More of the Same

Saturday, March 6

This morning we got up early and took one more trip through the game reserve, mainly to see lions, spotted hyenas, leopards, etc. - animals we missed yesterday. We didn't see any of those. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. We saw a bat eared fox, but could not get a picture. It was too fast. We saw a number of the animals we had seen before. It's kind of fun to be stalking the animals, instead of having them stock you. 

 Then we drove to the Zebra National Park, got there early, and went for a game drive. They have a route that takes you across some beautiful scenery, and a loop which has the animals. Since it was early afternoon we took the scenic route. Then around 3:00 we went on the game route and identified a number of antelope we had not yet seen, and cape buffalo. We also saw baboons and monkeys. The monkeys here will break the glass of your motor home to get some food. Of course we saw zebra, ostrich, warthogs, etc.

We are living vicariously through others on the tour. One couple saw a lioness under a tree. They noticed the antelope put his head up, smelling the lion. A few zebra also noticed the smell and began twitching. The lioness slowly got up, stretched and then began to stock the animals. The antelope and zebra began running. The lioness came very close to the RV of the couple. Up close and personal!!! Then all the animals disappeared over the hills. Talk about excitement!! Another woman had a picture of a spotted leopard with three cubs. She was sheltered by a bush, but when the ranger saw the picture she knew exactly who the subject was. We quit around 5:00, and went to the pavilion for dinner and a show.

 

The show was very good. A local group sang and danced. Most of the words were in Afrikaans so we couldn't understand them, but a few were in English. There was one drum to keep the beat. Then they took the people in the front (of which I was one) up to join them. Did I feel the rhythm? You bet I did – moving my arms, moving my feet, and singing the words – whatever they meant. We all had a great time. I love the people of South Africa. A few of us have been talking about the Nelson Mandela effect, which I think of as nationalism. Let's make a better South Africa. Let's care for the people, the animals and the country. They have a great national park system. They create a lot of jobs so that people can work to take care of their families.

The next morning we took one more ride through the park on our way out, and saw some wildlife real close. There was one animal we couldn't identify. It was some kind of ...bot or ...beest (an antelopish animal). I thought we should go to the office to show them. It might be a newly discovered species. They could name it the BG bot or BG beest, for Barbara and Gail. That would have meant backtracking, so we gave up the chance to be famous in order to save a couple hours.

We continued into a town where we were looking for an internet place, but everything was closed because it was Sunday. I'm old enough to remember when that was true in Massachusetts. We finally stopped at a Wimpy, which is a fast food kind of place, and met many of our group there – all having lunch and using the wi-fi. We've all become so spoiled having wi-fi right there when we want it. It's difficult searching for it in coffee shops or restaurants where you might get 15 minutes for free. So far, Wimpy's has been the best.

We arrived at our destination, and found a campsite. We're camping at an Ensuite site, which is great. There is a little building with four sites. At each site there is a private bath, washing facility (sink and clothesline) and electric connection. It's so nice. We place our motor home so that the side with the door opens to our suite.