Day 8 - PM drive

After tea it was back in the trucks for the evening game drive.

Not too far outside the camp our tracker, the guy who sits on the seat mounted on the hood of the truck, saw these tracks on the road.

The cats were out.

It wasn't long before the radio came alive.

A leopard had been found and it wasn't either of the ones we had seen the previous evening.

But, there were already three trucks on site so we would have to wait. Abel put our name on the list and when someone else left we would get to go see.

While we were waiting we drove around looking for more game.

I saw something move a ways off. It looked like impala running. Abel sped down the road and turned in their direction. The tracker directed him off the road. They had been running from something. They apparently have very keen senses.

Then the tracker saw it. A solitary cheetah ahead in the brush.

We drove right up next to it. He was no longer hunting...it was obvious by the size of his belly he had gotten his fill.

We followed the cheetah as he walked along marking his territory. Perfectly content and not the least bit concerned about the humans. Then our opportunity came to visit the leopard. We guided another truck to the cheetah so they could follow it and keep tabs on his location.


The leopard was perched in a tree.

We hadn't been told it was sitting with its kill.

We pulled right up underneath it. The others could not get this close because the leopard was on Djuma property and on Djuma property only Djuma trucks can leave the road.

This was another young female. She caught herself a duiker and pulled it up into the tree to keep the scavengers (and other cats) from fighting her for it.

She must have expended a great deal of energy chasing this antelope down.

It wasn't long after we arrived, as the sun was setting, that she curled up with her kill and took a little nap.

An amazing sight to see.

Later we watched as she plucked the hair from the duiker in preparation for tearing into it and having a little meal.

Unfortunately we were already late for our evening meal...again.

So, we left her to enjoy her evening in the tree, certain we would see her in exactly the same place the next morning.

Oh yeah, we also saw some giraffe and a bush baby this evening.

Djuma Bush Lodge

One of the rooms.

I think there were 8 of them.

Each has a bed with mosquito net, full bath, a/c and heat.

Very comfortable.

The main lodge.

Inside was the bar, dining room, tea room, a couple patios for viewing of the water hole and tucked in behind it was the pool.

It was a little cool so none of us went in the pool but it was a nice setting and we enjoyed reading, sunning and even had lunch out there one day.

This is Abel. He was our guide.

Abel was from the local area.

Djuma puts a lot of value on the locals and provides more than just jobs.

The school in Abel's village was built with funds provided by the Djuma Lodge...another good reason to support this wonderful establishment.

Day 8 - Mid-day

After the morning drive we would return to the lodge for breakfast at around 930.

It was always an incredible spread of fruits and yogurt and cheese and cereal and bread and eggs and bacon and sausage and juices.

After breakfast was free time. Maybe a nature walk or nap or reading until lunch at 1pm.

This was our room.

It's not a very good picture but you get the idea...it was nice.

We often had visitors come to our cabins.



This is a Nyala.

They liked to hang out in the camp.

They were a little skitterish but it didn't stop them from coming in and grazing on the plants.

An afternoon by the pool, reading and relaxing and enjoying the warm sun.

It was chilly in the mornings and evenings so it felt really good to peel off a layer and absorb sun rays by the pool.
A bush buck that wandered into the camp.

After lunch and before the evening game drive was tea and cake.

No wonder I put on 15 pounds in 15 days!

Day 8 - AM pt 2

On the way to see the buffalo we also saw these guys and a couple of their girlfriends.

These are Kudu. Sometimes called the Grey Ghost of Africa.

They really blend in well and have an uncanny ability to disappear in just a few meters.

Their horns are amazing.

But not as amazing as the horns on the buffalo.

These old guys are crazy looking with these huge head pieces.

We saw an entire herd of buffalo and got there just in time as they crossed the property line. Later we would see more, but not this many in one place.

After they got across the road our guides broke out tea and coffee and snacks. They certainly did take good care of us.

Back in the trucks for some more viewing.

We saw a troop of baboon.

We watched as they posted sentinels to watch us.

The young were latched on to their mother's underside as they made their way across the field.

We saw way too many birds to list them all or post their pictures.

We saw more giraffe and zebra and steenbok and rhino and dwarf mongoose and bush buck.

On the way into the camp we saw these water buck grazing in the field.

The first day we saw several male water buck laying in the brush but this was the first good look we got of a female.

It wouldn't be the last.

Day 8 - Morning Drive

So we loaded up the truck and we moved...at 6am!

It was a rude awakening at 0530 when the knock on the door came.

"Good morning"

They don't stop until you get out of bed and come to the door to get your biscuits. I can't remember what they are called, starts with an r, but they are hard as a rock until you dip them into your tea or coffee and they become edible.

Our first full day. I was very excited. I'm not sure I slept much. I remember being awake thinking of that Disney commercial "we can't sleep, we're too excited".
We had hardly even left the lodge grounds when we saw our first elephant.

Not just one either. There was a whole family.

Magnificent creatures. What they can do with their trunks is incredible.

We watched as they would use their trunks and tusks to break branches, or trees, and eat the soft limbs. Occasionally they would hold a tree while they kicked at the base to uproot it. It was amazing to watch an animal so massive be so exact and delicate in its motions.
Next, we went to the hyena den.

Abel knew exactly where they would be.

They were a lot of fun. The family interaction was intriguing.

Apparently one female has a litter at a time but all the females help raise the young. The pups were not the least bit afraid of us.

We watched as the older males returned to the den after a night of hunting. They had a ritual they performed when returning and greeting the "den mother".

While we were watching the hyena we got a call that the buffalo were on the move and were leaving the property. If we didn't hurry we might not get to see them.

On the way we got to see this little guy. He is a vervet monkey. Several of them hang out around the lodge and occasionally we would see them out in the bush.

Day 7 - First Night Drive

After our Sundowner we took off to find the creatures of the night.

It wasn't long before we got a call from one of the other groups that they had found a leopard.

Man was I excited.

How close could we get before it would run?

Was it hunting?

I was not at all prepared for what we were about to see.

As we approached the location our guide, Abel, took off into the brush. We were running over small trees. We could see the other vehicles across the field. They were also treking through the brush.

Then we saw it. A solitary leopard, a 3 year old male, intent on something, paying absolutely no attention to us what so ever.

As we looked out ahead we saw what he saw...a steenbok.

He was hunting!

The other trucks left...it was just us.

His prey sat still, he approached. Not to interfere, we turned off our spotlight and sat quietly, waiting, wondering if we would hear the cry of the steenbok or would it be quick enough to elude the leopard?

We heard movement. But, there was no scream or roar or anything.

We turned the light back on. The leopard had moved, the steenbok was gone.

We picked up the leopard again 30-40 meters away...how had it moved so far so fast without making any noise.

It was not the same young male, it was his mother.

Then we saw the two of them but they didn't get within 10m of each other. As a matter of fact, as we sat and watched, the mother put on an incredible display of purring and panting and growling.

Our guide explained to us that the mother was warning her cub to stay away.

They were not hunting together.

Actually, the cub hadn't known she was following him while he hunted.

Her growling was a warning to him to stay away from her.

According to Abel, she was likely in heat and would be followed by older male leopards trying to mate with her. If they found the cub nearby, they would kill it.

WOW...what a first night!

Though I was a little sad we hadn't seen an elephant I knew we would. And, there are some people who never get to see a leopard. That is why they are one of the Big 5.

Lion
Leopard
Elephant
Rhino
Buffalo

We were late for dinner. Not one of us cared the least bit. Eat or watch this, easy choice.

Day 7 - To Djuma / First Game Drive

So, now for the real fun.

Not that Cape Town isn't cool, but it is not why I went to Africa!

Early get up and off to the Cape Town airport for our flight to Nelsprut from where we would hop on a 12 seat Cessna and fly directly to Kruger Game Preserve.

Everything went pretty well except the weather in Nelsprut was bad enough that the little guys weren't flying. So, on to a bus and about 2 or 3 hours later we were driving into the land where the wild things are.

I don't have the pictures but on the way in our first sighting was of a warthog...or maybe the impala were first...I'm not sure, but the warthog was cool. I see deer all the time.

Of course later I learned that they aren't deer, they are antelope. And oh are there antelope.

When we arrived at Djuma Bush Lodge we were given a quick "safety" brief, you know, things like:
Don't walk around at night unescorted.
Take your malaria pills and use the mosquito nets.
Don't stand up in the Land Cruisers.
Don't feed the animals.
Don't stick your head in a lion's mouth.

Then we were shown to our rooms. Each couple had a nice little cottage with all the amenities of home.

A quick lunch since we were late and the sun was going down and off on a game drive. 12 of us, so 6 to a vehicle. Djuma has their own property that butts up against that of other lodges. None are fenced so that the animals have the freedom to roam. One of the really cool thing about Djuma is that they can drive off the road and follow or seek out the animals. This proved to be very important as we hunted down the elusive lions and cheetah and leopards.

Right outside the camp we ran into this big fella.

This is a white rhino. I know it's black but the color has nothing to do with it.

White is actually supposed to be wide. These guys have wider mouths, or broad upper lips, unlike the black rhino which have a narrow upper lip.

Yeah, you get close enough to check out their lips.

An easier was to tell from a distance is that white rhino shepard their young out in front and the young of black rhinos fall in behind. Interesting huh?

The zebra, and that's with a soft e not a hard e, were just hanging out, chowing down.

We would end up seeing them almost every day. But, it wasn't until we got to Chobe that we would see a herd of hundreds grazing in the open plains.

Ahead of myself again.

We almost didn't see the giraffe.

I never would have thought their camaflouge would work so well.

As you can tell it was starting to get dark though and things were getting harder to pick out.

But, as the sun went down we were introduced to a new and nightly custom.

The SUNDOWNER.

I've started practicing the tradition at home now as well...except when I'm on call...which is all the time...except tonight!

Anyway, we park in some place with a great view, watch the sun go down, relax, and enjoy a tasty beverage of our choosing. They don't bring out a complete bar so you have to put your order in ahead of time. My drink was gin and tonic (to fight off malaria). By the end of the trip I had converted several others as well. Leigh chose the vodka tonic. She's not a big gin fan.

After the sundowner it was back to the game drive. But, this time with the help of a million candle power spot light.

Nights are cat time and I couldn't wait. I love big cats!

Day 6 - Kirstenbosch

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is world-renowned for the beauty and diversity of the Cape flora it displays and for the magnificence of its setting against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain.


The origin of the name Kirstenbosch is uncertain, a number of families with the name Kirsten lived in the vicinity and some how the area became known as Kirstenbosch (Kirsten's Forest).


Really it doesn't matter, the cool thing is that Kirsten is my sister's name...the one I got the wedding cup for...the one that got married in France on 20 September!

See...cool, huh.

Kirstenbosch is famous for its protea.

But, it is also famous for the Mandela Gold Birds of Paradise.

This is a special variant to the typical Bird of Paradise and created for Nelson Mandela.

The "plumes" are yellow instead of the typical orange.






After visiting the gardens and having lunch at the Gold Museum...great lunch (just one more meal that helped add FIFTEEN pounds to my waistline in only fifteen days) we had a little city tour.

One of the stops was The Castle of Good Hope which is right across the street from this building...City Hall.

The patio (hmmm...porch, deck, lanai, sticky outy thing) is where Nelson Mandela stood when he gave his famous speech after being released from prison on 11 February 1990, after 27 years.

Day 6 - Table Mountain

Well the weather guessers were right...

...it was a BEAUTIFUL day!

Exactly what you want when going up onto Table Mountain.

Table Mountain is a plateau approximately 3 km from side to side, surrounded by steep cliffs. The plateau, flanked by Devil's Peak to the east and by Lion's Head to the west, forms a dramatic backdrop to Cape Town and its Table Bay harbour, and together with Signal Hill form the natural amphitheatre of the City Bowl.
The highest point on Table Mountain is towards the eastern end of the plateau and is marked by Maclear's Beacon. It is 1,086 metres above sea level.


From the top of Table Mountain you can see Robben Island.

Robben Island was first inhabited thousands of years ago by stone age people, at a time when sea levels were considerably lower than they are today and people could walk to it. It was then a flat-topped hill.

But, due to dinosaur farts and global warming, the hill became an island.

Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used to isolate certain people — mainly prisoners — and amongst its first permanent inhabitants were political leaders from various Dutch colonies

Under the apartheid regime, Robben Island became a maximum security prison in 1959, and its character as an island-prison near to a major population centre invites comparisons with Alcatraz.

Between 1961 and 1991, over three thousand men were incarcerated here as political prisoners, often for decades, including the distinguished international statesman Nelson Mandela.



We were a long,

long,

long,

long,

way from home!

Day 5 - Wine Tasting

With weather reports calling for clearing skies as the week progressed we decided to wait one more day to head up to Table Mountain...therefore today would be our leisure day.

Well, we wanted to be studious and have an educational leisure day by going out to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. But because the seas were still rough in the morning the ferry wasn't running.

There was nothing else to do but go drink wine.

We started out at Fairview. They had this crazy tower with goats climbing on it. Didn't really understand why until we got inside.

Ever heard of Goats do Roam?

That is a second label for Fairview, as is Spice Route. We tasted several of each and then did a little sampling at the cheese bar.

Next we headed to Warwick.

Easily my favorite of the day.

The wines were delicious, the staff was great, and the pours wer substantial.

It is also the place we learned about the



Wedding Cup

The Story goes that a young lady from a wealthy family wanted to marry the town silver smith. Her father forbade her as the smith was far below the family position. Her grief was so great that her father agreed to let them marry but only if her love could create a cup that two people could drink from at the same time. Her father rested easy thinking he had given her hope so she would recover from her grief and yet posed an impossible task for the smith, hence preventing the eventual marriage. Much to his chagrine the exceptional talent of the sliver smith was not overrated and he was able to create such a cup. They were married and lived happily ever after.

Leigh and I were also successful in our attempt at drinking from the cup. I thought it was such a great story I bought one for my sister who was getting married just a week later.

After a wonderful lunch we went on to Meerlust.

Meerlust is famous for their Rubicon, which I must say is quite tasty.

This was were we met the whiner with her entourage. Only carried AMEX and didn't have any ID or Passport. She only wanted to buy wine that you couldn't get in the US. Didn't want to taste it. She wanted direct shipping to her house in FL were she retired to from NY.

Yeah, perfect.

We waited until she was done, then resumed our tasting. We tasted, chose, purchased, roamed the grounds, and left while she was still trying to get approval from AMEX.

That was our tour of the Stellenbosch wine region of South Africa.

Day 4 - Cape Point

Short recaps now. I'll edit and add pictures soon.

From Africa
After b'fast we joined our travel mates and headed to Cape Point with Jeremy as our guide. It was cold and damp. We couldn't see Table Mountain because of weather.


On the way to Cape Point we stopped at Haut Bay to take a ride out to Duiker Island to see the Cape Fur Seals. After a fun ferry ride in the not so calm water we returned to shore.

We wanted to proceeded further down the coast along Chapman's Bay but we had to cross over the peninsula to the other side because of a road closure due to a landslide. We drove through Constantia, South Africa's oldest wine district. Once south of the landslide area, we crossed back to the Atlantic side and continued to Cape Point.


Cape Point is incredible. Amazing views. We didn't walk up to the Light House but instead chose to go out along the coast a ways to take in the views. Along the way we had our first Right Whale sighting. We were going to walk down to Cape Point but there was some weather coming in and we didn't have time (unless we wanted to get very wet). It started to rain so we quickly returned to the visitor center where we got to watch the antics of a Chacma Baboon who has learned that humans often leave food in their cars. We drove down to Cape Point and were fortunate to see both Ostrich and Elands. We didn't get to see the Mountain Zebra, though we did see evidence of its presence.

On the way back to Cape Town we stopped at Boulders Beach to see the African Penguins. After a visit with the aptly named Jackass Penguins we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a local restaurant.

Back to the hotel and a little later, dinner at Balducci's.