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Published: December 9th 2006
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It is so hard to decide where to begin when i think of all the memorable events! I think i'm going to go with whatever pops into my head, so please excuse the randomness and lack of organization, but enjoy the stories!
I bet you guys have never thought about this, but if you pay attention to what you do when you're crossing the road, you'll notice that you ALWAYS look to the left, and then to the right. Because the traffic to your left is immediately in front of you, and traffic coming from the right will be coming down the other side of the road. Well. Traffic here is like the UK, they drive on the other side (the right side) of the road. And Shona and I have noticed, that we have a very serious inability to look right THEN left when crossing the road! This has created some scariness when crossing! Especially the way people drive around here...
And considering the way people drive around here (like maniacs) they sure are laid back when it comes to time. Brock, Braedon, Dale, Janice, and Tony - you guys remember "Mexican Time"? Well African Time exists too!
Elephant bums!
Hard to tell from the back, but it looks like Mndebvo and Kwantu We gather that it's about half an hour to 45 minutes behind regular time :o) Seriously! And it's funny because there is some S.African slang that helps confuse this time issue. Sometimes people say "I'll see you NOW" or "I'll see you JUST NOW" or "I'll see you NOW NOW" and all three mean something completely different. So far, everybody we've asked about these three meanings have told us compleletely different things (this inconsistency goes along with the African Time thing i guess) but we figure that NOW means right now, NOW NOW means in a couple minutes, and JUST NOW is anytime in the near future! But like i said, these definitions seem to change for every person, so you can imagine how difficult it is to know when to be ready!!! Needless to say, Shona and I end up being ready way to early for everything :o)
I guess i should explain Kwantu to you guys! It's a 6000 hectare reserve, full of grassland, bushland, forests in the valleys, and small "mountains". The days are hot (unless its raining) and the nights are always cool. There are tonnes of antelope species like Blesbok, Gemsbok (said Hemsbok), Mountain
Bengal Tiger
I love this pic, looks like he's dying, but i promise you he's just yawning! Reedbuck, Waterbuck, Impala, Eland, and Kudu.... Blue and Black Wildebeest.... giraffe... 3 white rhino's.... vervet monkeys.... all kinds of tortoises... tonnes of birds... suricats... warthogs... african buffalo... and 7 wild elephants (of which we've seen only 1 in almost 3 weeks!). There are also the leopards in the reserve. In a separate enclosed area (the "Predator Camp") they have 2 bengal tigers, a whole bunch of lions, 2 wild dogs, a cheetah, and a serval. We get to feed the predators a couple times a week - pretty cool! They also have an "Elephant Sanctuary" off the reserve on another patch of land where they're training 5 elephants to hopefully be used in Elephant Back Safari's in the next year. (those elephants are the ones in my pictures)
And what do we do on Kwantu? Well, to be perfectly honest, not a whole lot. We watch mostly, but sometimes we chat up guests on the game drives, collect firewood, help clear brush, go game spotting (finding the rhino's, giraffe, and elephants on the reserve so that the drivers know where to go with the guests), feed the predators... stuff like that! Not terribly fascinating stuff, but no complaints. This
Zebra
They say "zeb-ra" I say "zee-bra" :o) is Africa! This lack of hard work along with the African Time thing is forcing us to relax a little more, and i figure that by the time we get it all worked out, we'll be unable to keep pace with everybody and everything back home!
Yesterday, we were treated to a whale watching expedition in PE and I saw a Humpback Whale for the first time EVER! It was super cool. I took my waterproof disposable camera for that trip though so those pics wont be on this site. He slapped his tail on the water a bunch of times though so they're pretty good pics. We also saw dolphins and african penguins and something called a Brides Whale. It was cool but we got soaked from all the wind/wave splash and we were pretty chilled and coated in salt when we got back. (I could hardly see through my glasses due to the layer of salt on them!)
Well, you know what? I cant really think of anything else to write about! I know i'll think of things once i post the pics, so i'll write explanations in the captions. Also, did you guys see the
Female Bengal Tiger
When we first approached her she was sleeping in that tree, arms and legs dangling, and forehead propped up against a branch - most hilarious thing i've ever seen! Lion Walk video in the last posting? The quality is REALLY BAD, but you get the idea! I have two more videos that i'll try to put on this post, one of the penguins (which i really only recorded for the sound so hopefully you can hear them) and one of Marula my favourite elephant. (who is actually 15 years old, i put that she was only 9 in the last post, and she wont be full grown until she's almost 25!)
Next weekend is our big beach party, so i'm not sure when the next post will be! But I hope you guys are enjoying my postings and keep sending me messages - i love them!
Janine
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Tony
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A tiger? In Africa?
Hey Janine! Im glad to see you're having a good time! Love always, t.