Wild Dogs, what's that?

In the afternoon we went on another Safari Drive.  Gavin went to sleep so Matt chose his own route.  When Gavin woke up he said Matt had taken the wrong road but we kept going for a little bit.  Good thing too because we got to see some Rhino right next to the road.  (We had already seen some, but this was the closest so far.)

Matt would have liked to just stay and watch them as he loves Rhino, but we had to skedaddle because we had gotten a tip from another driver that there was Wild Dog ahead.  (Good thing we took the wrong road..) He said 3 kilometers up the road, but it was more like 6 or something.  But we kept going and wahlah!  

Do you see him?

There was a whole pack of them!

We stayed and watched them as long as we could.  They are actually quite beautiful and unique looking.  We were hoping for some action shots, we thought maybe we would get one when this wildebeest came upon the scene:

He came this far, and the dogs are to the right out of the frame...but he sensed danger.  They didn't seem to see him, although it looked like they knew something was about.  He stood very still for awhile and then snuck away.  The only real action shot we got was this:

Yea, I just posted a pooping dog on my blog.  It's an exotic African Wild Dog so it's ok.

Like my sister said, "you don't see that every day."

They did move around a little bit:

Their markings are so cool.  People say they are actually one of the more vicious hunters in Africa.  They are endangered and it's rare to see them.  This is supposedly the only pack of Wild Dogs in this particular park so our seeing it was special.  

We stayed as long as we could, hoping for more action but eventually we had to leave so we could get out of the park gates in time.  A tip for any of you thinking of coming here, don't be late to leave the gate (Catchy huh?).  Because they fine you.  If we'd stayed a little longer they would have come out on the road, someone posted pictures of them next to the cars online later on.  Shame we missed it, but we had hit the road by then. 

More next time!

Around the Watering Holes

Well, I finally got done sorting through my pictures from our first Safari Weekend so here are some more..  We did see a lion in the wild.  Our friend Gavin knew something was up when the impala and even some wildebeest came sprinting past on the road.  So we immediately went to the nearest watering hole and sure enough, a beautiful male lion was there.  My pictures weren't great because of distance and lack of camera skills but I'll share one:

He must have been hungry since the animals knew it was time to flee the scene.

We kept driving around and went up to a more remote area and saw an animal it's rare to see because they are very shy and cautious, it's a Klipspringer.  Again pictures aren't great because of the distance:

Do you see there are 2 of them?  I looked them up and the internet says they form breeding pairs rather than herds and that they mate for life.  It also says the succulents they eat keep them hydrated so they don't have to drink.

We kept driving and found we had some sort of monster thorn in our tyre, but it didn't seem to be leaking so Matt cut it off and left it in the rest of the trip.  It is now our spare tyre.  (Yes, I totally spell it tyre here, that is the way things roll here. ;) No idea how that thorn got in our tyre, in our sidewall no less.  It's not like we were driving into thorn trees.

We saw elephants, I'm showing you this next picture because it's an action shot:

Flapping it's ears.  It's cool when they do this, and loud too if you are close enough.

At the next watering hole we saw zebra:

I did doctor this one up a bit.  It's one of my favorites now.

Then it was time to go back to the human watering hole.  I'm referring of course to the pool.  It was so hot driving around. (Reminded me of when I had my faithful pioneer car with no A/C.  My BFF Elsa will remember that one I think. And my sister too. That car is still going in strong in Riverton by the way.  I see it around town when we visit. :)  We went back to camp and to the pool.  Our air mattress also had some sort of leak so Matt took it to the pool to try to find it.  Some helpful locals came over to lend a hand. I do have a picture of that, but I thought instead I'd show you this picture at the pool:

This is something I'll never quite get.  They did it in Nigeria too.  Some Africans just love having their wedding pictures taken next to the pool.  It's one thing if you are able to have a pool that's empty (of people)  I guess...Why you would want some half-naked strangers in your wedding pictures I will never understand.  Although to be perfectly honest, I would not get near a pool in a wedding dress. There are way too many cinematic moments depicting brides being tossed into pools to feel safe in that situation.  I mean really.

Back at camp we also had a visitor:

Naughty Pumba.  

That is another reason, besides the baboon troops, to keep your camp neat and secure.

That's all for now, more safari pictures still to come.  I'm really trying to be judicious.  You would not believe how many I have that I'm not sharing and how many others were deleted.  I'm trying to spread them out so you don't get totally bored. :)

The One that is the 100th post of this Blog

Eeeek!  It's been a whole month since you got a post! I'm sorry guys.  I have excuses, but I won't bore you with them.  However, I hope it's worth the wait.  In February we went on 2 Safaris!  Yes TWO!  I have to admit that it's hard to go back to not going on Safari after that.  (You see now why it was so hard to find time to post....since we were on Safari and all that;)  It's our one hundredth post, so we will share our first Safari on this special occasion.  Our first Safari was to a reserve called Pilanesberg.  We left Friday afternoon from work.  Our little blue rover got packed to the max and ready to go!

Gavin is securing his trailer.

There were 5 of us in all.  We arrived in the dark, driving through herds of impala.  Not to worry though, because in South Africa when you go camping there are power ports and ablution blocks.  (How many of you are looking up ablution now?)  So although we set up in the dark, we had light.

We had some yummy dinner and then went to bed.  Next morning we were up early to be in the park for a morning game drive.   We had to secure our camp because the troops of baboons come through in the morning to see what gifts they can take from you. (Yes, troops of baboons.  It's all so exotic.) Here is a hint.  Go early.  Later in the day is hoooooottttttttttttt.  At least in summer.  One of our first sightings was of jackals:

Thought my dad would like this one.

I like their profiles.  Besides the animals, we enjoyed the beautiful sunrise & scenery:

I found that some of your best pictures will be, not of the "big five"  but of other animals that are more common but still amazing:

Although there were impala everywhere and after time we would just drive past them, on to bigger things, sometimes you have to stop and watch them, I especially enjoyed watching the boy impala be tough to impress the ladies:

The best part though, was when the little boys would watch the adults, and then they would copy them:

So cute rubbing their little stubs together.  Just getting in good practice for later.

Well that's enough for now, more animal pictures to come, but I don't want you to get bored!

So what is the ministry like there?

If' you read our blog while we were in Nigeria you may have been impressed by our tales of the ministry in Africa.  Now you shouldn't think that just because we went back to Africa that we will have the exact same experience.  Now, I would say that it seems like in the majority of Africa you can have AMAZING territory.  Here in Johannesburg, it's a bit varied.  Some congregations have that same type of territory. Others are a bit more westernized.  There are congregations that have both types.  However, our congregation doesn't have both.  Our congregation's territory is what you might call pretty upscale.  Here is a typical street:

And here is a typical sight when we go to the houses:

And this is what we typically do when we get to that house:

The person was home by the way, and we left the invitation in the gate basket.

This was a big first for us.  I feel like we go out in service in the "Beverly Hills" of Joburg.  Intercoms are totally new for us.  However, we have gotten somewhat used to it.  Talking to intercoms isn't the only new experience for us though:

Matt in Bryanston doing street work.

Street work!  I try to explain to people that where we are from, we have streets, but the people are in the cars in the streets, not walking around willy nilly. They seem pretty impressed that we come from such an exotic place. ;)  At first I would have to say that we felt a bit scared and intimidated. We still do sometimes, but it feels a lot more natural.  And it's so nice to talk to people. At home, I would have my days where I hoped no one would answer.  Here though, I am finding that street work is my favorite, all I want to do is find someone to talk to!  So being here is definitely broadening our horizons!   I even approach people when they are working along in the gardens.  Before I'm like, oooooh they are busy, I don't want to bother them. Next house please!  Now I know that I shouldn't have done that, but I have to be honest about it.  Here I'm like, "look, a person to talk to. Hooray!"  It's really nice to be able to do that.  Most of the people you see doing this type of ministry are quite friendly too which makes it nice.

Tomorrow night we have a kingdom ministry article about intercom witnessing so that should keep bolstering us up for that.  We hope to join some friends in their rural territories soon and that will be nice as well.  There is also train witnessing which we hear is awesome. Later this year we have unassigned a couple hours away, so we will have lots of variation coming up!

Neck & Deck

So I'm sure you were all intrigued when I mentioned the "Neck & Deck."  The deck part is an actual elevated deck.  The "Neck" part is from a certain animal that you may be familiar with...

First though, I wanted to share a picture of a highly exotic animal we saw from the deck:

Seriously, we came all the way to Africa to see an American buffalo?!?!?!? Or "American Bison" for you zoologists.   I felt a little let down.  I saw a ton of these in Yellowstone this year already.  Anyways, it was still a touch of home in the middle of Africa.  The real reason we came to the Neck & Deck though was this:

Please note that this giraffe is "small." The big ones were off flirting in the fields.

Ever wanted to feed a giraffe? Yes please! 

Matt has!

Have you ever tried to touch your tongue to your nose?

It's easy if you are a giraffe!

Something I had never thought about is the logistics of getting water if you are giraffe.  Note the process:

Hmm...

Ok, this is happening..

It works!

Success!

Have you ever peered at a giraffe and seen yourself?

We got there just an hour before closing so next time we will have to get there earlier and just enjoy being there for a little longer.  If we get any pictures of the "big" giraffes we will share those someday.  Please let us know how you are. We miss our friends and family.

Time To Remember

  I know that the next time you saw a new post here it was supposed it be featuring another adventure that I mentioned last time. However, when I woke up this morning and thought about it, it occurred to me that there was something else I wanted to put in its place, for now.

Today, even though it's another beautiful day in South Africa, my heart is at home, in Idaho.  The reason is that my friends and family will be together to remember a dear friend that is sleeping until Jehovah wakes her up. Let me just tell you a little bit about her, if you haven't met her yet.

I remember when my friend Leah moved to the town I grew up in, she was just tiny. I remember visiting her & her mom for the first time when they moved here. I'm 10 years older than her and I've know her for almost her whole life. Leah was born with some eye conditions that affected her all her life, making many tasks difficult or even out of reach in this system.  The wonderful thing about her though, is that she always smiled.  I never heard her complain about her eyes, or say "why me?" She carried on and did everything that she could to live "the best life ever." Leah was, along with her family, at our house all the time, or we at theirs. 

Leah & Me & (Part of Desi:) Erm, more than just a few years ago.

 We had frequent family dinners with her family, with BBQs, waffle nights, or my mom's spaghetti. I babysat her and her sister more times than I could count, we would have brown cinnamon pop tarts (her dad's favorite) for breakfast if it was a morning babysitting session. We are from a small town, and a small tight knit congregation, so we all grew up very close, and we were all like family.   Leah, along with many others in the congregation has been like a sister.  She loves Jehovah, his creation in the outdoors, and her family.  Leah is a pioneer, and a sterling example of love, patience, kindness and joy. In fact, as I read the scripture at Galations, I have to say that I think she showed all those qualities that are mentioned in verses 22&23.     

Some weeks ago Leah went to sleep, and she will rest until Jehovah God wakes her.  Because of this, her adventures are on hold for now. When she wakes up though, I imagine her joy, to know that the most outstanding adventure anyone could hope for is before her. Life on a paradise earth, the hope and future reality that all of Jehovah's people are so close to.  Until then, I will miss her.

What I normally write here is about the fun adventures we are having in our assignments. Serving Jehovah IS fun and he grants us many extra fun times along the way.  Whatever adventure we are on, we are always thinking of this person or that person that might like whatever we are currently seeing.  And it's the ones at home, that love us, that have supported us along the way, helping us sort out things, who are part of why we are able to be here right now. Along with adventures can come some challenges of course. One of which is being so far away from home when our loved ones are facing their own challenges.  Not being able to even give a hug to all of you that are together today to remember Leah is really hard.  Many of our dear friends have faced unimaginable heartache over the last months.  We want you all to know, that we do not forget you, we love you and we think of you daily.

I will be thinking of all of you when you are together today, my heart will be there. Give someone a hug for me. We send our love.

Desi & Me & Leah at Memorial just a few years back.

It's not all about the lions..

When we went to Ukutula, it wasn't ALL about the lions.  Okay, it was mostly about the lions.  In fact:

Lady White Lion

I gained a new appreciation for how big lions are.  And, they are the second biggest cat.  The biggest? Tigers. Remember when we went to see tigers? And those tigers weren't even fully grown! (The one in the cage standing on it's water dish was bigger than the one's we sat with.) Tigers are so massive and their bone structure is heavier than the lions.  Anyways, back to the lions.  Now, I think I didn't really appreciate how big they are because the only lions I've ever seen have been in Zoos.  And there aren't many I've seen in Zoos.  Zoo Boise had a lion once when I went, but it wasn't fully grown.  And the zoo lions I've seen have been in smaller cages.  True, these lions in Ukutula are in pens, but they are nice large pens.  You know how in a zoo sometimes the animals pace if the enclosure isn't big enough?  These lions were all about the relaxing.  They seem quite content in their huge enclosure.  A content lion isn't stressed, hence they are healthy. HENCE they get big.  It's hard to show it in a picture since we don't have anything to show the scale in comparison but I'm sure you get the idea.

As I said though, it wasn't ALL about the lions.  It was also about the food:

I'm just going to entitle this one #BESTSCONEEVER!!

We had tea and scones, and later a delicious lunch there.   We also ended up sitting near a table where a special pioneer couple was sitting.  They overheard our conversation about Watchtower and construction.  Small world.  

We also saw a beautiful bird, so naturally I took a picture for my dad:

Found out it is called a Paradise Flycatcher. See how long it's tail is?

On the way back to the road we saw a little more wildlife:

A zebra from almost every angle.

There was a sassy ostrich too:

We found our way home much easier than our way there, but on the way we stopped at the "Neck & Deck."  Stay tuned...