Day 1 - August 24, 2011

A busy day of traveling! Flight from Boston to JFK went well, but had to run from one terminal to another to board flight to Johannesburg. By the time I was on the plane my clothes were soaked. Great way to start a 15-hour flight! I pity the person who will be seated next to me!

Shortly after we were airborne, they served our lunch. I had read that the food on South Africa Air was very good. Must agree! Cheese, crackers, salad with goat cheese, chicken in BBQ sauce, red bliss potatoes, green beans, brownie/cake with frosting. Just gained back any weight I may have lost running from at the airport!

Watched two movies, slept a bit and walked around every two hours or so. Oddity for me to watch movies… I don’t usually watch two movies in a year! Plane was very roomy so walking laps was good for keeping the blood flowing!

Two complete flight crews on board. They work 8 hour shift, then go to another section of the plane to rest. Funny to see crew walking around in their sweatsuits (with SAA emblem) during their down time. At times, I forgot that I was on a plane!

Watched flight map quite a bit. Was delighted to see that we had finally reached the halfway point! Flew at 37,000 to 40,000 ft altitude most of the time. Air temp at –60 degrees F. Total of 7210 miles for this flight. Wow! That puts things in perspective.

At about midnight I asked flight attendant when they would be serving dinner. She laughed and informed me that I already had it and that the next meal would be breakfast. Hmmm… I thought the meal served at noon was lunch. With my blood sugar issues, this was not the best news. She did give me a couple of salami on baguette sandwiches that they have for people who request a snack. They were quite good and filled the void.

The crew kept the plane very dark during the entire flight. Most people sleep through it all. I am convinced that most must medicate themselves. Many young children on board and all slept.

5 am (South Africa time) and it is time for breakfast: blueberry french toast, fruit cup, croissant and yogurt. Amazingly good for airline food! Time difference of 6 hours but determined to get in the new time zone. The crew turns the lights on and wakes everyone up. Almost time to descend.

Arrived in Johannesburg (hereafter referred to as Joberg, as the natives do) and had to retrieve luggage for customs. Luggage was delayed in being offloaded. Caused quite a problem for many, including me. Tight connection for my next flight to Hoedspruit. Finally enlisted the help of a porter to get me through lines quickly. He was most happy to help. Joey asked me to ask for him next time I was at the airport! Ha! Guess I tipped too much! I was the last person to arrive for my next flight, but thankfully made it! One part of this Joberg Airport visit that did not go as planned… I did not have time to exchange money.

A quick 45 minutes later we are beginning the descent into Hoedspruit Airport. I watch giraffes eating on the side of the runway. After many hours of travel, I am finally going to start the vacation part of this vacation!

Exchanged US dollars for South African rand at Hoedspruit Airport. Small airport… two flights in and two flights out daily. Exchange rate was very poor. Next time I will be sure to have more time at Joberg Airport to do this task. Ah… lessons learned. Transfered to Gomo Gomo Lodge with a local company. The driver graciously stopped along the way so that I could take a few pictures of giraffes and baboons.

Day 2 - August 25, 2011

I am met at the entrance to the lodge by a young man, Iwan (long E sound, followed by van with short a sound). He is one of the Rangers at the lodge. A quick tour of the main lodge building and then I am looking out over the watering hole watching a herd of elephants drinking and one hippo relaxing! Amazing! The peacefulness of this place is unlike anything that I have experienced and it is noticeable as soon as you set foot on the property.

My hut is one of the closest to the lodge. I think this was done for safety reasons, as I will be walking back and forth alone at times. It is lovely! A veranda overlooks the watering hole, yet it still very private. They have given me a family unit: large main bedroom, enormous bathroom with shower stall and square tub, second bedroom in the back with two twin beds. Should have brought a few people with me! It is all lovely!

All the comforts of home!

View from my bed - Elephants are just on other side of watering hole!

View from veranda - Amazing!

A quick shower to refresh and then lunch is served at 2 pm. I quickly learn that lunch is not the main meal of the day! It is generally very light. Today was a salad with minimal greens, ruby grapefruit, pears and some grilled chicken. Fresh bread was a welcome taste after the prepackaged bread on the plane.

At 3:30 my first game drive begins! I am excited to find out what this will be like. We travel in open Land Rovers, seating maximum of 10 plus the Ranger (three rows of three plus one in front with Ranger if need be). Most days we will have six to nine guests in the vehicle. Our tracker, Kenneth, sits on a seat on the front hood of the vehicle. Incredible to watch Kenneth and Ivan follow tracks and lead us to various animals. They are able to distinguish what species, male or female, how recent the track is, what direction the tracks are going. We find two male lions relaxing in the afternoon sun. I had hoped to see many animals, but the part of the game drives that I did not envision is that we would drive right up to the animals, they would acknowledge our arrival and then go about their business. The lions are very lazy, sleeping up to 20 hours each day. Don't be mistaken, the animals are not tame, in fact, if we were to get off of the Land Rover they would quickly become aggressive, but they are accustomed to the vehicles and are generally not threatened. I will explain the “generally” at a later date. So here we sit, ten feet from two older male lions and the photography begins!

He awoke when we pulled up.

Not a roar, just a big yawn!

A long stare to size up the audience...

then a rollover and back to sleep!

The other male watches from the shade of nearby tree.

We stay with the two male lions for a half hour or so and then move on to track other animals.

Cape Buffalo are considered one of the meanest animals in the region. They travel in herds and can be aggressive if threatened or if they just are in the mood for a fight. Thankfully, they are also fairly comfortable with the Land Rovers. We encountered a herd of 400 many times during my stay at Gomo Gomo.

Cape Buffalo

Our final find for the afternoon was a lioness and four cubs. There are nine lioness in this pride. Eight are out hunting and have left one lioness with the cubs. Two cubs are five months old and two cubs are eight months old. Again, they are 10 to 20 feet from us and very comfortable. The cubs are rambunctious and very inquisitive about the vehicles. At first the female keeps a close eye on us, but eventually she relaxes. Iwan tells us that if we were to stand up or get off the vehicle, her demeanor would instantly change.

Five month old

Eight month old cubs. Significantly larger than their cousins.

Auntie, I want to play!

Sunset

Dinner is outside tonight in traditional African style around a log fire in the boma. Menu consists of butternut squash soup, pork chops, beef Wellington, roasted potatoes, green beans, carrots and fresh bread. Dessert was a warm cake with a sweet cream sauce. All very delicious and a great way to end the night.

Other guests include Wendy and Kaiser, a US couple that have worked for American Embassy for many years. They are currently stationed in Afghanistan but will be leaving in November for a three year commitment in Thailand. Phil and Ingrid and their daughter, Karis are from the UK. Delightful couple with great sense of humour and much personality! There are six others at the camp. We have exchanged greetings, but I have not found them to be very social.

I am asleep by 10 pm. The days of minimal sleep have caught up with me and 5 am will be here soon.

Day 3 - August 26, 2011

5 AM – Awake and in the shower! Each morning, we meet in the lodge at 6 AM for coffee, tea and bisquit (dry cake-like squares). I watch the wilderness come alive as birds awake and a tree full of baboons start their morning gymnastics.

At 6:15 we are in the Land Rover and ready to go!

We watched an elephant herd for a while. Amazing to see them destroy the trees and trample everything in its way. I can see why they are concerned if the elephant population grows too quickly. They decimate an area in a matter of minutes. One of the young bulls is in musk and the other males are aggressive to it. He is a bit cranky and spends time letting us know that he would like us to leave. Finally he keeps his ears out and starts advancing towards the Land Rover. It is time for us to promptly leave the area. Elephants can move very quickly, gaining on a vehicle in an amazing short amount of time. Iwan is sensitive to the animals and to our safety, so we exit the area.

A happy calf!

Destroying trees, branch by branch

I am discovering the challenges of photography in this setting. First, the lighting is what it is and that includes having the sun in front of you at times. Second, the animals are not always where you ideally would like them to be. Third, the Land Rover is not always in the ideal spot. So I take many pictures and am hopeful that some will turn out the way I hope! By the end of the week, I am known as “paparazzi” because I keep my settings on continuous shoot and take so many pictures!

Next we are tracking the lions and find them off in the distance. We stop the vehicle on a dirt road and watch the lionesses walking towards us. They walk in single file and cross directly in front of the Land Rover. Seven lionesses and then four cubs followed by one more lionesses. An amazing parade! They could have crossed the road at any point, but are comfortable enough to do it within close proximity of the vehicle. Quite incredible!

Not a great picture, but it gives you an idea how close they are.

Three of the cubs with last lioness bringing up the rear.

One five month old and one eight month old.

The two male lions are not far away, very full and lazy. Their bellies are swaying back and forth as they walk. Two cape buffalos were killed last night and the pride are all satisfied for the time being.

At around 7:30 we stop out in the wild for a break. Table is set up. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, muffins with jam. A time for stretching your legs, using the bush bathroom (private tree, if you are lucky) and conversing with new friends.

We see the elephants again briefly before heading back to camp for breakfast.Many other animals are about the bush. You quickly become accustomed to herds of impala running by and other small animals scurrying about.

Our not so friendly elephant.

Impala

Some of the locals call impalas “McDonalds”. They are on every corner and if you look at them from the rear (which is most of the time, as they run away from you), they have a M in black painted on their behinds.

August 26 continued

When we return to camp we were delighted to find that the entire herd of 400 buffalo are at the watering hole! What a sight! One elephant came to drink also!

It has been an incredible and exhilarating morning!

Notice buffalo on far left. He is alerting the others that an elephant is approaching.

10 AM breakfast is served. Cold cereal, granola, milk and juice available on sideboard. Tomsa, our cook, serves each of us a cup with muesli, covered with a custard like topping. It was wonderful. I assumed it was the meal, but she came around shortly thereafter to take our order for eggs (cooked to order) and bacon or the mornings egg special. All very delicious!

After breakfast it is time for “Bush Walk”, walking with the Ranger into the wilderness to look at plants, small animals, insects and what ever else you discover. I went for part of the walk but returned to room early for a much needed rest.

Yellow billed hornbill
These birds spent much time at the lodge, including
hopping around inside if allowed.

Landscape is covered in large mounds... termite hills. Some are 30+ years old.
Elephants love to stomp and destroy and then feed off of the nutrients.

Lizard found on bush walk. Not sure of the type.

2 PM and lunch is served. Small individual cup with ground beef and a topping (similar to shepherds pie). Side is beet root in phyllo dough. All too heavy for what my stomach is up to. I ask Tomsa for some cheese and enjoy the cheddar with crackers I have brought from home.

August 26 continued... again.

Afternoon game drive is fun. I am enjoying the company of the other lodge guests. Our Land Rover has a great group. Lots of laughs and fun! Two women from US have joined us. Tricia is from Anapolis, MD. Her niece, Alexis, has been living in Mozambique for the past two years. She is a special education teacher connected with an American school there. The two of them are spending time vacationing in South Africa and will be at the lodge for a couple of nights. Phil and Ingrid’s daughter will return to UK tomorrow. They will stay at Gomo Gomo until Monday, then visit another camp for four nights, then return to Gomo Gomo for four more nights. The two of them have fallen in love with the area. This is their 18^th trip to Gomo Gomo in six years. I am finding that many guests return again and again. I can see why… and hope to be among that group.

Tonight we see the lionesses and cubs. All are very full and lazy. It is so peaceful to sit and watch the interaction within the pride. I take many pictures, but also enjoy just being still and watching. It is an extraordinary feeling to be a part of all of this. Very humbling.

One of my personal favorites.

We see the herd of buffalo at sunset. Nice to watch them, but not quite as peaceful of an experience. There is a lot of energy within a herd of 400 buffalo. We see one lone giraffe. This is a first for me on game drive. There are not many giraffes in this particular area. Pictures at sunset are marvelous!

A female steenbok (dwarf antelope family)
Shoulder height of 18 to 24 inches.

Beautiful to watch!

Each night, just at sunset, we stop for a break. Stretch the legs and have something to drink. Some have water (including me), others have wine or cocktails. Tomsa prepares a light snack for us. It varies, but has included ostrich meatballs, mini croissants with sausage, fried potato cakes. Food is kept warm on top of the engine of the Land Rover.

The night part of the drive is very different. We travel miles over small dirt roads with Kenneth, our tracker, shining a light into the trees and on the ground. He is looking for animals including leopard. They are quite elusive due to the low numbers in the area and also their excellent hiding skills. Tonight we saw a bushbaby in a tree and a number of impala. It is not an eventful time of the drive in respect to sightings, but very peaceful and enjoyable. Watching the sky darken and the stars come out is marvelous!

The fresh air tires me out quickly! It is so peaceful and restful here, yet all senses are on alert from hearing and seeing the various wildlife. For the first time in many, many years I have a clear head and am not thinking about anything! It is amazing! Refreshing!

Dinner is served outside again tonight. The menu is potato soup with cheese and chives, fresh bread, chicken in some type of sauce, venison, rice, broccoli with cheese sauce, sweet potato tart followed by a warm lemon pudding for dessert. I won’t be losing any weight this week! All was most appetizing!

10:30 PM and I lie in bed listening to the lions roar. They are close by, just on the other side of watering hole. I have been sleeping with my sliding door open and just the screen closed. Wonderful to hear the sounds of the night. Mosquitoes at this time of year (end of winter) are not a problem. I have had one bite since arriving. I have been told that during the summer rainy season insect repellent is absolutely necessary. I have not used any yet.

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