Mother and Son Make The World Their Classroom for a School Year: September 2014

Monday, September 29, 2014

September 29, 2014

After locating Sam's retainer, which was left in a pocket and picked up for laundry this morning, we were on our way to find the Cape Buffalo. Yesterday we had tried to locate the large herd but due to the wind they were laying low and we couldn't find them. We were joined today by the family from Australia, including their son Otto. It was fun to have others join us and they had been on safari for a few weeks and were well versed on the animals but hadn't seen some of the animals here. We saw several more varieties of antelope today including the Sable ,also known as "James Bond" with his black suit- black coat and long arched horns and the Oryx which was beautiful and had long pointy horns. We were lucky enough to run into a "journey" or "trumpet" of giraffes. Think that is so cool that is the name for a group of giraffe. We counted 12 roaming around together. They were a variety of colors, which I thought color came from age, but that is not correct. It is the color they are born. They have light blonde looking ones and then carmel colored and then dark like the older one we saw the other day. We stopped for a while and enjoyed them, until we heard over the radio they had located the herd of Cape Buffalo. They are large and aggressive and they wear almost a helmet of horns, which helps in protecting their heads as they go head to head often. We spotted several birds including the black chested snake eagle which was very large and soared over us at one point this morning. We as usual saw many gazelles, blesboks, kudus, wildebeest, and wart hogs.

For lunch we went to an overlook where we had a great braai- BBQ in South Africas. We enjoyed bbqed lamp chops and corn. Fun to visit with our guide Freddy, who is a 27 year old South African who is very knowledgeable about the wildlife and landscape of this region. He is great with Sam and Sam and him seem to enjoy a good laugh when they are together.

In the afternoon we did our last horseback ride. I hopped on Hercules and Sam rode Leo, “his horse”. We headed towards Ant’s Hill, the other lodge over the mountain. We had improved and could canter longer, which is so much easier than trotting. We were able to see several Sables, Blesbok, Zebras, Impala and Wildebeast. It is true, you really can get much closer on horseback. In a jeep they run away and so it was so fun to just walk right up to a herd of Impala and walk nearly through them.

We ended up at Ant’s Hill where we watched the sunset. It is at the crest of a hill, which in rainy season has a waterfall that flows down below it. The sunset was spectacular, as always, and it was fun to see another beautiful lodge that brings the outside in. That night we enjoyed a great fire pit before dinner and ate under a cover porch and was able to witness the first rain of the summer season and a spectacular lightening and thunder show.

Herd of Blesbok

The big bull in the herd of Cape Buffalo

Sable

Thanks for the yummy lunch: lamb chops, chicken wings, corn and potatoes- not loosing any weight out here :)

Our braii on the ridge

Cape Buffalo

Oryx

Sunday, September 28, 2014

September 28, 2014

The morning started early as I was woken up by the window swirling outside our bungalow. Good thing we weren't going for a horseback ride since it was too windy and sand swirling to tolerate a ride. We chose a game drive and wanted to go find the Cape Buffalo that they have a large herd of here. On our way over to that side of the game reserve where they group up, we saw everything from an Eland, to Velvet Monkeys, to a journey of giraffes- learned that today #radnameforagroup :) We enjoyed the most just watching the giraffes and how awkward yet regal they are. Unfortunately there were no buffalo to be found, but they said that was typical since when the wind blows they hunker down in the long grasses and find shelter. Tomorrow we will find them!

The rest of the day was really relaxing. I just read the book Kaffir Boy while the wind blew through our bedroom. Sam updated his blog with entries and photos and then did some Algebra. Our reading and writing was interrupted when 2 rhino wandered up to just below our deck. We haven't seen them over her by our lodge. It was so fun and fun to show the family that had just arrived with their 8 year old son. It's like having cattle in the backyard, but honestly less skittish. I just don't tire of seeing rhinos. In the later evening before sundown we walked over to a small pond where we watched the sunset and watched birds and took in the spectacular sunset.

It was a lovely day to just relax and enjoy the game drive in the morning and the amazing accommodations here in the afternoon. The meals filled part of our day too and each lunch and dinner has been served in a different space around the lodge. Tonight was in an upstairs living room overlooking the yard and away from the wind. Ant joined us and it was so interesting to learn more about poaching, fires (which we had one today with the wild winds- honestly a bit scary but they got it under control) and politics of the area and country. He was quite the visionary coming up with these luxurious game lodges and camps and the vision of horseback safaris. We enjoyed the evening with our new friends from Sydney as well who have been traveling for a couple weeks as well.

Well, Sam is passed out next to me in my bed, draped with mosquito netting as the wind is blowing strongly outside. Hoping it calms down so that we can find the herd of buffalo tomorrow.

These men we came across today and they live out in the bush while on duty patrolling and keep track of the herd and keep an eye out for poachers.

Female Kudu

Photo from up on the hill looking down onto a grassy opening where the giraffe we ran into yesterday was hanging out

Saturday, September 27, 2014

September 27, 2014

Ant's Nest, South Africa

What an unusual thing to do on safari. We went to another farm that was about 30 mins away and we were capturing a large antelope called a Kudu. Ant had been given 4 Kudu as a thank you for helping a woman whose farm was burning a couple months ago. They like to introduce new animals into herds when they are on game reserves to prevent too much inbreeding. We geared up at 5:30 a.m. and headed out in search of Kudu. We had 2 trucks with trailers attached to transport the animals back to Ant’s game preserve and then we were standing in Ant’s truck and another group was sitting in a safari vehicle and then there was a helicopter with a veterinarian that was flying overhead spotting the Kudu and then shooting them with a tranquilizer gun. Once tranquilized it takes a few minutes until the Kudu is disoriented enough that it it can either sit down or it is assisted to the ground. We then race over in the Jeeps and then jump out and they put a hood on its head to keep it more relaxed and disoriented while they give it shots of B12 I think they said and some others and detick them with some spray like you would put on dogs and give them another shot of some vitamins and then the animal is scooted onto a tarp that then gets lifted by about 10 people and hauled onto a trailer. Once it is on the trailer they take the hood off and then the Vet gives them an anecdote that within 30 seconds it is totally awake and stands up in the trailer and begins eating green leafy branches that we’ve collected and hung from the ceiling of the trailer. It is quite amazing to be able to come right up to the animal and hold their horns (they aren’t antlers since they never loose their horns).

We captured 4 Kudu. Sam was totally fascinated by the whole thing, as was I . When we had the Kudu, they were brought back that reserve and released near a stream between two damns. They will adjust to their new environment and then have their pick of the many female Kudus at Ant’s Nest. It was a tiering morning since there was a lot of riding in the truck standing and balancing in the racing Jeep trying to keep up with the helicopter, since they have to act right away since once they shoot the tranquilizer dart they want to wake the Kudu up within 20 mins. Driving back around lunch I even was falling asleep as we rode back in the seated safari vehicle.

We had a quick turnaround for lunch and headed back out down to their small pond, it is dry season and about ready to come into rainy season, which is their summer. By the pond they had set up a BBQ and a nice lunch under a tree. We had BBQ steaks and chicken and augratin potatoes made on the BBQ grill. We visited with all the guests and then many left right after lunch, including our new friend Julia whom we really had enjoyed getting to know. She is Danish, living in London and just such a fun woman that has had many adventures including the trip we were most impressed with and freaked out by, after we learned about the camel spiders, was her week long horseback ride with Bedouins camping in the dessert in the middle east. She loves to ride and came to Ant’s nest for the riding safaris. We took down her info before she left and look forward to maybe running into her in Singapore when we are there in Feb this year.

Sam and I enjoyed cooling off in the pool after lunch. It was perfect temp and a nice break from a hot and dusty morning. We enjoyed reading by the pool and Sam loved playing with the mongoose that lives near here and watching her many babies run around the camp. Sam was even able to hold the mongoose… I passed on that, and just so happy to have so many animals to play with including the two puppies at the camp.

This evening we went riding again. Sam really had begun to enjoy the thrill of cantering. Sam suited up on Leo and I was on a new horse Hercules tonight. We enjoyed some trotting and cantering again and ran into many impala, and wart hogs, spotting many birds, and getting right up close to an almost 30 year old giraffe. It was really cool to be so close to a giraffe and have it comfortable with us since we were on the horses that they don’t stable and that roam with the other animals at the reserve. We met up some others at Ant’s home as the sun was going down and got to sit and watch the rhino as they gathered for their nightly feeding. There were around 5 white rhinos there tonight. White rhinos are grazers and have wide jaws and get much bigger than black rhinos. The reverse horned rhino was there again with her baby and she was feeling a bit tough tonight and every time her baby’s dad came close she would nearly charge him. She was feisty! We sat and watched then for over an hour, it was so cool to be that close.

Dinner is served at 8 p.m. and we enjoyed pork bellies and bean cauliflower mash and a mushroom pancake for dinner on the lawn under the stars with our new friends Giselle and Christian from Germany. They are a slightly older couple from Bavaria and are very nice and on their first trip to Africa. The guides Jaque and Fred also joined us that fit the imagined bill of African safari guys,… strongly built, knowledgeable, and rather good fun…Sam enjoyed some good guy chat with them during dinner as well.

Under our netting and tucked into bed we have been working on our blogs. Ready to head to bed to go on a game drive tomorrow and see the large herd of Cape Buffalo they have on the other side of their reserve and hopefully will run into the large herd of giraffes as well. Good night...zzzzz