Day 2: I heard whistles during the night. Eerie. Found out later that the whistles were to beckon the Maasai warriors if there is a problem. I had a whistle as well. Did not blow it. EVER. It kept getting louder and louder, on the hour. Woke up at 6AM to a rustling at my door. "Hello sir" Hello sir" . "Yes I said please come in" promptly the warrior set down a tray with filtered coffee and cookies as a welcome morning gesture. What a beginning. 7AM we hopped into the Land Rover and darted off to see the Lions at sunrise. Out and about we went into Lion territory. Deep grass and hidden areas. We past an old Lion kill where we saw the ribs of a Wildebeast lying in the meadow with thousands ... read more

It would be unfair to not talk about the people and the contrasts of this country. I will draw upon my observances and from there you will have a better understanding about South Africa. To begin with , I found no animosity between the whites and the blacks. They are living in harmony. It seems the past is the past and lets move on to the future. South Africa is considered still, a third world country by some, I could feel the urge of growth coming from the population. By growth I mean spiritually as well as financially. This country is laid back, with a sense of urgency to catch up, but doing it their way. A humble people both the Whites and the Blacks. I should mention that their are also Coloureds. It is a ... read more

Umfolozi Game Reserve. Mainly Rhinos. Zululand Game Drive. We SURVIVED! Rolling Rhino Dung. We arrived on a windy, rainy afternoon at the Reserve. Dressed in Khakis and ready for the Rhinos! Yes there we were in a reserve with 900 plus Rhinos roaming around just waiting to gouge us should we make a mistake. The female Rhinos have the sharpest horns, so you can be sure that with their babies, we were going to get charged at should we show a threatening stance. Sitting high up in a Toyota type vehicle was comforting. Our first real encounter was just that! A Rhino crossed the road as we were driving by, and gave us that evil look, stopped and stared, and then in a huff moved on down the road wiggling his big fat bum. Oh the ... read more

Travel Day and A Farting Elephant We left Zambia by air and headed back to South Africa in time to pick up the rest of the gang. Once seated in the bus next morning we needed to travel 350 miles towards Kruger park. Along the way we stopped at various rest stops, but one in particular was interesting. They had a curio and grocery type store. Macadamia nuts, mango fruit slices, chocolate coffee beans, and nugats. Mmmm. Hit a rain storm along the way which didn't bode well with our plans to visit the Elephants. We arrived at our hotel around 2, and freshened up before the excursion. Heading out our expectations were high. After we arrived at the Elephant Whisperer Camp we were briefed at what to expect. We were going to interact with 2 ... read more

After we arrived in Johannisburg, we had time to eat in a Casino on the premises. I had a slice of pizza and the beer was welcome,after being in transit for 29 hours. That night it was sleepless. Not a night owl, I read ad read and read and read and read. Following day, we took off for Victoria Falls. Another flight and another hotel. After arriving, we quickly took an excursion to an orphanage with about 70 children. We brought candy and left a donation. Imagine these kids were left on the orphanages door step with no place to go. From babies to 14 years old. They do an amazing job without governement help. I felt fortunate to be there and see this. It reminds me about how lucky I am. We capped off the ... read more