Our African Adventure Blog

Our African trip began in September, 2011.

We tried to journal along the way to help us remember all of the amazing places we saw and the wonderful things that we we did.  We would like to share with you a few of our stories.

It is best to start at the beginning, so go to the first blog postings in September in the Blog Archive to the right.

We hope that you enjoy hearing about our wonderful adventure.

Journey’s Over

Fall has arrived at our Home Sweet Home

We are at home now.  And we were wiped out after the grueling trip home.  Even Barbara, who somehow manages to sleep in economy class seating, is tired.  We are not quite back to normal.  This morning found us both wide awake at 3 am.  At least that was the time when Barb asked if I was sleeping, and I quickly responded NO.  That means that our internal body clocks are somewhere over the Bermuda Triangle.  I’m hungry in the middle of the night, and collapsing into sleep around 6:00 pm.  In all my years of traveling, this is the worst trip for fatigue and jet lag ever.  In truth, for the first few days home, it’s hard to separate whether fatigue or jet lag is the issue.

I have tried to drive on the wrong side of the road only once since getting back.  I have repeatedly signaled my intention to turn left or right by turning on the windshield wipers, and have washed the windows when I intended to turn on the high beam headlights. 

But  - what an incredible trip we had!  We have tried to share with you along the way many of the things we saw and did.  But many times, 3000 words wasn’t enough to really tell all of the stories, so we had to pick and choose.  We are surprised at how many people viewed our blog. We had almost 2,000 viewings from countries all over the world!  Writing the blog, and sharing with you, was fun for us.  It was a way for us to journal what we were seeing and doing. 

Phinda and Etosha and Chobe and the Okavango come immediately to mind when I say what an incredible trip it was.  The Namibian dunes, and the visit with Buisman are also highlights.  Even though we saw almost every animal imaginable (except the elusive leopard), we can’t say enough how the people were really the highlights on our trip.  There was the staff at the Dock House that took such good care of us at Cape Town.  And our safari with Brett and Will and Ebron making it all seem easy for us.  There were our new friends that joined us on the safari.  And after three weeks of camping, we appreciated the pampering we received from Jonathan and Kim at Elephant Camp.  And Dumi, our guide at Phinda, was great.  In most of the places we went, no matter which country, it was just a pleasure to deal with people, even with the language and cultural differences.

Canoeing down the Orange River in Namibia

Overlanding was a great experience.  It’s wonderful to have someone else drive, and worry about all of the logistics.  Our professionals were just that.  They knew their stuff, from driving to plants and animals and history.  And Ebron, our cook, was a great camp chef and took our vegan diet in stride.  Good hot food makes a lot of difference in how you feel.  Barb and I would definitely do it again, and would definitely consider Africa-in-Focus again.  But we might choose a different season and perhaps some new countries farther north.  We both loved the safari, and considered the difficulties to be part of the experience.  We actually liked the camping out part, even after three weeks of it, but were disappointed with the few indoor accommodations offered on the bus trip.  When we paid for “upgrades” that worked out well (the tree house at Guma Lagoon).  When you’re camping, a good mattress, and bag or comforter, makes all the difference in a good night’s sleep.  And a good night’s sleep makes a major difference in how one feels.  We couldn’t be more pleased with our sleeping pads.

One of the very first things that one notices, no matter where you go, is the high level of security that is maintained in most places.  There are security personnel everywhere.  Many are armed.  All homes, hotels, and camp grounds have elaborate high fencing, usually barb-wired, and often electrified.  In some places this is due to the animals, but in most cases it is to protect from criminal activities.  From that you can guess that there are many people who are quite poor, who will steal when they can.  The shanty towns in the cities are quite large in area, and the hovels are very small, so there must be a large population there.  But in all of our travels, we never had an encounter with anyone that made us feel threatened.  However, just like New Orleans, there are streets you don’t walk at night. 

Of course, there were difficulties.  The one that provided the most trouble was an issue with credit/debit cards.  Our debit card got “eaten” by an old style ATM machine in the early days in Cape Town.  One of two credit cards was compromised and has over 20 fraudulent charges.  Our credit card company spotted the pattern and turned the card off.  They have great computer screening to watch for these crimes.  But once they turned it off because I typed in the wrong PIN at an African ATM.  I got the card turned back on, just in time for the real fraudulent charges to occur.  We finished the last 5 weeks with only one card, carefully guarded, and not enough ready cash. There is so much computer fraud that when the incoming computer’s site is seen as African, security protocols go to the highest level.  We had to reset numerous passwords.  And then once, when we were still in Africa, they turned off our only remaining credit card account because an auto bill pay occurred from the states.  It’s frustrating, but just a part of modern travel.

I highly recommend a GSM global phone for any adventure of this nature.  If you are staying in just a few countries, it is easy to get a local prepaid “sim” card which makes calling incredibly cheap.  We travelled to too many countries for a local sim card to easily work, but I did negotiate a global plan with Verizon before leaving the USA. (Verizon does have one GSM capable, non-smart phone available).  Along those lines, local data 3G and 4G data plans are very cheap also, so a GSM smartphone and/or an iPad can be cheap if you can use one carrier.  Roaming is expensive.  Several times during the 7 weeks, we had to talk to banks or other companies to get access to our accounts, reset passwords, and forewarn the banks of legitimate charges that might actuate their fraud logics.  And once, in the middle of an African swamp, after an amazing day, we found a spot on the island that had cell coverage.  Of course, we called the “kids”.  By the way, texting remains relatively cheap, so we used that a lot with the family.

Skype works and it is great to use when the internet is available.  Audio only Skype is best.   Video Skype takes so much bandwidth, it can practically shut down a local internet.  In Africa, wireless technology has brought modern communications to very remote places.  Almost all homes or remote stations will have cell and text coverage at someplace on site.  They have leapfrogged past fixed wire comm as too expensive and gone straight to wireless.  And they seem to be able to “target” small area locations such as a farm house.  Our intrepid safari crew seemed to know all of the locations.  In the middle of a Namibian high desert, I have a picture of Ebron the cook sitting atop a house sized rock, as he leaned against another rock.  It was a pose that from a distance seemed quite contemplative, as if he were deep in meditation.  He was facing the east, just as the sun was rising over the horizon.  In the quiet of that early morning, it seemed fitting to sit so peacefully, watching the beautiful sunrise.  However, there was something about the pose that was not quite right.  When I put the binocs on him, I could see that he had his smart phone in hand and was e-mailing and texting.  It seems that high on the rock was the only good signal for many miles around.

Sunrise at Brandberg Mountain with 'big rock' in background

Ebron checking emails on 'the rock

South African drivers are usually very skillful, although to an American they may seem random in their actions.  But it’s not so.  There are a very few 4 lane roads (usually toll roads), and everyone stays to the side to let others pass.  But they do the same on three lane and even two lane roads.  Many of the two lane roads have good paved shoulders.  You are EXPECTED to drive on the shoulder when someone comes up behind you.  They may flick their lights at you to get your attention, and then they will say thank you after they pass by turning on the caution/emergency lights for about three blinks.  Even big three trailer rigs will move over for you.  South Africa had very good major roads.  Anything less than major is like stepping down to county road level.  Many of the roads that were not national level are gravel and dirt, but still useable.  Outside of SA, national level roads can be dirt.  If a road sign says 4WD required, you better believe it.  They know what they are talking about. 

For a rental car on good roads, I was very pleased with the Toyota Corolla.  It has enough trunk space to take all of our bags, although it was like a jigsaw puzzle that had only one answer to make it happen.  Getting around is more difficult.  You can’t completely trust the maps, nor the GPS.  Typing in actual GPS coordinates was the most reliable way to make it work.  Too often, they had the name of the destination in GPS memory but a wrong location for that place.  And the road signage runs from okay to non-existent.  We missed lots of turns trying to figure that out.  Even when there are signs, the name of the same place will differ depending on whether the english name, afrikaner name, or local tribal name is being used on that particular map, or that particular sign.

The cost of most things was definitely cheaper than here in the states.  Our taxi ride from the Cape Town airport to the hotel was the equivalent of North Bend to Sea-Tac (about 40 minutes).  It cost about 30 dollars with tip.  Here in Seattle, it is $38 without the tip to go just from Sea-Tac to the ferry, (less than 15 minutes).  Food and lodging was the same.  Except for some very high end places, it was always surprisingly less than the states.

Proteas at Kirstenbosch Garden

I thought I would tell more people stories on this summary, but seem to be running out of steam.  Africa is a great place.  The animals are incredible, and should be seen.  The variety of plants and birds is amazing.  The Cape region of SA is a floral region of its own, Kirstenbosch Gardens is one of the best places to see the plants and flowers of the region.  All of the other floral regions are continent sized.  In only three weeks, our “birder” on the safari saw over 350 birds that he had never seen before.  He is from Montreal, and international travel for birding has been a lifelong obsession.  He probably bagged even more since he was staying two more weeks in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Spotted Eagle Owl at Kirstenbosch Gardens

One more person to thank - COUSIN CATE.  She helped make this trip incredibly special with her knowledge, and with her generous help.  HEATHER: it was great to visit with you, and to get to know you.  In the southern vernacular of Leon’s youth (and Cate’s) - “Ya’ll come soon, ya hear?”

Leon & Barb - back on a wet and windy Bainbridge Island, USA

Storm’s River + Montagu

Rock Dassie, or Hyrax - all over like our rabbits - but with no tails.

This is just a short update to let everyone know whee we are and what’s happening.

Barb and I spent 2 enjoyable days at a National Park called Storm’s River Mouth.  It is in the larger park known as Tsitsikamma (say that five times quickly).  Imagine an area on the Indian Ocean that is somewhat like the Oregon and Ca. Coasts.  The waves never stop crashing in.  It is warmer than a Washington coast, but not much.  And unlike the Oregon coast, there is no beach to walk when the tide is out.  A small river empties out to the ocean here, and it has created an incredible cut through the earth.  These deep canyon walls are very picturesque.  But the river is a narrow one, and only good for kayaks and small boats.  There are some great suspension bridges over parts of the river, and the entire park is nicely set up for day hikes, and multi day treks.

What people go there for are the incredible high waves of spray created when the perfect set of waves hot the coastal rocks.  We saw spray up to 30 or 40 feet.  We are told it can shoot up to 100 feet.  This is the very end of Africa with a current running westerly, and the wind often running easterly.  That Indian Ocean current, known as the Agulhas, meets the South Atlantic current off the tip of Africa, and then turns completely around and flows back to the east.  Some of the tallest ocean waves ever recorded by surviving ships have been experienced within a few hundred miles of here.   And, not surprisingly, many ships have just disappeared south of here.  The waves hitting the shore often create a very low frequency, pounding sound that shakes the rocks, and the cottages we are staying in.

We took a tour out into the Indian Ocean and then into Storms River Mouth.  The ride was wild.

The boat we took out in the wild ocean then river.  You straddle the seat.

View of the suspension bridge from the boat.

After resting at Storm’s River, Barb and I drove to another wine country town called Montagu.  It is a delightful farming community with a lot of older buildings that have been maintained for many years.  We stayed in a great “new” hotel called the Victorian 1906.  The room was large, the staff was great, and the food and wine delightful.  Plus, the rates are about the same as the national parks.

Barb found a great set of stores selling African wares.  We walked by on their opening night celebration, and then returned the next morning.  Because we returned there, we also got to visit the local Sat. Morning food and arts and crafts market.  There were some great items there.  We had a wonderful smoothie, found some children’s clothing, plus the alpaca wrap that Barb is bringing home.

Then it was on to Cape Town for a last stay at the Dock House, the boutique hotel that Barb is somehow able to negotiate affordable prices.  Yesterday, we toured the local botanical garden known as Kirstenbosch.  It has a multi hundred year history as a farm complex, and about a hundred year history as a public garden.  The Cape is one of six floral regions in the world.  It is the smallest, but somehow has an incredible variety of local flora.  Fortunately, we took the tour since it is just to large to do justice to in one morning of walking.
Today, we are off to the airport to begin the trek home.  It will be about a 36 hour ordeal, just as before.  There is no way to shorten it for us.  We should be home late in the evening on Tuesday the 8th.  And we might be up and about by the 10th!!

We look forward to seeing everyone soon.

Leon & Barb in Cape Town

Happy Feet at Storms River - Tsitsikamma

Addo Elephant National Park ~ Eastern Cape, South Africa

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Phinda Lodge

Leon reading while monkey breaking and entering through sliding door.

Sitting on the comfortable couch in our resort chalet, I hear a familiar sound, but do not immediately recognize it except as familiar.  I see the curtains by the door moving oddly, and suddenly see a small gray, hairy leg under the curtain.  Moving more quickly than I can imagine, the full body of the monkey emerges from behind the curtain running along a counter top.  Reacting with the incredible reflexes of a trained test pilot, I immediately stand and yell at this intruder.  Just as quickly he is moving back across the room and out of the door.  Barb comes quickly into the room when she hears me yell.  I tell her of the surprising invader and of his quickness, and then how he seemed to run out as soon as I yelled.  Barb looks around the room.  "Where's the bowl of pineapple?", she says.  " The one that is usually right up here on the shelf?"  I look and agree it is not there, but why it's not there has yet to dawn on me.  "Maybe the staff forgot to leave us some today?"  Barb gives me the look.  The one that says she is just not sure how to politely respond to such an idiotic statement.  Without another word, she goes outside and sees the bowl on the deck.  It is empty!  It turns out that this particular monkey is a master thief.  He goes around, finds an unlocked door, quickly slides it open, runs in using the curtain as camouflage, grabs the food and runs back out.  He was way ahead of me.  By the time I was standing up to yell, he had the goods and was headed out the door.  Test pilot reflexes were no match for this distant cousin of mine.  (There are days when Barb might say he was not so distant).

I didn't know where to begin this story.  But the monkey story seemed to capture how different this place is from home, and how normal it is for Africa.  We have spent the last two days at Phinda Game Reserve on the far NE corner of South Africa.  It is located in a region known as Kwa-Zulu Natal, just east of Swaziland, and just south of Mozambique.  The game reserve is enormous, and is filled with African animals of all varieties.  We were greeted by giraffes when we drove in, and surprisingly, when we drove out also.  One of them is the tallest Giraffe I have ever seen.  We saw lion and cheetah, warthogs, zebra, wildebeest, crocs, hippos, both black and white rhino, nyala, impala, etc., etc.,.. and there were frogs and birds and bugs.  The African Dung Beetle is one of the most fascinating creatures ever.  It rolls large balls of elephant and other dung, and uses it to keep its eggs alive.  It is incredibly fast to be rolling something larger than its own body.  Then later, you will notice a bug the size of a hummingbird flying past your head as you go down the trail at 30 km/h.  That's the dung beetle also.

Phinda's Welcome Committee

Mom and baby

The lodge itself is older but very nice.  We felt very lucky to be able to get a room for two nights (thanks to Cousin Cate, again).  Surprisingly, Barb and I managed to find this obscure turnoff from a major highway, and then the entrance gate itself without getting lost.  The entrance into the reserve is very controlled.  It feels like a border crossing with its electric fence, automatic gates, and the guard confirming that you are on the approved list.  He then calls the lodge itself, gives us a pass to show the management, and finally allows us to proceed. 

On the first day, we arrived in time for the afternoon game drive.  This is scheduled to start at about 4:00 pm, and then run until about 7:00 pm.  That gives us all a chance to see both the day and night creatures.  Our driver and guides are Dumi and Sibo.  Both are locals that have been trained by the lodge.  Dumi is the older and more experienced, and Sibo has the younger set of eyes and ears.  While Dumi is driving, Sibo will sit in a special chair mounted just over the left front hood of the truck.  From there, he continually scans and listens for game.  Together, Dumi and Sibo are a great tracking team.  The vehicle is an oversized version of the Toyota Land Cruiser, but with an open cab and three rows of passenger seats.  It is the preferred setup and vehicle for most game drives.  With the passengers sitting high, it is easier to see the game over the normal low trees and shrubs.

The drive that first night is one of the best we have seen.  Only in Chobe (in Botswana) have we seen more game.  Here, we see a greater variety of game.  It will not prove easy to find the game due to abnormally cool weather.  It is late Spring here, and the summer heat should be approaching.  But the weather has brought storms off the Indian Ocean.  These storms have brought rain, wind, and unusually cool air.  The rain is desperately needed since they are in a year's long drought period.  This area seems much more lush to Barb and I than other parts of South Africa.   Because of that, we were surprised to learn of the drought.

While Barb thinks that the monkeys, and maybe baby anything else, are the cutest African mammals, we both agree that the warthog and rhino are probably the ugliest.  But their mothers probably think they're cute.

The male warthogs have two 'warts' on each side

Black Rhino baby

Black Rhino (heads are shorter than White Rhino)

White Rhino is a grazer because their head is long and heavy - hard to lift it to eat bushes.

Mom and baby White Rhino

Elephant dung covered in Dung Beetles

Dung Beetles fighting over some dung.

Our companions for this drive, and for the morning and afternoon drive tomorrow are two other couples.  One is from Austria, and the other is from Australia.  Barb thinks we are grouped together because we are from America, making all of our countries begin with an "A".  It is a congenial group in spite of the language difficulties.  As you might have guessed, it's the two versions of the English language that cause the most linguistic difficulty.  Throw in occasional lapses into American Southern by me, and there's lots of opportunity for humorous misunderstandings.

As planned, the first game drive continues until well after dark.  And as we have been told to expect, there is an abundance of African game to see.  Toward the end of the drive, when it is dark, and the air is cool, there is an unexpected treat.  Dumi stops the vehicle, and says that it is okay to exit.  He jokes that the lions are not hungry and we should be okay.  Working together quickly, he & Sibo pull out a table and place a cloth on it.  Then he opens another box.  Inside is a portable bar providing us all with our choice of drinks, plus a little food.  It is a very surprising and quite civilized interlude in our drive.  Within an hour of our break, we arrive back at the lodge.  Our hosts greet us with warm, wet towels to refresh ourselves, and a light lemonade-like drink.  Dinner will be served at 7:30 in the "Boma" .  The Boma is an outdoor eating area that is surrounded by wood pole fencing, much like some of the small communities we have seen.  Inside, it has an outdoor kitchen with multiple fires glowing brightly as our food for the evening is cooked.  The food is buffet style, and quite good.  But the highlight of the evening is the a cappella singing by the staff, combined with an example of local, tribal, dances.  Even the chef joins into the dancing and singing, flinging his foot high above his shoulders before slamming it down to the earth with a very loud slapping sound - just like the locals.

The next morning there is a 0500 wakeup for the early morning drive.  Barb and I will begin the drive as usual, but around 0900, we will be dropped off at the airport.  We have arranged for an hour's flight over this interesting area.  When we arrive at the small landing strip, we meet with Tiann, our pilot.  He is tall, with blondish hair, and an earnest, concerned look.  His concern today is for the weather, and for us.  It will be windy, he tells us.  There will be some rain showers, and the air might be quite bumpy.  It seems okay to me, but reacting to his concern, I ask him if he thinks it is safe to go.  Oh yes, he assures me.  Safety will not be an issue.  His only concern is comfort.  Barb was delayed and did not hear our conversation.  Independently, he also asks her if she still wants to go.  And independently, she says if it is safe to go, she would like to do so.  Tiann relaxes and begins our briefing.

Flight over Indian Ocean coast north towards St. Lucia

In  the beginning of our trip, we might not have chosen to miss a part of the drive.   Our flight will take take us north towards Mozambique, then east to the coast, down the coast almost to St Lucia, and back to Phinda.  Tiann, our (very young) pilot, is also an excellent tour guide.  He tells us of the geological history, and of the terrain features we see.  In the small communities we pass, he tells how a man will typically have up to 5 wives.  The first wife gets a very 'nice' rondavel, and the subsequent ones get smaller contemporary structures.  He points out such places as we fly over.  Once off the coast, whales are sighted.  This is typically the "right" whale.  I don't know the distinguishing characteristics of a right whale, but it is very much larger than out Northwest Orcas.  As an aside, our pilot is an impressive young man.  He is flying a small single engine airplane, doing the same tour day after day.  Yet, he briefs and flies with a professional discipline that airline training departments strive to maintain in their crews.  He is the kind of youngster that we need in aviation.

Typical home compound with enough space for all of the wives and families.

After our flight, our group picks us up at the airport and we head off for the continuation of the morning's game drive.  We came upon a lioness and two cubs. The cubs were quite playful rolling around and playing with each other.

The lioness

One of the cubs

They left when they were bored with us.

Our evening game ride will provide us with more game sightings, and an adventure.

In the evening drive, we depart the lodge about an hour earlier in order to go to an area in the far northern section of Phinda.  It is here that Dumi hopes to see lions and other cats.  There is also a greater chance of sighting the elusive, nocturnal Leopard.  Due to our speed over the rough roads in the beginning of our drive, Subi is seated in the cab of the truck, and is not seated forward as is usual.  We are flying low over these rough roads.  It is totally disorienting, due to the twisting and turning of the roads.  But we do seem to be generally heading north.  At one point, the vegetation and, even the feel of the air, change.  It is a softer feel, and more moist.  Dumi explains that we have crossed into an area that is fenced from the elephants, allowing many types of trees to to survive that otherwise would not.  Before it was fenced and replanted, the elephants had knocked down or eaten most of the vegetation.  Now it is recovering in a way that does not hint at the previous problems.

In the far northern section of Phinda, we find two well fed lions.   They are lying on the ground, barely able to move.  One of them cannot even be awakened.  Their stomachs are so full that they are obviously protruding.  The kill is a young wildebeest lying over in  a thicket.  The lions did not make the kill, though.  It was made by a pair of young cheetahs.  Cheetahs usually hunt alone, and do not usually attack large animals such as wildebeests.  But these are brothers who have hunted together since birth.  They made their kill, but were no match for the lions who heard the wildebeest scream.  The opportunistic lions chased off the cheetah and claimed the kill for their own.   It is incredible that we are able to get so close to these enormous and dangerous predators.  We are able to see their scars, and the bugs that live on them.  But they literally could care less that we are there.  Our driver repeatedly starts our engine and moves the vehicle to get a closer, or different, look at these young male lions.  Only once, when the vehicle went between one lion and the only partially devoured carcass, did one of them seem concerned.  As we moved away, he put his head back down and appeared to go back to sleep.  Their breathing in this situation is a rapid, yet deep, panting.  We are told it is normal for after they have exerted themselves.

He woke just long enough to roll over and fall back asleep.

The oldest of the two lions, this one protecting the kill.

He's been in a few fights - and blind in the right eye.

As if the lions were no enough of a treat, Dumi and Sibo now find the cheetah twins who had made the kill.  I would never have spotted these cats without our guides pointing them out.  Lying together in the grass, they are motionless.  Their color blends so well, and the grass is such a perfect height, that they can see well, but are difficult to detect.  A family of Zebra are coming up to look at the cheetah, as if they are idle observers wondering what the cats are doing in their neighborhood.  The cheetahs however are very intent on something farther away.  Beyond the shrub plants, about 500 yards away, is another herd of wildebeest.  These two very cool cats intend to make another kill tonight.  Dumi explains that if they succeed, the neighborhood lions are too full to contest them for this new meal.

Very slowly and very patiently, the two cats move toward a set of shrubs that are very close to the herd.  Every motion of these brothers - their bodies, their heads, their legs, even their breathing - seems to be synchronized.  They are positioned downwind from the wildebeests so that there will be no scent.  And the way they move, there is no sound.  It is dusk now, getting too dark for good photography.  Even as compulsive a shutterbug as Barb is about to give up on taking any pix or video of the coming kill.  This seems as certain a kill as can be.  The herd has numerous young ones that are the right size for these cheetahs, and they seem completely oblivious to any danger.  Once the cheetahs have positioned themselves directly behind the bush, the cats are not more than 20 feet from the wildebeests.  The brothers wait patiently together.  They are practiced killers.  The wildebeests begin to move away.  If there is a kill, it will occur very soon.  The cats are waiting for the herd to string out, hoping that one of them can be separated from the others.  Without moving, the cats seem to exude more energy.  Now, there are only three wildebeests left behind the shrub.  And one is the right size.  But suddenly, the animals begin to move more quickly, and the youngster is now positioned between the larger beests.  Again, without motion, the cats seem to relax.  There will be no kill tonight.

Cheetahs watching the wildebeests (photo taken at night in dark)

Heading back to the lodge, we are now aware of the intense lightening occurring in the east.  The same thing happened last night, but never came near us.  Tonight, it seems to be much closer, and more intense.  We have a long way to drive to return to our lodge.  It is now quite dark.  Dumi is driving with headlights on, and Sibo is using a million candlepower lantern to illuminate the woods and road for animals.  The lightening is lighting up the sky with cloud to cloud lightening.  Soon, however, there are lots of strikes that are hitting the ground.  And they are very close.  Now the rain begins.  Dumi stopped just before the rain starts and passes out heavy duty ponchos to us all.

Barb through a rain splotched camera lens - b4 drenching

The rain begins in earnest.  It is striking as if it is from a gale force wind.  That is a combination of the storm itself and the speed with which our driver is racing through the dark woods on these marginal roads.  The ponchos are not enough.  We are all getting soaked.  And with the speed of the vehicle, the stinging rain makes it almost impossible to see ahead.  I do not know how Dumi is doing it, but he continues to drive skillfully at this rapid pace.  Several times, we slow suddenly to avoid animals who seem a little erratic in their motions.  Is it our lantern, or the storm?  The truck slips side to side on the wet, muddy tracks.  This race to return is hard for me to understand.  Is it a fear of the lightening that makes it necessary to drive so fast?  The rain will only make us wet, so there is no rush for that.  I tell Barb how to hold the seat rail through the poncho, and warn her that we might roll over at these speeds.  And now the old conundrum arises - do I say something?  Do I say to slow down?  Dumi is still driving very skillfully, but even skillful people run out of luck someday.  I stay silent.  We arrive safely.  The other passengers thought the return trip through this frightful storm was an exciting lark.  And the driver is very proud of himself.  Good judgment would have cut the safari short and returned before the storm.  Better judgement would have driven more cautiously on those roads.  But skill and luck prevailed and we all have a great story to tell. 

Barb and I are wet and cold.  Our friends go to their rooms to shower and change.  We cover with warm towels and sit by the fire.  By the time the others return, Barb and I are finished with dinner. 

The next day, as we are driving out, many of the animals are there by the side of the road as if to say good-bye.  The giraffes are particularly noticeable. One stood guard right by the lodge and seemed to nod at us as we drove by.  Another, the tallest giraffe I have ever seen, trotted along the road with us for hundreds of yards.  It was a fitting end to a great stay.

Leon & Barb in Phinda, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa