Oliver'S Lodge White River

... were quick to show up to ask Jessica for some food. The first funny thing to see, were two Chimps that were best friends. Most of the time they walked shoulder to shoulder with an arm wrapped around one and other. Another interesting thing was to see how they asked (or begged) for food. They would usually clap their hands together in front of them and then put up one hand for Jessica to throw some food at. Though sometimes they would just put their hand up right ...

... of cars in the road slowly
coming towards us, obviously following something special. Lion? I
thought, but to our surprise a beautiful cheetah appeared and which we
managed to get a good look at before it chased something off into the
veld. As we made our way towards Crocodile Bridge Gate we searched
desperately for some lion, the only one of the big five that we hadn't
seen, but it wasn't to be and frankly didn't bother us at all.

We exited the park ...

... some bat boxes and bats were flying around that night. We also heard hyenas several times throughout the night. This too like Skukuza is very popular camp for weekenders at it near to one of the main entrance gates and not too far from Nelspruit and other South African towns.

This was our last stop in Kruger National Park. We had really enjoyed our stay here, had seen animals/birds we didn’t see last year. Our ...

... they weave, prayers are sung, and dancing is not something to be shy about at all. This weekend while walking I saw a family all out in their dirt yard dancing, everyone from the little tots to the old gogo just loving being together and enjoying the music that is a huge source of joy for them- I love it! This might not all sound that relevant to HIV, but in the next two weeks I will be interviewing some of the people I have gotten to know ...

... buffels,... Ongelooflijk om deze allemaal in het wild te kunnen zien rondlopen. De Big 5 hebben we niet allemaal gezien, daarvoor missen we de leeuwen en luipaarden nog. Ach, liever de dieren die we zien, duidelijk zien en van dichtbij in plaats van allemaal van op een afstandje! Het enige dat tegenslaat, is de Amerikaan die mee is. Het lijkt wel alsof we allemaal hetzelfde denken en hem ...

... it was very close to the road. In fact we watched him eat for probably 20-30 mins because he was standing halfway on the road and you don't want to get too close to an elephant as they do charge vehicles. That's what you call a Kruger traffic jam. There were about three vehicles behind us. Eventually he moved off but it was great to watch him eat. We also saw a large group of baboons. There were a lot of females with their babies clinging to their ...

... also get comments along the lines of "I didn't know white people could dance like that". I am not a great dancer it was just a shocking moment for people to see a white person get up and dance with them. So I think everyone should be happy to hear that I have cleared white American women of all being completely incompetent at moving their hips. It can be fun to make history I suppose. I am running out of time, so I will just try and get some pictures up now before I run out of time.

... think I will enjoy the house to myself. 10 people to one shower isn't the best ratio ever. I am going to go to church with Binki and her family, which sounds a whole lot more enjoyable than last weekend. I have had a couple requests from family and family friends about my address, which until April 5th will be: Anne Conners P.O. Box 3417 Barberton 1300 Mpumalanga South Africa If you are interested in sending the pre-school supplies ...

... from Europe or South Africa. Our first night, only about five of the 10 casitas were full, but by our second night, the lodge was at capacity, thanks to a holiday creating a long weekend in South Africa. Anyhow, the guests are all quite interesting. Sam told us all about her life growing up in Zambia and Tanzania and studying and working in Cape Town. She is here alone for one week, on a much needed respite from the job that causes her great stress. After dinner, we returned to ...

... drenched with no prospects of our clothes getting dry any time soon. Our shoes were particularly bad-off. I'm well used to carrying my flashlight around in the evening now after having to borrow someone else's to go find mine in the room a few times. There is no light in the shower in between the dorms so showering after dark is a dim affair. The guinea fowl have had babies so we're feeding them now, too, and trying our best to catch runaways before meerkats or Monks get to them.