I asked Doug what he’d like to do to celebrate and he said he’d plan it!
We put the Shongweni Farmers Market in the GPS and ended up 8 kilometers past to the Shongweni Farmers’ and Craft Market (who knew?!) so we asked directions to the right place— go to the right and go right again at the hospital, then “Carry on, carry on…”
We parked and found our way to the Shongweni Farmers Market Food Court—wow!! Worth the trip just for the food! I got the miele meal breakfast and Doug got his burger he’d been talking about since last time. A little shopping, mostly people watching and then off we went to Ladysmith, launching town to Nambiti. Our American dollars are very strong against the South African Rand. The exchange rate is 17 or 18 Rands to the dollar. We feel very blessed in this economy.
In the interior of Africa, past the Midlands, past the Drakenberg mountains, past the Mooi River we found our way to Nambiti.
Canvas walls, zippered windows, our safari tent provided all the amenities and luxuries of any hotel, glamping in comfort. As always, it’s Conference weekend when we celebrate our anniversary. Conference starts 8 hours later in the South Africa time zone. Our safari tent at Springbok Lodge had WiFi so we were able to experience the miracle of listening to Conference half way around the world out in the bushveld.
Our safari guide’s name is Mlue and he knows his stuff.
White rhinos…
And a black rhino, back to back, both so rare — it’s truly amazing! So what’s the difference??
It certainly makes it a lot harder when the rhino is dehorned which sad to say is pretty much everywhere now. When we first arrived in South Africa, we were fortunate to make a couple drives in Hluhluwe which is the oldest game preserve in South Africa and was the last remaining preserve to have rhinos with their horns remaining in tact. The park was losing an average of almost one rhino a day to poachers who would kill the rhino and sell the horns. Three months after our visit, the park succumbed and dehorned 300+ rhinos—so sad!!
Lions’ manes are just like humans— they come in brunette, blonde and redhead, or even a mix. Usually the higher elevation, colder areas the lions will have darker manes; whereas the lighter color, thinner manes will be found in the hotter, lower altitude areas.
Just after sunset we came up a couple of lions! Mlue shone his search light to catch the reflection of their eyes to spot them in the dark. They had their eyes on some warthogs for dinner but no luck while we were there!!
Morning comes early for safaris as many of the animals are more active in the cool hours of the morning. Sleeping on the bush allows for a little more sleep— but still 5:15am sharp departure!
It’s our anniversary morning and we have a private safari jeep, all to ourselves as it turns out. Off to a good start — there are animals everywhere, right close to camp. Beautiful sunrise , elegant giraffe, a rare and elusive black rhino! Then an excited alert from the CB band…!!!!
We just sat for a good part of the morning with this beautiful pride of lions, just enjoying the peace and tranquility that is Nambiti. Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!!💗💗
