NetEk, Hilda, Barry, Anne-Marie, Chickadee, Philip, Sheenaugh-Lee, and Trrp............thanks so much for your lovely comments, and apologies for not replying individually.
Day 98 (Feb 6th)At home.
Day 99 (Feb 7th)Today our very special guests arrived!!!
Elsa and Klystron are staying with us for three nights as part of their bi-annual trip to paradise!!
They had stayed in Croc Bridge the previous night, and so they had had a long drive up to us!!!
it was so good to see them after over a year, and of course we had lots of catching up to do!!
It was Elsa's birthday, so we first of all had gateau and a drink, and after lots of chattering it was time to *Clink*
How good it was to be able to do a real clink with Elsa and Klystron, not just the usual virtual one!!
Then it was time to braai and we had beef fillet, honey and mustard chicken kebabs, and of course wors, accompanied by baked butternut casserole and minty new potatoes.
Dungy and Klystron had cooked the meat to perfection, and we feasted well!!
With very full tummies nobody wanted dessert, but we did of course find room for a generous glass of Amarula each, and then it was a fairly early night for us all.
Day 100 (Feb 8th)We had a relaxing morning at home, and after a lunch of cold meats, cheese and salads, we set off for an afternoon in the park.
How exciting it was to be actual doing a drive with Elsa and Klystron, and sharing all that Kruger has to offer!!
We decided to first drive to Sable Dam, and arrived to find it full to the brim!!!
Sadly we found no animals, but way in the distance there were some very pretty Eurpoean and White-Fronted Bee-Eaters.
We then continued around the S51 and we were thrilled when Klystron turned off down the low maintenance Masorini Loop. With our little Atos, we have never been able to travel on these roads, so it was a real bonus!!
The animals were not behaving very well, and we just saw a few Impala, but just to experience this type of road, for us, was well worth it!!
We turned onto the H9 and headed for Erfplaas, to introduce our visitors to Desi's crevice, and the Klippies rocks.............however neither were in residence that day, so we carried on up the H9 to the S132 turn.
We saw a few Zebbies in the distance, and a lovley big raptor, but unfortunatley he flew off before we could make a positive ID...........we thought maybe Yellow Billed Kite, or Brown Snake Eagle, but who knows?
We turned onto the S131 and turned left back towards Phala Gate, and saw several more Zebbies, and then four huge Ellies, two either side of the road. There may have been more further in, but we weren't sure!!
One of the Ellies looked a very promising named Tusker, and we later identified him as Ngonyama.
We also saw loads of Golden Orb Spiders in their magnificent webs, and sadly one or two of then had rashly constructed these webs across the road, so we damaged them when passing. Luckily part was left behind, so no doubt they would not take long to rebuild!!
Time was moving swiftly on by now, and I'm afraid I'm a bit phobic about missing gate closing time, though nobody else in the car seem to share my concern!!
They all knew we would be back in time, and we turned off down the low maintenance loop that brought us back onto the H9 near Erfplaas.
I was thrilled to see several Double-Banded Sandgrouse, as they were lifers for me. What pretty little birds they are.
We had a minor problem with two chicke who didn't want to move out of the road to let us pass, but luckily they did eventually!!
Eventually we were back on the H9 and heading towards the gate, and by now I was starting to panic, but of course I needb't have worried and with a few minutes to spare we drove up to the gate.
Of course it was *Clink* time when we arrived home, and then it was chicken curry and rice for dinner, followed by a piece of birthday gateau and a generous measure of Amarula!!
