What a morning!…How much do we spend on pellets?…What???…No water???…

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Could this be a mom and baby impala fawning over one another?

It’s Saturday morning. The power is out due to load shedding. Still, we are quite content sitting at the table on the veranda and entertained every so often by another visit by wildlife, whether several members of a species or single holidays. Whether it’s a lone Big Daddy, a male bushbuck we call Spikey, or a  female we call Marigold, the visitors wasted no time visiting us throughout the day and evening.

This morning there were over two dozen impalas in the garden.

As I type this now, warthog Mom and Babies arrived. I stopped to get them some pellets they devoured and now are on their way to the next bush house to see if they can find even more pellets than we’re willing to toss. After all, pigs are pigs, and they’d eat all of our pellets in no time if we let them.

Big Daddy shared pellets with some of the impalas.

Yesterday, we ordered three more 40 kg, 88-pound bags. A guy with a truck stops at Louise and Danie’s office, the Marloth Park Info Centre, selling pellets every Friday. The cost for each bag is ZAR 260, US $15.46. We go through about two bags per week, costing us about ZAR 2237, US $133 per month. We don’t flinch. Paying this when feeding the animals brings us so much joy and hopefully provides them with an added bit of sustenance.

It was fun to see so many antelopes in the garden simultaneously.

Oops, I had to stop again. Wildebeests Bad Ear and Crooked Face just stopped by but only stayed long enough to eat the first batch of pellets we tossed and then were on their way. A herd of about 30 impalas has been hanging out in our garden since early this morning.

After the impalas took off, the four zebras arrived while Big Daddy watched.

Of course, Lollie is our permanent fixture. She went out on a stroll for about an hour this morning, but we can always count on her return a short time later. She’s back here now searching for any residual pellets some other visitors may have missed. She’s often successful in locating a few. Plus, we don’t hesitate to toss her some from the four-cup plastic measuring cup we use to scoop them up.

We are always thrilled to see zebras in the garden.

Yesterday afternoon, when I went to wash my hands, there was no water. At 3:00 pm, 1500 hrs. each day, Tom showers, while I prefer to shower when I get up in the morning. We were due to leave for Jabula for our usual Friday night outing at 4;45 pm, 1645 hrs. Tom wasn’t able to shower before we left. He cleaned up the best he could with bottled water, filled a bucket with water from the pool for the toilet, and we went about our plans.

Zebras don’t hesitate to kick one another when vying for pellets.

Some repairs were being done, and the pipes to Marloth Park were empty. Once the repairs were complete, they’d turn the water back on, and the lines would refill in a few hours. We had water once again when we returned home from dinner at Jabula.

Big Daddy jumped the fence when the zebras were here. He wanted to show us how majestic and powerful he is.

The water pressure isn’t good here. But TIA, “This is Africa,” and that’s how it is. No power? No water? It’s the “nature of the beast” (no pun intended). We’ve become used to these issues, but we always like to know if the information is available and when the services will be restored. That way, we can plan accordingly. Louise provides the most up-to-date information, allowing us to plan as necessary.

The zebra we named Mr. Dot has a perfectly shaped polka dot on his left shoulder with a few more on his back.

We had a fantastic time at Jabula, enjoying the lively bar chatter, the excellent food, and drinks.  Dawn carries my favorite wine, Four Cousins Skinny Red, I usually drink a few glasses from the new bottle we purchase, and they save the rest for me for the next week. Surprisingly, it stays fresh in their fridge until I finish the bottle the following week. I don’t care for chilled red wine, but this way seems to work best. Once the bottle sits out for 30 minutes, it returns to room temperature.

Today, we’ll cook dinner on the braai while continuing to enjoy time on the veranda as the stream of visitors never fails to entertain us and warm our hearts.

Have a lovely Saturday.

Photo from one year ago today, July 9, 2021:

The mongoose went into a frenzy, taking the whole eggs out of the pan, cracking them on rocks, and eating the contents. This is so fun to watch! For more, please click here.

Funny sighting in the garden…and new visitor…

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Big Daddy’s eye glazed over while the oxpeckers cleaned his ears. He didn’t seem to mind a bit.

In yesterday’s post here, in case you missed it, we are faced with yet another change in our plans for the near future.  Please click the link to read all about it. Thanks to our many readers/friends who wrote to us expressing heartfelt concern over yet another change in our itinerary, ultimately resulting from the after-effects of the pandemic.

There continues to be a considerable disappointment for many travelers worldwide with flight cancelations, cruise cancelations, changes, and uncertainty regarding entering many countries with new and confusing entrance requirements. Masks may no longer be required in public places, but the pandemic’s ravages remain in many ways.

But, we are not melancholy. We remain hopeful that, in time, it will change; as “they” say, life will be, with the overused phrase, “a new normal.” Thank goodness we aren’t stuck in a hotel room or a place that doesn’t bring us so much joy and contentment. Thank goodness we have our health back and feel like our old selves again. Old, indeed.

Big Daddy had three oxpeckers working on his ticks and bugs.

Right now, there are other pressing concerns facing South Africa. Protests are occurring all over the country because of rising petrol prices, but in reality, many other issues contribute to these protests countrywide. Those protests can even impact tourists when protests have blocked the only highway directly to Nelspruit, where the airport is located, for the past few weeks.

Many of these protests consist of rock-throwing, shootings, and other violent crimes perpetrated on drivers trying to navigate their way along the N4 highway, as indicated in this and hundreds more news articles. In another article, entrance points to Kruger National Park have been blocked in many areas. Imagine travelers who spent their hard-earned money for a weekend respite in Marloth Park, unable to enter Kruger National Park as an integral part of their weekend holiday.

Will we be able to get to the airport in 43 days when we fly to Zambia for yet another 90-day visa stamp? If the road is unpassable, we’ll automatically become “undesirables” with no option but to leave the country immediately. How would we do that if the highway to the airport is closed? The only other route is through Kruger National Park, but those roads could be closed again. Oh, I can worry about that now.

A camouflage gecko that looks like tree bark has been resting on the wood of an exterior door.

For a few days, we saw many vehicles on the roads, packed with people searching for wildlife in Marloth Park instead of heading to Kruger.  On top of that, the constant load shedding is taking its toll on citizens and businesses. Again, we thank goodness that we aren’t impacted by any significant degree of load shedding.

The inverter that allows us to have WiFi, charge our equipment, and have one light on in the bedroom makes load shedding relatively painless. We are grateful to Louise and Danie for providing this for us. Plus, the outdoor heater makes chilly evenings on the veranda much easier.

A person could get all worked up about these issues, but we will not allow ourselves to wallow in fear and apprehension. Instead, we’ll continue to focus on each day as it comes and the treasures in front of us; each other, the love of family and friends, and our exquisite surroundings.

And, of course, the particular joys we experience every day from our worldwide readers who write to us with the kindest words and wishes make every moment it takes to prepare a new daily post worthwhile. Thank you with all our hearts.

Be well.

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

Roomy seats in Business Class that entirely lay down. I have no idea what he was looking at. For more photos, please click here.

Now, we’re having problems with the washing machine!…Load shedding damages appliances!!!..

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A couple of female kudus are checking us out.

In the past few weeks, since load shedding escalated to Stage 4 and Stage 6, resulting in added hours without power and increased events per day, we noticed problems with the kitchen refrigerator, as described in yesterday’s post here, and the washing machine.

We didn’t connect the issues between the two major appliances until I tried again to get the washer to run a complete cycle. I’d often run back and forth to the laundry area outside five or six times to reset it, taking several hours for one load to wash, rinse and spin.

This is Bossy from our old bush house, 2 km from here.

This morning it dawned on me that the process we’re going through with the refrigerator of shutting off the power for 24 hours may be the same process we need to do with the washer. Once we somehow complete the must-do two loads, we’ll unplug the washer and wait a few days to plug it back in. Maybe it will also reset.

Here is an interesting article about how load shedding damaged appliances. It makes all the sense in the world. From this website:

“THE IMPACT OF LOAD SHEDDING ON ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT

 ERIKA VAN ZYL

ECA(SA) Associate Member, Major Tech, says South Africans are adapting to continual rolling blackouts, more politely known as load shedding. But, says Major Tech’s Rhodam Evans, while everyone is cursing Eskom for being left in the dark or stuck in traffic for hours at a time, the damage caused by load shedding is far more than lost time and the macro impact on the economy.

A new LED driver.

The financial problems caused by load shedding will also impact individuals in their homes and businesses as they are faced with electrical products that seemingly stop working for no reason. This will naturally also affect suppliers and installers of electrical equipment, who will be accused of either selling poor quality products or doing an inferior installation job.

Burnt LED driver due to voltage spikes.

The reality is that, while poor quality products and bad installations can cause problems, load shedding will damage even the best electronic products on the market, eventually leaving them broken beyond repair. The reason for this is not the loss of power, but the surge of current and voltage spikes when the electricity is switched on again, says Evans.

While many think switching the power on or off is a simple task, the way load shedding works means that every time the power comes back, some technician has flipped the switch at a substation, suddenly sending a stream of around 11 000 Volts back into the circuit.

Single-phase power in the average home runs on 230 V. Therefore, when the lights come on again, all the appliances in that particular suburb suddenly get a surge and voltage spike much more potent than 230 V. This only lasts for a microsecond. Still, it is enough to damage electrical equipment, from your television to your lights.

Electronics can’t last against voltage spikes.

“Even the most well-designed equipment of the highest quality can not handle these surges. Many electrical devices are built with some form of protection against voltage spikes, but these are designed to handle surges that happen occasionally, not daily, or even multiple times daily. For example, many circuits have metal oxide varistors (MOV) to protect against occasional surges. Still, even these wear out and can’t protect the circuits after the constant spikes due to load shedding.

“Major Tech has seen lights which have actually exploded after one spike too many,” adds Evans, “as well as USB ports that are black shells of what they once were. Thankfully, these results are not common, but damage to electrical equipment is.”

Surges and voltage spikes cause damage every time, although most often, the equipment carries on working. Eventually, the equipment will fail, and it may seem illogical when considering which particular device or LED light fails or what path the current takes (it looks for the shortest path to the earth), but the damage is a given

What can be done to protect yourself?

Since electricity users in South Africa are at the mercy of Eskom and can do nothing to resolve the problem, the only solution is to take precautions and protect your electronics. These precautions cost money, but they will save money in the long term because few suppliers are willing to constantly replace devices that electrical surges have damaged. A warranty does not cover malicious damage to the system, and it does not cover surges and voltage spikes.

“Surge protectors have therefore become vital necessities in a world with load shedding,” explains Evans.

Level 3 surge protection happens at the wall sockets. These surge protectors plug into the wall socket and your equipment is then plugged into the protectors. This will protect your equipment from all surges. Level 2 protection is the ideal as this is added to the circuit board by a qualified professional to protect the whole premises.

Evans warns that surge protectors don’t last forever either and while they will protect the electronic equipment you use every day, they will also eventually need to be replaced. He also advises that there is an “enormous difference” between a surge protector and lightning protection. “A lightning strike in your vicinity can release far more power than Eskom, and a surge protector will not stand up to the pressure.”

Best remedy

“Dealing with load shedding is a challenge, and we should all take responsibility for the equipment in our houses and businesses,” concludes Evans. “Suppliers will not simply continue to replace equipment damaged by load shedding as this practice will devastate their businesses.

The best remedy is to unplug as many electrical devices as possible during load shedding and install surge protection on those that are not or cannot be unplugged.”

For more information on how to handle surges and voltage spikes, please view Dan Moyane’s interview with SAIA Insurance Technical Adviser Susan Walls about how load-shedding can cause damage to electronic devices and appliances, which has led to more frequent insurance claims https://www.enca.com/news/impact-load-shedding-appliances”

The kudus certainly enjoy jumping over the fence.

If unplugging the washer for a day doesn’t work, we may have to go back to having Zef and Vusi do our laundry. The problem with that is the fact that it takes about three days for them to be able to return the items to us. With our limited supply of clothing, three days is a long time. We are hoping we don’t have to go that route. It’s extra work for Zef and Vusi, and they are busy enough as it is.

This morning we had more wildlife visitors than we imagined possible during this school holiday period when visits are usually less frequent. But, our wildlife friends are enjoying it here, especially Lollie, our resident warthog, and now the nyala family of three who visits several times a day; Norman, Nina, and Noah.

Big Daddies are so handsome.

The nyalas aren’t big eaters; they nibble a little. But we think since nyala is so rare in Marloth Park (they are the only family), everyone feeds them. By the time they get to us, they’re full. They all jump over the little fence quite easily and seem to like the fussing we do them over. Here and there, I toss them a little cabbage and carrots. They certainly love those, as do all the antelopes.

At 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs., today, we are meeting up with reader/friends Carrie and Jim at Two Trees, overlooking the Crocodile River, whom we met here about six months ago. They found Marloth Park from our site and bought a fantastic house here! It will be fun to see them again and hear about their home-buying experience. Hopefully, we’ll also see some wildlife along the river.

Nyala Norman and his son, Noah, visit twice a day. Check out Norman’s tongue.

Have a fantastic day, and be well.

Photo from one year ago today, July 5, 2021:

What a beautiful view and landscape in my son Greg’s back garden where we spent the 4th of July last year. For more photos, please click here.

Happy 4th of July to all of our US family, friends and readers….Oops!…Did load shedding cause our refrigerator to die?…

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Three different breeds of antelope in the garden today…nyala (dad) Norman, kudu Big Daddy Thick Neck, and bushbuck Lilly. What a joy to see them all together! 

We send our warmest wishes to all our family and friends in the USA on this special day of celebration of Independence Day. Use extra care when handling fireworks, cooking on the grill, and building bonfires. Also, be safe driving to visit family and friends on the highways and lakes when boating. We’ll never forget this special day with those we love and all the festivities we enjoyed together.

Life is different now and today is like any other day. Well, except for a few things. This morning, when we were digging through the kitchen’s freezer section of the big side-by-side refrigerator, we noticed blueberry juice spilling from the drawer where we keep Tom’s blueberry muffins frozen. He takes out two each evening with his coffee in the morning.

Nyala Nina and her son Noah jumped the fence to visit us today.

Why were the muffins defrosting in the freezer? Also, for the past few weeks, we noticed water on the floor in front of the refrigerator each morning. We attributed it to load shedding…on and off…on and off…power to the fridge three or four times a day.

I contacted Louise, and she suggested we empty everything in the refrigerator and the freezer and put it all in the extra refrigerator on the veranda. She told us we could ask Vusi to move it all when he arrived. Of course, it was packed. She then said to turn it off and back on in 24 hours to see if it would work properly. From experience with load shedding, Louise stated, it might reset and be OK. The load shedding could quickly be causing the “fault.”

Nyala’s dad Norman was drinking from the pool after eating pellets. Note his fluffed-up hair, due to the presence of a Big Daddy nearby. See more below.

Realizing that if the refrigerator didn’t come back on after the 24-hour pause, it could require repair, we felt it made more sense if we moved the food, placing everything where we wanted it to go into the smaller fridge on the veranda. Plus, we also have a chest freezer to store frozen items.

Most frozen food in the freezer was frozen, including mince (ground beef), steaks, and chops. But on the bottom shelf, two packages of chicken breasts were very cold; they still had ice on them but were not frozen. We needed to cook them right away. The ice cubes in bags were still totally frozen.

Norman fluffed up his hair all the more, knowing a Big Daddy was nearby.

Immediately, I lined two large baking pans with tin foil, seasoned the chicken, and immediately got it into the oven. In the next few hours, I boiled eggs, chopped celery, and onions, diced the chicken when it was done and cooled, and seasoned the entire batch using a homemade sour cream dressing I made while the chicken was cooking.

Also, I made a fresh batch of coleslaw to go with the chicken salad. We filled two good-sized containers with the chicken salad, which we’ll have for dinner for the next few nights with the coleslaw, rice, and veggies. It’s nice to know we have dinner made for a few nights after all that work.

We both got busy in the kitchen, moving all the food, utilizing the outdoor refrigerator and freezer, and cleaning. We must have run back and forth a hundred times between the two of us. We were very organized, consolidating, and organizing. As usual, neither of us complained and stayed cheerful during the entire process, which took a few hours.

Norman really fluffed himself up including his tail to let the Big Daddy know he was well aware of his presence,

We figured if we moved everything, we’d ask Vusi to clean the walls of the problematic fridge while Tom washed all the shelves and drawers. By the time Vusi arrived, we were ready for him to do his part.  Tom stayed busy in the kitchen washing all the pots, pans, and containers.

It’s still school holidays in South Africa, and the park is filled with tourists. However, there’s still plenty of wildlife stopping by to see us. The nyala family, consisting of Norman (dad), Nina (mom), and teenager Noah (their son), have started visiting us two or three times a day. It’s delightful to see how this family stays together with both parents, which is not always the case with the antelopes or other wildlife.

It’s another gorgeous day today with perfect sunny weather, no wind, and minimal humidity. Gosh, I love winter in the bush! After our busy morning and the number of tourists in the park, we’ll stay put and enjoy another blissful day with our wildlife friends who come and go throughout the day and evening.

Have a fantastic 4th, people in the US, and may everyone else enjoy their Monday, wherever they may be.

Photo from one year ago today, July 4, 2021:

Little, please be there when we return at the end of the month! He was. But he’s yet to find us at the new house, which is two km from the old house. For more photos, please click here.

Happy 4th of July weekend to all of our readers and friends in the USA!!!…Food photos…A kudu anomaly…

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When we first noticed this bump on this Big Daddy kudu’s face, we thought it might be a clump of vegetation. Check out his tongue in anticipation of pellets.

Almost ten years later, we still haven’t forgotten how much fun the 4th of July celebrations were when we lived in the US. We always had plans, whether it was a party at our house or a party at the home of friends or family members. It was always a festive celebration.

But, upon further inspection, we realized it wasn’t something he picked up in the bush. It was some type of growth between his eyes.

Now, living this life on the move, except for being in Minnesota visiting family on a few occasions over the past years, we’ve spent the fourth in many different parts of the world, as shown below:

  1. Boveglio, Italy (2013)
  2. Madeira, Portugal (2014)
  3. Trinity Beach, Australia (2015)
  4. Singapore (2016)
  5. Minnesota, USA (2017)
  6. Marloth Park, South Africa (2018)
  7. Connemara, Ireland (2019)
  8. Mumbai, India (2020)
  9. Minnesota, USA (2021)
  10. Marloth Park, South Africa (2022)

In 2012, on the 4th of July, we were still in Minnesota preparing to leave on our years-long journey, departing on October 31. The only times we celebrated were in the US in 2017 and again last year, 2021, when we returned to the US to get vaccinated and stayed for one month. On both occasions, we spent the holiday at my son Greg’s home with his wife Camille and our three grandchildren, Maisie, Miles, and Madighan.

Was this a future unicorn, we asked, “tongue in cheek?”

This week on the 4th of July, on Monday, we’ll be enjoying our daily lives in the bush without fireworks, US flags, a flag cake, and a wide array of delicious barbecued meat and side dishes. Instead, we’ll cook some meat on the braai, a big salad, rice for Tom, and green vegetables. We’ll remember the occasion but won’t make a fuss celebrating it.

Tom reminded me that in 2018, we celebrated the 4th of July at dear friends Kathy and Don’s lovely home overlooking the Crocodile River. We had a fantastic time, as shown in these photos from that post, found here.  Tom and I were the least dressed up for the occasion, unaware that the other guests, none of whom were Americans, enjoyed dressing up.

Could he be growing a third horn?

Should we be fortunate enough to share such a particular date with them again, we’ll dress accordingly next time. We do hope that time will come again for all of us. So much has changed these past few years that it’s hard to predict if time and circumstances will allow for repeated memorable occasions.

Last night, we went to Jabula Lodge and Restaurant for dinner as we always do on Fridays and once again had a fantastic time, along with great drinks and consistently excellent food, as shown in the photos below:

Tom’s Chicken Schnitzel, mushroom gravy, chips (fries), and creamed spinach. As always, it was delicious.
My Grilled Garlic Chicken Breast, three eggs fried in butter and pumpkin mash. It couldn’t have been better.

Today, we’re busy around the house, doing laundry, prepping food for the next few days, and organizing cupboards and closets. Storage space is at a minimum on the main floor of this house so being organized is a must. We have plenty of room for our clothes and personal supplies, but the kitchen, although a pleasing design, is short on cabinet space.

There are no above-counter cabinets. But, the windows overlooking the garden are well worth it. Non-perishable food storage is at a premium, so I’ve been organizing and consolidating to take advantage of every space.

We’ll never know for sure, but we’ll keep an eye out for him and see what develops.

But, there’s nothing like standing in the kitchen, chopping and dicing, and watching our wildlife friends putter about the garden in search of tasty morsels. When I’m chopping vegetables, we can toss out treats they love. This morning bushbuck Lilly and her daughter Lilac were waiting for the scraps from carrots, cabbage, and celery. We couldn’t toss the scraps out there quickly enough.

Today, we’ll enjoy time on the veranda. It’s warmed up a bit today and we can be outdoors without sweatshirts. Right now, at 12:30 pm, it is 75F, 24C, a perfect day. Tonight it will be as low as 49F, 9 C. As we discussed last night at Jabula, we have never turned the heating element in the aircon units to warm the bedroom. We’d rather bundle up in warm clothes and use lots of blankets to stay warm at night.

No, we don’t pay for electricity. It’s included in our rent. But, our goal is always to use as few available services as possible to save our property owners/managers added costs and consider our desire to leave as little of a footprint wherever we may be. It’s a small sacrifice, but we are so grateful to live this life; it’s the least we can do. The WiFi service in the house is unlimited.

For our family, friends, and reader/friends in the US, have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July weekend, and everyone else…have a blissful weekend.

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

Mongoose and kudus in the side garden,  munching on treats we tossed their way. For more, please click here.

Wow!…Lots of our readers will be here by the end of this month!…Let’s have a party!!!…

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Pretty winter flower growing in a tree in our garden.

We had no idea how many of our worldwide readers would vacation in places we’ve been over the years. They often write to us explaining that they’ve rented the same holiday/vacation home we have in the past, but now it’s fascinating that four couples will be here in Marloth Park at the same time by the end of July!

Well, of course, we’ll have a get-together at our place and hopefully at Jabula Lodge and Restaurant. And, of course, we’ll be posting photos of all of us together as soon as those occasions arise. This is, without a doubt, one of the joys of our site…sharing exciting and meaningful experiences with our readers.

Lilly (not Lollie) jumped over the fence for some vegetable scraps.

Yesterday, Tom brought up how we found Marloth Park over ten years ago when we researched where we wanted to go in our world travels, and we both laughed out loud. Many have asked us how we found Marloth Park, and we always giggle when Tom tells the story.

He says, “One day while we were still in Minnesota in 2012, I came from work to have Jess show me a photo she’d found online while researching. It was on our third post on March 16, 2012, found here, with the photo as shown below:

I wrote in the caption on that date, “Warthog in the kitchen doing “crumb patrol.”

When Tom saw this photo, he said, “I don’t want to go anywhere that they let pigs in the house.”

Since I had dreamed of going to Africa since I was a kid, but even more so after watching a TV show from the 60s entitled Marlin Perkins, Mutual of Omaha’s TV series called “The Wild Kingdom” that ran for 18 seasons, I was convinced that Africa had to be in my future.

It took me 65 years to get here. And yes, we’ve had a warthog in the house, specifically “Little,” whom we hope to see again someday soon.

Spikey was enjoying cabbage leaves.

As for that above photo, Louise had posted the photo on one of her holiday home rentals listings online, and when I was researching places to stay in Africa, with abundant wildlife near the house, voila! Marloth Park popped up. Louise, Tom, and I still laugh about this photo and how this photo impacted our lives.

From reading our site, others enjoy experiencing this blissful place, which makes us so happy to know. Even one of the couples, Carrie and Jim, that found Marloth Park from our site, recently purchased a home here. They are one of the four couples who will be here to celebrate with us, Rita and Gerhard, who also found us from our site, and two other couples unknown to one another and us.

Spikey is having a fantastic time. Too cute for words.

These joyful experiences inspire us to maintain the diligent commitment of writing a new post each day and perpetually being aware of taking more and more photos. May we have good health and good fortune to continue for years to come.

I can’t help but repeat this, “Thank you, dear readers…for staying with us through our mundane periods, challenges, and repetition in phrases, photos, and ideas. Today’s post is #3598, hopefully with many more to come.

We sit here now with soot from the burning sugar cane from nearby farms flying around our heads. The power will be out, off and on, for about 12 hours today and possibly for days, or weeks to come, causing the WiFi to go out frequently. The horrible toxic stinging caterpillars, Processionary Caterpillars, are in season. (See the photo below). Yesterday, Vusi removed several of them close to us near the veranda. Snakes are still active in the bush during the winter months. Lions are still roaming in the park.

Processionary caterpillars next to the house. The locals refer to them as “Satan.”

And yet, dear readers, we couldn’t be more content. Thank you for traveling on this journey with us.

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

Elephants we recently spotted in Kruger National Park. For more photos, please click here.

Load shedding is over the top…Stage 6…12 hours a day without power…Company coming tomorrow?…

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Kudus and bushbucks love jumping over the fence to check out our surroundings.

If it goes to Stage 8, we may be looking at a total blackout. Right now, load shedding at Stage 6 results in 12 hours a day without power which we’re facing today. We can live with all this as long as we can keep our food fresh. Again, we just went shopping yesterday, purchasing lots of perishable food.

I suppose we need to stop shopping and buy what we need, one day at a time. This may be our only alternative if we can save what we have and go through it.

Zebras stop by the front of the house to see what’s happening.

We’d planned to have Dawn and Leon for an Asian dinner on Thursday, but now I am wondering how I can do all the prep required by opening and closing the refrigerator over and over as needed in preparing such a meal. We purchased all the ingredients for the three entrees we’ll prepare but wonder if it will be possible to do without power. Our stove top is gas, but the oven is electric.

Bushbuck Lilly is sniffing around the garden.

I’d planned to prep all the meats and vegetables ahead of time, but I am concerned about keeping the meats fresh in the process. We’ll have to see if anything changes between today and tomorrow. At this point, the power will be out on Thursday from:

  • 1:00 – 3:30 am
  • 9:00 – 11:30 am
  • 1700 (5:00 pm) – 2130 (9:30 pm)
Bad Ear and a few kudus checking out the pellet situation.

As inventive as I may attempt to be in the kitchen, I am not sure I can safely prepare three entrees and ultimately serve them in the dark. We’d planned a similar get-together with them a few weeks ago and canceled due to load shedding. Maybe we can figure out something different this time.

In any case, this is the way it is, and there is nothing we can do about it. If it weren’t for the issues with storing food, we wouldn’t be concerned at all. As mentioned in other posts, we do pretty well without electricity. That’s not to say we’d be comfortable living “off the grid” with no power. That’s not our style of world travel.

Kudu boys and girls wondering what we’ll do next…offer up some pellets, perhaps?

Tom will drive me to the little spa where Dawn will meet me in a little while, and we’re both having pedicures. I hadn’t had one since before we left in March, and it’s about time. As I’ve mentioned, I don’t drive here since we don’t pay extra to have me on the car rental contract, I don’t drive a stick shift with my left hand, and I am not used to driving on the opposite side of the road.

“Should I jump or should I stay?” she asks.

Never a good drive anyway; adding these three factors put me at high risk of causing an accident. Since I had open-heart surgery in 2019, my coordination is not ideal. Unless there is an emergency, I will no longer be driving although I will continue to renew my driver’s license in our resident state of Nevada. Many times in our travels, we’re asked to produce a driver’s license for identification, particularly on cruises and in the US.

Last evening the two of us celebrated the 31st anniversary of the day we met. We had a few drinks on the veranda with our JBL speaker playing oldies from our ‘heydays” via YouTube, and we had a lovely time. Since it was cold and rainy, we ate dinner indoors at the dining room table. The power didn’t go out until 1900 hrs., 7:00 pm, so it all worked out well.

Young male bushbuck checking out the pool.

We both had a good night’s sleep which has been the case this past week now that we are fully recovered. I can’t express enough how grateful we have made it through all of that after a very challenging couple of months.

Thank you to many of our readers who wrote to us, wishing us a happy anniversary and offering thoughtful comments about our recent challenges. Every single word means so much to us, and we try to reply to each one.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, June 29, 2021:

Mom and baby. We’ll miss you all as we prepare to leave for the US to get vaccinated and see the family. For more photos, please click here.

Part 3…Photos of “things” in our holiday home…Outdoors, that is!…

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We like the message but we do have WiFi and…we do talk to each other.

It’s a cool windy day, heavily overcast. We’re bundled up in warm clothes but it’s unlikely we’ll be sitting outdoors this evening. Many of the animals are hunkered down when they don’t seem to feel comfortable in the wind. A sweet little female duiker, whom we’ve named Delilah, who usually hangs out with her partner, Derek, ran off when a huge gust of wind startled her.

We look forward to spring when frogs will occupy such masks and sit looking out at the world through one of the eyes or mouth holes. Very funny.

Even Lollie is tucked away somewhere when we’ve only seen her for a few minutes earlier this morning. Several Big Daddies have visited and devoured the tops from the celery and outer leaves of the lettuce, which I cleaned for tonight’s salad. It’s funny they love the bitter celery tops.

We use this high-quality gas braai no less than three times a week, if not more. Tonight, we’ll be cooking a silverside roast.

We have celery in our dinner salad daily, along with purple onions, grape tomatoes, and crispy lettuce. I make an easy sour cream dressing we toss before serving it. I chop the vegetables daily and feed the scraps to the kudus and bushbucks, who love veggie chips. The warthogs don’t seem to like any leftovers other than carrots. They are more interested in higher carb vegetables which we don’t eat.

A pot with succulents is located on the edge of the veranda. We water it occasionally when it hasn’t rained.

Last night, we finished The Godfather II and III and loved every moment of these good movies. Now, we’ll move on to other shows to stream at night. If you have any suggestions for newer series, please send them our way. We’ve already watched many of the popular series that were available during the pandemic.  We’re now looking at the newer series that have been released since then.

Louise and Danie provide firewood for the braai (firepit). We have yet to make a fire but will do so soon.

Our simple lives of good food, wildlife watching and interacting, good music, good movies and TV series to stream, laughter, and fun among ourselves and others. It couldn’t be more pleasant. But, others often ask if we’d be happier in a home of our own, whether abroad or in the US.

Zoom in to see these stone benches by the braai, the perfect place to sit when there’s a bonfire.

Our answer is always the same, as long as we are healthy enough to move at our discretion to anywhere we choose outside the US, that provides us with enough adventure and stimulation, we will continue to strive to travel the world. As some new world travelers do for the first few years, the concept of being on the move all the time is unappealing to us.

Now that it’s winter, we’ll certainly use this excellent outdoor heater. We’ve already used it a few times on very chilly evenings.

Remember the number of flights, hotels, and venues we experienced going to the US over a month ago? Of course, it was more difficult having Covid most of the time, but even so, we’ve always preferred to live in a country for four months or more. We are kind of going overboard now, staying in South Africa for so long. Still, the pandemic has taught us a few lessons about losing money from canceled bookings, exposure to the virus, and the difficulty of travel until things improve.

A little hand-carved wooden table in the shape of an elephant.

When that happens, we’ll be excited to explore more. But, we certainly have some booked adventures on the horizon, including our upcoming trip in less than two months to Zambia and Botswana and, of course, the exciting 42-night cruise from Athens to Cape Town beginning in only a little over four months.

I couldn’t recall if we’d already posted a photo of our outdoor refrigerator, secured by a monkey-proof handle and latch. Monkeys are clever, but they can’t figure this one out.

Indeed, these adventures are more than we’d ever considered in our own lives. But, the magic of our current daily lives, living in the bush, is compelling enough in itself. After all, people from all over the world come to Marloth Park for their one big holiday/vacation of the year, and we are blessed to be here, reveling in the wonders of the bush, its wildlife, its unusual experiences, and its people. All magical.

A hand-crafted outdoor light. A beaded gecko adorns it.

Since I began today’s post, it’s started raining. We moved the laundry rack further under the veranda and have moved indoors to sit at the dining room table. We’re at Stage 4 load shedding today, and the power was supposed to go out a half-hour ago, but it hasn’t happened. Go figure. It’s the nature of the beast. TIA.

There are two hanging lamps on the veranda, one over the bar and the other over the table.
This stand attached to a post is for placing food for bushbabies and bird seeds for our flying friends.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, June 27, 2021:

Rita, Gerhard, and Tom were situated in our chairs, ready for the evening to commence. For more photos, please click here.

Part 2…Photos of “things” in our holiday home…

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Hand-carved wooden giraffes are on a shelf in the lounge room.

We had fun last night, just the two of us, listening to oldies during sundowners on the veranda, greeting our regular wildlife visitors, and later savoring a delicious homemade low-carb meal. After the power went off due to load shedding, we headed to the bedroom to begin watching the 50-year-old movie, The Godfather.

In most cases, when we watch an old movie, I remember most of it, but for some odd reason, I couldn’t remember the details of The Godfather. Tom recalled seeing all of it, but he’d also read the book in 1972. It was a great movie we were inspired to watch again after watching the Prime Video series, The Offer. As mentioned in an earlier post, the incredible story of the making of The Godfather. It’s well worth watching all of this.

Sign in the lounge room.

We’ll watch Part II of The Godfather tonight, and if done early enough, we’ll watch Part III. It’s fun to hunker down on a fantastic, cloudy evening and get wrapped up in some fine streaming. We finished watching the fabulous Outlander, so The Godfather is an excellent, engaging next step.

Many people in Marloth Park are significant users of Netflix, which we also have. We use Express VPN  to enable us to stream the US and worldwide shows at our leisure. Without that, we’d be restricted to streaming only those shows available to South Africans, which is limited.

Another message promoting positivity, befitting our lifestyle.

The WiFi works during power outages, enabling us to stream the movie from Amazon’s Prime Video at no extra charge. However, each time the power goes out and comes back on, the WiFi goes out for about five minutes, often requiring us to reboot our laptops to restore it. We are so grateful that we have WiFi during outages; we are certainly not complaining.

Today is another quiet cloudy day. Load shedding started a few minutes ago, but we are fine on the veranda, waiting to see who will visit us today. Through the next month, there will be plenty of tourists in Marloth Park, resulting in fewer animal visits. But, we are fine, knowing our regulars will surely stop by.

Another upbeat message in the dining room.

We currently have two Big Daddies, eight impalas, and our girl Lollie, a sweet lonely warthog. Tom tossed some pellets, which they were all enjoying, including the impala herd patriarch, who was anxious to get in on the action.  Right now, one of the Big Daddies is tearing down branches on some dry trees with his massive horns. They often do this to reach the greener and tastier vegetation on the upper branches of trees.

When load shedding ends in about an hour, I will be able to finish the laundry. I’d forgotten about the outage, and wouldn’t you know; load shedding started during the wash cycle. The clothes won’t be dry by the time we go indoors for the night so Tom will pull the laundry rack into the house. Since it’s so cool, they won’t dry indoors overnight, and tomorrow morning, we will haul the clothes rack back outside to finish drying.

A painting of succulents in the upstairs lounge room.

Yesterday, I made enough dinner for tonight as well. This morning, I made a big salad so dinner would be easy. There’s not much we have to do today other than handle the laundry situation, prepare the finishing touches on dinner and relax and enjoy ourselves. We love days and nights like this!

Toppling teacups in the kitchen.
Teacups in the kitchen.

Enjoy the remainder of our decorator items photos from the house’s interior. Tomorrow, we’ll share pictures of the exterior items.

Have a great Sunday, wherever you may be!

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

Although blurry and without showing his head, Tom captured this photo of Charlie, the crocodile who resides in Marloth Park along the river. For more photos, please click here.