Monday, September 05, 2011
What Do You Do With YOUR Toothpicks?
Scott Weaver has spent the last 35 years painstakingly constructing a replica of the city of San Francisco made of toothpicks! Not only that, but it is also a marble run, allowing ping-pong balls to take various tours through the city.
Feel Good About Your Money
The use of the Zimbabwean dollar as an official currency was effectively abandoned on 12 April 2009. This was a result of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe legalizing the use of foreign currencies for transactions in January 2009.
Foreign currencies such as the South African Rand, Botswana Pula, Pound Sterling and the United States Dollar are used instead .
The Toyota Land Cruiser Safari Truck
 |
| I think the reasons why I'm not a spotter are obvious. |
 |
| Deb's got it down though! |
The Plane That Took Us There And Back: The Boeing 777-200ER
 |
| It only has 2 engines... but they're kinda BIG! |
Our Tent At Kwa-Mbili
 |
| Deb ready to head out for an early morning Safari. |
 |
| Our View. |
 |
| There is a watering hole over there. |
 |
| A night time visitor to our bathroom. |
 |
| Best Shower I ever had! |
 |
| Deb reading under her mosquito netting. |
Kwa-Mbili Game Lodge
 |
| You can't help but think 'Jurassic Park' as you pass through the double gates. |
As soon as we arrive a Nyala antelope strolls through the lodge.
 |
| The breakfast and lunch area is in the foreground while the couches are for relaxing by the fire. |
I really enjoyed the mask wall above the fireplace! Below are some collages with every single one.
 |
| Click on the photo for a detailed view. |
 |
| Click on the photo for a detailed view. |
 |
| The bar. |
 |
| The path to the tents. |
 |
| Our tent. |
 |
| The blind. This is where we would hang out when not on an actual safari. Food scraps would be brought out daily and placed in front of this viewing hut to attract the local wildlife. |
Where Is Kwa-Mbili?
 |
| The 'Big Map' of all the game lodges in the area. |
View Kwa-Mbili Game Lodge in a larger map
You can actually use the map above to zoom in and out and see what's in the area.
Time For Our First Safari
[I will start the posts roughly in the order that they occurred during our trip]
Laying in our tent here at 9:00pm on a Friday night! It is quite a strange feeling knowing how far from home we are and what a crazy adventure we have started.
Today was spent travelling from Johannesburg (known here locally as Jo-burg) to safari central: Kwa-Mbili Game Lodge. Getting here has only required flying over 12.000 miles, (some of it in a very small plane) a rental car and the ability to drive on the wrong side of the road. We arrived here at about 2:00pm and the fun started right away.
We enjoyed a light lunch and right after headed out to look for game.
This man (Eddie) has the important job of reading the tracks (spoor) on the road and directing the driver to the wildlife.
Our first spotting. A Warthog. Eddie indicates that we are looking for Rhino.
The Southern Yellow-Bill Hornbill.
The drive is relaxing as we slowly traverse the dirt roads of the park. The temperature is perfect and since we have chosen to visit in the winter, the trees are largely devoid of leaves. This fact comes in handy when you are looking for animals who have perfected the art of blending in.
We found them, White Rhino! We do not just stop a short distance away, we get up close and shut off the engine. You can hear them breathing, the sound of the grass being pulled out by the roots and even the sound of the insects buzzing around them. Darius (the driver) explains that the animals are used to the vehicles, and as long as we stay seated and not break the profile of the rig we'll largely be ignored.
He is right. There are three rhinos and they proceed to walk and eat their way right up to the side of the jeep. Darius says he is going to start the vehicle because he feels they are going to get too close. At that moment the lead grass munch-er, who is now about 5 feet from Deb, looks up and takes a few surprised steps back. He was so focused on eating that he hadn't even noticed the vehicle!
The sun is beginning to set as we leave the Rhinos to continue eating.
Now I have a tough choice as we have Zebra on the left and a killer African sunset on the right!
We continue to a watering hole to take a break and have our 'sundownder'... a drink while you watch the sun set!
We drive back to the lodge in the dark and spotted some eye-shine on the way. We had a fantastic dinner and managed to stay awake until 8:30pm!
It was a good day.
Laying in our tent here at 9:00pm on a Friday night! It is quite a strange feeling knowing how far from home we are and what a crazy adventure we have started.
Today was spent travelling from Johannesburg (known here locally as Jo-burg) to safari central: Kwa-Mbili Game Lodge. Getting here has only required flying over 12.000 miles, (some of it in a very small plane) a rental car and the ability to drive on the wrong side of the road. We arrived here at about 2:00pm and the fun started right away.
We enjoyed a light lunch and right after headed out to look for game.
 |
| Behold the modified Toyota Land Cruiser! |
 |
| Note the "Spotters Chair" attached to the front bumper. |
Our first spotting. A Warthog. Eddie indicates that we are looking for Rhino.
The Southern Yellow-Bill Hornbill.
The drive is relaxing as we slowly traverse the dirt roads of the park. The temperature is perfect and since we have chosen to visit in the winter, the trees are largely devoid of leaves. This fact comes in handy when you are looking for animals who have perfected the art of blending in.
We found them, White Rhino! We do not just stop a short distance away, we get up close and shut off the engine. You can hear them breathing, the sound of the grass being pulled out by the roots and even the sound of the insects buzzing around them. Darius (the driver) explains that the animals are used to the vehicles, and as long as we stay seated and not break the profile of the rig we'll largely be ignored.
He is right. There are three rhinos and they proceed to walk and eat their way right up to the side of the jeep. Darius says he is going to start the vehicle because he feels they are going to get too close. At that moment the lead grass munch-er, who is now about 5 feet from Deb, looks up and takes a few surprised steps back. He was so focused on eating that he hadn't even noticed the vehicle!
 |
| Deb's view. |
Now I have a tough choice as we have Zebra on the left and a killer African sunset on the right!
We continue to a watering hole to take a break and have our 'sundownder'... a drink while you watch the sun set!
We drive back to the lodge in the dark and spotted some eye-shine on the way. We had a fantastic dinner and managed to stay awake until 8:30pm!
 |
| A shot toward the blind where lights let you watch the wildlife at night. |
 |
| View of the night sky from our tent! |
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Just Arrived Home!
We made it! It has been an amazing journey but it is always good to get home.
I ran into more trouble than I expected trying to get a STRONG enough internet connection while in South Africa. As you all know, I post a lot of photos and those photos can take up a ton of bandwidth when your pushing them up to the blog. I could connect from time to time but whenever I tried to put up a file, the connection timed out.
I might have taken a "few" shots and will begin sharing them soon.
I ran into more trouble than I expected trying to get a STRONG enough internet connection while in South Africa. As you all know, I post a lot of photos and those photos can take up a ton of bandwidth when your pushing them up to the blog. I could connect from time to time but whenever I tried to put up a file, the connection timed out.
I might have taken a "few" shots and will begin sharing them soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)