Sat 060626

 This morning we got our bags packed. Some of us visited the coffee house one last time. (This is the bird on the coffee house door.)

Philani and Ndumiso loaded the vehicles for us.

Here is our last view of the Mabuda farm (for this visit anyway!) as we were driving out.

Looking out over the valley as we drove north.

Before long, we entered the Hlane Game Reserve.

Anita and Pastor got us checked in at the entrance station.

These are the vehicles used for the game drives.

We even found someone taller than Jeff!

We loaded into the safari vehicle for the rhino drive at 11am.

We had a wonderful tour leader He was skilled at navigating rutted roads both in forward and reverse….His opening remark was “welcome to my office”!

And what an office it was! 

This tree suffered damage from elephants…Pretty much all the larger trees in the park looked like this.

Our driver would occasionally look at the ground outside his window. He said he was “reading the newspaper” (looking for the tracks of animals). Pretty soon we came upon some rhinos. We got out of the vehicle, and our driver gave us the instructions- walk in a single file line an arms length behind the person in front of you. Be quiet. And most importantly, if the rhinos charge at you, STAND STILL. If you run you will only get caught on the thorn bushes (and presumably then also become impaled by the rhino). But if you stand still, the guide will calmly give you directions. He is well prepared for these situations and carries a stick! …Wow, a stick! How much safer could you feel when a rhino is charging at you than to know that your guide has a stick with him! 

Nonetheless, we all followed him…

And got great views of the rhinos (with no charging to test the stick theory)

Also saw this kudu (kind of like the more common impalas, only bigger and with longer legs).

These are imyalas.

This is a giraffe (ok, you probably didn’t need help with that one)

This is an impala. They were frequently seen traveling with the imyalas. Impala has no stripes ; imyala does.

When we got back, we had lunch at the outdoor eating area.

Next we checked into our lodges. Men in one; women in another. This is the men’s. Several bedrooms, a common space, kitchen and bathroom on the main floor and 4 twin beds in the loft.

Front door of the men’s lodge.

Then we went over to the ladies house, which has an outdoor shower in a curved (Seashell shaped) structure behind it.

We unloaded our stuff into the ladies house. It is fairly similar to the men’s on the main floor, but doesn’t have a loft.

Turns out, we did not have to go on the rhino drive in order to to see rhinos- there is a large watering hole/pond by the main buildings of the park with plenty of rhinos available for viewing behind a fence. The sign on the fence says not to touch it because it is an electric fence, but various people told me it is not really electrified. I didn’t see anyone actually be so sure of that as to actually touch it though.

The rhinos came up very close to the fence.

Small palm trees along the entrance road.

This is the large watering hole hole/pond with a hippo swimming across.

At 3:30 we went on the sunset drive. 

I don’t remember the name of this tree, but it is very dense, and our guide said if you eat food cooked over its wood, you will get an upset stomach; if you breathe the smoke of its wood burning, you will get a headache, but if you already HAVE a headache and THEN breathe the smoke of its wood burning, your headache will go away.

Quiz time. Which one is this?

 Very good - impala!

This is the giraffe!

Imyala I think or maybe kudu?

These are boombas (in siswati) or warthogs in English.

Some sort of starling. Looked very blue up close , but black from a distance.

Sun starting to set on the sunset wildlife drive.

On the rhino drive, we only drove through the rhino enclosure, but on the sunset drive, we drove through the rhino enclosure, then the main part of the park, then the lion/elephant enclosure. We didn’t  see any actual lions for a long time, but after much driving around, we found these two males close by the gate where we had come into that enclosure. They were just sitting there, all calm and peaceful, perhaps even napping. But then one started yawning, which is apparently a warning sign. 

He got up and started coming toward our vehicle, and the second one soon followed.

Our skilled driver (with the stick) skillfully backed up. They followed. We kept backing up and they kept following. This went on for a very long time. They never ran, they just walked and we backed up.

Oh yeah, we did see an elephant also.

By now the sun really had set, and we went back into the main enclosure 

Where our driver supplied us with drinks and snacks

It was a great place to take a group photo. Back row: Pastor, Shane, Jeff, Anita, Laura, Ndumiso, Carol. Front row:Kasia, Philani, Denise, Barb.

More sunset. It was amazing!

We had a buffet style dinner in same outdoor eating area where we had lunch.

There was a white owl up in the rafters.

After dinner , we went back to the ladies lodge. There is no electricity in these lodges, but they do provide some kerosene lanterns. So, by lantern light, I shared a devotion on Lamentations 3:22-23. 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

Afterwards, we walked back to the main buildings , and saw a native dance performance. 

On the walk back to our cabin, we encountered this group of, well you know what they are. We successfully diverted around them! 

 I am blogging this by lantern light on a chair next to the main office building, as that is the only place to get WiFi here. I am also using my phone rather than my laptop because my phone was able to connect to the internet, but my laptop was not. It has been a peaceful experience for the most part, except when some snorting animal went crashing by.I couldn’t actually see it of course because it is pitch black, but it did eventually pass!

 This is the prayer from tonight’s devotion…

Lord, we humans have a tendency to focus on our suffering rather than focusing on You. We willingly allow the darkness of night to overshadow the light You stream into our days. Shine the light of Your love on us each day so that we can see the amazing blessings You provide for us. Thank you for Your faithfulness in every circumstance of our lives. Thank You for taking care of our greatest need by sending Your Son to be born a human just like us and to walk this earth and willingly die for us that we might be forgiven and live a new life. Thank You that Your love never ceases, that Your mercy never comes to an end. Great is Your faithfulness. Empower us to turn away from our innate self-centered focus so that we can see those around us through Your eyes, and reach out to them with Your love and compassion. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.