Well, we have returned safely from our first weekend excursion and it was a major success. The landscape was beautiful, the animals were a-plenty. Zebras, elephants, giraffes, lions, springbok, many birds, hippos, impala, blah, blah, blah, blahh... The highlight of the trip for the kids though, was hitting the McDonald's in Rustenberg. Ronald has his claws in this place as well. Gross.... but oh so good.
The drive was about 4- 4.5 hours and was a beautiful drive through Botswana and some of the North- west Province of South Africa. Alot like Virginia, but with black mambas, volcanoes and all kinds of other cool things. No major headaches during the drive except for the border posts. We all had to get out and register our car, check our passports, etc.in Botswana and then the same on the South Africa side.(about 300 ft.) . Not a big hassle, but with 5 screaming kids asking if we're there yet, it wasn't fun.
Pilanesberg was very nice though. The weather was great and the game viewing was awesome, as was the night sky. On Sunday morning Jacob and I got up at 5 to take an early morning game drive. We saw lions relaxing in the bush and a huge pack of elephants climbing the hills of the park. The videos highlight both of these parts. Upon our return, Jacob ventured back out with Michelle and the girls to check out the game while the twins took a nap. The great thing about most of these places is that you don't have to pay a guide for the game drive, you can simply drive around on you own.
During the afternoon, we hit the pool(salt water pool) talked with some older folks and enjoyed watching the kids splash in the pool. That evening, we took a great drive around, going on the tops of the mountains and viewing a bunch of animals, including many elephants, some a few arm lengths away... The kids loved it, especially Maura. You were literally in the middle of nowhere, hoping to God your car would make it over the rocks and dirt paths. It was a true Africa experience... I think....
At night, we all fell asleep early only to wake up at 5 a.m. again, due to the fact that birds are really freakin' loud here at that time of the day. Our chalet was attacked by a group of monkeys who stole a sippy cup and some garbage off of our front porch. No harm done. It was kind of scary though, when I was packing the car up to leave, they were waiting there hissing at me, hoping I would drop the box full of food.
When we went down to eat at the restaurant, we passed the pool... I wish I would have gotten video of the site before us, because it was nothing I had ever seen before. Lined up in the pool were hundreds and hundreds of frogs, having a good ole' time. Jacob and Kate were under the impression that they were all giving each other piggy back rides, but we know better, don't we? Jacob kept trying to coerce them into jumping, but I tried to tell him to keep his distance and let them enjoy themselves.
After breakfast we headed back through the park and took in the sites one last time..
A few observations about our trip into South Africa.... The poverty is just as bad there as in Botswana... Many creatively built homes using car hoods, metal sheathing(sp?), and rocks to keep the panels from blowing away scatter the landscape. There are villages setup in the middle of nowhere, with people walking the streets looking to catch a ride.These villages were completely populated by black South Africans, not many Afrikaaners or white South Africans living in those homes. Also, the level of racism that we noticed here was unnerving. To say that South Africa is a country in turmoil is an understatement. The staff at the complex was great... respectful and deserving of our respect.... Unfortunately, most people don't give it... From my experience, a little respect and acknowledgement, whether it being saying hello or tipping someone for their services, seems to go a long way.
Here are 2 videos from our trip. Sorry for the lengths of these, I just didn't know what to eliminate, so i didn't eliminate anything. The third video will be added in an hour or so, so check back. I'll put a slide show of the photos up shortly... Those will give you clearer images..
All for now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwiyr5QvZCs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lw0RUcSJ1k
Here's the third video. it 's number 2 in the series of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYThQCebiak
