African Safari

So on Thursday Jacqui and I were off for safari. We went to a wonderful lodge and got into the jeep for safari. We saw a herd of buffulo right off and then 2 Rhinos crossed the road right in front of us. We got some great pictures, which I will share when I get back, unless we can figure how to send them before then. The we came across the zebra, which had the brown shadow stripe, very interesting. We saw kudo, wart hogs, garaffe and lots of birds. No elephants or lions.
We went back to the lodge for a wonderful dinner of Kudu in a cherry sauce.
Next morning we drove to St Lucia wetlands. The B&B was very nice, we met a great South Africa couple who shared lots about the country and political nature. Many South African whites are wanting to leave the country and come to America. The town itself is very touristy and very white. So different from Congo where we hardly ever saw another white person.
We went on a hippo/croc boat trip and got up close and personal to the hippos, including new born babies. The tell us that the hippos come out and roam the streets at night but we didn't see them.
Saturday morning we went for our kayak trip where we were paddling in the same waters as the hippos and crocs. All the S Africans told us we were crazy and that they would never do such a foolish thing, but we and 3 other couples went out. We got pretty close to both but at a very safe distance. It was very interesting to see them at water level. Lots of birds as well, haron, white egerts, a fish eagle flew right over our head, yellow weavers who make their nest in the reeds. When we got out there were lots of little monkeys to greet us. A great trip all around. The afternoon was spent shopping and lounging in the pool.
Sunday morning we got up and headed for Cape Vidal. We took several loop roads and saw more kudu, rinos, wart hog families, baboons and zebra. We got to the beach, the Indian Ocean where we snorkeled in some weautiful, clear, warm water. It was great fun, we saw lots of fish, just like at the fish store, but in real life waters. We had a wonderful time till the tide started coming back in and the current was so strong we could not swim against it. It also started kicking up the sand so it was hard to see. We played in the waves for a bit, till it was time to leave. We headed back to Durban to get ready for the Monday training.
Monday we trained at McCord Hospital. The psychologists and social workers were the audience. There were about 24 who attended all or part of the training. They were a great group and learned quickly. We did lots of practice and they seemed to learn lots.
Tomorrow we go out to Lilly of the Valley orphanage which is in a township in the country to do a training for the house mothers. It will be in Zulu, that is a new one for me.
Well thats all for now.
Joan