Tuesday, March 6

Our first animal sighting for the day (female nyala) happened when it was still dark – while Cerwin and I were sitting on the porch of our chalet enjoying our first cup of coffee.

Later – during our second cup of coffee – we saw a few warthogs.

At the main house Josh was inflating soccer balls with a hand pump – for the children’s care center.

Kristen and Jesse were preparing to do the same thing, when Phil’s helper Victor, brought a compressor – making the job much faster and easier.

There was no hunting today, but it was always a safari photo drive when we left the farm to go to town.

I still can’t believe that I am actually seeing rhinos on a regular basis.

Out on the main road we saw lots of trucks during the morning drive to Hoedspruit.

Most cows in this area of South Africa are Nguni or a blend of Nguni, Brahman, Bonsmara, and Afrikaner – breeds that can survive the heat and disease that would kill other cattle.

Phil and Kate are a wealth of knowledge about anything South African. Today our instructor was Kate.

I even learned a new word. As she told a story, she said, “I was gobsmacked! Never heard that word. It means astonished. 🙂

It is always fun to see a giraffe because they are very curious and don’t run away like many of the other animals.

We began seeing a lot more people as we neared town – some walking, others hoping to hitch a ride with someone.

Truck stops are mainly for fuel and not for truck parking.

We shopped at Ackermans for supplies for the children’s care center – where we would be visiting later in the week.

If you gave a donation to Jere and Kristen, this is where they used your gift. They bought 50 pair of shoes and 50 packs of socks.

Jana bought many small bottles of nail polish, and Jesse bought travel wash cloths for the staff family’s children.

There was a truck driver parked close to us, so true to form, I asked him for permission to take his picture – and explained that we serve with Transport For Christ and gave him some literature.

He said that he enjoys his job and is home every evening.

After that shopping excursion, Kate took us here to do a bit of African shopping while she went to another part of town to buy supplies and deal with some other business.

When it takes you an hour to drive to town, you do not take the drive lightly.

This was a pretty area with beautiful shops. After I finished shopping, I sat outside the bookstore/library, looked at books on the picnic table and watched people. That is Josh and Jana walking toward me.

I particularly liked the art stores.

I made only one purchase – a kudu purse at The Leather Company.

Kristen and I displaying our purses. Kristen’s was also made from kudu. I would have liked to find one made from nyala hide, but she did not have any. Her supplier worked with kudu and a small variety of other hides.

Jere and Kristen took advantage of many locations to get family pictures – at least of their children.

We had to wait for a few trucks to pass by before crossing the street to The Hat & Creek where we were meeting Kate for lunch.

While here I asked Kate about the name “The Hat & Creek”. She said that is what Hoedspruit means. There is a story about a man who arrived here many years ago, tired and hot, relaxed, and threw his hat in the creek.

From the Internet: Hoedspruit is an Afrikaans word meaning Hat Creek. It is a small tourism and agriculturally orientated town in the central lowveld nestled between Kruger National Park and Blyde River Canyon. Hoedspruit is surrounded by the largest privately owned conservation area in the world.

The layout of this restaurant – almost all open rooms without doors and windows – tells you something about the weather in Hoedspruit.

There was a gardener working on the beautiful, well kept grounds.

It does appear that they can drop bamboo-style curtains if needed.

Jesse chose “The Monkey” on the children’s menu – a hamburger and fries.

I tried another new brand of tea. This picture is interesting, because my tea cup was solid silver. The design in the cup is a reflection from the saucer.

Our friendly, accommodating waiter

These guys are in Africa and still choose chicken and cheeseburgers. 🙂

Jana’s fettuccini.

I talked Cerwin into sharing a platter of African meat: kudu, impala, and two other meats. I failed to chronicle the list of meats. We asked to split the platter. They gave each of us a plate with vegetables and a baked potato. I was impressed with the restaurant, service and the food.

Back on the road – headed to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

Another giraffe was curious about us.

You want me to pose for the camera?

Great, this is my best side.

How’s this?

How many travelers see warthog crossing signs in the United States?

It should have warned us about baboon crossing. Several ran across the road, climbed a tree and jumped the fence. Kate said they are Savannah baboons.

Kudu. We hadn’t seen many of them to this point.

I kept looking for a “real” truck stop, but they were all similar to our Sheetz and quick stop gas and fuel stations.

There aren’t many truckers in the USA who have to watch out for elephants. 🙂

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I will tell you about Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre tomorrow night.