Cheetah....Lion..The BIG FIVE

We started our drive from Hluelue Game Park to Kruger Park via Swaziland, where we stopped for lunch at a place that had a candle factory and a few other things for sale on the street. We stayed the night in Swaziland, then we crossed the border again back into South Africa and made our way to Kruger Park where we got in the jeeps and drove around for a few hours.

I can’t even begin to tell you about our time in Kruger national park. A “Game Drive” through the park is really luck of the draw. If you happen to come across an animal, that’s great, if not, you just don’t see anything. Some groups didn’t see anything the first day we were there. We were pretty lucky seeing some impalas, baboons, a rare bird called the King Fisher, and some elephants. The next day we spent 14 hours in the park…starting our drive at 6am, we saw a lion laying in the grass….all I could get on camera was his main (which you can see a blurry brown spot in the picture when you see it), then we were driving and seeing nothing, when all of a sudden, our guide floored it. We were all like, “what is going on?” And he finally told us that someone spotted a cheetah. We got there in time to see it and take pictures. He told us that to see a cheetah is very rare. Only 10% of all tourists who come to Kruger Park see a cheetah. Our guide hadn’t seen one for 8 months and had never been up as close as we were! The cat itself is beautiful. I can’t stop looking at it. The rest of the day was filled with the usual elephant, baboons, impalas, but we came across terrapins, a tortoise, an endangered bird called a red hornbill, a hawk (I can’t remember the name), and we had a surprise visitor to our jeep who tried to ride with us, but didn’t quite make it. A crested gambet flew right into a pole in our jeep and landed inside. We pulled over so we could get him out, but he was under the seat my mom and Marcia’s seat (Marcia and Anna have been in our group and we have become good friends with them. Anna is about my age, so it was nice to have her around!). Another member of our jeep took video of my mom and Marcia because their reactions were so funny. It was pretty funny, but very sad for the gambet. He was still alive when we picked him up, but he broke his wing when he collided with our jeep and our guide told us that he would not survive. ☹ We were sad about that. We ended that day drive with seeing some kudu…a type of deer that has some stripes on its back…we saw three males and one female. The males had extremely large horns….and the guys in our jeep were loving every minute.

The next part of our day was the night safari drive. We were told that it wasn’t worth our money because we wouldn’t see anything. On a night safari, there are two spotlights in the open safari van….I got to hold one of them with one hand, and take pictures and video with the other hand…so the videos may be a little bumpy. We saw a leopard…I don’t think anyone got a good picture of him….mine is a little blurry, but you can tell what it is. The leopard, named “pumba” in Afrikaans, was walking in the tall grass, then walked across the road, sat down to check us out, then kept on walking and was gone. We then came across hyenas, a spotted eagle owl….and as we were taking pictures of the owl, our guide says, “something is in the road up there. It looks like Lions!” And they were…three lionesses were just walking down the road. We drove up, turned off the engine, another jeep drove right behind us, turned off its engines, and those lionesses just walked right on by. I had the spotlight and was shining it on one, but when I started shining it on her as she walked by the van, she looked at me, and I decided it was probably best not to bring any extra attention to myself, so I chose to shine it on the other two following behind her. In the pictures and the video, you will see a collar on one of the lions. Kruger park rescues lions so they can be released back into the wild, that’s what they collar is from. We later came across a small bobcat like animal called a ganet, and then that ended our safari tour….not bad for going on something where you don’t see anything! Another special thing about the experience in Kruger....The Big Five. THe Big Five in Africa consists of the Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Elephant and Water Buffalo....we saw all five, which is rare. :)

Today we drove to Johannesburg and we start our next leg of the trip to Victoria Falls in Zambia tomorrow! This trip has flown by so fast!

Zulu Tribe, Hippos, Elephants, Zebras and Giraffes...OH MY!

The last few days have been amazing! We made a stop in Shakaland, which is like a cultural center for the Zulu tribe…yes, the people who have clicking sounds as part of their language! We just learned about how their villages were set up, King Shaka, how they cooked food….and they loved their beer…it was home brewed. Then we drove to the St. Lucia river where we saw hippos and alligators! From there, we drove over two hours to the Bayala Game Lodge in Hluelue (pronounced shoo-shoo-eeee). This morning we departed bright and early at 6am to go out on the game reserve. We saw warthogs (Pumba from Lion King), baboons, a small monkey that I can’t remember the name of, water bucks (like a deer), water buffalo, zebras, giraffes, rhinos and elephants….we saw HERDS of the zebras, giraffes and elephants. We were upclose to elephants playing in the waterhole and a couple different little herds came at the same time. The giraffes, zebras and rhinos were just hanging out by the road and we were able to pull up right next to them and take pictures. Giraffes and zebras generally travel together. Our guide, Sbu (pronounced “Boo”),told us that they are best friends. A giraffe can easily kill a lion with one kick. The water buffalo are dangerous animals because they can get up to a speed of 53km when they are charging. At first, I thought we were going to see things from a distance, then we drive up to zebras and giraffes and rhinos, and even the elephants right there by the roads! Its quite an amazing sight. Last night we enjoyed dinner out on the patio of the lodge as well as a dance show by zulu dancers….I took pictures, but due to the topless girls (which is totally normal in their culture. It lets the men in the tribe know that they are available), I chose not to use them. ☺

We have met some great people on this trip. Most everyone is from Utah, there are two couples from Arizona, two ladies from Colorado, a couple Californians (including my mom), and a couple from Idaho. On one of our long drives we got to go up and tell a little bit about ourselves. It’s amazing to hear about some of the hardships people have had, but at the same time to hear about the things they have done in their lives. Everyone is really down to earth and fun to talk to. Mom and I have made friends with a couple from Idaho, a mom and daughter from Salt Lake (the daughter is just a couple years younger than me), and a couple from Bountiful…but if you know my mom, you know she talks to everyone! All in all, its been a great experience so far.

We are now in the kingdom of Swaziland. We stopped at a place that had a candle factory, hand weaving place, etc….as well as a small street market. I bought two drums (one for me and one for my friend who teaches music) along with some tiny little things. We are now at our hotel with a free afternoon and evening…we are definitely resting. There’s not much to do around here, but it sure is pretty! ☺ Tomorrow we head to Kruger National Park, which is one of the largest national parks in Africa.

South Africa: Cape Town to Durban to Lesotho

We finished off our stay in Cape Town with a view of Table Mountain from across the bay (it is called Table Mountain because of its flat top), then drove to the college town of Schallensburg, where 6 of the 8 dictators Africa has had graduated. We explored the town for about an hour, then headed to the airport. If you look at the pics you’ll see two pictures of a group of shacks…those are called townships (or shanty towns) where the people who live there (mostly illegal immigrants or unemployed) build a home out of anything they can find. They are all over the countryside…no sanitation, no running water, their electric lines are a mess so they can tap into whatever source that works, and these towns are bringing back diseases such as cholera, and the HIV rate has gone up to 1 in every 3 adults are HIV positive in the country. If you look at some of the pictures of these more "stable" shacks in the country side, you'll see their roofs being held down by tires, cinder blocks or rocks. It’s kinda crazy and makes me grateful for what I do have. We got some good news when we got to the airport….bags were NOT overweight! We arrived in Durban just in time for dinner. Durban’s airport was built specifically for the world cup and has only been up and running since 2010. Durban is home to the Zulu tribe and is called Shakaland after King Shaka, the great warrior Zulu king of the 1800s. Mom and I headed to the mall just across the street, found a store that had world cup paraphernalia on sale, then had dinner. We hung out with our new friends Leon and Iris Hubsmith from Detrich, Idaho.

This morning we woke up at 5am for a 6am departure for the tiny kingdom of Lesotho (pronounced lay-soo-too). We drove for almost 3 hours, loaded up in 4wd jeeps and took the dirt road along the cliff, winding up and back the switchbacks for another three hours into the country of Lesotho. It is 9400ft above sea level where, on this east side, there are mainly small sheepherding villages. If you go about 100km west, you will find a small city which is the capitol of the country. We had lunch at the chalet on top, then visited a family in one of the villages, then we headed back down the mountain. The pictures just don’t do it justice. We head to see an African Cultural Center, a small island called St. Lucia, and the game reserve called Hluelue (pronounced shoo-shoo-eee) tomorrow. We finally get to see animals!

Just a heads up, Mom and I chose our excursions at Victoria Falls. We’ll be doing a day at Chobe National Park (which is supposed to be one of the best game reserves in this part of Africa), the Lion Encounter where we go see the Lions early in the morning, and a sunset cruise along the river near Victoria Falls…and of course we are going to take an afternoon to go see the falls! This trip seems to be flying by so fast!

South Africa-Cape Town

Mom and I made it to South Africa. With an 8 hour time difference, we left our hotel in Salt Lake at 7:45am on May 3 and arrived in Cape Town at 10:30pm on May 4. Our bags were overweight, both in the U.S. and in South Africa...my guess is that half of my suitcase was full of snacks and that weighed me down a bit! Eek! The flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg ended up being 17 hours....my butt was cramping so bad, however, I slept about half the flight, which was really nice! We have been in Cape Town for two days and tomorrow we fly to Durban where we start going to the game reserves to see all the safari animals!!! I haven't tried any food that's too different, with exception of the ostrich burger I had today. :) Here's a rundown of what we have done:

1. A few scenic stops on our way to Hout Bay
2. Took a boat out to Seal Island
3. Went to see the South African Penguins
4. Lunch in Simonstown
5. Went to Cape of Good Hope (Southwestern most part of Africa) and Cape Point (Southeastern most point in Africa)
6. Table Mountain
7. Tour of Cape Town and afternoon at the Cape Town Waterfront


South African Penguins

CONCACAF Finals and Master's Degree!

On Wednesday, I got to go to watch Real Salt Lake in the CONCACAF finals at Rio Tinto stadium! It was so much fun to see a game in that stadium again! RSL lost, but it was a fun atmosphere. No one sat down for 90 minutes!



I am officially done with school! I turned in my final paper today! Graduation is next Saturday, but I will not be able to attend because I leave on Tuesday to go on an African Safari with my mom in South Africa!!!! I am so excited!!!

Nature and Easter!

Nature....I'm learning to enjoy nature more and more. In the mornings (now that it is getting warmer) and when I get home from work, I sit on my back porch and watch the birds fly and swim in the lake. Here are some shots I took this past week...I did get a couple sweet pics of the eagles!








Easter....It's amazing that four years ago, I visited the tomb of the Savior that was found empty by Mary Magdalene and the other Mary the morning of His Resurrection where the great declaration was given, "...he is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:5-6). I am forever grateful for the Savior and His sacrifice to carry out a plan so that each one of us can one day return to our Father in Heaven. Happy Easter!

EAGLES!

These two were flying together! They fly so fast, but it was so cool! I got a pic of each!!!

Birthday!

My birthday was pretty cool. After practice, I ran out to my car to drive it up to the stadium to grab the soccer equipment and the first thing I saw was balloons....then I saw the banners across the hood....then the streamers, and the window paint. Leave it to my boss to surprise me that way. It was pretty cool...no one has ever done anything like that for me before. Waiting for me inside my car was a little birthday bag with the movie Tangled, a car wash to get the window paint off, and a card from my boss, and a card from my best dog friend, Motley. :)



After practice, I met up with my friend, Ruth, and we went to the car wash to wash off the window paint...I know, it didn't last very long. Then we went to Texas Roadhouse for my birthday dinner. Ruth gave me a beautiful picture of Jesus....I can't even begin to describe how beautiful the painting is...see the pic below. When I got home, my roommate and I watched Tangled. I got a call from everyone in my family, and a text from a few friends....and of course, TONS of birthday wishes on facebook! So thank you to everyone for a great day!

WAC Ring!

So our WAC rings arrived last week and us coaches gave them to the girls on Friday at our banquet! It is pretty cool, I'm not gonna lie. It's hard not to want to wear it around so the world sees it! :)