournament in Komatipoort and holidaymakers. Can you imagine the complaints from the holiday renters who don’t have power…or water.  There’s no news on when both of these will be restored.

That night, Tom was having a great time, dining in the private “wine room” in the Tuscan Grill with Lisa and Barry.
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We hope things are resolved by the time we return in a few days, but as we always say, “TIA, This is Africa!” What do we expect? In any case, we’ll be fine. We’ll definitely have to throw away all of the perishables in the refrigerator but hopefully not everything in the freezer. When shopping next, we’ll only buy enough for a few days, knowing power outages are even worse during December.

With all the holidaymakers in the park, we don’t expect to see many animals in the garden when we return. But mostly, we can’t wait to see Norman and Nina’s new baby, born a few days after we left. No news yet on the gender of the baby, but we have a few names in mind, of course beginning with an “N.” Noah has wandered off in search of a mate for himself, but there are no other nyalas in Marloth Park other than their family of four. Wild animals generally do not mate with species other than their own.

Hopefully, the rangers can find another female to bring to the conservancy for Noah. We hope to hear this has been done at some point. He’s certainly entitled to having a mate, now that Norman and Nina are preoccupied with their new baby.

It was easy packing the new suitcase that had plenty of room, and we filled it to the brim. We have no way to weigh it and will wing it hoping it meets the maximum 23 kg. limit. Of course, we have no idea if our missing bags will be waiting for us when we get to Joburg or Nelspruit. Only time will tell.

Last night, we had dinner with Greg and granddaughter Madighan at Champps. We’d hoped to see the other grandkids one more time, but we managed to have some quality time with everyone while we were here.

An antipasto board was served to each couple before our other courses were served.

This morning, I spoke to our friend Connie, whose husband and our dear friend Jeff passed away at our house in the bush, when they’d come to Marloth Park to fulfill Jeff’s dream of seeing Africa. We are so grateful he was able to fulfill that dream with us during the time he, Connie, and their adult daughter Lindsey were with us.  It was good to hear her voice. Next time we come to Minnesota, we will make a point of getting together with Connie and Lindsey.

This unexpected trip to Minnesota was such a flurry of activity with the family, leaving little time to see friends. We’re hoping for better planning next time to make time to see some of our dear old friends, too.

Well, it’s time to load the one bag and our carry-on bags into the rental car and make our way to the car rental facility. We are dressed warmly but without jackets, since we don’t want to carry extra clothes through all the airports. I don’t know when we’ll write again. It could possibly not be until Sunday after we arrive on Saturday, in time to shower, change and hopefully head to Jabula for dinner. It will be nice to see our friends once again and to share the latest news with all of you.

Be well.

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

When Melissa Grobler of Dubai, currently staying in  Marloth Park with her mom, a resident, captured these lion photos this morning, we were enthralled. Melissa witnessed this fantastic sighting of one of the female lions known to roam the streets of Marloth Park. For more photos, please click here.

In shock after a night out to dinner in Minneapolis…

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This giraffe didn’t seem to mind being included in the photo with us. This photo was taken in our neighborhood. Louise explained that the giraffes would soon come to our house, and they did then, and they do now. For the post from December 3, 2013, please click here.

Last evening, when we arrived early at restaurant Benihana in Minneapolis to celebrate our grandson Vincent’s 17th birthday, we sat at the bar and ordered two drinks. I ordered nine oz. of Pinot Grigio, a little less than two glasses in a small carafe, and Tom ordered one Michelob Golden Light.

The total bill for the two drinks was US $39.75, ZAR 697.84, not including a tip. Our mouths were agape when we paid the bill. We don’t spend that much on dinner, drinks, tax, and tips at Jabula on a typical Friday or Saturday night, ordering anything off the menu we could possibly want.

However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. The cost of the dinner was yet to come. Tammy, Tracy, Vincent, and Tracy’s mom Lena were in attendance for six of us. Of course, the concept of teppanyaki is fun and festive, and we all expected to pay a little more than in a typical mid-range restaurant.

We usually pay the bill when we go out to dinner with our kids and grandkids. But this time, Tammy and Tracy insisted on paying for their own meals while Tom and I would pay for the two of us. I’m glad we had that arrangement on this specific occasion. I don’t mean to be a “tightwad,” but the total bill for all of us, excluding our drinks (we never ordered more), was US $494.87, ZAR 8687.84. Had we paid for everything, the total bill would have been $534.62, ZAR 9384.10. Can you believe it?

Thanks, Tammy and Tracy, for paying for the four of you. Our bill, separate from the above total, was US $159.62, ZAR 2802.26. We’d already lost a ton of money with this Seychelles fiasco and surely would have flinched for this outrageous bill which included a 20% service fee, and yet the server asked us for cash for more tips. Oh, good grief! Don’t ask! Tacky.

All of us agreed we’d never return after those outrageous charges. Prices have obviously increased since the pandemic, and we appreciate the dilemma the establishments have had to face. But, goodness, consider diners’ reactions and interest in returning.

Yes, the food was good, but none of us ordered the most expensive items on the menu. Nonetheless, Vincent enjoyed his birthday dinner, and we all had a lovely time. We were out the door two hours from the time we arrived. It was windy, cold, and snowing, so we said our goodbyes and headed back to our hotel.

Tammy and Tracy are leaving for a week’s holiday in California while grandma Lena stays at the house with Vincent. We’ll be gone when they return, so our goodbye was for now, although we’ll be returning in nine months, spending time with everyone once away.

This morning, at 9:30, we’re driving to the town of Shakopee to meet up with Greg’s family for brunch at a popular restaurant. Hopefully, everyone is feeling well, and we’ll all be able to be together for the first time since we arrived one week ago today. We’ve been here for one week since we arrived last Saturday afternoon. It seems like a long time ago that we shopped at Target, exhausted and dirty after wearing the same clothes and underwear for 56 hours.

Hopefully, the return flight in five days will be easier than this most recent one. When we arrive in Johannesburg next Friday, we’ll be staying overnight. Otherwise, we’d have had to drive in the dark to Marloth Park, which is way too dangerous on the N4 at night due to “spiking,” carjackings, and murders.

If all goes well and we arrive in Marloth Park after driving during daylight hours from Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger airport to Marloth Park, we should arrive in the afternoon. If we’re well rested, we’ll head to Jabula for dinner. We’re looking forward to seeing our friends, Leon and Dawn, and any other locals who may have stopped by for sundowners and dinner.

Of course, amid all this travel, we’ll be searching for the status of our missing baggage. We’ll keep you updated on the results.

That’s it for today, folks. It’s time for us to head out for breakfast with Greg’s family. We’ll be back with more tomorrow.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 3, 2021:

Hippos aren’t necessarily the cutest of animals, but it’s fun to take their photos. For more, please click here.