The beginning of the week in the office was pretty normal -- paying bills, working on Elders coming and going, organizing updated 72-hour emergency kits before Zone Conferences next week.
One of our responsibilities is to help take care of all the apartments. We had some Elders in Hillcrest -- about 30 minutes west of us -- who needed a new stove delivered. It was just a table-top model with two burners and a small oven. We drove up there Monday evening. One of their neighbors had this great gadget. It is a portable solar electric car charger. What a good idea!
On Thursday morning we met President and Sister Lines at their home about 9:30 AM and started our trip out to Nambiti Game Reserve. We were originally supposed to take this trip in April 2020. But like so many things in 2020 this trip got postponed. First until September, then until January, then until early February, and finally we made it this weekend!
Nambiti Game Reserve is about a three-hour drive northeast of Durban, not too far from Ladysmith (the region of the Boer Wars 120 years ago between the Afrikaaner farmers, the British army and the Zulus). Elder and Sister Van Heerden joined us, and we had a fabulous three days there. There are way too many fabulous photos to post, but we'll put a sample here.
We did Glamping at Springbok Lodge. [That's glamorous camping -- a tent like we've never stayed in before.] Ken is going to make a video of our adventure, but no time to do it today. We'll post it next week. In the meantime Springbok Lodge has a wonderful video on their webpage of the animals.
Sue took this photo in the round of the lodge and pool area.
Springbok Lodge, Nambiti Game Reserve - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
We brought our swimsuits, but it was too cold to do much swimming. The original weather forecast for the weekend was lots of rain, but we only had one little drizzle!
Nambiti Game Reserve is about 11 km long and 3-4 km wide.
It consists of several different privately-owned parcels, and there are ten different lodges where you can stay. But you can't even drive through in a private car. We arrived at the main gate (in the southeast corner of the map) and went to the parking lot where we left our car and were ferried to the Lodge in the Toyota Land Rover that was our vehicle during our stay.
We drove all over everywhere in the four different game drives we did. We went Thursday afternoon 4 PM to 7 PM and Friday morning 5:30 AM to 8:30 AM. Then again the same schedule on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. We saw so many amazing animals, birds, insects, flowers and general scenery. It's a trip we will always remember!
We arrived in time for lunch on Thursday, had a little time to wander around and get unpacked, and then left at 4 PM for a three-hour game drive on jeep trails.
Waiting to start game drive - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
Impala -- we saw lots and lots of these.
Baby giraffe by the side of the road.
And several full-sized giraffes, too.
With lots and lots of gorgeous views across the plains and valleys. This is high plateau area -- about 3600 feet above sea level with this valley in the middle.
We also saw lots of kudu -- another kind of African antelope.
This is a Cape Buffalo. The kind with the amazing horns like in our jigsaw puzzle.
In the middle of each game drive there would be a break to stretch our legs and have a snack.
Afternoon drinks and snacks. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
We learned a new collective noun -- a confusion of guinea fowl. And isn't that the truth. These crazy birds would see us coming and run down the road right in front of us -- not fly away or veer off to one side. And the tiny chicks would keep up with the adults. None of them run very fast.
We got to see beautiful zebras up close and personal. The are zebras [rhymes with Debra], not zeebras as we say in American.
After the morning game drive we had a wonderful breakfast. The food at Springbok is amazing! We all ate too much. Here is Friday lunch:
To wear off some of that food we walked on a nature trail around the fenced compound that is Springbok Lodge. There is a 2 m (6 ft) tall electric fence, but while walking we saw two kudu inside the fence! They can jump it easily.
Walking around Springbok Lodge compound. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
Both white rhinos (in this photo) and black rhinos are in Nambiti. We saw both kinds, but not very close. They are all endangered because poachers kill them for their horns, which are valued for various rituals in Asia. To help solve the problem, the Nambiti Reserve catches the rhinos every 3 to 4 years and cuts down the horns to very short so the poachers are not interested. They grow about three inches a year. We loved this view of the huge rhino against the horizon.
We sort-of saw hippos. They are nocturnal, so spend all day in the water, just coming up to breathe. Can you spot the eyes?
We really wanted to see cheetahs, but the whole park only has five and they are fairly reclusive. Then our guide Nadine got a call on her radio that there were some not too far from where we were. And here they are just lying in the middle of the road! They do have tracking collars on, but the safari guides do not have access to the location information. The Reserve doesn't want all the trucks just following the animals around.
We also managed to get really, really close to this big bull elephant feeding. He was amazing -- pulling whole branches off the tree and stuffing into his mouth.
Trivia we learned for our son Tim and other like-minded teen-age boys. Elephants poop every 30 minutes and Zebras fart every 7-10 seconds!!
On Friday afternoon and Saturday morning we were joined by Mohammad and Aadila -- a brother and sister from Johannesburg. They had two long-lens cameras and took some amazing photos that they shared with us.
I think this is a favorite -- the herd of wildebeests on the grass airstrip in the Reserve. Good way to keep the grass short?
Our guide Nadine took this photo of the same animals, but with these amazing sunbeams in the background. We loved all the clouds because it can get really hot at Nambiti in the African summer. (Think late August in the USA.)
Aadila also took this picture of one of the cheetahs when it wandered off the road and sat in the grass. If you didn't know it was there it would be very hard to spot!
We left, sadly, after brunch on Saturday morning. We hope to come back again before we leave South Africa.
But the great weekend was not over. We were invited home with the Van Heerden's for a braii -- that's South African for barbeque. President and Sister DeKlerk also joined us. He is the President of the Ladysmith District of our Church. They have a farm that is three-hour drive from Ladysmith in the middle of nowhere, where they raise about 100 ceremonial Brahmin cattle for the Zulus. His wife also runs a small general store in their farm.
There was lots and lots of good food! South Africans like to braii meat. We had steak, pork chops, lamb chops and chicken on skewers and sausage. Also cheese, tomato & onion sandwiches warmed on the braii. Then there was scalloped potatoes and coleslaw, with yummy cheesecake for dessert. Quite a meal!
Sunday morning we went to church at the Ladysmith Chapel. It is near downtown and has a great congregation. They are limited to 50 people at once for church meetings, and there were about 35 there today. We were each invited, from the pulpit on no notice, to give a short talk. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to tell these good people of our love for our Savior Jesus Christ, and our joy to be in South Africa to share this with them and others.
The two Elders who are currently serving in Ladysmith are Elder Matlepang and Elder Netshiheni. Elder Netshiheni had served before the lockdown in Ladysmith, and then there were no missionaries here until about a month ago. He is glad to be back.
Sue liked these flowers in the churchyard, because they remind her of home. We have this same daisy plant next to the same canna lilies in our yard at home in Palo Alto. We saw so many of God's beautiful creations this weekend. We are blessed to see and appreciate the world around us.
On Friday afternoon and Saturday morning we were joined by Mohammad and Aadila -- a brother and sister from Johannesburg. They had two long-lens cameras and took some amazing photos that they shared with us.
What a beautiful adventure! We’re so glad your duties include such fabulous R&R. Thanks for sharing the gorgeous photos.
ReplyDeleteVery nice photos of the wildlife preserve and trip discription..
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