I'm pleased to report that I've ticked another South African province off my list. Last weekend Big B and I flew out of Cape Town in the wee hours of Friday morning to visit our friend Lucy. Lucy was a housemate of B's both in Taiwan and in Cape Town, and she is now living at the Mabula private game reserve outside Bela Bela in the province of Limpopo. Mabula is the HQ for the national ground hornbill conservation project, which Lucy is managing with aplomb.
But before we got to Lucy, we needed a break for tea and a nibble. As we drove out of Pretoria we saw an oasis above the N1- there was a Steers in the sky!
While not the most stunning view, we agreed that it was a good use of space.
Next we pulled into Bela Bela to buy some groceries. Turns out the Afrikaans locals really like me!
Mabula was stunning. It was great to have a few days out in the bush with nothing but friends and food and various animals sounds.
We met Lucy's hornbills and saw quite a bit of other wildlife (crocs, hippos, giraffe, rhino, an aardvark, lots and lots of various antelope).
And then before we knew it we were on our way back to the airport. We were a little disappointed to leave without seeing the elephants, but one was sick so they kept the herd cordoned off. Just after leaving the reserve we passed a group of five teenage ellies behind a fence on the side of the road. I shouted, B pulled over, and we went to say "hi." One of the men with them gave me a handful of food and let me feed one little fella. I was apprehensive at first- that is one seriously big, smelly hole I was going to stick my hand into- but got over it and had a big laugh. This was unlike any trip to the airport I ever had back in the USA!
But before we got to Lucy, we needed a break for tea and a nibble. As we drove out of Pretoria we saw an oasis above the N1- there was a Steers in the sky!
While not the most stunning view, we agreed that it was a good use of space.
Next we pulled into Bela Bela to buy some groceries. Turns out the Afrikaans locals really like me!
("lekker" means good/great in Afrikaans)
Mabula was stunning. It was great to have a few days out in the bush with nothing but friends and food and various animals sounds.
We met Lucy's hornbills and saw quite a bit of other wildlife (crocs, hippos, giraffe, rhino, an aardvark, lots and lots of various antelope).
And then before we knew it we were on our way back to the airport. We were a little disappointed to leave without seeing the elephants, but one was sick so they kept the herd cordoned off. Just after leaving the reserve we passed a group of five teenage ellies behind a fence on the side of the road. I shouted, B pulled over, and we went to say "hi." One of the men with them gave me a handful of food and let me feed one little fella. I was apprehensive at first- that is one seriously big, smelly hole I was going to stick my hand into- but got over it and had a big laugh. This was unlike any trip to the airport I ever had back in the USA!
No comments:
Post a Comment