Report from the African bush, first in a series.

So it has now been five days since our last report from the city of Durban (well, actually the beach side suburb of Uhmlanga Rocks, but I digress). Christine and I have now completed our first rotation in the African bush at two separate lodges in two game reserves. It has been exciting. It has been fun filled. It has been rough on my gluteus maximus. All in all, a very good first safari adventure with even more still to come.

So much to describe, so little space, so I'll try to stick with the anecdotes rather than the play by play. First of all, for all you Disney fans, let me make a few comparisons as that is the closest I had gotten to a safari since my arrival in Africa.

#1: You do not say "Jambo!" at the beginning of the safari drive. Anyone familiar with the safari ride at Animal Kingdom will know that's how it starts. So far here, it's generally been good morning or hello.

#2: People with back and neck problems should not board this attraction. Our ranger on the first reserve, Kyle, drove us around in an open topped land cruiser. The guy was a great ranger, and very enthusiastic, but drove like a wild maniac. It was like riding the Indiana Jones Adventure for four hours straight twice a day.

#3: Keep your hands and arms inside the safari vehicle at all times. Related to #2 above, as our ranger offroaded through thorny bush and backed into a couple of trees.

#4: Never, ever leave the vehicle unless directed to do so b the ranger. While at disney, it's done to follow strict protocol, in the bush, the animals will maim and/or eat unsuspecting tourists. Adrian, the ranger on our second reserve, nearly got himself killed trying to locate a black rhino for us when he literally stumbled onto mother rhino and calf. Also the many tales of deadly hippo encounters, and ranger Kyle's belief that crocodiles kill the most people in Africa, more than hippos, because they drag people off into the water and leave no remains.

However, so far the number and quality of sightings have been stunning. We already saw all the big five (rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard, and elephants) as well as untold numbers of antelopes. Most impressive were the cheetah, and I got some good Nat Geo type shots of them.

I'm sure Christine will add more details in the coming days, but il leave it at that for now. First report of many to come...

More Pics

Southern Right Whale and her 2 week old calf

Endangered Minke Whale...apparently, several hundred miles from its usual location, so an amazing sight to behold, even our skipper was super excited!

Cheetah Photos

Yes, I'll pay the extra 28 dollars to pet the cheetah.

So, it has been a couple of days since the last blog post, and Christine and I have had quite a few adventures. We're now spending our last night in the Western Cape region, relaxing in the hotel lounge listening to Sarah McLachlan.

Yesterday, Christine and I spent the day in Oudtshoorn, ostrich capital of South Africa, and the world. But instead of doing the usual tourist activity of visiting an ostrich farm and participating in the somewhat strange activity of ostrich riding, we decided to hit up two other town attractions, the Cango Caves and the Cango Wildlife Ranch. The caves were awesome, and it was rather amazing. What was even more entertaining was the absolute fascination South Africans have for visitors with American accents. We talked to several different people on our tour, just on the basis of our unusual accents.

But even better, and more to the point of my post, was the visit to the wildlife ranch. It's a small wildlife rescue with a variety of animals in enclosures, and partipates in repopulating the cheetah in Africa. On the first part of the tour, I was excited to see some pretty basic birds and pygmy hippos. But then came the star attractions, the big cats, three adorable tiger cubs, several cheetah, lions and leopards. And for an additional fee, one could enter the cheetah enclosure to pet the hand raised tame cheetahs. Of course Christine and I couldn't resist, even though it was somewhat dangerous and would never ever be allowed in the prudish US. The rationale was this: funds went to support the cheetah foundation. So danger of being mauled be damned, we went in and pet the big cats. And it was awesome, the cheetah I pet rolled over and wanted me to rub his belly, although I was told explicitly not to do that. Hopefully I can post the video, to prove the cats were not tranquilized and were rather frisky.

Post our Karoo adventures, we drove down to the Garden Route, which is akin to California's PCH. Its a dramatic highway running along the Indian Ocean lined with some very nice little towns. Our big adventure was doing whale watching along the coast, where the Southern Right Whales are doing their annual migration. Got some good shots of a mother and newborn calf swimming around, as well as a very friendly Minke whale. Very cool things indeed.

Next up, heading to the Kwazulu-Natal state for our first safari adventures. It'll be difficult to leave the Western Cape though. Perhaps I'll just settle down, buy a nice ocean view home in the town of Knysna, and kick back in South Africa for a few years. Coastal home prices are downright reasonable here. It's the perfect place for a summer home, if it only weren't a 22 hour flight time away...

- Joe