Saturday, November 15, 2008

South Africa

It has been more difficult than I realized to get on the Internet but I am now at City Lodge in J'Berg and have purchased 30 minutes. Gosh! Where do I begin? This is a beautiful country. As soon as we arrived, everyone asked us about the election and wanted buttons. I brought 50 and could give away thousands.

We spent 5 days in Kruger Park where we saw a pride of lions a few feet from the car and herds of elephants guarding their babies walked across the road in single file. The baby wart hogs were adorable and we saw many of them. We saw giraffes, zebra, rhinos and hippos. The only " big five" we didn't see was a leopard.We sat out by the Sabie River and watched crocodiles and could hear the hippos grunting and the lions roaring from our little thatched huts.An incredible experience!

Today we got a special tour of the Cradle of Humankind where the fossils of the first know humans were found. We saw the caves and even some bones mixed in the breccia. We also stromalotites, the earliest known fossils that are billions of years old. It was a geologist's paradise!The people who took us actually have property there and are friends of a couple traveling with us.They had prepared a wondeerful lunch which we ate right next to one of the caves where scientists have worked.

It is early spring here and it has been hot most days. The plants are also incredible, many having thorns.Aloe is native and grows quite large. Tomorrow we fly to CapeTown where more adventures await us.I've already decided that Jamie and Sandy must see this so maybe in a few years, I can bring them back here.

4 comments:

Sue said...

All I can say is wow, awesome....To be able to see all these animals almost up close and personal must have been a terrific experience. Maybe you'll find a c-cafe further into your travels and you will be able to share a picture or two. Continue to have fun and stay safe. Jim and Belinda visited today. So very great to see them. We had a fun day.

Amber Poulson said...

Wow - it sounds like you're having a great time. Retirement must be fun. Too bad my generation will never get to retire. LOL Have fun and send pictures when you can.

Glen said...

What is one of the worst sins? Envy? You're not making it easy. You take some of the best trips. When you come home, I want a special "sit-down" time to hear all about your African adventures. The pictures won't do just to the real thing but they will help to jog your memory. I agree...you must go back in a few years with your two boys.

Scribblings of Lynda Smith said...

Welcome to our beautiful country. I have a google alert on Retirement as I am fascinated by how the Baby Boomers will retire.( this is how your blog came up) Go to www.refirementnetwork.com. This is my website. Let me know how I can improve the journey for other American Boomers who want to visit South Africa. I too love travel and my children live in Thailand and London. I have been privileged to visit every continent. Enjoy the rest of your stay.

Kind Regards

Lynda Smith