Nambiti Game Reserve -- week 94

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  It is not celebrated in South Africa, but we are thankful for the opportunity to be in this wonderful country, and for all of you at home that we love.  

First, in spite of all the international hype about South Africa and COVID, we are all fine.  Here is the letter we sent to all the families of all our missionaries yesterday, Saturday 27 November:

Dear Families of South Africa Durban Missionaries,
   You have undoubtedly heard the news about COVID spike and new variant in South Africa.  We are aware of this and want you to know that your missionaries are well and safe.  We are taking all necessary precautions.  

Missionaries have been told not to meet in person.  District meetings will be held on video call.  District outings on preparation day are cancelled.   
Missionaries are cautious when they do go out.  In South Africa everyone always wears a mask when out in public.  All stores require a squirt of hand-sanitizer before entering.  Grocery cart areas have wet-wipes available for cleaning handles, etc.  Church meetings all require masks, hand sanitizing, and social distancing.  Every-other row of pews is left empty.  Members are good about this.

The concern about South Africa is not the number of cases right now, but the quick increase in cases, particularly around a University up north near Pretoria.  South Africa has some outstanding scientists who noticed this spike and did the tests necessary to identify this variant quickly.  The rate of cases in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban's Province, is still quite small.  It has a population of 11 million and went from 68 cases on Thursday to 108 cases on Friday.

Just to put it all in perspective:
South Africa   Population 60 million   average cases/day 3459, rate of cases 6/100,000
California     Population 40 million     average cases/day 3319, rate of cases  8/100,000
Utah           Population 3.2 million     average cases/day 1315  rate of cases   41/100,000 

We just want you to know that the missionaries are well and safe and we are monitoring the situation and taking all necessary precautions.  We appreciate the sacrifices our missionaries and their families are making to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ here in South Africa.

With Love,
President and Sister Lines

 -----------------------------------------

Sunday night South African President Ramaphosa gave a nation-wide TV broadcast.  He announced that there would not be further restrictions nor lockdowns, as there is now a vaccine available which will severely curtail the spread of the disease.  He blasted all the "rich countries" for stomping on South Africa about this when they hoarded all the vaccines in the early part of the pandemic.  And the COVID rates in the USA and Europe are far worse than in South Africa now.

Enough of all the bad news.

We spent three amazing days at Nambiti Game Reserve this week.  We also went there last February, and this trip was even better. 

 It was the semi-annual Senior Missionary Conference, so all 12 of us old people stayed at the Springbok Lodge for two nights and went on four game drives of three hours each.  Afternoon drives are 4-7pm and morning drives are 5:30 to 8:30am. 

 Here are a couple of favorite photos, but below is the link to our G-drive folder with 100 photos and videos.  They are amazing!

We ate too much!  Three big meals a day of yummy food was wonderful.  

We stayed in this "tent."  Canvas walls, but concrete floor, indoor plumbing and electricity.

Well, mostly indoor plumbing.  The shower was outside!

 In the middle of each drive we would stop at some pretty place for hot chocolate and snacks.  The weather was cold and we appreciated the lined ponchos provided by the Lodge.  We had a little rain, but mostly when we were not on the drives, so that was good.

We loved watching the zebras run.

And the Cheetahs amble along.  This one is for our granddaughter, Myra Allen, who especially loves cheetahs.

And one of the elephants got up close and personal with the other car carrying half of our group.

To look at the full 100 photos and videos that Ken took and kept, see this link.

From our guide Shaun, we learned the source of the mysterious fog horn we hear every night outside our apartment in Durban.  The sound belongs to a buff spotted fluff tail, a bird that is heard but almost never seen.  Its mating call goes on for hours every night and rivals the noisy throaty frogs we also hear all night every night.  You can listen here.

On the way home on Thursday, we stopped at the Mandela Capture Site.

This is a museum at the spot where Nelson Mandela was caught by the South African Police on 5 August 1952 after which he served 27 years in prison outside Cape Town.  This is a lovely museum about that, and the entire fight against apartheid in South Africa.

It is very well done, with a large display of artifacts, old newspapers, and information about the struggle that returned South Africa to universal freedom of movement and voting in 1994.  There is still a lot of de facto segregation here, but progress was made.  Mandela was elected the first black president.  He and De Clerk, the outgoing white president, received the Nobel Peace Prize for the peaceful transition of power in 1993-94.