Sabbatical 2.0

 Albright Lions?  Community College of Philadelphia Lions?  Are you kidding me?  These are two male,  Sub-Saharan lions, who we came across on our way to count birds, today.  We, also, saw multiple female lions in different locations.  The lions use a kind of grunt to signal each other across distances and communicate their location to each other. The lion population is down 30% in the past two decades mainly due to human activity. In addition to lions, we have been overrun by elephants.  Apparently, in this part of Africa, at this time of year, elephants are like lanternflys in the northeast U.S.  They are everywhere. This is the side of our house on the right. Across the river from our camp. Behind Bridget’s head. Some of the pictures are in our camp and some are outside. The elephants have grown past the amount that should be in the park due to the fact that they cannot travel outside Kruger. We aren’t supposed to walk around the wild area, so we don’t. It’s hard for us to stay put.

We took this picture from a bridge where we watched the sunset with our volunteer group after a day of learning about tracking animals and identifying bird calls.  My hearing and bird calls??  Ha! Who is that blond haired woman? The young men attempting to fix a broken railing. Bridge on a bridge.  We hiked to this bridge, near our camp, at the end of our day for a sundowner with the team.  Here are some shots of the sunset. Africa can seem like a scary place, but it’s not. People are friendly and nice, even if you’re traveling with them. Jon takes good care of me and vice versa! Every day is a new experience. Today’s sunset was so enjoyable. We hope you love it like we did. Today is Heritage day and everyone is off to celebrate their culture in the wider context of the country. Cheers!  Bye, for now.

We have had two great days of observing animals in the wild.  This morning we saw lions attack and devour a wild boar.  Do I have to say it?  It’s the circle of life. We wake up at 5:00 every day. Many of our fellow travelers are from Europe. We might just go out to look at game or we might have a duty like changing battery cameras or placing stones around a tree to keep the elephants from damaging the tree. We learn something every day. Thanks for reading our blog and looking at our pictures.

  Yesterday, we started our volunteer experience in Kruger National Park, South Africa.  We are a part of 20 volunteers working to record the movements of animal populations through the area.  This is done by getting up at 5 am and riding in the back of a pick-up with binoculars and a compass.  The rest of the volunteers are in the 18 to 22 year old range.  So, we feel right at home.  We’ve already started to do some career counseling. Here are some pictures: We will get back to you with more.

Today was a beach day.  It is early Spring in Cape Town.  Our high was 63 degrees today.  Tomorrow we go to Kruger National Park, to the north, to start our two week volunteer experience.  It will be 101 degrees, as a high, in Kruger tomorrow.  Here are some pictures from Camps Bay and Sea Point.   These parts of Cape Town are beautiful and where the rich live. The beaches used to be segregated, but they are no longer. It would be quite interesting to see them in summertime. Alas, we will miss that. We are off to Kruger tomorrow. Additionally, remember that I only take Bridget to the best places, as we have spent our week at 91 Loop in City Bowl, which I highly recommend.  Officially, the 2nd best hostel in Africa.  We’re number 2!  We’re number 2!

  Beneath Table Mountain the area known as Cape Flats stretches out with those who live in poverty.  The contrast between the wealth of Cape Town and the poverty of the townships cannot be made more clear than by visiting, dining and talking with those who live in the townships. We went to Langa Township with a guide who lives there.  We visited the local tavern (below).  We shared a drink and clapped along with our hosts as they sang traditional songs.  The drink was a traditional corn beer made by the two women who run the place.  It is a metal shack with a fire burning in the center of the room. We then had a goat’s head to eat.  Which is common. Afterward we walked through the township to see different houses.  Some were metal shacks, some were brick or concrete houses, but all of them showed the crowded and impoverished nature of township life. We then had a dinner of pap, vegetables and chicken with gravy.  I must say it was quite good and, honestly, the sheep’s head wasn’t bad,