Those Black and White Ones

If you've ever crossed the border from Mexico into the U.S., you have a good idea of what it is like crossing the border from Mozambique into South Africa; it's like entering a new world. I definitely prefer living in Mozambique but I must admit, it is always a much needed and relaxing time when we cross over into this other world. The last two weekends of November were spent soaking in the beauty of South Africa although on two very different trips. The first trip was spent "hunting" animals in my honeymoon spot: Kruger Park.

The day after Thanksgiving, Mada, myself, Sabina, Lisa and Lisa's mom skipped over the border and when Lisa, Sabina and I weren't laughing too hard in the back seat, we actually spotted some extraordinary animals.Just can't get enough of these giraffes! God really had His creative juices flowing when he thought up this one.Perhaps they got a bad rap from The Lion King but this guy sure looks pretty evil and apparently they digest bones which is awful creepy. We also learned from our safari guide that they don't worry about predators because no one eats them since they stink so bad. Interesting defense mechanism- can I use that as an excuse not to shower?I have a new perspective on the game "Hungry, Hungry Hippos." I always thought it was cute how wide they opened their mouths until I learned they kill more humans than any other animal in the park. Here we caught them playing.This is the closest we've gotten to the giant but shy, "wildebeest." I guess the quotes are really necessary are they?Still find these beasts so beautiful."Can I help you?"This was the "day of the rhinos." In the past, I'd only seen them from a far distance and if I'm completely honest, I thought they were rocks. On this trip however, we saw several rhinos rather close.
As always, we were thoroughly entertained (although secretly still a little scared) by the monkeys and baboons.Although we had fewer elephant sightings, the few we had were memorable. The first guy was not happy to see us and flapped his ears (apparently this is a bad sign) and kept walking straight at our car as Madalena quickly reversed while keeping her cool. I would have been freaking out if I was driving.
click here to watch a clip of our dramatic escape

Then while enjoying my lunch of a delectable "Boer war roll," one somewhat vain elephant came for a photo shoot and decided to eat lunch with the humans and munched on trees right next to the fence. Lisa, Sabina and I decided to try to be elephants in the picture. I'd like to say the double chin was intentional, but it wasn't:)The main highlight were seeing the big cats up close!
I had never seen a leopard before so it was quite a treat when we went out at 5:30 in the morning and were driving a tiny road when Sabina yelled and pointed, "CAT!" and sure enough, there was this amazing leopard sitting rather close to the road, rubbing his face on the tree stump. I see now why leopard print became so popular- it really is beautiful. (don't worry, I won't come home decked out in leopard print)As previously mentioned, on my list of "things I want to do before I die," was "embark on an African safari." I've driven through Kruger several times but never on an official safari so I was super excited because this trip we stayed overnight in a hut in the park (surrounded by electric fences) and were able to go on a night safari. We bundled up, took our seats behind some "quirky" South African guys in the elevated, open truck, and were prepared to be amazed. Our first hint that it wasn't going to be a life-changing safari came early on when our guide said, "You know one of those black and white animals." "Zebras?" "Yeah, one of those." He actually turned out to be pretty knowledgeable, perhaps he just had a brain fart- I can sympathize. The poor guy was for sure put to the test on his knowledge about animals because Mrs. Frist (aka the Question Queen) took the seat next to him and drilled him for a solid hour as we giggled away trying to listen in from the back. One of my favorite questions that she posed was, "If you had to choose what animal would kill you, which would you choose?" This was a conversation we had been having earlier so she decided to consult an expert and turns out he had some interesting facts. Apparently lions don't kill their prey before they begin feasting...note to self, never be killed by a lion. If you have to choose, the experts say to go with the buffalo, they'll knock you out the quickest. Another scenario we had previously pondered and Mrs. Frist posed to our guide was, "OK, if you're stranded in the park overnight, what would be your plan of action?" For the record, if you're ever in such a situation, build a fire to scare away some of the animals and then climb a tree to avoid the animals who aren't afraid of fire. (then again, this is advice from the guide who called a zebra "one of those black and white animals.")

Since we were with a guide and a gun, we were able to go on side roads and get out of the car. Here's a brief video of the sounds of Kruger Park at night.

The animals we saw while on the official safari included hippos crossing the road, a snake, impalas (these are like the pigeons of Kruger, so many of them that they aren't too exciting to see) and a crouching hyena. Not exactly what I had imagined when I put "african safari" on my list of things to do before death. We did however learn some fascinating facts about rhino poop and had quite the adventure when it became to POUR rain when we were 20 minutes away from camp. The rain seemed to come from all directions and we shivered, teeth chattering, arms linked, heads bowed, as our guide booked it back to camp, all the while thinking about the ways animals kill their prey. (our heads were bowed so our faces wouldn't get so drenched, not because we are holy)

So although my safari didn't turn out to be quite the experience I had envisioned, it was a memory and adventure and we still saw incredible animals on our own safari.