OCTOBER HOLIDAY! (a work in progress as photos come in from others)

A much awaited vacation to see animals (first week) and  beautiful scenery (second week).  Nine people joined me the first week, then seven for most of the second week.   (P. S. Don't forget that if you click on the photo, it enlarges it)

Susie Weinreis and John Enright arrived first on Thursday night.  We rode the Gautrain to Pretoria on Friday, got a taxi,  and toured the Voortrekkers Museum and the Union Buildings (the primary capitol of SA), then back to Joburg in time to greet the next group:  Pam and Terry Keel, Dale Davis and Jackie Warner, and Ann Sadler.  Saturday we did the Red Bus hop on/hop off, seeing the city/area, visiting the Apartheid Museum, then going to Ellis Park for rugby.

Rugby game was a hit with my visitors!  Springboks vs New Zealand.  Same teams as in movie "Invictus" and it couldn't have been a more exciting match~many locals later told me it was the best Rugby game ever in South Africa.

Deane Bell and Rufo Calvo arrived late Saturday night, then Sunday morning our driver picked the ten of us up and we headed to Hoedspruit to a game reserve near Kruger Park, called Tshukudu.  Saw lots of antelope, water buffalo, petted cheetahs and leopards,  a few elephant and giraffes, rhinos.

Leopard resting in a tree

Morning bush walk.  Susie petting the cheetahs

Twin termite hills.  Lots of these very large hills all over the game reserve.

The game reserve owner/driver Chris would rev up his engine a few times, then the lion would roar back in response.  We could see the energy it takes to roar, using the entire diaphragm, but he did it in a very non-threatening way, just laid there and roared.

These rehabilitated rhinos are getting supplemental feed near the game reserve.  Their horns were cut off to make them less vulnerable to poachers, but even so, some poachers will still kill them for the amount of horn that is left, as the black market value is so high.

(to post: photo of Jessica the hippo)

After two nights there, we flew to Livingstone, Zambia, staying at a not-so-great backpackers facility.  Our river safari to Chobe Game Reserve in Botswana was spectacular, seeing hundreds of elephants, water buffalo, many crocs, lots of birds, hippos and always, antelope. The game drive in the afternoon was okay; didn't see any zebras and only a couple of giraffes, as they were in migration.

One of numerous crocodiles we spotted

nice perch for birds in happy hippo land

water buffalo make a good resting spot as well

vultures cleaning up a carcass

warthogs on their knees...eating, not praying

 (one of many places) where the antelope play

catching a little snooze  between safaris

Dr. Livingstone, I presume?  His named island on the Zambia side of the Zambezi River, where we all visited, and a few daredevils in our group did the "Devil's Pool."

Victoria Falls from Zimbabwe side.  Look closely and see the people in Devil's Pool.  I chickened out before we even got there and believe it was a wise decision!

Do you see the arm of the person on the right?  That's how close they are to the edge of the Falls (a 300' drop)

Victoria Falls near Devil's Pool - Zambia side.  Devil's Pool is behind me.  On to the Cape!

Boulders Beach -  Cape Point.  We hired a driver and van and spent the day going to the southernmost point of South Africa on the Cape of Good Hope, had a wonderful lunch, saw these wonderful creatures as well.

Pam and Terry at Good Hope

 Took a ferry ride over to Robben Island, where Mandela was held as a political prisoner for 23 years.  The guides at the now-defunct prison facility are former political prisoners.  Unfortunately, he has some interesting things to say, but it was very difficult to understand his heavy accent.


View of the coast line driving back to Cape Town from the Point.

Jackie and Dale enjoying another great lunch, this time at Camp's Bay alongside the Indian Ocean.

My roommate Ann and I showing off our tribal paint at a restaurant in Cape Town.  A multi-course dinner following a drumming lesson.  More fun!

 One day John, Susie and I walked from the wonderful guest house where we were staying up to Signal Hill, aka the Lion's Rump.  Table Mountain is in the rear, and most of us took the cable car up there the preceding day.  After a stop at Hermanus to see the whales (not as many as I had hoped, and none were breeching) they took off on their own the last few days, so I was the van driver for the remaining six of us on the Garden Route.  Had a harder time with the manual transmission than I did driving on the left side!

Zip lining at Storms River.  Stopped short so had to bring myself in to the platform.

Suspension bridges at Storms River (Pam and Terry on bridge)