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Thursday, August 29, 2013
Five Star Bush Luncheon Mombo Style
After a quick breakfast at Mombo, our family with the fun addition of Paula enjoyed a fun morning with Sefo. We knew that there had to be lions very near the camp because of the volume of the roars we heard early that morning. Yep, we were right! They were in camp....not close enough to our tents...but very close..in fact under some of the employee tents. YIKES! We saw a lot of giraffes, elephants, zebras, the usual abundance of impala, and an enormous owl. Graham met us somewhere in the middle of nowhere to steal Paula from us. Paula and Jimmy left late that morning for Vumbura Plains and she had a plane to catch! After Paula left, we were bouncing along one of the middle roads and Caroline said to Sefo that she had been looking all morning in the trees for a leopard. Sefo said for us to look under the trees instead of just in them. As soon as those words came out of his mouth..BAM...that she was! Pula...Legadema's daughter under a tree. And what a beauty she is!!! As we sat and watched her, Sefo said noticed that she kept looking up in the tree. It was a tree that was covered in leafy thick vines...so it had lots of cover! There tucked into the vines in an upper branch was the lifeless body of a large baboon! Soon, Pula, climbed the tree and began eating her prize! I won't describe it to you! Yall know stuff like that makes me ill! Time was escaping! We were late to lunch! Reluctantly, we left, Pula with the happy meal and headed for camp! Sefo received a call (or so he said) from Graham that the lions were blocking the road into camp so that we would have to go a back way. We are always up for any areas and roads that we haven't seen! After quite a bit of driving and after Sefo said that he was lost, we knew something was up! Sefo doesn't get lost! At least not in his backyard, Mombo! As we came around a corner, there was beautiful Jemima, the chef, and another wonderful staff member from Mombo. They had a surprise bush luncheon just for us at Hippo Corner. It is a beautiful spot! There is a raised structure there too. Jemima had soap and water for us to wash our dusty hands. A beautiful table had been laid. The chef had a grill set up and had several selections of salads and veggies. A full bar was also part of the setting! And the "port-o-potty" bush style! I will include a pic of that! Ha! The dessert was crepes bathed in chocolate and topped with fruit! What a fabulous surprise! We loved everything! It was truly a highlight of our African Adventure! We had such a great time looking at all of the hippos, red lechwe, and exotic birds while we dined in style!
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Why Not???
Why Not???
We started our day early,early! The dining area at Mombo has amazing views. Everyone eats a quick bite and downs a cup of Joe before heading out on game drives. We decided to try to find the almost never seen rhinos in the Moremi. We knew that it would be a miracle to find them.....we didn't! We saw fresh tracks....we drove off road....we gave it our best...but NO sightings! Assurance of seeing a white rhino in South Africa is almost 100 percent. Black rhinos, my favorite, can be found by the great guides at Royal Malewane in South Africa. Sadly, rhinos are a favorite animal of poachers. As long as China and other countries pay large fortunes for the horn of a rhino, I guess they will be scarce. Sad situation! On our quest, we did come across a pride of lions, tsessebes, zebras, wildebeest, Cape Buffalo, hyena pups and grown ups, exotic endangered birds, and on and on! My son-in-law, Lane, has what I call "the McVey gene". He did not get the "What If?" gene......He got the "Why Not!?! gene! I guess that is why he climbed a tree while we were having a coffee break, tried to sneak up on zebras, tried to drive a safari vehicle, got on the radio in the vehicle and told the communications guy that he had a really sexy voice, and narrated all of the videos that he made with an whisper quiet English accent (He sounded much like the announcer of the British Open) . He does keep things very exciting and fun! After lunch and a much needed nap, we had fun seeing Solo, the wild dog that has a close friendship with a pair of jackals. They are never far from each other. Huge hippos were on the afternoon menu, too. We visited a hyena den at around sunset. The grown ups were out hunting, but the pups were all at the den waiting on dinner! They love rubber. We had to scare them away from our vehicle tires a couple of times. When planes and helicopters spend the night at the airstrip in the bush, branches and/or specially made wooden blocks that cover the tires of planes and the bottom of the helicopters have to be used! Hyenas love them! As the sun was setting and we were bouncing down the road with Sefo to camp, Blue Eyes was spotted in a tree. Blue Eyes is the dominate male leopard of a large area at Mombo. He is beautiful! We had a fun night at dinner with Paula and Jimmy.
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We started our day early,early! The dining area at Mombo has amazing views. Everyone eats a quick bite and downs a cup of Joe before heading out on game drives. We decided to try to find the almost never seen rhinos in the Moremi. We knew that it would be a miracle to find them.....we didn't! We saw fresh tracks....we drove off road....we gave it our best...but NO sightings! Assurance of seeing a white rhino in South Africa is almost 100 percent. Black rhinos, my favorite, can be found by the great guides at Royal Malewane in South Africa. Sadly, rhinos are a favorite animal of poachers. As long as China and other countries pay large fortunes for the horn of a rhino, I guess they will be scarce. Sad situation! On our quest, we did come across a pride of lions, tsessebes, zebras, wildebeest, Cape Buffalo, hyena pups and grown ups, exotic endangered birds, and on and on! My son-in-law, Lane, has what I call "the McVey gene". He did not get the "What If?" gene......He got the "Why Not!?! gene! I guess that is why he climbed a tree while we were having a coffee break, tried to sneak up on zebras, tried to drive a safari vehicle, got on the radio in the vehicle and told the communications guy that he had a really sexy voice, and narrated all of the videos that he made with an whisper quiet English accent (He sounded much like the announcer of the British Open) . He does keep things very exciting and fun! After lunch and a much needed nap, we had fun seeing Solo, the wild dog that has a close friendship with a pair of jackals. They are never far from each other. Huge hippos were on the afternoon menu, too. We visited a hyena den at around sunset. The grown ups were out hunting, but the pups were all at the den waiting on dinner! They love rubber. We had to scare them away from our vehicle tires a couple of times. When planes and helicopters spend the night at the airstrip in the bush, branches and/or specially made wooden blocks that cover the tires of planes and the bottom of the helicopters have to be used! Hyenas love them! As the sun was setting and we were bouncing down the road with Sefo to camp, Blue Eyes was spotted in a tree. Blue Eyes is the dominate male leopard of a large area at Mombo. He is beautiful! We had a fun night at dinner with Paula and Jimmy.
Sent from my iPad
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Too Much Fancy Food at the Boma + Bellowing Lions + Noisy Warthogs = ZERO Sleep
Too Much Fancy Food at the Boma + Bellowing Lions + Noisy Warthogs = ZERO Sleep
I got ready for the morning and for our departure from King's Pool way before anyone was awake....except for the lions and the warthogs! Breakfast was superb as usual around the fire. They make the best porridge ( not oatmeal! ) with honey drizzled across the top. The chef and kitchen staff know that we want crispy bacon and we are all delighted with the sizzling plates of it. Off we went with Lemme, our now beloved guide along the river. The vehicle was usually 1/2 in water and 1/2 on dry land. We came across a solo lioness. She doesn't belong to a pride.... We were wondering if the male lions in the area sensed that there was a female and were calling/ screaming/yelling to her ALL NIGHT LONG! We followed her for a while. She found a resting place atop a mound....but she didn't rest! She looked very alert....like she was waiting or expecting something. Minutes later, we heard the male lion (the same lion that was under the tree near the leopard) roaring. The roars steadily got louder. The robust, beautiful lion made his appearance. We were very excited and expected an exciting meeting! Nah..... He saw her and walked right on by. He stopped and plopped down for a snooze a couple of hundred yards away. She then came to him. They sort of walked around each other and both decided to take a nap! Oh well!!! To add to the excitement of the morning, Caroline spotted a honey badger! I think all the males in our vehicle crossed their legs quickly and looked very relieved when it scampered away. On our way to the airstrip, we stopped at a hidden hide that KP has at a watering hole. It allows you to be at eye level with whatever animal is drinking water. We were all down in the hide enjoying coffee and cookies watching a baboon when Caroline and I zipped up those stairs when we both saw very large spiders on the move. Ugh! Caroline and I took this opportunity to "check the tire". (When nature calls, the procedure is to tell your guide/driver that you need to check the tire. He then finds a safe place to stop and the person in need jumps out and literally goes behind the Land Rover to use the bathroom! Seriously! One of the major inconveniences is that no toilet paper can be left! Must take it with you!) I went first and Caroline was on the lookout. When it was Caroline's turn, I was on the lookout. I couldn't believe my eyes when a vehicle came into view. It was quite a sight to see Caroline hopping around to get out of their view! Ha! It was so sad to leave King's Pool, Lemme, and all of the other wonderful new friends we made! When, we landed at Mombo and I saw Sefo (our much loved guide from our last trip) as the plane landed, I was shedding happy tears!! As soon as we got to the lodge, the first people we saw eating lunch were Paula and Jimmy. FUN! FUN! FUN! We were all excited to see them! After catching up with them, eating lunch, and settling into our new tents, we were off with Sefo on a game drive! We saw a huge herd of Cape buffalo, kudu, zebras, giraffes, and so forth. But then we came upon the Western pride ( I think it was the Western pride! Ha!) devouring a hippo! Wow!!! One of the more famous lionesses at Mombo is in this pride....
She is a dark maned female! This was fascinating to watch...yet the smell was memorable! YUCK! Dinner was very special....Sefo's beautiful wife Shady had flown into camp to spend time with Sefo and to meet us. I have "known" Shady on Face Book for a while. I LOVED meeting her in person and finding out that they are expecting a baby in February! Because I hadn't slept the night before, I was the first to leave dinner. As Barry and I walked into our tent, I was stopped dead in my tracks by a spider that was larger than Barry's hand! I honestly would rather see a black mamba in my tent than a spider! UGH!!! And did I mention that it was inside the mosquito netting around our bed! Double Ugh!! Barry used at least a half a can of the bug killer spray called DOOM! Did not have any effect on the monster! He finally had to use a shoe and a towel. I had to take an Ambien to go to sleep!
Sent from my iPad
I got ready for the morning and for our departure from King's Pool way before anyone was awake....except for the lions and the warthogs! Breakfast was superb as usual around the fire. They make the best porridge ( not oatmeal! ) with honey drizzled across the top. The chef and kitchen staff know that we want crispy bacon and we are all delighted with the sizzling plates of it. Off we went with Lemme, our now beloved guide along the river. The vehicle was usually 1/2 in water and 1/2 on dry land. We came across a solo lioness. She doesn't belong to a pride.... We were wondering if the male lions in the area sensed that there was a female and were calling/ screaming/yelling to her ALL NIGHT LONG! We followed her for a while. She found a resting place atop a mound....but she didn't rest! She looked very alert....like she was waiting or expecting something. Minutes later, we heard the male lion (the same lion that was under the tree near the leopard) roaring. The roars steadily got louder. The robust, beautiful lion made his appearance. We were very excited and expected an exciting meeting! Nah..... He saw her and walked right on by. He stopped and plopped down for a snooze a couple of hundred yards away. She then came to him. They sort of walked around each other and both decided to take a nap! Oh well!!! To add to the excitement of the morning, Caroline spotted a honey badger! I think all the males in our vehicle crossed their legs quickly and looked very relieved when it scampered away. On our way to the airstrip, we stopped at a hidden hide that KP has at a watering hole. It allows you to be at eye level with whatever animal is drinking water. We were all down in the hide enjoying coffee and cookies watching a baboon when Caroline and I zipped up those stairs when we both saw very large spiders on the move. Ugh! Caroline and I took this opportunity to "check the tire". (When nature calls, the procedure is to tell your guide/driver that you need to check the tire. He then finds a safe place to stop and the person in need jumps out and literally goes behind the Land Rover to use the bathroom! Seriously! One of the major inconveniences is that no toilet paper can be left! Must take it with you!) I went first and Caroline was on the lookout. When it was Caroline's turn, I was on the lookout. I couldn't believe my eyes when a vehicle came into view. It was quite a sight to see Caroline hopping around to get out of their view! Ha! It was so sad to leave King's Pool, Lemme, and all of the other wonderful new friends we made! When, we landed at Mombo and I saw Sefo (our much loved guide from our last trip) as the plane landed, I was shedding happy tears!! As soon as we got to the lodge, the first people we saw eating lunch were Paula and Jimmy. FUN! FUN! FUN! We were all excited to see them! After catching up with them, eating lunch, and settling into our new tents, we were off with Sefo on a game drive! We saw a huge herd of Cape buffalo, kudu, zebras, giraffes, and so forth. But then we came upon the Western pride ( I think it was the Western pride! Ha!) devouring a hippo! Wow!!! One of the more famous lionesses at Mombo is in this pride....
She is a dark maned female! This was fascinating to watch...yet the smell was memorable! YUCK! Dinner was very special....Sefo's beautiful wife Shady had flown into camp to spend time with Sefo and to meet us. I have "known" Shady on Face Book for a while. I LOVED meeting her in person and finding out that they are expecting a baby in February! Because I hadn't slept the night before, I was the first to leave dinner. As Barry and I walked into our tent, I was stopped dead in my tracks by a spider that was larger than Barry's hand! I honestly would rather see a black mamba in my tent than a spider! UGH!!! And did I mention that it was inside the mosquito netting around our bed! Double Ugh!! Barry used at least a half a can of the bug killer spray called DOOM! Did not have any effect on the monster! He finally had to use a shoe and a towel. I had to take an Ambien to go to sleep!
Sent from my iPad
Monday, August 26, 2013
Lions and Leopards, Oh My!
Lions and Leopards, Oh My!
Barry and I were both up before our 6 am wakeup call. We both heard the roaring of lions in the distance. But, we could feel a lot of bumping and knocking all around our tent. We learned that a huge family...maybe a colony....heck, maybe a country of warthogs lives under our tent. There were also loud chortling sounds of hippos out front, too. We quickly dressed in our warmest gear and went to the lodge for breakfast. We sat around the fire on the deck overlooking the river. And it was COLD!!!! Really COLD! We took off in our open topped Range Rover bundled with blankets and hot water bottles to keep us warm! The very first thing we saw was mating squirrels? We loved seeing all of beautiful birds! Luckily we got to see a roan sable antelope. I'm not even sure that is the correct name! Barry and I had not seen one on our last journey to Botswana. And then Lemme found a leopard! She was a beauty! We watched her climb a tree. We knew that there was a HUGE male lion sleeping under a bush in our sight. We watched her easily climb down the tree while an enormous bull elephant was feeding and kicking up dust at the base of the tree. As she was silently walking straight towards me, she sensed the lion under the tree. Suddenly she stopped! Slowly, very slowly she moved into the grass at waters edge. She sized up her situation and decided that the "get back up in that tree" option her best bet. In a crouched position, she went back to the tree without making a sound. The lion never knew that she was that close to him. I wish that everyone could hear the commentary that Lane provided throughout our day in the Linyati! Late in the afternoon, King's Pool treated our family to a cocktail barge ride on the river. We did visit Namibia! Very memorable time watching the hippos, elephants, and the glorious sunset! We were all really missing Katie and Taylor!
Sent from my iPad
Barry and I were both up before our 6 am wakeup call. We both heard the roaring of lions in the distance. But, we could feel a lot of bumping and knocking all around our tent. We learned that a huge family...maybe a colony....heck, maybe a country of warthogs lives under our tent. There were also loud chortling sounds of hippos out front, too. We quickly dressed in our warmest gear and went to the lodge for breakfast. We sat around the fire on the deck overlooking the river. And it was COLD!!!! Really COLD! We took off in our open topped Range Rover bundled with blankets and hot water bottles to keep us warm! The very first thing we saw was mating squirrels? We loved seeing all of beautiful birds! Luckily we got to see a roan sable antelope. I'm not even sure that is the correct name! Barry and I had not seen one on our last journey to Botswana. And then Lemme found a leopard! She was a beauty! We watched her climb a tree. We knew that there was a HUGE male lion sleeping under a bush in our sight. We watched her easily climb down the tree while an enormous bull elephant was feeding and kicking up dust at the base of the tree. As she was silently walking straight towards me, she sensed the lion under the tree. Suddenly she stopped! Slowly, very slowly she moved into the grass at waters edge. She sized up her situation and decided that the "get back up in that tree" option her best bet. In a crouched position, she went back to the tree without making a sound. The lion never knew that she was that close to him. I wish that everyone could hear the commentary that Lane provided throughout our day in the Linyati! Late in the afternoon, King's Pool treated our family to a cocktail barge ride on the river. We did visit Namibia! Very memorable time watching the hippos, elephants, and the glorious sunset! We were all really missing Katie and Taylor!
Sent from my iPad
Sunday, August 25, 2013
And Away We Go!!!!
And Away We Go!!!!
We walked across the street from the Intercontinental Hotel at the Jo'burg airport to board our plane for Maun. We had a little extra time in the airport lounge to send last minute emails before "going dark". Our South African Airways flight was filled to the brim. After we deplaned in Maun, Botswana and went through immigration, we were met by a Wilderness Safari representative and taken our waiting mini-airplane for our light to Kings Pool which is located in the Linyati region of Botswana. Kings Pool is located on the Linyati River which is the boundary line between Botswana and Namibia. We stopped in route at a camp called Banoka Bush to drop off some passengers. We were met at the Kings Pool airstrip by our guide, Lemme. Being from the South, of course, we play "the name game" no matter where we are in the world! Quickly I learned that our Kings Pool guide, Lemme, was a brother to Tshepo whom we met at Mombo almost 2 years ago. I have communicated regularly via Face Book with Tshepo since we left. Tshepo was not our guide, but the long suffering guide for a week to a difficult German couple. We learned that Tshepo was no longer guiding at Mombo but is now learning the management side of things....with the same company. And he was nearby at Savute Camp. We arrived at camp after a 20-30 minute ride in our open Land Rover....and was it ever hot!!!! We were shown to our fab "tents" with beautiful views looking out over the river...each with its own plunge pool. We got settled in and left on our first game drive with Lemme. We saw a good many animals in route from the airport, too. Baby elephants are the cutest!! There were giraffes, baboons, impala, vervet monkeys, kudo galore. BUT!!!!!!!!........ The craziest, wildest thing we sat and watched for several hours was 4 male lions. They were all brothers. One was older and more dominant than the others....but all of them were quite large. The dominate male has a "Thing" for 1 of his brothers....only 1! He tried to have sex with his brother every 7 minutes. It was as reliable as watching Old Faithful! He would not let either of the other 2 brothers touch or get close to the favorite brother. There were several fights! A lot of roaring! And a lot of bared teeth! We witnessed a beautiful sunset.....African sunsets are the best! At dinner, we sat with a fun couple from Connecticut. The have a son at Tulane and a son that lives in New York. We had a great dinner and went to our tents to crash for a few hours before our 6am wakeup call! We were very happy to see hot water bottles in our bed!!!
Sent from my iPad
We walked across the street from the Intercontinental Hotel at the Jo'burg airport to board our plane for Maun. We had a little extra time in the airport lounge to send last minute emails before "going dark". Our South African Airways flight was filled to the brim. After we deplaned in Maun, Botswana and went through immigration, we were met by a Wilderness Safari representative and taken our waiting mini-airplane for our light to Kings Pool which is located in the Linyati region of Botswana. Kings Pool is located on the Linyati River which is the boundary line between Botswana and Namibia. We stopped in route at a camp called Banoka Bush to drop off some passengers. We were met at the Kings Pool airstrip by our guide, Lemme. Being from the South, of course, we play "the name game" no matter where we are in the world! Quickly I learned that our Kings Pool guide, Lemme, was a brother to Tshepo whom we met at Mombo almost 2 years ago. I have communicated regularly via Face Book with Tshepo since we left. Tshepo was not our guide, but the long suffering guide for a week to a difficult German couple. We learned that Tshepo was no longer guiding at Mombo but is now learning the management side of things....with the same company. And he was nearby at Savute Camp. We arrived at camp after a 20-30 minute ride in our open Land Rover....and was it ever hot!!!! We were shown to our fab "tents" with beautiful views looking out over the river...each with its own plunge pool. We got settled in and left on our first game drive with Lemme. We saw a good many animals in route from the airport, too. Baby elephants are the cutest!! There were giraffes, baboons, impala, vervet monkeys, kudo galore. BUT!!!!!!!!........ The craziest, wildest thing we sat and watched for several hours was 4 male lions. They were all brothers. One was older and more dominant than the others....but all of them were quite large. The dominate male has a "Thing" for 1 of his brothers....only 1! He tried to have sex with his brother every 7 minutes. It was as reliable as watching Old Faithful! He would not let either of the other 2 brothers touch or get close to the favorite brother. There were several fights! A lot of roaring! And a lot of bared teeth! We witnessed a beautiful sunset.....African sunsets are the best! At dinner, we sat with a fun couple from Connecticut. The have a son at Tulane and a son that lives in New York. We had a great dinner and went to our tents to crash for a few hours before our 6am wakeup call! We were very happy to see hot water bottles in our bed!!!
Sent from my iPad
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye cold rainy weather.....we hope!
Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye cold rainy weather.....we hope!
The wind howled all night long! The rain pored all night long! Because of the weather, we ate breakfast and packed until it was time to leave this beautiful (even in the bad weather!) place! We had decided earlier to depart Grootsbos with enough time to stop in Hermanus to watch the whales and to drive the longer coastal route to Cape Town. Both were well worth it! We saw lots of southern right whales with beautiful blue skies overhead! Every curve and every view on the coastal route was drop dead gorgeous! We saw insane people surfing in seas that NO boats were on today! We saw ET! And there were beautiful beach towns all the way to Cape Town. Our plane to Johannesburg was a little late arriving, but that just allowed us to arrive at our hotel at exactly the same time as Lane and Caroline. We were glad to see them and glad they made it! You never know these days if you are actually going to arrive at your destination when scheduled. We had a long FaceTime session with Katie. We got to see their almost completed addition/remodel. We all wish that she and Taylor were here with us...next time! We had a delightful dinner here at our hotel in Jo'burg. When I opened my menu and saw crocodile soup, I had NO doubt that Lane would order it! I tasted it and it was good! Hoping to sleep......tonight!!!!
Sent from my iPad
The wind howled all night long! The rain pored all night long! Because of the weather, we ate breakfast and packed until it was time to leave this beautiful (even in the bad weather!) place! We had decided earlier to depart Grootsbos with enough time to stop in Hermanus to watch the whales and to drive the longer coastal route to Cape Town. Both were well worth it! We saw lots of southern right whales with beautiful blue skies overhead! Every curve and every view on the coastal route was drop dead gorgeous! We saw insane people surfing in seas that NO boats were on today! We saw ET! And there were beautiful beach towns all the way to Cape Town. Our plane to Johannesburg was a little late arriving, but that just allowed us to arrive at our hotel at exactly the same time as Lane and Caroline. We were glad to see them and glad they made it! You never know these days if you are actually going to arrive at your destination when scheduled. We had a long FaceTime session with Katie. We got to see their almost completed addition/remodel. We all wish that she and Taylor were here with us...next time! We had a delightful dinner here at our hotel in Jo'burg. When I opened my menu and saw crocodile soup, I had NO doubt that Lane would order it! I tasted it and it was good! Hoping to sleep......tonight!!!!
Sent from my iPad
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