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.

Day 3

I guess it was day three.

Let's see, day one (Saturday, 6 Sep) we flew on American to LAX in the
afternoon then left LAX at 8pm (20h00) in a couple cushy business
class seats! That is the way to fly. Sadly it was the only long flight
we got "upgraded" on. It was a great way to start our vacation.

So, day two would have been arriving London Heathrow at 15h50 (eleven
hours of flying and an eight hour time change). After a four hour sit
in the fanciest terminal I've ever seen we boarded our BA flight to
Cape Town at 20h00. The economy seats in a 747 are not comfortable and
sleeping was near impossible.

Day 3 we arrived Cape Town at 07h30, got through customs and
immigration fairly easily, walked out of security and there was our
driver waiting for us. About a 30 minute drive to the Portswood Hotel
at the Marina took us an hour in rush hour traffic. After a shower we
decided to take a little "nap" at about 10h00. We woke up at about
21h00 when our friends called the room upon their arrival and asked us
to join them for dinner. We didn't feel like getting dressed and going
out so we opted for an in room pajama picnic, a little reading, and
then back to bed.

747-400

A little bigger than the MD-80s I fly. I think we're in row 473!

Sleep Aid

Enjoying a barley pop in LAX.

Next stop London!

The Adventure Begins

Blast Off!

Tucker P. Glerum, 4 July 1997 - 5 Sep 2008

I got home from a trip on the evening of September 4th and Leigh told me she was going to take Tucker to work the next day to have him looked at by one of the internists. He was very weak and bloated and she feared he may have a bleeding tumor in his abdomen.

She called from the office the next morning, she was right. He had many growths in his abdomen. It was impossible to tell which one or ones were bleeding. The internist said even if we operated and the bleeder was able to be removed it wasn't likely he would live more than 6 weeks if even that long. Chances were that we would find it was inoperable and have to put him down on the operating table. We were leaving for a two week trip to Africa the next day. Best case he would have to suffer through surgery and recovery while we were gone then maybe only have a couple weeks when we returned. I decided I didn't want to put him through that.

I finished up what I was doing at home then went and picked him up.

We went to the park. We rode in the Jeep...he loved going for rides. We played. We napped. We shared a bag of pop-corn (even taught Phanny to catch pop-corn).

When Leigh finished work I took him back to the office. We said our goodbyes. I held him while Leigh injected him. Putting my dog to sleep ranks high on the list of hardest things I've ever had to do.

He was my first dog as an adult.

He was my best buddy for over 11 years.

He went to work with me every day (3 hours in the car) for the first 6-8 months of his life.

He ran with me.

He chased me on my bike.

He loved to go hiking.

He was always happy to see me.

He kept Leigh company while I was gone and that was a tall order,

I was frequently gone with work for a night or two, occasionally for a week or two, and in 2005...well, I was gone pretty much the first 9 months.

He even tried on one of my cycling jerseys.

He was a good little brother to Crystal.

He was a good big brother to Phanny.

He kept me company while I was recovering from shoulder surgery.

I'm going to miss you little buddy...I already do!

Hmmm....

.....drinking Starbucks Coffee at the World Famous Cafe' du Monde in New Orleans.

Portola Redwoods State Park

The park is in a rugged, natural basin forested with coast redwoods, Douglas fir and live oak. Eighteen miles of trails crisscross the canyon and several streams, notably Slate Creek, Peters Creek and Pescadero Creek. Trails also connect to trails in adjacent parks. The Sequoia Self-guided Nature Trail and Old Tree Trail introduce visitors to the natural history of the area. The park has one of the tallest redwoods (over 300 feet high) in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

What will they think of next?

Motion activated automatic toilet seat plastic wrap changing device.

I was laughing so much I almost wet myself. Maybe that's why they have
the hands free seat cover changer!

Masters Track State Championships

Not a bad days work.

3rd 40-44 3k Pursuit
2nd 40-44 Points Race
2nd 30+ Team Sprint
2nd 40+ Team Sprint
3rd 40+ Team Pursuit

Ouch

How does one do that?