Kruger Safari South Africa

Russ and I in the safari truck


Us and our Slovakian Safari Friends





In our tent




Elephant and baby


Buffalo

Our Campsite


We saw everything we wanted to see and more. When we went to meet the group of guys we would be spending the 3 day safari with we were surprised to see they had been diving with us the week before in Tofo. It was 5 Slovakians all wearing the same safari hat, pretty hilarious. As we arrived it the park we were greeted with a baby elephant and informed that it is baby season and we would be seeing miniatures of everything. The drive started in a modified pick up truck with 3 rows of seats in the back and open windows. The weather was a bit cool but this turned out to be a good thing as it brings more of the animals out and about. We wrapped ourselves up in a blanket and began our journey.
The first thing we came across was a giant elephant very close to the road, and then a moment later a heard of buffalo crossing the road. The buffalo stopped to stare at us for a moment and then continued moving on. We looked forward to continue our drive and saw a wart hog in the middle of the road scurrying across to the other side and in to the bush. Pretty ugly and mean looking creatures. Next we came across an enormous wrinkled white rhinoceros grazing in the savannah grasses. It stopped to look up at us with goofy smile. He almost looked friendly, but I think the smile is a bit deceiving. He is called a white rhino because the Dutch first saw them they thought they were very wide and called them a wide rhino and over the years the translation became a white rhino, the other one is called a black rhino and they are much more rare in the park. After that we spotted a solitary zebra with perfect parallel strips, they looked so flawless like they were painted on.
By this time it was almost 8 am and we had already seen so much. We pulled into our camp area, a fenced in miniature town. With a store, restaurant, bar, gas station, bathroom and shower facilities and housing any where from luxury to campgrounds. Our rest camp was situated in a back corner and consisted of several rugged plain gray tents all set up with mattresses. Also there was a dining area set up with a breakfast buffet of fresh fruits, cereal, yogurt, and pastries. This is where we would be spending the next 2 nights, with all our meals prepared for us between our drives into the park. Just outside the fence we could watch impala graze in the area and in the distance an elephant climbing a mountain.

Baby Lion

Baboon

Giraffe


After breakfast we began our next drive, which ended up lasting all day. As we pulled out of the park our guide would stop many of the other tour trucks to chat about what animals they saw and where they saw them. They were sure to talk in either the local language or to use code words for the animals so we were not prepared or expecting anything particular. We came across every type of small deer like creature you can imagine, water buck, sable, kudu, reedbuck, wildebeest, bush buck, suni, and more. A group of female impala and one male with huge spiraled antlers as he kept watch over the ladies and worked on his hard job of impregnating all of them. As we continued on I made some small requests for a giraffe and maybe some monkeys. Moments later a 15 foot giraffe appeared on the side of the road and with in moments several more randomly through out the horizon. We came down a hill then and into a valley where we found some baboons and velvet monkeys making lots of noise and running about fighting. From there we moved along in search of one of the big 5 we were missing, the lions. After hours of driving we finally found them, sleeping under a tree far in the distance, about 8 of them, with a few of them just little pups, amazing. Throughout the drive that first day we saw tons of elephants, giraffes, monkeys, rhinos, another heard of buffalo in the distance. And all of these animals had a little baby hiding by its side. Truly spectacular.
We returned to our camp as the sunset for a nice walk around the park and an impala stew for dinner, complete with some local fixing of pup (a corn meal based potatoes like dish) very popular in the area. And with a wonderful bottle of South African Shiraz.
Zebra and baby

Velvet monkey and baby

We woke the next morning to begin the day at 6 am with a short drive before breakfast. On our way out we were informed of a group of lions feeding over a kill. We came to the spot with several cars stopped to watch as the lions 2 large females feeding on a buffalo and another female with her baby close by laying on the ground relaxing. They were just close enough to get some amazing photos. We enjoyed a quick breakfast while watching some of the local bird life. A spectacular shiny blue cape glossy starling also a yellow black and white crested barbet, as well as several helmeted guinea fowl running around the camp.

Me and my camera


Lions Feeding

Lepord

Hippo

Giraffe



We began our day in search of some hippopotamus and a leopard to complete our sightings of the big 5 most dangerous animals in the park. As we pulled out of the park we heard the loud noises of a bunch of elephants running and making loud grunting noises. One of them ran into the road and looked at us like it wanted to charge us but then continued galloping off to the other side. As we listed to that one grunting in the distance we noticed a herd of elephants moving towards us to follow after him. We watched in awe as a group or 30+ elephants of all sizes crossed in front of us. Spectacular.


Moving on we came to an area where we were aloud to get out of the car. We walked down a fenced path to a viewing area over a pond, where we came across several hippopotamus. With a further look we noticed a crocodile just below the surface moving past. The area was filled with beautiful yellow masked weavers that were squawking loudly. Also standing in the shallows near one of the crocs was a little egret feeding on some of the small fish swimming by. From there we moved on in search of the leopard. On our way we came across an elephant that appeared to have 5 legs. Our guide pointed out that the other leg was indeed its penis and as we got closer to him he must have been un happy to see us as we watched it slowly shrink back to normal size were we could no longer see it. But it really was the size of one of his legs, kind of scary.
Moving on again we came across tons of cars stopped looking under a bridge at a sleeping leopard far in the distance, we moved to the top of the bridge just above him and our guide began to make hyena sounds to convince the leopard that there were hyenas in the area that would go to munch on his recent kill. As he began making the noises we looked down and just below us we spotted the leopard awake and move from his spot over to him dead impala and begin snacking. It was incredible to get to see this all so close up, and some amazing photos. From there we stopped to have lunch at one of the fancier rest camps. There were beautiful bungalows looking over the river that we had been traveling by and it was filled with hippo of all sizes, including a little baby one. After lunch we continued on back to camp to enjoy our last dinner.
The next morning we woke early for one more quick drive before heading off. Not much was out this morning but some last elephants, a couple of giraffes in the distance. At this point we felt like we had all seen pretty much every thing. We did come across a group of baboons on a rock. The male was going to one female after the other and quickly mounting and mating with them. Apparently the women can not get enough so the one male has a lot of work to do to keep them all happy, even the young babies. Every few seconds as they finished, they would make a loud noise. Rather hilarious to witness. All in all it was a great way to end an eventful safari.
Russ in one of the safari hats


Rhino and baby


Me and the Giraffe


Monkey family


Baby Lion



After the safari we went back to Nelspruit and rented a car to drive around a bit and to get us to the airport in Johannesburg four hours away. We drove to the mall in search of the civilization we had been craving so much. And much like my last few reintroductions to civilization it was a bit too much for my senses. My eyes got really big and started to hurt after a few minutes. The mall was packed full of people and things everywhere. We tried to shop a bit but I gave up. Russ got some ice cream and we used high speed Internet for the first time. I forgot how fast it could be. On our way out we went in to a grocery store (they have lots of these in the mall here) to buy some snacks for the ride. I got a little frustrated when all I wanted was cheese and there were too many options and it was located in 3 different sections, does that make any sense. Anyways we made it out safely and began our drive.
The countryside was truly picturesque, lush and green and tropical it surprised me a bit. We arrived at the Johannesburg airport a bit early (or so I thought) and were looking forward to getting settled and ready to fly. The ticket counter informed me that we were very late and about to miss our flight (apparently I cannot read military time). We ended up going from the rental car to being on a plane in less then 15 minutes, sounds like a record. Anyways from there we flew through Doha and then to Bangkok and finally at midnight local time into Phuket. Making us 14 hours from home. And barely any time to look back at our quick goodbye to Africa.

Goodbye Mozambique

Fatimas, Us with Mike and Emily

Devil Rays



Manta


Whaleshark


Halloween Night

The local Market

On our Roof the last night

More Halloween


Young Kid


Our last night in Tofo was fun; we went to the local place with some friends for dinner. Then to the bar Fatima’s to have a goodbye drink with everyone. It was fun, almost bittersweet, and through our exhaustion we did not want to say goodbye. The last morning went okay as well, luckily we woke up early and got everything packed because our ride showed up 2 hours early. We went to my favorite local lady at the market and said bye and gave her a Tofo Scuba shirt. Then to our money exchange guy and the bread shack guy and gave them shirts as well. Strange goodbyes to people we may never see again. We bought some souvenirs, including a couple bracelets from a small boy, in exchange for a couple of pictures. We did not get to say goodbye to a few people but oh well it happens. I GOT MY PASSPORT BACK, it is not stamped but the guy I am with knows people and promised to get me out, and I got $170 back so that worked out well. Just lots of stress for no reason.

The first part of the drive was plesant; some Peri Peri stands where they make local hot sauce, with tons of different kinds. And then a turn off to this little village of Zavora, a very lush area with thatch-roofed homes scattered sporadically on the way, very Africa. Our friends John and Roy, that are driving us are opening up a small dive shop in this untouched village. We sat in our own chalet looking over the sea from a whole different view; we were in one of the nice cabins because the place is empty at the moment so we got a great discount. And there is television in the restaurant, meaning we get CNN for election results. We woke up at 7 am hoping the generator would be on to tell us the fate of our country. Of course it was not working this morning. But after some begging we convinced them to attach a battery to the television so we could be some of the last people in the world to see that we have our first black president. Pretty interesting to be here in Africa and watch such a historic moment. And I am proud to say that I did manage to cast my vote, it was a bit of a process, but I got it done.
From there we continued our drive through Mozambique to the South African border. We drove through the several mile flood plain where they told us about the massive floods that rushed through the area several years ago. It was interesting to hear that during such tragedy the people all worked together to help each other survive. And there was no looting or crime or anything. Anyways as we arrived at the border Roy told us the plan that him and I would go to check the car in and Russ and John would go check themselves in, and then we would just leave. The plan worked perfectly and just as we were driving over the border and Roy was congratulating me that I was crossing the line and safely smuggled out of Mozambique the car died, right on the line. Fortunately it started again and I made it out with no drama. But a fun story.
From there we arrived at the hostel, which was a beautifully decorated home, made comfortable and perfect for backpackers. At this point we were convinced to go on a Safari the next morning. We had talked about renting a car and just driving ourselves but the safari seemed so much easier.

Our House


Our money exchange guy in his new shirt

Tofo

Here are some random picture, one of a bunch of friends, a couple of Russ and I, a nice sunset, some more of friends. So enjoy. I also added some writing. Love ya











September 2, 2008
Last night was really fun and today I am regretting it a bit, BUT I had the most amazing dive experiences ever. Today I saw 8 humpback whales while I was diving. This is so rare and lucky most people don’t believe me. The first dive was to manta reef and the song of the whales was so loud you could tell they were close by. I knew that one of the divers was going to run out of air first and I knew that we would have a better chance to see them just the 2 of us with less bubbles. At 10 meters we saw them for the first time 2 huge whales swim by us. My heart jumped into my throat, they we each about 8-10 meters long about 4 meters wide. I was so excited and shocked and even a little scared. They are gigantic animals. I did a little happy dance for my buddy thinking that was it when another swam below us, and finally 2 more right past us. My whole body was in shock from the excitement. Completely unreal and amazing to swim with such immense creatures. I was feeling a sense of accomplishment but also that I did not get a real proper look at them as the visibility was bad and I was in shock. Since this happens so rarely I was wishing it had been more clear figuring it was the only time it will happen in this life time. We came back to the shop for a break before. My friend the video guy decided not to do the dive, he joked, “no one can see whales twice in one day.” Right now he is slapping himself because somehow, I proved him wrong. The second dive was nice and deep and short, the divers were happy and the whale song was barely there. As we came up to finish our safety stop all of a sudden, out of the blue 2 colossal whales and the baby playing around just below teahe surface. This time the visibility was clear and they were so beautiful and so close. My heart about jumped out of my cheat. Such massive remarkable creatures. The fear and exhilaration clash so much my body does not know how to respond. Really spectacular.

On one of the boat rides we did also see a baby hammerhead shark just below the surface, also a first for me. Days like today make me realize why we are here.

Other then that things are okay here, the days are passing quickly, hard to believe it is September already. We have mixed feelings about Tofo but we are here for now so we will make the best out of it. We have a lot of friends and people are constantly coming and unfortunately leaving. I guess it never hurts to have more friends scattered around the world, I just hate goodbyes. Something I have become very familiar with in the past few years. Okay that is all for now. Love and kisses.
Rachel

September 7, 2008
Saw another whale today, unreal, I was taking someone on their first dive. Defiantly my best experience yet, very close and curious of us and really a bit scary. It was about 20 feet long and it seemed very interested in us. It was so close I could see the barnacles on its face. It seemed odd that we were in such shallow water (20-30 feet) and there in front of us is a whale. I actually swam away from it as I brought the diver close to the ground to watch what it would do next. It is interesting to see how my reaction has been such fear, and also wanting the line that goes to the surface. Part of my fear was wondering if mom might be near by and concerned that it was coming so close to us. I was not sure what this beautiful creature was going to do next. It went up to the surface for a moment and then came back down to look at us again. I did have enough time to look it to it’s giant eye. A once in a life time thing and this is my 9th in a week. Everyone is very jealous, and a bit sick of hearing about it. I found one friend last night that also had a whale experience this week and we snuck off a couple times during the party to indulge in conversation of our fortune. I am really lucky or perhaps timely is the right word. I guess going in on my day off to teach someone to dive turned out well. The diver knew of his luck to see a whale on one of his first dives seems unfair. Some divers spend their lives in search of one of these encounters. Perhaps they like the pink of my BCD, whatever it is, I can only hope they keep coming. And I get to continue to share the experience with others for their first time.

Here are some random thoughts and journal entries from our first weeks here in Tofo. And tons of photos. Enjoy.

Some shots of Us at work









Tofo Beach

Crab

The Market

Nice Sunset

My day off



The front of the shop

Shop View

Boat Launch

Pool


View from our door


Our new room


Russ wondering why I am taking more pictures of our new room

Our courtyard


The Beach






July 23, 2008
Our new home is a hostel/hotel. All of the hallways or in-between areas are outside. There is a main bar area/ living room where we can help our selves and just keep track of what we drink, and a television. Then another house area with a bathroom kitchen and a couple of rooms, then outside to another kitchen, and a nice sitting area/ courtyard of sorts. Did I mention also there is HOT water. Then there is a strip of rooms, like a motel and one of these is ours. It does not have much light but we have been making it home more and more. There are 2 twin bunk beds so we moved them together which gave us a big bed and some more space. It is okay, it works for now. The living situation has lots of pros and cons. The kitchen is so much more then what we had in Zanzibar and it is like a playground for me; 2 burners, a hot plate, a microwave, a refrigerator, lots of pots and pans, and knives. That part is nice and we do not have to do our dishes, we really do not have to clean at all so that is pretty nice. There are 2 watch dogs and watch men that do the cleaning. I feel very safe here, even leaving the room unlocked when I am in the area. There are also some steps to a patio area where we can see the ocean. It is a great location, 2 minutes from the beach, 10 minutes from Tofo Scuba and then a couple of minutes to town and the market. We are living with 4 of the guys that work at the shop and 2 of the girls and the owners are around and sometimes some other random guests. It is fun for now, the guys are great and the company is nice. But we are still looking for something else more permanent. We have to go outside to go to the bathroom and it is cold at night so that part sucks. But to be fair this house has many more luxuries then we had in Zanzibar and we appreciate them all very much. It is funny to think how we still live a far more simple life then most Americans. But we like it.
August 1st
Seeing something new. I pretty much knew what I was going to see as soon as I was told there was space for me to dive. Suddenly in the past 24 hours the whales sharks and manta rays that have been gone for two months are back and they are everywhere. They spotted 14 whale sharks yesterday. These are pretty good odds, but nature is a funny thing and can always change.

I would have to say that from my experience with divers, the Whale shark is the number one most sought out fish to see. It is extremely massive, by far the largest thing I have ever seen in the water. Like a bus. It is absolutely huge 20-30 feet long and 10 feet wide. But is moves calmly and gracefully causing no harm to snorkelers chasing it through the water. The only time someone has been hurt by these giant creatures has been from getting too close and getting a little accidental slap by the 5 ft tail, as you can imagine this may hurt. This creature is part of the shark family and it feeds on the tiny particles in the water. And for some reason they LOVE Tofo Mozambique and apparently they will be here now in masses for several months. The dark blue gray skin is spotted with identifying white dots, different on each one. Today I got to see one. As the boat headed towards Manta reef I patiently waited to here the words to slid into the water. The whale sharks spend most of there time around a certain point so I was prepared and waiting. Finally the captain spotted one, how he does this must be local magic as I did not see the shadow till it was right next to us. I was the first to slide in the water and right no top of it’s gigantic tail, the visibility was to poor and the fish far too big for me to see much more then its tail and about the back 5 feet of his body as I swam with all my energy to keep up. After realizing I could not catch up I climbed back on to the boat, feeling happy but not quiet satisfied. After our dive on our way to the next site I again waited and waited and was beginning to loose hope when there one was. Again I was the first in the water and I could not find it. I looked up to ask the captain and the guy next to me yelled for me to look down. The gigantic creature was a foot below me, and actually startled me being so close, and there all of a sudden. After catching my breath I continued to swim with him watching the small fish around his mouth as he glided through the water. After several minutes there was another 10 people in swimming with him as well. And he really did not seem to care. I guess maybe he is enjoying playing with us. I wonder if this gigantic fish, that must have a brain a large as my whole body realizes that it is one of the most desirable creatures to see. Truly a magnificent piece of nature.

Manta Rays are yet another creature near the top of every divers list. I saw so many of these today we lost count. Imagine a colossal butterfly 10-20 feet wide swimming gigantic circles through the water. Then imagine 5 of these creatures circling and dancing in an out of your vision. These are really beautiful creatures and also not a bit scared of divers or their bubbles, more just interested. The mantas also have identify white marks on their gray skin, each one so different. It is hard to keep track of which one just circled and which one is new, but really to me it did not really matter, it was truly amazing.



August 2, 2008
I had a nice day today, especially after this news. Spent the whole morning on the beach. It was a beautiful day. Then found out about the job and that Russ passed his first exam and that he saw a baby whale shark which is wonderful. And there will be many more of these to come. Went to look for a place to live and meet some guys that live here and play music and they seem pretty nice. Then to the market and picked a nice lady that I can go to everyday with a beautiful child. Meet Russ, eat dinner and now I am home and drinking beer. I am just feeling so relieved that we both have jobs and that we can stay here for at least a month. Yeah for us. We are very lucky that this is working out. I feel like the stress was unnecessary but also made us both think a lot about what we want and realize where our priorities are and what really matters. LIFE IS good. Okay well I feel like I should spend some time writing about Zanzibar before I get too caught up on our new life here. More later.

The power went out last night, funny how much this did not phase or bother us at all. Candles are good. It is just interesting to think how lost and devastated some people are when they lose power especially in the states, and hour with out electricity would be a reason to panic. To me it is kind of nice. I mean I LOVE the convinces we have now compared to ZNZ but I would never take back that experience we had of living such a more simple life style. It was nice, easy. I am really looking forward to getting into a routine of work here. I can’t wait to have Russ done with his course and both of us working full time. It will be really nice. I like to have routine and a sense of home and I think we will have that here. I feel like I was resisting the want to embrace this place. I did not want to appreciate it too much due to the fear that we would have to leave. Now that we get to stay at least for a month I can start to have a real opinion and make a decision if I like it or now and if I want to be here for a while. So far it seems like it may be a good stop for us. I love the idea of getting sick of whale sharks, sounds like a good problem to have.


August 5

Life is still pretty good here. Today was my third day of work here, Russ’s first. It went well. I think we will be happy here for a little while. Russ finished his Instructor exam he other day and there was a fun party at a bar 20 minutes walk up the hill called turtle cove. Nice live music nice atmosphere in the middle of no where. Made me think of growing up in Routt County, that type of party. It was fun.
I had a really amazing dive at Manta the other day and at the end there is a spot where we just kneeled in the sand and the mantas just circled around in front of us and right by and over me. It was really very amazing. I look forward to spending more time with them. We went out tonight which was fun, but only for a couple of drinks. The people we work with are really fun and our boss is starting to be more friendly and it is all going pretty well. I think that we can be happy here for a bit. We are moving into a different bed room in a few days so that will be really nice for the month. And work is good, nice to be busy and I really do love some parts of teaching just sometimes I just don’t feel like getting wet and cold and teaching the same thing over and over again. But the rewards are very nice to see people so excited. And I really do love the customer service aspect of having a chat with people and doing my best to show them a good time and a good dive. I think that this will be nice for a while and we have the potential to make a lot of money I just think that working 6 days a week for 10 hours a day may get a bit tiring after a while. Even though we do sit around a lot some days, much like at any dive shop the boredom makes time pass so slowly.
But we could be much worse places trying to make money to get by so no complaints.