The Last Night

Well, today marks my last day in South Africa!  It's been really great, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ready to be home.  My flight will be leaving in less than twenty four hours and I'm stoked. :)

This past weekend was chill - headed to Cape Town to see Cape Point, Table Mountain, and Boulders Beach (aka: PENGUINS.)  Unfortunately forgot my memory card in the room so all I have are cell phone photos, which is fine.  I think I'm a little burned out on photos anyway.

Stayed at a hostel in Muizenberg, which was a new experience for me.  Hah.  It overlooked the sea, though, and that was amazing.

Yesterday headed into Cape Town itself and visited the aquarium and did all my shopping. It's legit - I've run out of money.  I've got about 80 rand to hold me over during my seven hour layover in Johannesburg - that's like eight bucks.  Haha.  Hitting on some hard times, y'all!

But, really, Georgia is on my mind and that's the truth.

This is a quick post because I'm trying to catch that small opportunity of wifi that my laptop gives me!

-K.

ek is lief vir Mosselbaai

A week from today I'll be walking off an airplane back stateside.  Well, after a nineteen hour plane ride, that is.  Until then, I'm just going to enjoy these last seven days to the best of my ability.

I ended up with so many photos from last week at Plettenburg Bay and then the past weekend from Schotia. 

I have to admit, living in a bush camp for the weekend was quite the experience.  I really don't know how else to describe it.  Haha.  But it was a great weekend, that's for sure.  I think the highlight had to be the discovery of four lion cubs during the Schotia game drive.  Absolutely the most adorable things I've seen so far.  I couldn't help but take hundreds of snaps of them; might have gone a little crazy there for a moment.  I could watch these cubs all day long if I had the choice.  Also got the joy of seeing a day old giraffe baby; could I be any luckier, really?  And living next to rhinos - well, that's pretty amazing, too.


And then ended the weekend with a 216 meter (709 feet) bungee jump off a bridge, because this is South Africa and why not!  Google Bloukrans bungy bridge - yeah, been there, done that.

This week has been pretty chill and low key.  A lot of editing going on, which is fine by me; it needed to get done anyway. 

Here's to Cape Town this weekend!

-K.

Love Bites from Honey Badgers

Today was an experience.

I was woken up by baboons on the roof and porch chattering and jumping around at seven this morning.  That was a crazy thing!

Horseback riding in the AM.

Tenikwa wildlife preserve in the PM.

The horseback riding was not my favorite.  I'm fully convinced my horse and I just didn't like each other. At all.  Really made me miss those UGA horses back home.  I mean, a lot.  Spent two hours going through African wilderness trying to keep him from not eating. Failure.  Even lost my camera lens cap somewhere. A little bit of me, always in Africa!

After lunch, though, headed to Tenikwa, which really specializes in large cats native to Africa.  You'll allowed to walk inside the enclosures with all of them (except the leopard, ha) and chill.  Hung out with wild African cats, servals, cheetahs, among others.  It was a great experience and I think I got some amazing shots from it.

It ended with a bang, though. I do always say go big or go home. I guess I got what I asked for.

I had the privilege of going behind the scenes and seeing the animal handlers work with their animals in rehabilitation.  So I got up close and personal with penguins and an adorable little bushbuck.  Hearing all their stories was humbling; knowing they could be released back into the wild was reassuring.

As timing would have it, I was just in time for the feeding of the honey badger.
The honey badger.  For anyone not familiar with just how hardcore the honey badger is, look it up. You won't be disappointed.

"Want to come with to feed the honey badger?" Oh, why not!  We meander our way to the animal's large enclosure, and there he is, highly anticipating that raw meat coming his way (no, not me).

I watch the handler enter the enclosure and shut the door behind him.  I figure I'll photograph from the safety of behind the electric fence.

"Come on in, yeah?" Oh, why not!  So I'm a little nervous, but I excitedly head on in to check out the honey badger, who is equally excited and heads straight for me.  I stand incredibly still as he sniffs all around my legs, circles me, judges me, and gives me a look of approval.  He runs back and forth between the handler and me as I snap away. 

A tour of other people passes and one guy asks, "Oh, can we go in with him?" to which the handler vehemently responds, "Oh, definitely not. This is a highly dangerous animal!  He isn't even normally part of the tour."

Awesome.

Honey badger comes back to me a good bit of times, always sniffing, but finally jumps up on my leg, licks me, and shuffles his way through my legs.  I take a snapshot, and he jumps up again and gives my leg a love bite.  Undoubtedly the most frightening moment of my life!  Never will forget.

Turns out honey badger DOES care! :)


-K.

Blogging From the Phone! + Made it to Plett

This will more than likely be short and sweet, considering I'm blogging from my phone now.

Yesterday drove up to Plettenburg Bay, where I'll be staying until Friday morning.  It's gorgeous here, despite the fact that I have to hike up a hill to shower.  Went shooting yesterday at Jukani, a cat sanctuary, where I got to come eye to eye with lions, leopards, tigers, and pumas, among others.  It was a wonderful experience, just incredibly sad to see these creature behind bars, knowing their numbers are few in the wild.

Today called for an early morning and a drive about thirty minutes away to Knysna Elephant Park.  This was a truly unforgettable experience, and not just because I was almost walked over by an elephant.  Seeing these beautiful, giant creatures just doing their thing was fabulous. 

And yeah, almost was squished by one.  I should not assume elephants respond the same as horses do.

They don't.

Subsequently, had chocolate cake for second breakfast. No regrets there.

Spent the afternoon photographing monkeys and birds at Monkeyland and Birds of Eden, which made for a lovely time.  So many baby monkeys! I couldn't get over how adorable they all were. Plus learned lemurs aren't the most clever of creature; watched one struggle to smell a leaf, then fall over.

It's okay, buddy. We've all been there.

The birds were gorgeous.  Walked through an enclosure with free flying birds all around me, creating a symphony of calls and wing flutter.  Just an all around wonderful experience.  I attempted to talk with an African gray parrot.  Did not succeed.  Can't wait to see how these photos come out, though!

It has been a busy couple of days and has left me quite exhausted. But it's worth it.

Always is.

-K.

PS. Pictures soon! :)

That South African Wifi, Y'all

I had a nice little blog post all typed out and ready to go Monday night, but for whatever reason my laptop and the wifi here don't get along well at all.  So unfortunately, my beautiful post about Mondays in Mossel Bay is no more. So here I am, five days later, trying to make somewhat of an update.  Haha.

This is really my way of saying my blog posts are going to be few and far between until the wifi here decides to work well with my laptop.  Or until I figure out how to blog from my phone, which sounds like a ridiculous hassle.

But honestly, with the sun shining on my face and the breeze blowing through my hair, why would I want to be anywhere else?  I want to find more reasons to stay here.  Or the funds.  Hah.

-K.

PS.  I'll try to update with something more this weekend.  Should be a relaxing weekend; I'll be spending it by the pool and the beach.  Yeah, now I'm just rubbing it in.

Straight from Sunny South Africa

  

So I've been a little behind on updating the blog. For this I apologize.  The fact that I actually have people asking me to update and whatnot makes me feel pretty special though.

My first week is officially finished and it's been quite the experience so far!

After Tuesday's game drive, I visited another on Thursday, this time the Nyaru Game Lodge, where you were allowed to drive your own vehicle and go through the lodge at your own pace.  It was fantastic chasing down wildebeest and giraffe and zebra.  I saw a couple more baby giraffes and their proud poppa, a huge giraffe who didn't want to take his eyes off of us.  So much fun getting to watch all the animals again.  So very surreal; absolutely loved it.

Friday morning I headed out with some of the oceans research interns on their sea dolphin research and spent the first half of the day out at sea.  That was an absolutely stunning morning; we found a pod of dolphin about fifty large who were incredibly active heading out to the open water.  Timing was perfect.  I hadn't ever seen so many dolphin before in my life; I couldn't believe how lucky we got!

 

Today was spectacular.  Never in my life would I expect to do what I did today: walk with lions and ride an elephant.  All in the same day even!  Walking with lions has got to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life. And riding an elephant was simply fantastic; the view from up there is incredible.  The sheer power of these animals is amazing.  I'm so lucky to have this opportunity in my life.

Additionally, I finally bought sun screen, so that's a good thing.

-K.

PS. There's a bird here that makes awful noises because it's afraid of heights.  What a life!

Baby Giraffe Smiles

Today officially marks my first ever game drive.  Headed out this morning to the Garden Route Game Ranch about a half hour away.  A couple of hours driving around in an open top Land Rover through a game ranch full of animals and suddenly I'm feeling a little Jurassic Park-esque.

The animals were just fantastic.  Rhinos, ostriches, lions.  With the sun beating down many of them were ready for a nap (and really, how can I blame them?  That's the story of my life right there.)

Word was that there was a baby giraffe somewhere around and we were going to try our best to find him.  And find him we did!  This little guy was the most adorable thing I had seen in quite some time.  Here he was standing on top of a rock like he was king of everything.  I had to get some snaps of this guy and I might have gone a little camera crazy until I realized, I should probably just take in this moment as it is.

Sometimes it's nice to just set the camera down for once and actually live in the moment.  It's amazing how much you can miss when you're concerned about the picture.

So the baby giraffe and I just smiled at each other instead.  It happened.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Tomorrow I spend editing pictures!

-K.

PS.  I find cricket a highly boring and ridiculous sport.

Twelve Dollar Paninis, Window Seats, and One Hell of a Ride

 

 

There's always a trapped feeling when you know you have to buy food at the airport.  Where is the line drawn between "don't want to overpay" and "don't want to starve to death"?  Twelve dollars lighter and a mediocre panini later, I'm left realizing there's only an hour left between me and an Airbus A340-300 Jet (go for it, Google Image that sucker) taking me across the Atlantic.  My trip from Atlanta to DC was fine - I rode the smallest airplane in my life and enjoyed the window seat all to myself.  But anyone can do an hour and a half flight - that's not even the length of a James Cameron movie.

But that next leg of the trip?

So the seventeen hour flight wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be - possibly because my memories of it are a mixture of in flight movies, solitaire, sleeping, and eating three meals.  I was on a plane long enough to be fed three times.

Three times.

With real silverware!

I digress.  Landing in Johannesburg was an experience.  I walked straight off the plane onto the tarmac, onto a bus, and into the customs line of the airport.  For the first time the whole trip, I'm unaware of what time it is and I can't call anyone if I needed them.  The best feeling of the entire trip was seeing my bright green luggage slowly come shifting their way toward me on the baggage claim carousel.

I walk through the airport.  I'm tempted to buy a bottle of wine because it has an elephant on it.

My thirteen hour layover leaves me cold, so I strike up a conversation with the baggage attendant before rechecking my bags.  "I have a thirteen hour layover," I begin.  He looks at me like I have grown a second head before pointing me in the direction of the information kiosk.

I make the executive decision to get a hotel for the night, because suddenly thirteen hours in an unknown airport leaves a lot to be desire.  In a matter of minutes, a shuttle has come to whisk me away to a little bed and breakfast a few kilometers away, where my room is protected by a locked gate and key.  Money well spent, that's for sure.

Arriving back at the airport was surreal.  I manage my way through security and realize some food would be good.  Standing in line at the Wimpy (didn't appeal to me at first, either, but was the only thing open by my gate), I order a breakfast croissant and a chocolate milkshake.

The man behind me laughs a little and comments, "Isn't it a bit early for a chocolate milkshake?"  He's rubbing is forehead a little; after all, it is 5am here in Johannesburg, and I stuck out like a sore thumb with my order.

I just smile and reply, "It's never too early for a chocolate milkshake.  Besides, my body is still probably on its own time zone."

"Where from America are you from?" he asks.

"Georgia," I reply, waiting on my chocolate milkshake to be made.  "It's 10pm there."  I felt further explanation was necessary to justify my chocolate milkshake order.

"Then it's too late for a chocolate milkshake!  Where are you headed this morning?"

"I'm flying to George, but I'm ultimately going to Mossel Bay."

"Ah, for holiday?"

"Internship."

He looks me up and down a little before asking, "What for?"

"Wildlife photography," I respond.

"First time in the country?  South Africa?"

"It is."

He laughs like he knows a secret that I don't.  "You're in for one hell of a ride, then!  How long?"

"Five weeks."

More chuckling before he adds, "Mossel Bay is nice, though. You will enjoy yourself."  I thank him and take my milkshake and croissant to sit at a table to people watch.

He passes me moments later, large cappuccino in hand, and leaves me with, "I hope you don't run into any...unfortunate circumstances.  I don't think you will, but still.  But enjoy your stay!  I meant that!"

It was the best chocolate milkshake I had had in a while.

The George airport was but a hop, skip, and a jump away from Jozi, and I enjoyed it unshared by the window seat.  Another smooth landing, another exit straight onto the tarmac.  The purpose of this story was really to say that my luggage and I safely arrived in Africa.  And that the first animal I have seen is a dairy cow.

And ultimately, I now choose sleep over lunch.  My body doesn't want to eat lunch at 6am anyway (it's 1pm here, but it doesn't know that yet).

-K.

Twenty-four Hours

So in exactly twenty-four hours I'm going to be boarding a flight ultimately headed to South Africa.

Granted, I won't get there until Friday, but the beginning is oh so soon!

So it would mean so much to me for everyone to keep up with me through my blog.  I'll be 8,300 miles away from you and I'm going to miss you all!

-K.