It’s not perfection…More Kruger photos…

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Could these Cape buffalos be a mom and a youngster?

When I had a “to do” list in my old life, I’d do everything on it in record time. It’s different now. I’ve let go of trying to be perfect. A goal one can never achieve. Trying to achieve perfection can leave a path of destruction in its wake. Funnily, although hard to admit to the world, I had to leave to change my ways. It wasn’t easy.

It wasn’t as if I ever thought, “Oh, I have to leave Minnesota to stop trying so hard.” But when Tom suggested we traveled the world when he retired on October 31, 2012, I was all over it. I wanted to see Africa and knew that it was my chance to fulfill a lifelong dream.

A male Cape buffalo, part of a group of “retired generals?” The African buffalo is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. Syncerus caffer caffer, the Cape buffalo, is the typical subspecies and the largest one found in Southern and East Africa. 

But, as the weeks rolled on, two thoughts came to mind after we’d decided to begin this journey. One, I could write, which I always longed to. When I retired but knew retirement in Minnesota wouldn’t be challenging enough to inspire me. Two, I could break the chains I put around myself, always striving for excellence, if not perfection. No one ever “made me” do it. It was all on me.

It took being away for a few years to realize this fully. It didn’t happen overnight. It began to transpire when we started selling or giving away all of our belongings. But, it escalated when we unloaded all of our overweight and excess luggage and all the items contained therein.

The African buffalo is not an ancestor of domestic cattle and is only distantly related to other larger bovines. Its unpredictable temperament may have been part of the reason that the African buffalo has never been domesticated, unlike its Asian counterpart, the water buffalo. Adult African buffaloes have few non-human predators aside from lions and large crocodiles. As a member of the big five game, the Cape buffalo is a sought-after trophy in hunting. Not good, as far as we’re concerned.

Shipping worldwide is costly and inconvenient, although we still do it from time to time. I’d thought we needed all of that “stuff” when we left. Now I’m content with one bag for my personal belongings, only disappointed when a favorite item wears out and the challenge of replacing it from afar becomes cumbersome.

It baffles me that I’m content without a garlic press, cookbooks, Egyptian cotton sheets, and pillowcases. But I am. It baffles me that I only have one handbag I purchased in South Africa at the shop in Lower Sabie, which soon must be replaced due to wear and tear.

Buffalos rarely have twins. Buffalos kill more hunters than any other species. Buffalos are good swimmers.

It baffles me that I promise myself to do tasks but totally excuse myself when I don’t do them and never feel guilty or burdensome on myself. I pay the bills. I manage travel arrangements and keep records. I cook nice meals, do laundry, and grocery shop. I remember friends and family members’ birthdays, staying in touch worldwide. I host social events and dinner parties from time to time.

But, I don’t wake up in the middle of the night thinking of all of the tasks awaiting me or the things I “should do.” I’m free. Recently, I started walking indoors with a goal in mind. I haven’t missed a day yet, but there’s always tomorrow when I do.

At the end of life, no one will ever say, “I wish I’d got more done! Or, I wish I’d done everything on my “to do” list.”

A “sausage” growing on a sausage tree. Kigelia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. The genus consists of only one species, Kigelia Africana, which occurs throughout tropical Africa. The so-called sausage tree grows a poisonous fruit that is up to 60 cm long, weighs about 7 kg, and resembles a sausage in a casing.

Almost three years ago, when my mortality faced me head-on with open heart surgery and a relatively poor future prognosis, I didn’t think of tasks I needed to accomplish. I have a will, and Tom knows my final wishes. Instead, I think of the people I love, family, friends, and acquaintances we’ll make along the way.

I think of my husband, partner, and best friend and how I can better his life in small ways each day. I think of the tasty plate of food I place at our table each time we eat in and smile when I see the satisfaction on Tom’s face.

The sky was quickly changing at sunset as we were on the move.

I think of the eyes on the faces of the animals that visit and how they connect with me, with us. I think of the little dance that Little does each time he sees me, shuffling his feet in a playful way, no different than a dog wagging his tail when you come home at the end of the day.

Simple. Uncomplicated. Not perfect. No pressure. No guilt. I love this life. I am grateful.

May your life be filled with the joy of the “little” things.

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

What a handsome face with young horns. Antelopes in Africa don’t have antlers. They have horns for life, never shedding them. For more photos, please click here.

More photos from Kruger National Park…Another fun night at Jabula!…Great seasoning recipe…

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This is a side-striped jackal, another less frequent sighting we were delighted to encounter. The side-striped jackal is a canine native to central and southern Africa. Unlike the smaller and related black-backed jackal, which dwells in open plains, the side-striped jackal primarily dwells in woodland and scrub areas.

One year ago today, the third day since our arrival in the bush in South Africa, we had no power for 19 hours and no WiFi. We are enjoying today without any outages, a strong WiFi signal, and a slightly cooler yet humid day. Often, this time of year, the temperature may only be in the 80Fs, 27Cs, but the humidity can be outrageously high, making us sweat until the sun goes down.

The kori bustard is a ground-dweller, hence the name bustard, meaning birds that walk. They have a majestic walk with measured strides. They prefer to walk away from danger and fly only when necessary because of their weight. They take off with hefty wing beats, but they fly quickly and strongly once airborne.

Nonetheless, it’s a good day. I’ve already prepped all the vegetables and ingredients for tonight’s taco salad dinner and only have to prepare the lettuce and cook the mince (hamburger meat) as soon as it defrosts enough to fit in the pan. I made the taco seasoning from scratch early this morning, using the ingredients listed below.

Those little packets of taco seasoning contain many chemicals and wheat, none of which we care to eat. Here is a simple recipe that takes only a few minutes to put together.

Marabou storks I first encountered at the old dump in Marloth Park in 2014. The marabou stork is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in both wet and arid habitats in Africa south of the Sahara, often near human habitation, especially landfill sites.
Low Carb Taco Seasoning
Ingredients
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoon cumin
4 teaspoons paprika
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon dried onion or onion powder
2 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Add all the spices to a mason jar or large zip-seal bag. Close and shake or stir until fully combined. Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.
Notes
Use 2 tablespoons for every packet of taco seasoning called for in a recipe or for every pound of meat with no additional salt added. Use 1/2 tablespoon to season 1/4 pound of meat if making individual servings. The individual serving size is about 1/2 tablespoon.

Nutrition
Serving: 8serving (1/2 tbsp) | Calories: 15kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 616mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 849IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg

Table setting at the boma in Kruger National Park. There we just the eight of us as guests, with several staff members serving and assisting.

This is so easy to make. This morning,  I added sliced olives, diced onions, grape tomatoes cut in half, and chopped lettuce in individual containers. I’ll soon cook the meat until no blood remains, draining it in a strainer, placing it back into the pan, adding seasonings as stated above, based on how much meat I am cooking.

Our plates of meat were delicious.

Then, I add about one cup of water for about 4 pounds, 2.2 kg of meat. Let the meat simmer until most of the water is absorbed, usually about 20 minutes. While the meat is simmering, I cut up one small avocado to serve atop my salad. Serve right away, layering your salad as you’d like. I add a dollop of sour cream to my salad, but Tom doesn’t add any dressing. Some may prefer to add salsa. Cool the meat slightly before refrigerating. It will keep in the fridge for four days or freeze in Ziplock individual servings.

There were several vegetable options, some without sauces which I selected.

OK, enough about food for you non-foodies. Oh, oh, one more thing about food. Last night, Rita, Gerhard, Petra, Fritz and Tom, and I went to Jabula for another enjoyable time together. We lounged at the bar for a while, ordered our dinner while at the bar, and then sat at the usual table for six that Dawn always saves for us and any group of six we may have to join us.

The food is consistently delicious, and the hosts divine, which brings us back over and over again. We never tire of dining and spending time at that great restaurant, unlike any other we tried throughout the world. The bar reminds us of the TV series Cheers, where “everyone knows your name.” And the food never disappoints.

This is the beautiful European roller. The European roller is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Morocco. The European roller is found in various habitats, avoiding only treeless plains. They migrate to South Africa from Europe each summer season. That’s a long flight!

When we returned home, we settled in for the night, watched an episode of a series on my laptop, and drifted off to sleep by midnight.

Today will be a quiet day. I continue faithfully with my new walking regime and haven’t missed a day since I started on January 1st. I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions, but this year was different. I needed to start walking more for my health.

Be well.

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

These two piglets were Barbara and Lori, who are now almost full-grown and visit each day. This mom is now Tail-less Mom who recently lost her tail to an injury. For more photos, please click here.

More exciting sightings from the trail cam…A special day of celebration with friends.

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What a night it was in the bush! These fantastic creatures stopped by after we’d left some bones out after dark. Genets, as shown in the photos, are carnivores. Porcupines aren’t carnivores, but I also tossed out some vegetables, so perhaps that’s what attracted them.

We’ve had a few glimpses of genets, here and there, but never quite as clear as seen in these photos from last night’s shots by the trail cam. Each morning, it is so exciting to see what treasure the trail cam picked up when we aren’t sitting outdoors.

We couldn’t have been more thrilled to see a genet on last night’s trail cam photos.

It rained in buckets last night, and we were inside when these photos were taken. Plus, sitting outdoors in the dark right now with all the insects buzzing around our heads isn’t as fun as it was a few months ago. Although, when we have guests, we have no choice but to sit outdoors when our dining room table only seats four.

Speaking of guests coming for dinner, tonight at Rita and Gerhard’s US citizenship dinner party at the Khaya Umdani house, we’ll plan a night for all of them to come to our house for dinner, maybe next Thursday or Saturday. With Rita’s sister, Petra, and brother-in-law Fritz here with them for a few weeks, it will be fun to entertain them on our veranda.

“A genet is a member of the genus Genetta, which consists of 14 to 17 species of small African carnivorans. The common genet is the only genet present in Europe and occurs in the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and France. Genet fossils from the Late Miocene and later have been found at sites in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Morocco.”

It’s always so exciting to share the adventures in the bush with first-time human visitors. It’s delightful to watch the expressions of pure joy on their faces when they see a giraffe crossing the road, warthog moms and babies in the garden, and even insects one has never seen in their lives and may never see again.

After all this time we’ve spent in Marloth Park, which Tom and I just figured out has been 30 months, less one month in the US, and several short visa stamp trips, we’ve never become bored for a day. Yes, we’ve been miserably hot, covered in mosquito bites, and suffered some long stretches without power, water, and WiFi. But, as our long-time readers know, none of this keeps us away.

The small, catlike genet is extremely common in Africa. Nocturnal, secretive, and shy, the fox-size common or small-spotted genet has black marks on its face that give it the appearance of wearing a mask. The spots on the back of a genet’s coat are arranged in parallel lines and become elongated as they approach the tail, which has distinct black rings. Blotched genets are close relatives and share a similar facial mask, but they have larger spots and black-tipped tails.

A few minutes ago, I heard the hornbills pecking on the kitchen window as they often do. I jumped up in an attempt to take a photo of them but instead was distracted by five “go-away” birds near the veranda. And when we’re gifted by the constant flow of human and animal visitors, life couldn’t be better than this. I got several excellent shots which we’ll share in tomorrow’s post.

Every day it’s something new. This type of constant stimulation wasn’t as prevalent in our old lives. And, as much as we enjoyed those days and nights, we have a different perspective of life, of nature, from living here in the bush. We’re often asked if we’d live here permanently, and the answer is still an emphatic “no.” It’s the novelty of all of this that keeps us coming back for more.

That’s not to say we’d get bored living here. Many people live here full-time and never tire of the wildlife and their many friends in this hugely social environment. But, our goals remain the same…we are world travelers, and once we can get back out there in the world, we will. Right now, we’re waiting to see if our cruising plans, in less than three months, will once again send us on our way.

This appears to be two porcupines. Could it be a mom and baby?

For now, I’m finished in the kitchen, having made an enormous salad and surprise treat for Rita, which I’ll share in tomorrow’s post. Her birthday is on Friday, and we’re all going into Kruger on a private guided night drive, ending in a dinner in the wild shortly thereafter. We’ve done this in the past and loved the experience, as I’m sure we all will again.

That’s it for today, folks. I have some projects to complete before heading out to Khaya Umdani for tonight’s festivities. It will be fun to be back at that fabulous house where we stayed for a few weeks in 2014 and have been to several times over the years for other social events.

Have a safe and productive day.

Photo from one year ago today, January 12, 2021:

We were no longer in Mumbai, India, on this date, one year ago. Adorable giraffe at rest. For more photos, please click here.

Today is a special one year ago anniversary…Complications with paperwork…Kidding myself about using my phone or camera for scanning documents…

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About three weeks ago, this piglet became separated from her mom and two siblings in our garden. We hope others are feeding her too.

One year ago today, we were finally able to leave the hotel in Mumbai, India, where we spent a few days short of 10 months in lockdown at the Marriott hotel due to Covid-19 to fly to South Africa. Several days earlier, we’d made arrangements but expected the flight to be canceled. It was not, and we made it as far as Dubai on January 11, 2021, as described in this post.

Without a doubt, with Covid-19 in the air; it was scary flying for so long. From the Mumbai airport to Marloth Park, it was 59 hours. We remember that day as if it was yesterday. We were so happy to be here, in this house, with this fantastic garden, backing up to Lionspruit, the exhaustion we felt after 2½ days of travel was incidental.

In a matter of a few days of rest, good food, and sleep, we were feeling great and settled in, thanks to Louise‘s help, dinner at Jabula, and our uncanny ability to adapt to time zone, and long travel days reasonably easily. In no time at all, animals came to visit us. Most exciting was the day that Little appeared, shortly after we arrived, tearing a hole in the screen trying to get into the house.

We hadn’t seen Little in over two years at that point, and the fact he found us so far from the Orange house where we lived in 2018/2019, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. He visits almost every day, except during this busy now-ending holiday season. Soon, he’ll be back to his old routine of stopping by around 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs, daily.

This poor little piglet is alone. We’ll make a point of feeding her each time she stops by.

At this point, we’re busy getting all the documents the law firm needs, and undoubtedly, it’s been a hassle. We carried a small portable printer and scanner when we first began traveling. But those days are long gone. Both weren’t of the quality of desktop models, and neither lasted more than a few years. Besides, they were bulky, although travel-size, and added a few kilos to our luggage weight.

When we need to prepare documents for visas or other reasons; it is a real pain in the you-know-what. There is a post office here in Marloth Park that does printing and scanning for a fee, but their hours aren’t always convenient, and we could end up waiting for quite a while with other customers in the shop.

Louise has an excellent printer and scanner which we use. But, lately, with the busy holiday season, we haven’t felt comfortable pestering her so much, although she is always happy to oblige.

So I got all the necessary documents together, and some of them weren’t acceptable. Our passport pages couldn’t be adequately scanned on a camera, so we had to run back to Louise to do these. Plus, the immigration department wouldn’t accept airline tickets for our eventual departure without the Expedia (or other vendors) logo on the tickets. It’s impossible to make a PDF of an Expedia ticket for whatever reason.  I ended up having to take a screenshot to comply.

Bushbuck’s hair stands up on their backs when they are around other bushbucks, fearful of having to share their territory.

Then, yesterday, the law firm couldn’t get South Africa’s immigration system to accept any of our credit cards to pay the additional processing fees. I called our credit card companies, spending almost an hour on the phone, to find out nothing was wrong with our cards, which I knew would be the case. It’s a South Africa VSF immigration department issue. Hopefully, today, that will be resolved on their end. Otherwise, I don’t know what they/we will do.

At this point, other than the payments as stated above, we’ve done our part, and they should have everything they need to complete our extension applications. It’s frustrating, to say the least. We’re glad we didn’t attempt to do this ourselves. It would have been even more cumbersome.

On another note, last night, after returning from picking up Rita’s sister, Petra, and her husband Fritz, at the airport in Johannesburg, Gerhard called and said he had a “perishable” treat for Tom. He and Fritz came over to hand Tom two boxes of Krispy Kream glazed donuts. He couldn’t have been more thrilled. With six donuts in total, Tom ate three last night and the remaining three with his coffee this morning.

Soon, we’re heading to Komatipoort to shop.

Have a wonderful day!

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

I was wearing my N-99 mask, face shield, and gloves continuously during the entire 2½ days of travel from Mumbai, India, to Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger Airport. The post may be found here.

New visitors to the garden appear on trail cam photos!!!…

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Definitely, not as clear as we’d like. We were thrilled to see these two Meller’s Mongoose on the trail cam last night.

We had a relatively quiet day upon returning from Royal Kruger Lodge, where we slept on Saturday night after a pipe broke in the bathroom and flooded the house. The house was back in order. I’d already done the laundry the previous day, and nothing more than writing a new post, making dinner, and continuing with my exercise routine was required of me.

It was on my mind that we needed to go to Louise‘s office early in the morning to get clearer scanned copies of our passports and visa stamped pages from when we returned from Zambia in October with our current visas good until January 23, 2022. Now, the law firm has all of the necessary documents to begin processing our extensions. We wait.

When an application for an extension is submitted, the approval won’t be tendered until after the original visa extension dates have expired. We have to stay in the country until the approval comes through, or we’ll become “undesirables” if we leave earlier.

In other words, if the approval doesn’t come in until we need to leave for our April 8th cruise, we won’t have the benefit of the extension and will be banned from South Africa for five years. We don’t want that to happen. The usual processing time using a lawyer is under 60 days. On our own, it could easily have been much longer.

Immigration offices are poorly staffed right now due to the pandemic. It was worth paying the US $983, ZAR 15,366 for the legal fees. It is several thousand dollars less than we’d have paid to fly somewhere.

It is hard to get perfect shots from the trail cam, but we’d never been able to see these two Meller’s Mongoose in the garden without it.

If our transatlantic cruise on Celebrity Cruise Line is canceled, we’ll have no choice but to leave around April 23, when the new visa extensions expire. We can only wait and see what happens. Many cruises are canceling now, and ours could soon be on the chopping block.

We’d love to embark on this cruise, but the news isn’t promising. Instead, we’re keeping a positive attitude and loosely considering our options if we can’t sail away. No, we aren’t worried. This pandemic is now in its third year, and we’ve managed to figure out what to do, time after time.

We finally got our refund from Delta Airlines on the flight they canceled for what would have been our trip to friend Karen and Rich’s wedding, upcoming, on February 11. We’re disappointed we couldn’t attend the wedding but being stuck in a two-week quarantine in a hotel in Florida was particularly unappealing to us.

And yet there was no other way to fully provide peace of mind to the wedding party with us coming from South Africa. There are nearly 1,000,000 new cases a day in the US, and the misconception is that South Africa is worse. It is not. Now, 95% of all cases are the less dangerous Omicron variant. But, even if a bride or groom ended up with the cold-like symptoms, typical with Omicron, it could put quite a damper on their wedding. We understood the concern and chose to stay away.

Instead, this week we’re content in Marloth Park as always. It’s Rita’s 60th birthday week, and many fun activities are planned to which we’re included. Today, they are in Johannesburg, picking up Rita’s sister Petra and her husband, Fritz, from the airport, arriving from Germany and staying with them for a few weeks.

They will all be staying at the Khaya Umdani house starting today. On Wednesday, we’re going to that house for a dinner party celebrating Rita and Gerhard’s one-year US citizenship anniversary. On Friday, on the actual day of Rita’s birthday, we’re going on a night game drive with a guide into Kruger National Park, ending with a dinner in the bush, in the dark, with the wild animals surrounding us.  Then on Saturday evening, the six of us will head to Jabula for dinner.

Next week, we’ll invite the four of them for dinner at our house. It will be a fun and busy time. We’re happy to have an active social life with dear friends once again.

Vusi is here now cleaning the house, and we’re sitting at the table on the veranda as usual. Stingy is here along with Imposter Little, but we had many more animals a short time ago.  More and more holidaymakers are leaving the park after the school holidays have ended. Soon, we’ll see many more wildlife visitors, and I’ll be able to take more photos that have been sparse over the long holiday season.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 10, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #291. An owl we spotted in Kanha National Park in India. For more photos, please click here.

Gloom and doom about the cruise industry…Worst-case scenarios…

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Gosh, our porcupine is becoming quite a regular. Next time we shop, we’ll purchase some root vegetables for her.

The worst-case scenario of cruising during the pandemic is getting the virus and becoming seriously ill during or after a cruise. However, the next situation would be, after becoming infected, with or without symptoms, and being forced to quarantine in the small cabin for several days, missing all or part of the cruise.

At this point, some cruise ships are requiring all positive-tested passengers to remain collectively on one particular deck, unable to attend regular dining, tours, or activities. It’s entirely possible an infected passenger may be required to forgo their upgraded cabin, such as our usual balcony cabin upgrade and moving to whatever other cabins may be available on the quarantine deck.

For instance, we could be moved to an inside cabin which, without a window or sliding door, would be awful for us. Neither of us feels comfortable in a window-less room. We’re always willing to pay considerably more for a balcony cabin which offers some upgraded options for which we are also willing to pay an additional charge.

Imagine our upcoming 13-night transatlantic cruise with either or both of us infected, spending seven of those days in quarantine. This is not appealing to either of us. As of today, we are scheduled to board the Celebrity Silhouette in 91 days. Will this Omicron thing be eliminated by then? Most likely, it won’t be.

When we went indoors to make dinner, Little was in the garden looking for the last remnants of pellets.

We ask ourselves this question? What happens if we board the ship and in two days it is forced to return to the port of embarkation, in this case, back to Florida, due to too many cases onboard the ship? This could be the case if all of the cases were staff, let alone passengers. This has been occurring regularly, especially in the past few days as per this article below:

“Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise cancel voyages amid omicron spread

It comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people to avoid cruise travel after launching investigations into cases on more than 90 ships.
By Reuters

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line on Wednesday canceled sailings amid rising fears of omicron-related coronavirus infections that have dampened the nascent recovery of the pandemic-ravaged cruise industry.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd called off its Spectrum of the Seas cruise for Jan. 6 after nine guests on its Jan. 2 trip were identified as close contacts to a local Hong Kong Covid-19 case.

The contacts have tested negative, but the cruise ship will return to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong on Jan. 5 to test all guests and crew who must take a second test on Jan. 8, the company said.

A similar decision to cancel trips by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd was made against the backdrop of the United States reporting the highest daily tally of any country for new coronavirus infections on Monday.

“Due to ongoing travel restrictions, we’ve had to modify a few sailings and unfortunately have had to cancel,” the 17-ship strong cruise operator said, with the embarkation dates for a few canceled sailings as far out as late April.

The cruise line, which requires everyone on board to be vaccinated, has also had to cut short a 12-day round trip from Miami on its Norwegian Pearl ship, citing “Covid related circumstances.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had last week advised people to avoid cruise travel after launching investigations into onboard cases on more than 90 ships. The health agency starts a scrutiny if at least 0.1 percent of the guests test positive.

Norwegian Cruise said guests, who were supposed to embark on the canceled sailings on the eight ships, will receive full refunds and bonus credits for future bookings.

The omicron-led travel uncertainty is also causing guests on other sailings to cancel their bookings as a few ships have also had to skip ports due to onboard infections.

“We booked the cruise last March and assumed that things would be getting back to normal… by mid-December, I was mentally prepared for a change of plans,” said Holly Bromley, a consulting arborist. She canceled her booking on Norwegian Epic.

Meanwhile, bigger rival Carnival Corp said it had not canceled any upcoming voyages, but its shares fell on Wednesday to close down 2.6 percent. Royal Caribbean lost 2.1 percent and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 3.6 percent.”

Miss Duiker stopped by for pellets. We were happy to send some her way.

I should mention that Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity Cruise Line.

We can only imagine the inconvenience of being stuck in Florida if the ship returns to port or never sails at all due to Covid cases. We will have spent a fortune on airfare from South Africa and quarantining in a hotel, plus meals, for at least a week before we even board the ship. We don’t want to take a risk that we won’t be able to board coming directly from South Africa. (But, we’ll check prior to booking the flight and hotel).

Yes, sure. It’s all up in the air. The third year of the pandemic continues to impact our travel plans. Today we sent the law firm in Cape Town all of the required documents to process our extension. If we get it, it will be good until April 22, 2022.  If the cruise scheduled for April 8th cancels, we’ll have to figure out what we’ll do at that point.

Challenging times continue. If good health supersedes it all, we’ll have no complaints.

Be well.

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

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #288. An artfully designed temple was built over 1000 years ago in Chennai. For more photos, please click here.

No power!…No Water!…Our road washed out…Huge storm with 100+ mm, 4″ rain during the night…Crazy night!…

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  • A handsome male duiker in the garden.

This morning this message was on Facebook regarding access to our house:

“Good morning.
“Spruit”* in Bird: washed away the road. Impassible.
Eagle: VERY bad: no sedans can drive there.
Keep safe.”

*Definition of spruit:: a small, often dry tributary stream in southern Africa.
Bird and Eagle are the two roads that provide access to our house. I guess we won’t be going anywhere today. We needed to go to the little market for lettuce for our taco salads. But with the meat in the fridge and the power out, it will be spoiled by dinnertime, and we won’t dare to eat it.
Tom put the metal bowl filled with ice in the refrigerator during the night. The ice will be a good indicator that the fridge’s contents will be safe to eat. The freezer should keep the contents frozen for a few days. With the storm’s intensity, we could be out of power for days. But, as we always say, TIA, This is Africa, and occurrences such as this are common.
When the power is out, the pumps for the water supply don’t function. Subsequently, the only water we have right now is left in the house’s lines. Miraculously, I was able to take a quick shower this morning. Soon, Tom will bring buckets of water from the pool to the bathrooms in the house to flush the toilets.
Duikers, the smallest of the antelopes in South Africa, are very shy and don’t come close to the house.
Of course, we use bottled water in a water machine for drinking water. The water is included in our rent. We do not purchase small bottles of water. Why use all those plastic bottles?
The electric inverter provides us with WiFi, able to supply power to the router. Without that, we’d have no access to the Internet. The inverter will run out in less than a day. If we could go out, let’s say, and go to Kruger, we could turn off the inverter and save the remaining power to use later. But, with the road washed out, that’s not possible.
The little rental car won’t make it on the washed-out road. Besides, the Crocodile Bridge may also be covered in water and debris, preventing access to Kruger National Park, even if we could go. As a result of all of this, we’ll stay put and wait it out, until the power returns, until the water returns, and until the road dries out sufficiently to pass.
Stringy and Gordy, preferring not to get close to one another. Bushbucks are solitary animals and rarely travel in pairs or more.
With all the rain, the only wildlife we’ve seen so far today is a few bushbucks, Spikey and Gordy, and Barbara, Lori, their mom, and the two piglets and a female duiker, who all came for some pellets this morning. It will be a quiet day.
We can only imagine how frustrating it is for holidaymakers who are still in the park on what may be their only annual vacation. For us, it’s a lot easier.
This morning, Rita and Gerhard invited us for breakfast at Stoep Cafe in Komatipoort. If we had been able to go with them, they’d have had to pick us up in the big four-wheeled truck. But, after being awake the majority of the night with little sleep, we were still in bed at 8:00 am. By 8:30, we got up to begin our day.
We hope you have a pleasant day!

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

This photo was posted one-year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #287. A Marwari horse with curly ears at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in India. For more photos, please click here.

Lots of response to the intruder…Thanks for the support!!!…Fun with Tom’s favorite podcast!…

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One of our two noisy frogs serenades us each night.

After yesterday’s post about the intruder in our garden in Marloth Park after our trail cam took a photo of a man wearing a hat, gloves, and backpack (for the loot he planned to steal), we’ve had tons of supportive comments and interest. We wrote the story and posted the photos on our site at this link and on Facebook on the Marloth Park Sighting page to alert other residents to be especially wary of the man and ensure their alarm systems are set and doors and windows locked at all times. Thanks to everyone for their comments and concern for our well-being.

Yesterday afternoon two security personnel from Field Security stopped by, with whom this property is contracted, to check our security system. We knew we could not set the alarm during power outages but hadn’t given it much thought until now. One of the kindly men went up onto the roof and replaced the defunct backup battery with a new one. Now we’ll be able to set the alarm during power outages and load shedding.

Also, we moved the trail cam to another (secret) location in the garden. Not only might we get photos of some other wildlife at night, but if this or another intruder comes into our garden at night, we will have more precise shots of them. This is comforting.

There were multiple species in the garden on New Year’s Day. As the holidaymakers leave the park, we’ll be getting more visitors.

Louise offered to move us to another one of her holiday homes once all the current holidaymakers depart. We appreciate her offer. But, other than this recent intruder and a few snakes, we are pretty content here. Plus, all of our favorite animals who’ve come to know us mean a lot to us. If we moved, they might never find us.

It was a fluke that Little found us here from the last time he saw us at our old holiday home in 2018/2019, a few kilometers from here. I doubt we’d be so lucky again. We may move at some point, but right now, we are content.

This morning, we were anxious to look at the trail cam photos. Thank goodness there was no human intruder, but our porcupine appeared again in the images. Unfortunately, the photos weren’t clear enough to post today. We’ll keep an eye out, and once we acquire more explicit porcupine photos, we’ll post them.

Our new boy, Wounded, has stopped by several times.

On another note, Tom and I continue to listen to Garage Logic podcasts each weekday, while Tom continues to contribute from “This Date in Minnesota History.” Daily, he sends them the latest information, and each day, the guys on Garage Logic read it, mentioning the following before they read:

“Only, because they come to us all the way from Marloth Park, Mpumalanga, South Africa, from the traveling Lymans, “On this date in Minnesota History.” At that point, they read the latest and date-appropriate historical events that occurred in Minnesota. Each time they say this, we get a massive kick out of it. I suppose they do this since they are thrilled and surprised we’re listening to their podcasts from almost 9000 miles, 14,484 km, away.

A few days ago, one of their listeners, Susan, wrote to them stating we aren’t traveling and should change what they say when referring to us as the “traveling Lymans.” You can listen to her comments here at this link. To avoid listening to the entire podcast, you can fast forward to one hour, one minute, 56 seconds to hear what she wrote.

This is the second of our two frogs who make noise communicating with each other, mostly at night. It looks like he’s ready to at that bug!

Hearing this, Tom was compelled to respond, and you can listen to them read Tom’s response here at this link. You can fast forward to 53 minutes, 50 seconds to hear Tom’s reply to Susan. We couldn’t help but laugh aloud when podcasters Joe, Rookie, Reevers, Kenny, and John joined in.

It’s often the little things that often give us the most fulfillment and pleasure. And yes, although we are in one place right now, we do plan to continue traveling once we take off for our Azamara cruise to the UK from Fort Lauderdale on April 8, 2022. Hopefully.

Today, we’re filing the documents with the attorney in Cape Town we’d used for the visa waiver in 2019 after we’d been detained in South Africa for an extra 90 days due to my emergency open-heart surgery. Now, we need an extension to get us through until we can leave for the cruise in a few months. We’ll keep you updated as to how this goes.

Be well.,

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

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #286This hall at the temple site is used for weddings, arranged marriage meetings, relaxation, and prayer. For more photos, please click here.

Marloth Park has suffered a sad loss of a beloved animal…

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Not our photo. Fluffy, male, and Dezi at the Impala Dam on January 15, 2021.

After a good night’s sleep, I awoke this morning at 7:30 and began my day by checking out the world news, my email, messages on Messenger, text, and WhatsApp, and finally checking out the most recent new posts on Facebook as I always do. I love knowing what’s going on in the world. I also listen to podcasts when getting ready for the day. But more on that later in this post.

When I read the following post this morning that popped up on Facebook, it brought tears to my eyes. Not only was it beautifully written and heart-wrenching, it was sensitive to the reality that few of us in Marloth Park had ever seen Dezi, but that didn’t mean we didn’t love her.

Many nights, we’ve sat on the veranda and listened to hers, and Fluffy’s roar permeates the air. Last night, the roars we heard must have only been Fluffy’s since, by then, Dezi was no more.

Please read the following unedited, beautiful tributes to her and her sad passing.

May be an image of big cat and nature
Not our photo. Fluffy and Dezi at the water’s edge in Lionspruit.

“✝️A TRIBUTE TO QUEEN DEZI ✝️ by Gerrie Camacho.

The roar from the Lionspruit lioness, also known as Dezi, will no longer be heard as she has spent her last night under the Lowveld skies. As of last night, she will no longer join her mate of the past 16 plus years in the always familiar duet of lion vocalization, claiming Lionspruit as their territory. She was a quiet legend and was most probably one of the oldest wild living lionesses but at the age of twenty years had to quit the African bush life.

Few people were privileged to spend time with her, many were lucky to see her, and most owners and visitors had the regular privilege to hear her at night time. After her radio collar transmitted from the same area for the past few days, it was pertinent to go find her on foot in an area too dense to enter with a vehicle.

She was hardly responding to any stimuli of the sound of humans and paid no attention to our approach on foot. A winding pathway was established from the nearest road to approach her by vehicle. Here she was darted and taken to a workable area where she was examined by Doc Peet.

We can only pay tribute to this female who kept a fighting spirit to survive until the last minute. Doc Peet who has been serving the Marloth community voluntarily and diligently over the past couple of years had the sad task to let her pass on as humanely as possible. This task could have been performed more easily, but he chose to help her out of this life with as much dignity as possible. Thank you to all those involved in finding her. Thank you Doc Peet for the professional, compassionate and respectful manner you once again showed while working with this magnificent beast in her last moments under the Lionspruit skies. R.I.P. Dezi!❤️“

Also, on Facebook was the following message further explaining her passing:

It is a sad day indeed for all of us who love our own Lionspruit lions.
Yesterday we lost Dezi. It has been a long week of hoping against hope that she would recover from age-related injuries that she recently suffered whilst still living her best lion life. But unfortunately, she was losing ground day by day. Dezi indeed lived to a great age for a lion.
We would like to thank Doctor Peet Venter for his caring, professional input. He concluded yesterday that Dezi was suffering, and it was time to let her go. Thank you also to Gerrie Camacho from MTPA, the Marloth Park Field Rangers, and the Honorary Rangers for this last day of care. A special thank you to Joce Gordon for the time-intensive monitoring, especially over the last few weeks.
Genie Retief, Chief Honorary Ranger.”
May be an image of big cat and nature
Not our photo. Another gorgeous photo of Dezi.

It is amazing that those of us who love wildlife can feel so deeply for an animal they’ve only heard but never seen. That’s the magic of living in Africa, or anywhere there is free-roaming wildlife. We fall in love with their beauty, uniqueness, and mystery, although we were never able to get too close to her or ever see her at all.

If we are so touched by the sound of a lion, living only meters away from Lionspruit, which abuts our holiday home in the rear, it is easy to understand how connected we become with the animals we see almost every day, who look into our eyes, with trust and interest and depend on us, in the leanest times, to toss some sustenance their way.

Soon, the holidaymakers who came to the park for the Christmas and New Year season will be leaving to return to their homes in other parts of South Africa and, for some, other parts of the world. When they are gone, the vast numbers of animals that routinely visit us will return to us in abundance.

Now, with the rich vegetation for the wildlife to eat after weeks of rain, they no longer need much in the way of pellets. And yet, day by day, they return, much to our joy and appreciation. Sure, we still toss a few pellets their way, the same way you’d offer your dog or cat an occasional treat, knowing with or without this offering, you are still loved, still important in their lives.

In the future, the lion roars we hear at night will only be those of Fluffy and, of course, the remaining five lions currently residing in our presence.

The holiday has ended, but our hope for the future is only just beginning. May the New Year bring all of us peace of mind and comfort.

Photo from one year ago today, January 3, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #284. Festival in the street in India. “Meena Sankranti is an important Hindu festival observed on the auspicious occasion of the sun’s transition from Pisces to Aries. Known as Meena Sankramanam in South India, the festival will be celebrated on March 14 (Saturday), 2020, all over India. Celebrating a Sankranti is often marked with the donation of various things. According to specific personal needs, the people celebrate the event at the onset of every month. Some Indian states like Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala observe the occasion at the beginning of each month. In contrast, states like West Bengal celebrate the festival during the latter half of the month.” For more photos, please click here.

Dinner on the veranda with friends during a sizzling hot night…Escalated lion warnings…

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Thirsty after eating pellets, piglets needed a drink from mom.

Last night’s dinner was easy to make when Rita and Gerhard came for dinner, which was decided on New Year’s eve when they surprised us at Flo and JiJi’s party as described in yesterday’s post, which is found here, in case you missed it. We had already planned a lovely New Year’s day dinner for the two of us, and in our usual manner, we had plenty for two more. We had enough for six more, so we’ll be eating leftovers for the next few days.

I’m thrilled I won’t have to cook for a few days with this awful heat and humidity. Last evening when we were situated at the veranda table with Rita and Gerhard, starting at 3:00 pm, while the meat cooked on the braai, it was so hot and humid, the sweat was pouring off each of us.

Moms and piglets stop by several times each day.

I had a few last-minute items to prepare that required the use of the oven. Rita sat on the barstool in the kitchen while I worked on the food, giving us a chance to catch up on some “girl talk” while Tom and Gerhard chatted outdoors. We often talked about how much we miss Kathy and Don, who are back in Hawaii, and how we wish they could be with us.

We made a plan to meet at Two Trees on Tuesday for sundowners and river viewing. Afterward, we may go out to dinner or each return to our respective bush houses for the remainder of the evening.

Poor mom with no tail.

But, the four of us will stay busy together this summer in Africa, frequently sharing our wildlife sightings and stories that come our way. Every Friday night, the four of us will go to Jabula, sit at the bar for drinks and later move to a table on the veranda for dinner. All of this is reminiscent of old times we shared beginning in 2018 when they first came to Marloth Park, again a couple who came here to this wildlife paradise after reading our posts for years. Little did we know, the four of us would become fast friends.

We introduced them to our friends living here before the onset of Covid-19, and again, typical for Marloth Park, magic happens, and social circles grow. Neither of us has ever lived anywhere where it is easy to make new friends. In our old lives, we socialized with the same wonderful long-term friends year after year, rarely including someone new in the “inner circle.”

This is the mom who lost her tail. She is the mom of Barbara and Lori and the set of two piglets. Poor girl, she also lost one of her latest piglets in the past few weeks. Check out her perfect tusks.

But, as I often say, there is something special about the commonality visitors and residents of Marloth Park possess, a passion for nature and wildlife that has a way of bringing people together. It may be true that those who love nature and wildlife have a different perspective of life, a passion that is unlike any other we’ve encountered along the way. We are very grateful to have met so many amazing people, many of whom have become dear friends.

This is our boy, One Tusk. His singular tusk is larger than any tusks we’ve seen on any other warthog.

As for the most recent comments about the lions possibly having returned to Kruger, it’s not the case. Here’s the latest post from Facebook that popped up last night:

“‼️CARNIVORE ALERT‼️
1st and 2nd January 2022
The Carnivore Team has released a warning that the three young lions have been spotted at 16h30, and they are highly mobile and hunting!
A very urgent alert for tonight in the following area: The whole block of Swartwitpens to Seekoei and tomorrow morning from Hardekool to Soenie an urgent alert for joggers and cyclists to be cautious along the fence!
Please do not allow children in these areas period as the lions could be anywhere! 😳
Unfortunately, the warnings are not taken seriously! The onus is on everyone to adhere to the alerts and warn others of the dangers.
Should you spot the lions, phone any one of the following numbers:
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.”
Broken Horn has been digging in the mud based on his dirty face.
No doubt, this means the lions are still here in Marloth Park, although this time the warning was issued they are closer to us, now under 2 kilometers, 1.2 miles from us. Of course, for our concerned family and friends, we want to assure you we are safe. We don’t go out onto the roads on foot, and we proceed with extreme caution when going to and from the car to the house.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable start to the New Year.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 2, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #283. This kind man, Mr. Ganapthay of Cholan Art Village, made the experience of visiting his nine-generation family’s bronzing business all the more special to both of us. For more, please click here.