I am getting very excited. I head home Sunday. 4 more sleeps. And then no sleep! On Sunday August 4, I will try Singapore/Hong Kong Tiger Air. No, Tim is not flying it. Then Air Canada Hong Kong/Toronto I hope. If I don't get on Toronto, I will try to Vancouver. And then add another 5 hour flight to TO! Ugh All day flying, 24 hours later, get in August 4 at 6 p.m. Ugh.
But the price is right.
The laugh is that if I do make my flights I will get to TO and the kids are out of town. I believe they are going to Muskoka for the long weekend! HA.
Well, no excuse for not getting caught up on sleep. I will be staying at Elizabeth's at Harbord and Bathurst.
I will go to a phone store, get a sim card, and a new phone number, which I will post here. No I am not all booked up. In fact my dance card is pretty empty. So I would love to hear from you (Who ever reads this) and get together.
It has been quiet the last few weeks. My days are yoga, massage and osteopath. Sometimes I do three things a day. Like yoga in the a.m., gym afternoon, and yoga in the evening. It seems the next day I am exhausted, and need tylenol. Damn. I feel so good when I do it, but the next day it does not seem like it was the best idea. Today I had a massage after yoga and personal trainer.
I am so keen to stay in shape, and continue to work on the stiffness I have. My osteopath is not sold on the fibromyalgia diagnosis and said I could really think that it will not return. All along I have felt it was what we used to call a physical breakdown. Too much stress, good stress, but too much. Time to stop. And boy did it stop me.
But I so appreciate a good night's sleep, and getting out of bed in the a.m. with out having to stretch in bed first. And getting out of a chair like other than a 90 year old. I am in some ways in better shape than I have ever been, in spite of the lousy range of motion. And I am the weight I was pre babies.
Hope to see lots of you SOON
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
I think I am overusing superlatives
Well, we went and swam with the sharks. Whale sharks. Vegetarians. They eat plankton. So far! It was wonderful!
We flew to Cebu, one of the southernmost islands of the Philippines. A three hour drive (long- very windy poor roads, through very poor villages) to our first hotel. Tim was to do a wall dive. That is where the bottom drops away and you go down the side of the wall. All sorts of fish and coral, and turtles nestle in the crevasses of the wall.
What was weird was we were the only guests. About 12 staff watching our every move, having nothing else to do. Tim had a good dive, with the dive master who was also the manager of the hotel. I had a massage. The people were sweet and happy and eager to please.
The next day we then drove 3 hours, along very windy roads and past much poverty, to where the whale sharks are. They come in to this one bay. The other side of the island has sharks that are dangerous. And meat eaters. But apparently only whale sharks are in this one bay. There is a national park there, and the visiting is very regulated. You go to an orientation talk, just a few minutes. But we are told to stay at least 4-5 meters away from the sharks. As you will see from the photos, that did not happen. If you had put on sun cream, there is a shower to wash it off. Do not touch them. And you have half an hour in the water with them.
Then in to a wooden dugout that had big out riggers on the sides, would seat about 6 and two fellows, park people, paddle you out. Then over the side and in the ocean with the gentle giants. I was the first off, and I think you will read the hesitation, for a wee moment. I stayed within the outrigger and the sharks came right up and visited.
Men in outrigger boats have vast amounts of krill to feed the sharks. They throw handfulls in the water where they want the giants to go. It is unnatural for them to feed swimming perpendicular in the water. But they do. And they stay there as long as there is food. The guys were great at getting the sharks to be just feet away. In fact one brushed up against me! The sharks open their mouths and suck in water and food. They sift out the food and water comes gushing out their gills. I hope you can see the water rushing in in some of the pics.
These gentle giants are 40' long, weigh 20 tons and live to their 70's. They all have a beautiful pattern of polka dots on their skin, but on one side at the back of the gill there is a little area that is different to any other, and their "signature". The government had biologists there, we talked at leangth with them. They have chipped some to track their movements. It was like the safari, an honour to visit them in their environment.
We ate dinner in a local's home one night. That was a treat. We went to the market, bought the food, and went back to her place to cook. It was really wonderful to see a home, small, a kitchen, sparse, and meet her daughter. They used a squatter outhouse, with no tp or sink. She was very enterprising and had some tv's and cable, and young teens would come after school to play video games. For a small charge. She had a huge sow in the back and sold piglets. She had chickens and sold eggs. She grows corn on the cob to sell. She has a little store. Many different ways to realize an income.The kids learn english at school. A precocious little Cheska wanted to practice her english. "You are beautiful."" You have a long nose". "You are very sexy." She wanted to know if she could come work for us in Canada when she finished school!
We visited a waterfall. It was truly a hide away magic place. Way up a hill, then walk down the steepest road I have ever been on. It really was beautiful but the photos did not do it justice. They had guys come down to give you a ride up the steep walk. I took it because I wanted to get a motorcycle ride!
Our tuk tuk ride there was fun. I was in the back of a little side car in. I felt like a giant. The seat was so shallow (for short people) that I had to sit sideways and sit with my head down, bent over because I was too tall. Tim sat behind the driver "like a girl". Horns are used to say "here I come".
Really photos do not do these wonderful creatures justice.
I didn't take too much time to think about it, I just got in!
Holding on to the outriggers, communing with the gentle giants.
Aren't they beautiful, all 20 tonnes and 40 feet of them!
Here you can see the water being sucked in, with a fair force.
The waterfront at our hotel, lovely.
Here are two young girls, Cheska in the middle with Sexy Long Nose on the right.
These chairs are made of old tires. Weigh a ton, but can't speak to the comfort. Didn't try.
We flew to Cebu, one of the southernmost islands of the Philippines. A three hour drive (long- very windy poor roads, through very poor villages) to our first hotel. Tim was to do a wall dive. That is where the bottom drops away and you go down the side of the wall. All sorts of fish and coral, and turtles nestle in the crevasses of the wall.
What was weird was we were the only guests. About 12 staff watching our every move, having nothing else to do. Tim had a good dive, with the dive master who was also the manager of the hotel. I had a massage. The people were sweet and happy and eager to please.
The next day we then drove 3 hours, along very windy roads and past much poverty, to where the whale sharks are. They come in to this one bay. The other side of the island has sharks that are dangerous. And meat eaters. But apparently only whale sharks are in this one bay. There is a national park there, and the visiting is very regulated. You go to an orientation talk, just a few minutes. But we are told to stay at least 4-5 meters away from the sharks. As you will see from the photos, that did not happen. If you had put on sun cream, there is a shower to wash it off. Do not touch them. And you have half an hour in the water with them.
Then in to a wooden dugout that had big out riggers on the sides, would seat about 6 and two fellows, park people, paddle you out. Then over the side and in the ocean with the gentle giants. I was the first off, and I think you will read the hesitation, for a wee moment. I stayed within the outrigger and the sharks came right up and visited.
Men in outrigger boats have vast amounts of krill to feed the sharks. They throw handfulls in the water where they want the giants to go. It is unnatural for them to feed swimming perpendicular in the water. But they do. And they stay there as long as there is food. The guys were great at getting the sharks to be just feet away. In fact one brushed up against me! The sharks open their mouths and suck in water and food. They sift out the food and water comes gushing out their gills. I hope you can see the water rushing in in some of the pics.
These gentle giants are 40' long, weigh 20 tons and live to their 70's. They all have a beautiful pattern of polka dots on their skin, but on one side at the back of the gill there is a little area that is different to any other, and their "signature". The government had biologists there, we talked at leangth with them. They have chipped some to track their movements. It was like the safari, an honour to visit them in their environment.
We ate dinner in a local's home one night. That was a treat. We went to the market, bought the food, and went back to her place to cook. It was really wonderful to see a home, small, a kitchen, sparse, and meet her daughter. They used a squatter outhouse, with no tp or sink. She was very enterprising and had some tv's and cable, and young teens would come after school to play video games. For a small charge. She had a huge sow in the back and sold piglets. She had chickens and sold eggs. She grows corn on the cob to sell. She has a little store. Many different ways to realize an income.The kids learn english at school. A precocious little Cheska wanted to practice her english. "You are beautiful."" You have a long nose". "You are very sexy." She wanted to know if she could come work for us in Canada when she finished school!
We visited a waterfall. It was truly a hide away magic place. Way up a hill, then walk down the steepest road I have ever been on. It really was beautiful but the photos did not do it justice. They had guys come down to give you a ride up the steep walk. I took it because I wanted to get a motorcycle ride!
Our tuk tuk ride there was fun. I was in the back of a little side car in. I felt like a giant. The seat was so shallow (for short people) that I had to sit sideways and sit with my head down, bent over because I was too tall. Tim sat behind the driver "like a girl". Horns are used to say "here I come".
Really photos do not do these wonderful creatures justice.
I didn't take too much time to think about it, I just got in!
Holding on to the outriggers, communing with the gentle giants.
Aren't they beautiful, all 20 tonnes and 40 feet of them!
Here you can see the water being sucked in, with a fair force.
The waterfront at our hotel, lovely.
Here are two young girls, Cheska in the middle with Sexy Long Nose on the right.
These chairs are made of old tires. Weigh a ton, but can't speak to the comfort. Didn't try.
Friday, July 5, 2013
wow another great week
I have decided that my photos of the animals in the safari are better than Tim's. I plan to get them enlarged for the dining room wall. We had 4 pics of sunsets, at Bala, at Lake of Bays, at Vernon, and in Thailand. But the sun faded all the photos, bled the red out and they now are all yellow sunsets! So I will replace them with lion, cheetah, elephant and buffalo or giraffe, not sure which.
So I move on.
This week, another fantastic week.
Wednesday I had tickets for Wings, a film of Paul McCartney's band in 1976. Talk about down memory lane. There is a bit of culture shock, because I am living this life here that seems to have nothing to do with my real life, and then I walk down 1976! It was their concert in Seattle. 100,000 people there. Great songs. Such amazing talent. But I was alone. At the last minute I realized that Tim was working. I don't have a large coterie of friend to ask and those I do are all back home in Canada.
The next night was Mahler's Third Symphony performed by Paris Ballet Orchestra, and the ballet company danced a performance by John Neumeier. It was breathtaking. I was actually moved to tears. Sitting there all by myself, with tears. Tim was working and I have no friends.
It was spectacular. Classical ballet, and modern dance. How many yoga poses they use in modern dance. I now know how hard they are, and these amazing dancers are exquisite. Mahler's symphony was actually composed by god. It is one of the lushest pieces written for a huge orchestra (how did they fit them all in the pit) and a contralto soloist, and it lasts for 3 hours! Well, the Paris Ballet did it with flying colours.
Both of these evenings were at a movie theater that runs what at home we have as "Live at the Met". I saw the opera Falstaff a few weeks ago. It is the best thing in town, and yet there are 20 maybe 30 people there! The Singapore Lyric Opera put these evenings on as part of there mandate to bring culture to Singapore. Well it is fabulous. I so look forward to every evening.
This morning I realized that Tim had 5 days off coming up, asked him if he wanted to go away. Yes, he wanted to swim with the whale sharks. A friend of ours was swimming with the whale sharks last week. This is a guy who has done lots of really interesting things, but he said swimming with these whale sharks was the best thing yet.
So we are off to Cebu Philippines, Monday, for five days, to do some diving, and then swim with the whale sharks!
I know, things were getting dull around here. Safari, then Taipei, so we thought we'd better get out of town again. We haven't done a beach holiday for a while. Should be fun. Tim bought an underwater camera case so we should get some nice pics.
Stay tuned.
So I move on.
This week, another fantastic week.
Wednesday I had tickets for Wings, a film of Paul McCartney's band in 1976. Talk about down memory lane. There is a bit of culture shock, because I am living this life here that seems to have nothing to do with my real life, and then I walk down 1976! It was their concert in Seattle. 100,000 people there. Great songs. Such amazing talent. But I was alone. At the last minute I realized that Tim was working. I don't have a large coterie of friend to ask and those I do are all back home in Canada.
The next night was Mahler's Third Symphony performed by Paris Ballet Orchestra, and the ballet company danced a performance by John Neumeier. It was breathtaking. I was actually moved to tears. Sitting there all by myself, with tears. Tim was working and I have no friends.
It was spectacular. Classical ballet, and modern dance. How many yoga poses they use in modern dance. I now know how hard they are, and these amazing dancers are exquisite. Mahler's symphony was actually composed by god. It is one of the lushest pieces written for a huge orchestra (how did they fit them all in the pit) and a contralto soloist, and it lasts for 3 hours! Well, the Paris Ballet did it with flying colours.
Both of these evenings were at a movie theater that runs what at home we have as "Live at the Met". I saw the opera Falstaff a few weeks ago. It is the best thing in town, and yet there are 20 maybe 30 people there! The Singapore Lyric Opera put these evenings on as part of there mandate to bring culture to Singapore. Well it is fabulous. I so look forward to every evening.
This morning I realized that Tim had 5 days off coming up, asked him if he wanted to go away. Yes, he wanted to swim with the whale sharks. A friend of ours was swimming with the whale sharks last week. This is a guy who has done lots of really interesting things, but he said swimming with these whale sharks was the best thing yet.
So we are off to Cebu Philippines, Monday, for five days, to do some diving, and then swim with the whale sharks!
I know, things were getting dull around here. Safari, then Taipei, so we thought we'd better get out of town again. We haven't done a beach holiday for a while. Should be fun. Tim bought an underwater camera case so we should get some nice pics.
Stay tuned.
Friday, June 28, 2013
a quickie
We have company and I am waiting for them to come back for the day. So I grab a few minutes for a post.
The visitors are the folks I visited last year in Chiang Mai. My cousin's son and family live in Mai Rim, teach at an International School there. They have visa issues, so Mom Mary and Daughter Maeve have come to Singapore to visit the Thai Embassy and get visas. In fact they are only in Thailand for a few more months. They are moving to Italy, the north, near Lake Como. Gorgeous country. And George is nearby. That would be George Clooney. Yum.
I wanted to talk more of safari, but how quickly memories fade. That is the real reason I keep this blog. Yes, to stay connected, but I will have a record of our adventure.
A few things of our South Africa trip, that I wanted to mention. At Phinda we had wonderful food, beautiful meat, freshly baked everything (there is no corner bakery) and everything done very au courante. Crisp vegetables, beautifully presented.
When we came in for coffee to start the day there would be some wonderful bread/toast/brioche, whatever. There was a wonderful crunchy bar that I raved about to the cook. The next morning she gave me her recipe! Printed out on the computer. How's that for full service!
When planning the trip I went through an agency "&beyond". When the trip was getting bigger ($$$) I said we were making it our 30th anniversary trip. In fact on our anniversary I will be in Canada and Tim will be in Singapore. So.
Well every hotel we went to, we had the champagne on ice, glasses, and chocolates...whatever. At Phinda we came home from a night drive, and dinner, and came back to the cabin filled with maybe 50 tea lights, to a hot bubble bath and champagne! Tim poured my champers, I put it on the table by the tub, and climbed in. The table was a chunk of a tree trunk, beautiful, but not level. As I sat in the bubbles. I watched my glass slowly creep to the edge and fall to the floor. The romance of the moment was lost as Tim is down on hands and knees collecting broken glass in a towel. But it was a lovely thought.
We stopped along the east coast at Port Elizabeth. We rented a car and snooped around for 2 days. Then flew in to Cape Town. We had bumped in to a fellow pilot friend of Tim's on the flight to S.A. and he was going to be in Cape Town (he is from there and was back visiting family) and we met up with him in Cape Town. Synchronicity, you've got to love it.
We went one evening in Cape to a restaurant celebrating African cuisine. A tasting menu of 14 dishes. Fabulous. And entertainment. Dancing and singing. This was very much a touristy thing, but bumped up to real quality food and entertainment. We went early and had a drumming (djembe) lesson. Tim was hilarious. He does not have to be musical to be a pilot and that is a good thing. (He is hopeless with music. I looked over and he was in heaven but no where near the beat!)
I had lunch today with a friend from Toronto. I used to volunteer at Wellspring and Lynda Morrison was the director. I had heard she had moved to Acadia U. and I contacted her and she emailed me back. I had not answered her email for several months. Well, at my book club Skype, Marny, a friend of mine from Wellspring days just mentioned that she thought Lynda was in Singapore. I emailed Lynda right away, she was leaving the next day, and we connected and had lunch together. The synchronicity of that is so wonderful. If Marny had not mentioned Lynda (out of context in the book club Skype) it would not have happened.
Company's back. I will post photos in a bit.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
UGH
We are off to Taipei. The air is terrible here. As some of you know from the Globe and Mail. It is on the BBC. It is all day news (like CNN) on the Singapore tv. The psi should be under 100 and it is over 300 and close to 400.
Indonesian farmers do slash and burn to prepare their fields for their palm oil crops. The prevailing winds send the smoke from their burning to Malaysia and Singapore. It happens every year but nothing like this.
It is very weird here. Everyone with masks. Like a heavy London fog, but it stings your eyes and gives you a sore throat. There are flecks of ash blowing around. Hospitals are very busy with asthma patients.
Tim has 4 days off, so we are flying to Taipei. Now that is a joke. Going to China for cleaner air.
So we fly off tomorrow, back Tuesday. We have a young friend, Amy, teaching ESL outside Taipei and if we are lucky we will connect with her. And apparently there is a museum in Taipei that would be a three day visit- treasures from China, from the Forbidden City.
We are so very lucky to be able to escape. I never do forget how blessed we are. They say that this could last for weeks. In 1997, the last time it was really bad, it lasted July to October!!!
So I have lots more on South Africa, which will come.
very weird here
I don't know if it has made the news at home, but we are in a very weird Singapore right now.
I remember experiencing weather last year sometimes where the air was acrid with smoke. A little in the air might be the Chinese burning paper tributes to their ancestors in the incinerators outside each building.
But when we came home from South Africa, the air was thick with smoke. I have sent pictures of the view off our balcony. I would take a photo to show you what it is like now, but you wouldn't see anything! I see only the apartment across the way, no water, no ships, no downtown skyline. It is like a thick London fog.
I usually have all the windows wide open and only close the bedroom at night and put on the air con. I now have the whole place closed up and the main air con on. The air should not read higher than 100 something. 100 is high and uncomfortable, and aged and pregnant are told to stay indoors or wear masks. The reading here is 200 whatevers.
Tim, at Tiger, has been advised to wear some kind of mask when he does the walk around on the airplane, before take off. The Singapore tv station has had a special all day long on the haze.
The cause is the slash/burning of the Indonesian farmers. They ready their fields for planting by burning off the field. Singapore and Malaysia are in the down wind of Indonesia. The Singaporean and Malaysian governments are trying to negotiate with the farmers of Indonesia.
This haze happens every year, but this is the worst in 16 years. The whole city is under a pall. There is quite a strong wind, but it does nothing to move the smoke away.
You know like in a fog, cars come silently and people seem to appear out of nowhere. It is strange, mysterious, and unpleasant. I even went to the gym twice today because it has air con and there is no way I want to go for a walk in this air. Tim just came in on his bicycle wearing a mask!
We are thinking of going to Taiwan for his days off this weekend, to get fresh air! HA Now that is a laugh! (China having terrible air quality- but anything is better than what is here!)
This is the man I fell in love with thirty years ago.
More to the point I have stayed in love with him.
He is a stinker for having his eyes closed in a photo and he never smiles full on.
He has assured me that in this photo he is wide-eyed and grinning!
I remember experiencing weather last year sometimes where the air was acrid with smoke. A little in the air might be the Chinese burning paper tributes to their ancestors in the incinerators outside each building.
But when we came home from South Africa, the air was thick with smoke. I have sent pictures of the view off our balcony. I would take a photo to show you what it is like now, but you wouldn't see anything! I see only the apartment across the way, no water, no ships, no downtown skyline. It is like a thick London fog.
I usually have all the windows wide open and only close the bedroom at night and put on the air con. I now have the whole place closed up and the main air con on. The air should not read higher than 100 something. 100 is high and uncomfortable, and aged and pregnant are told to stay indoors or wear masks. The reading here is 200 whatevers.
Tim, at Tiger, has been advised to wear some kind of mask when he does the walk around on the airplane, before take off. The Singapore tv station has had a special all day long on the haze.
The cause is the slash/burning of the Indonesian farmers. They ready their fields for planting by burning off the field. Singapore and Malaysia are in the down wind of Indonesia. The Singaporean and Malaysian governments are trying to negotiate with the farmers of Indonesia.
This haze happens every year, but this is the worst in 16 years. The whole city is under a pall. There is quite a strong wind, but it does nothing to move the smoke away.
You know like in a fog, cars come silently and people seem to appear out of nowhere. It is strange, mysterious, and unpleasant. I even went to the gym twice today because it has air con and there is no way I want to go for a walk in this air. Tim just came in on his bicycle wearing a mask!
We are thinking of going to Taiwan for his days off this weekend, to get fresh air! HA Now that is a laugh! (China having terrible air quality- but anything is better than what is here!)
This is the man I fell in love with thirty years ago.
More to the point I have stayed in love with him.
He is a stinker for having his eyes closed in a photo and he never smiles full on.
He has assured me that in this photo he is wide-eyed and grinning!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
safari episode two
So here I go again, trying to describe something that was so huge, so unbelievable, so wonderful. Good luck.
Phinda is a private game reserve. It has three focusses- give back to the land, give back to the wildlife, give back to the community. It does all three, masterfully.
We went on game drives 6 a.m. - 10 a.m., and 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.. You start in darkness and end in darkness. So you start in cold and end in cold. South Africa's winter is now and the temperatures dropped to probably 10'. And out in the Land Cruiser, with no windshield it was colder. In the dark and particularly in the rain!
We had cold mornings, a delicious bite to the air (a Singaporean talking here) and by sunrise, the sun started to heat the day. We had a hot August day (actually stinking hot- I would not want to be there doing a safari in their summer!) a perfect September day (brilliant blue sky, and a warm sun that you can smell), perfect October day (brilliant sky, but a wind to make it a little on the fresh side), a grey November day (overcast and cold) and an awful November day (cold, grey, pissing rain, and blowing wind). We had it all.
The nights were cold driving back to camp, but cosy on arrival. Our very glamorous cabin with the turn down was toasty. All except the night of the "November rain". We needed a hot shower to get the appendages to move. The one very warm "August" day, we sat the afternoon at our plunge pool, saying hello to the impala that visited us, they seeking a little saline refresher. The pool was too cold to plunge into, because of the very cold nights. But I did yoga on the deck, with monkeys as audience! And we had an outdoor shower that was lovely that day. Monkeys at the shower too!
We would get a call at 5:30, come to the lodge at 6 a.m. for coffee and a bun. On our return at 10ish we would have a very full breakfast. Home baked bread, croissants, wonderful in season fruit, yogurt that must be 30%bf, and they even had delicious decaf coffee for me. Roughing it in the bush! We would loll around till 2, trying to think hungry, so we could face a fantastic lunch, on the deck, watching baboons playing in the trees, and be ready for a 3 o'clock drive. Till 8, and in to darkness. To arrive back to a wonderful dinner. The food was first class, and it was hard to think we were off in the bush.
Upon arrival, we were assigned to a ranger for our 5 days. Ranger Barry was a Zulu, trained for 7 years, lived just off the reserve with his family. The Toyota Land Cruiser sat 8. Six guests, and Ranger Barry and his spotter Chris, also a Zulu. Chris sat up front in the spotter seat, which was a single seat that stuck out front of the front of the vehicle. He would leave his "office" and join us when we were near animals. His coming in the vehicle kept the integrity of the outline of the vehicle, which was what the animals were comfortable with. He also would be back with us, and the two rangers had a "guitar" on which they put "strings". (a rifle with bullets.)
These two were amazing. A big part of the safari is educating us city folk. They would stop and show us prints. Know when they were made, where they had come from, and where they were headed. These guys know all the animals. Know the ages, family lineage, and know their activities. When we had a spotting, Barry would phone it in so all the other rangers could update their info.
He asked us the first drive what we hoped for. I said I wanted to see "the big five" My friend Kate had referred to "the big five" I had no idea what they were. They are not the biggest of the animals, but they are the most difficult to track and "hunt". Well, by drive #3 we had seen 4 of the 5. The five are elephants, lions, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, buffalo, cheetah. Now we saw these giants at close range. Calm, curious, comfortable, and they were awesome. A bull elephant was coming down the sand path we were on, so Barry pulled to the side and this magnificent 4 meter tall bull walked past us 2 meters away. Also a mature male lion. On the path, we pulled over, he looked at us and walked on, meters away. That, my friends, is breath taking.
We tracked four 4 year old lions, two female, two male (ruff just starting), for two days. They were hungry and looking for food. The third day we saw them just finishing off a wildebeest, and were licking their chops, and lolling. Full bellied, meters from us (the two males "spooning, with one's paws around the other).
We watched a bull elephant cross our path. Then one crossed behind us. So Barry reversed quickly, not wanting to be between the pack. And a good thing he did. We watched about 30 elephants cross, with one little baby. Where they were all about 3 meters tall, this baby wasn't one meter tall, and dancing, and skipping along. It was gorgeous!
We tracked a male mature lion for several days, looking for his two females. He was hungry, lost, and tired. Then we were there when he found them, nuzzling them, batting them, grooming them.
The cheetahs were eluding Barry (and all the other rangers). We had been tracking them in the bush in the vehicle. Tracks but no cheetah. So Barry and Chris set off on foot, with their guitar with strings on it, and they told us to STAY in the vehicle. They did ask if one of the guys could drive the Land Cruiser. With an affirmative, they set off on foot. After a hour, they called on the walkie talkie to come, gave directions, and we found them. Then, with Chris out of his office and sitting with guitar on his lap we found them. Cheetahs are magnificent. It was so worth the hunt. ( leopards have no stripe down their face, cheetahs do.)
I will continue this another post. I will attach a few of my photos this time. But Tim's photos will be coming along soon.
King of the Jungle
They look like they are related to camels!
Major BIG and a matter of feet away!
He was feet away too!
Zebras are gorgeous!
Pretty magnificent!
Chris in his office, and Ranger Barry at the wheel.
Buffalo. Sure doesn't look like North American buffalo
Well worth the hunt! AMAZING!!!!!!
My pictures of rhino and hippo are not very good. The animals are so well camouflaged that you can't see them in the pics!
More to follow!
Phinda is a private game reserve. It has three focusses- give back to the land, give back to the wildlife, give back to the community. It does all three, masterfully.
We went on game drives 6 a.m. - 10 a.m., and 3 p.m. - 8 p.m.. You start in darkness and end in darkness. So you start in cold and end in cold. South Africa's winter is now and the temperatures dropped to probably 10'. And out in the Land Cruiser, with no windshield it was colder. In the dark and particularly in the rain!
We had cold mornings, a delicious bite to the air (a Singaporean talking here) and by sunrise, the sun started to heat the day. We had a hot August day (actually stinking hot- I would not want to be there doing a safari in their summer!) a perfect September day (brilliant blue sky, and a warm sun that you can smell), perfect October day (brilliant sky, but a wind to make it a little on the fresh side), a grey November day (overcast and cold) and an awful November day (cold, grey, pissing rain, and blowing wind). We had it all.
The nights were cold driving back to camp, but cosy on arrival. Our very glamorous cabin with the turn down was toasty. All except the night of the "November rain". We needed a hot shower to get the appendages to move. The one very warm "August" day, we sat the afternoon at our plunge pool, saying hello to the impala that visited us, they seeking a little saline refresher. The pool was too cold to plunge into, because of the very cold nights. But I did yoga on the deck, with monkeys as audience! And we had an outdoor shower that was lovely that day. Monkeys at the shower too!
We would get a call at 5:30, come to the lodge at 6 a.m. for coffee and a bun. On our return at 10ish we would have a very full breakfast. Home baked bread, croissants, wonderful in season fruit, yogurt that must be 30%bf, and they even had delicious decaf coffee for me. Roughing it in the bush! We would loll around till 2, trying to think hungry, so we could face a fantastic lunch, on the deck, watching baboons playing in the trees, and be ready for a 3 o'clock drive. Till 8, and in to darkness. To arrive back to a wonderful dinner. The food was first class, and it was hard to think we were off in the bush.
Upon arrival, we were assigned to a ranger for our 5 days. Ranger Barry was a Zulu, trained for 7 years, lived just off the reserve with his family. The Toyota Land Cruiser sat 8. Six guests, and Ranger Barry and his spotter Chris, also a Zulu. Chris sat up front in the spotter seat, which was a single seat that stuck out front of the front of the vehicle. He would leave his "office" and join us when we were near animals. His coming in the vehicle kept the integrity of the outline of the vehicle, which was what the animals were comfortable with. He also would be back with us, and the two rangers had a "guitar" on which they put "strings". (a rifle with bullets.)
These two were amazing. A big part of the safari is educating us city folk. They would stop and show us prints. Know when they were made, where they had come from, and where they were headed. These guys know all the animals. Know the ages, family lineage, and know their activities. When we had a spotting, Barry would phone it in so all the other rangers could update their info.
He asked us the first drive what we hoped for. I said I wanted to see "the big five" My friend Kate had referred to "the big five" I had no idea what they were. They are not the biggest of the animals, but they are the most difficult to track and "hunt". Well, by drive #3 we had seen 4 of the 5. The five are elephants, lions, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, buffalo, cheetah. Now we saw these giants at close range. Calm, curious, comfortable, and they were awesome. A bull elephant was coming down the sand path we were on, so Barry pulled to the side and this magnificent 4 meter tall bull walked past us 2 meters away. Also a mature male lion. On the path, we pulled over, he looked at us and walked on, meters away. That, my friends, is breath taking.
We tracked four 4 year old lions, two female, two male (ruff just starting), for two days. They were hungry and looking for food. The third day we saw them just finishing off a wildebeest, and were licking their chops, and lolling. Full bellied, meters from us (the two males "spooning, with one's paws around the other).
We watched a bull elephant cross our path. Then one crossed behind us. So Barry reversed quickly, not wanting to be between the pack. And a good thing he did. We watched about 30 elephants cross, with one little baby. Where they were all about 3 meters tall, this baby wasn't one meter tall, and dancing, and skipping along. It was gorgeous!
We tracked a male mature lion for several days, looking for his two females. He was hungry, lost, and tired. Then we were there when he found them, nuzzling them, batting them, grooming them.
The cheetahs were eluding Barry (and all the other rangers). We had been tracking them in the bush in the vehicle. Tracks but no cheetah. So Barry and Chris set off on foot, with their guitar with strings on it, and they told us to STAY in the vehicle. They did ask if one of the guys could drive the Land Cruiser. With an affirmative, they set off on foot. After a hour, they called on the walkie talkie to come, gave directions, and we found them. Then, with Chris out of his office and sitting with guitar on his lap we found them. Cheetahs are magnificent. It was so worth the hunt. ( leopards have no stripe down their face, cheetahs do.)
I will continue this another post. I will attach a few of my photos this time. But Tim's photos will be coming along soon.
King of the Jungle
They look like they are related to camels!
Major BIG and a matter of feet away!
He was feet away too!
Zebras are gorgeous!
Pretty magnificent!
Chris in his office, and Ranger Barry at the wheel.
Buffalo. Sure doesn't look like North American buffalo
Well worth the hunt! AMAZING!!!!!!
My pictures of rhino and hippo are not very good. The animals are so well camouflaged that you can't see them in the pics!
More to follow!
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