South Africa comes to an end...

...but don't worry, I will do some post-mortems in the next few weeks. It was just far too busy a trip to find time to blog, let alone find a computer to blog on! I guess in this day and age, many people travel with their computers, and can use wifi, but that just defeats the whole purpose of traveling, and getting away, right? So I am at the Johannesburg Int'l Airport- OR Tambo - and am doing a little emailing before I clean up and check-in. My flight isn't until 7pm ( nearly 5 hours from now) but we got to the airport early.

The last 2 1/2 days were spent in heaven -- in the Timbavati Game Reserve, along the western edge of Kruger National Park. There are no fences between Timbavait and Kruger, so essentially, we are seeing the same wild animals! Of course, each parcel of land has different watering holes (man made and natural) and different fields and trees, but the animals are free to roam. And roam they do! A highlight of the animal spotting was following 3 male lions (mdodo, they are called) in the am, then tracking a female by foot later in the morning (mfazi) and then seeing the 3 males in the gorgeous sunset light, and then at 10pm at night, going back to see all 3 males plus 3 females, within a few feet of our jeep, and listening to them ROAR. And I mean, ROAR. I was awestruck ...you could feel your chest vibrate. The two males were just letting each other know about their territory...it wasn't a fight, but they bellowed back and forth for hours. The roars happened about every 10 minutes. Truly an experience to remember!

I will have to get into my travel diary when I get back, and list all the other awesome animals we saw, but basically: Giraffe, Elephants, Leopards (and we saw an impala killed by a leopard, that it had taken up into a tree for a midnight snack), and more...the warthogs were funny. Hyenas, porcupine, and tons of birds... will have to share more later. My time is running short and there are tons of people in line.

I am sad to come home, but at some point, you need to replenish the $ supply and get some rest in your own bed, eh? And above all, you need the love of your friends and family around you - I think that is something that I will cherish above all. When you are away, you realize how much the caring and friendship and support of your community really keep your spirits up and keep you going. I have made many new friends, and will enjoy keeping in touch with them (and having them visit the US), but I can't wait to squeeze my mom and dad, brothers Brent & Greg, and reconnect and catch up with my special peeps. Will make it home just in time to do a little 4th of July celebrating. More updates soon! Over and out from South Africa!