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Thanx for all the yay's!

I spent 5 glorious days in the Kruger - the rest I spent whaling on the beach at Port Edward (the southern most town in Kwa Zulu Natal - for the uninformed!)

I always try and find one word for a trip and for this Kruger trip the word is ABUNDANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Abundace of heat, abundance of green, abundance of sightings, abundance of young, abundance of electrical storms and abundance of contentedness.

Barely 10 minutes after our entry @ Malelane we saw 2 lionesses in the shade of a tree - gloriously huge, panting in the heat - beautifull!!!!!

I spent the entire trip covered in a film of glow (note: horses sweat, males perspire and us angels GLOW!!!!)

We later (2 days later) saw another lioness, heavily pregnant, looking for a suitable place to give birth to her now impatient unborn cubs. We followed her for close to 20 minutes when she veered off the road obviously having found the ideal spot and no longer able to tolerate our noseyness.

At Skukuza we had a mother of an electrical storm - power failure and gratitude that I bought new batteries for the torch....

Lots and lots of Ellies! Big old tuskers and babies with the cutest little trunkies.

Alas, many a stone in the dappled shade of a tree was mistaken for a resting cheetah! Sadly, the real thing eluded us this time!

Plenty of Impies. Those beautifull, delicate babies. The elegant mommies and the arrogant, beautifully horned daddies............

I was attacked by a monkey when I reprimanded his comrade for forraging in a dustbin at Olifants Rest Camp. He grabbed me by the ankle and I managed to shake him after a vigourous hop, skip and jump!

The highlight was when we prepared to exit through the Orpen gate ( I saw the water hole and the cam!!!!!!) and we saw a group of Blouwildebeest females lazing around. Lots of young around. But then we got a heads up - one was in the process of giving birth! We stopped to watch her progress. The babys front legs were visible and the mommy was obviously in a lot of discomfort. Strangely her herd sisters harrassed her - poking at her and poking at the emerging baby. Then she isolated herself out of sight and we were left to imagine that she gave birth to a beautifull young, gangly, wet & healthy little Wildebeest............

Sorry guys, I am one of those technological morons - inherently unable to post any pic's, You will just have to take my word for it - all those wonderful things REALLY happened.

Good wishes for 2006

Vonnie

We had amazing times in between : hippo's out of water, grazing pinkily on lush foliage. Magnifiscent Kudu bulls crossing the road bearing horns worthy of being the cover models of Kruger Unlimited Magazine. Bunches of human like baboons with wisened gazes tending their young with old man's hands. Two Buffalo bulls grazing amid elegant Giraffe and the relentless sound of unseen cicadas in the trees. I even heard Hadedas' plaintiff calls and I knew I was home..........

I helped a Terapin back into the water after it tried to cross a bridge (making me a candidate for the gallery of shame!!!!!) and I took my Malaria tablets religiously And I am happy.