Hello
All!
It’s been an exciting and enlightening year
since I last wrote. Believe it or not, for the
first time, the whole family took a trip together
outside of the US. It was our 15th wedding anniversary
and we wanted to celebrate big. We went someplace
I always told Tenly she could take me. If you
have not guessed by now by glancing at the pictures
we flew to the Republic of South Africa. Tenly
has wanted to take us there to see the country
and meet all her friends she had made during her
time there as a high school exchange student.
She had not been back since 1983 and as you can
imagine, quite a bit has changed since their rejection
of Apartheid. We had an adventure to last a lifetime.
It all started with a 22 hour plane ride. We all
survived and arrived in Johannesburg for our month
long holiday none the worse for wear.
Our
first week was a safari tour. The three of us
met our two guides and their vehicle at the
airport. We eventually ended up with four other
tourists (two from the Boston area and two from
New Zealand) before we set off. This tour company
and their vehicle are specially geared toward
budget friendly handicap accessible safaris.
The truck had a lift to get me in and out and
the tents and rondavels (bungalows) we stayed
in were all accessible. We stayed two nights
at a private game reserve called Tshukudu where
we had a morning and evening game drive each
day. You had to be sure to close your rondavel’s
door or the monkeys would have a big time inside.
On the drives around this 600 acre reserve we
saw rhino, elephants, water buffalo, lions,
cheetahs, leopards, warthogs, baboons, monkeys,
and hippos. Between the drives you could relax
at the pool and catch up on your journal or
you could jump on the trampoline with the kids.
It was here that Tenly got to walk freely with
an eight month old lion named Simba as he kept
a close eye on the other game nearby. All of
us were able to pet and pose for a picture with
a semi-tame cheetah named Savannah. We also
watched her as she stalked some kudu and chased
after a steenbok. What acceleration!
Having the owner/guide close by with his sidearm
handy allayed most fears. From there it was
off to Kruger Park. Kruger is South Africa’s
premier national park. It’s the size of
New Jersey and loaded with wildlife and campsites
where the tourists are fenced in (to protect
them) instead of the animals. We spent 4 nights
in these camps and enjoyed the twice a day game
drives which lasted three to four hours each.
Here are some of the sites Tenly was able to
shoot.
A safari is a great way to experience the wild
with your family and we HIGHLY recommend it
if you ever consider it.
LOVE, Charlie, Tenly & Julia
d’s 8-Day Kruger National Park safari
in November 2005.
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