Touch 'Em All!

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Yesterday, I set foot on my seventh continent, Africa! So now I can check that off my bucket list.

We arrived late to Richard's Bay because the overnight crossing from south of Madagasgar to the east coast of Africa was our roughest sea yet. We bounced around like an airplane in turbulence all night long. The creaking and groaning of the ship was almost scary, as if it would break apart. Drawers opened and closed in our cabin and our water pitcher slid right off the table, miracuously landing upright so the carpeting didn't get too wet.

Richard's Bay is an extremely busy port. They export a huge amount of coal as well as aluminum (which they and the Brits spell and pronounce "aluminium" weirdly enough), sugar cane, wood and paper products. We were the only passenger vessel, but there were dozens of huge cargo and container ships also in port.

We stopped at Richards Bay because it is only a little over an hour from the Hluhluwe (pronounced "Shushlewie") Game Revserve. Mom had been on a safari in Kenya with Dad so she wasn't interested in going to this one. But I had a great time! The drive to the park was interesting because we went past so many Zulu communities. Though they still look primitive compared to our standards, our guide kept telling how much "upliftment" had occured since the abolishment of apartheid. The homes now had electricity and running water, but still were tiny, usually with one round building and one rectangular building at each homestead. We saw school kids walking along the road miles and miles from their schools. The guide said it was common for Zulu kids to walk 5 - 8 miles to school each day. They looked so good in their neat uniforms.

We also passed thousands and thousands of acres of eucalyptus tree farms. Unlike the Australian ones that koalas live in, these trees are all genetically altered to grow with one straight trunk. They can grow to full size in just 8 years, so are extremely popular with businessed here. They are used to make paper and also to make telephone poles. They are amazing to drive by with their straight rows set out like corn fields. Unfortunately, they are a horrible drain on the water resources--each tree drinking 80 gallons a day--so there is a de-forestration plan starting which will return some of the land to its natural state.

At the game reserve we got into 10 passenger jeeps, crossed over the electrified boundary and were off to see what we could see. Our guide, Jenny, was absolutely fabulous. She had studied 6 years to become a guide and had been at the reserve for a year. She was as excited as we were with each siting and had brilliant info on every kind of creature we saw. And we saw a lot: giraffes, zebras, white rhino, a hippo, wart hogs, nyala (sort of deer-like), monkeys, and over a dozen elephants. The elephants were the best. One group of about nine included two babies that were only about a month old as well as some teenagers. The teenagers were showing off, stomping their feet and swinging their trunks around. Then an older elephant decided to charge us, so Jenny had to back us up very quickly to get out of the way. It was two hours of intense looking. We even saw some kind of eagle (about the size of ours) that Jenny said she'd never seen before. Oh, and I forgot to mention: it was cold!! I have spent the last six months thinking this particular adventure would be about 105 degrees and dusty with the sun glaring down. But instead it was maybe 63 degrees, completely overcast and, because it had rained a lot the past month, beautifully green with actually muddy roads. Hard to get my mind around that! It was an advantage, though, because the animals were more active than they would have been if it had been hot. I have much, much more I could say about this day, but will end it here.

Today we are in Durban, but because we have been warned that it is a horribly dangerous place to be, Mom and I have decided not to get off the ship. I'm not quite sure why we have even come here.

Friday and Saturday we will be at sea. Sunday we arrive in Cape Town. And Monday Hugh come back for the last three weeks of the cruise. Whoopee!

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Comments

[Teresa]

Nisswa's first day of spring
Hello Suzy! It sounds like you are having the time of your life. I am so pleased to hear that your mother is enjoying herself. Our first day of spring in Nisswa has brought a mix of rain and snow. It snowed hard at 7-8am and by 9am it was raining. Snow again at noon and rain at 1pm. Tomorrow is suppose to be better. I was glad to hear that the temp for your safari was so cool. I have always wanted to go on one of those but Ron says I wouldn't be able to handle the heat. I am a baby in the heat. I have enjoyed your trip with you and can't wait to hear more about it and Hugh! Have fun ( I don't need to tell you that.) and be safe. See you in another month or so. Teresa Berg