SAFARI!!!!!

(above is my bus/safari car group!) SUCH a perfect weekend!!! Oh it was so much fun! I have hundreds of stories to tell!!! So Friday we left at about 8:00 am and ate lunch on the road and ended up at the park about 1ish, then took an hour and a half safari car drive into the park about an hour and a half. Basically: after a journey long enough to take me from LA to Sacramento (yikes!) I was in a beautiful wildlife park out of the Lion King!


So we drive around and at first are awed by the spring buck, impala, zebras, warthogs...


And then our professor Reg stops and he's totally into the whole wildlife thing and he's awe struck because he's never seen a black rhino in the wild! (White rhino are common but black aren't) So we snapped plenty of photos for him! The one on the left has a big wound under it's face. The right one is a female. You can tell because she has deformed ears and I guess there's a genetic mutation with girls in black rhino! Weird! But so great to see them and also have Reg there who appreciated it so much!


We went out on two sunset (and two sunrise... aka 5:30AM!) drives where I see the most BEAUTIFUL sunsets and sunrises in the world. No joke, in the world! Mom, you would have died of happiness right then and there!!


So in our future explorations we see TONS of awesome stuff! Laura Jane mentioned her favorite part of the weekend was that every time we saw a new animal for the first time there was a gasp in the convoys and we all just stood staring at the majesty of each creature! They're HUGE! Elephant were my favorite! Second fav were giraffe :)




Also equally as awesome (but not as pretty) are the other animals such as cape buffalo, wildebeest, hyena, warthog etc. etc.! But we DID see lions from about 30 yards away! AND lions getting chased off by elephant. AND rhino and an elephant match off (elephant won). AND three rhino in a territorial match! AND baby elephants less than a week old!!! AND a heard of about 200 elephant traveling. AND pretty much had the most amazing time ever!!! Honestly it was so great! :)


(This video is when the heard of elephants was passing but one elephant had to take on a rhino (which didn't really get captured here) and then they pushed away lions and pressed on! I love elephants! You can tell I'm excited! Sorry I say "freaking"... I know it offends some people. Oops!


It was at least 105 degrees then humidity on Saturday so we sweat a TON! No makeup. It worked out that we were in tents and basically camping (with bunk beds) so no one really got ready for the day! The stars were beyond amazing. You could see ALL the stars and what looked like galaxies! The stars are different here because obviously I have a different view of space then you all at home so that's funny to see a totally different view!


And this trip was not the most "safe" trip either. We were literally in tents in the middle of the wildlife park in a spot that isn't often occupied by people so wild animals (including lion, scorpions, elephant, leopard, etc.) roam through the camp at night. So we always went with our flashlight in pairs of at least two and were prepped on what to do if encountered by an animal. There was one group who came 30 feet within an elephant (which is not like the zoo, it's pretty dang freaky!) and had to use their "back up slowly and don't take the flashlight off of it's eyes" technique. The guys had the girls get in a tent first and then they got away. Such a thrill though! We all loved it even though some of these things scared us half to death!

I've decided I've become pretty dang hard core since I've gotten here too! Like, when I see a spider while in the restroom I judge if I should be worried not based upon the size but how fast it could come towards me and how long I would have to get out. Lizards are a different story as they're always on the move. But if they're not more than 4 inches I don't really care. Moths are everywhere and as long as they're stationary I'm good (unless I'm in the shower then it freaks me out a little more!). A few ants on my food isn't a problem. Washing hands/having soap is a luxury sometimes (Still grossed out by that one though). Hot water is not expected but warm water is. My cleanliness is based on if the pilate light is still lit that day. Internet is also a luxury and never expected. I've thrown up more here than I have in the last 2 years (and the first time I've been without my Mom!) But even with all of that I'm still definitely not nature girl! Ha... but I have toughened up a lot!! Killed a cockroach today- no qualm. Oh, and I wore the headlamp the Aaron's leant me and definitely looked the part!!! :)


Ok so after our safari we went on a river boat and saw hippo and crocodile! I slept an hour out of the two but enjoyed the second hour! We were all really tired.



Our drive back we got a flat tire on probably the most dangerous part of the freeway, rounding a corner and pulling off into a "Truck only" lane at night. Our group was BEYOND awesome! The 10 of us kicked into gear. The boys jumped out and took flashlight duty to somehow guide the semis aside and we all packed up our stuff and I cleaned out the van in case we had to switch cars. Some people prayed for safety and others were picking up stuff too. We ended up having a spare but no tools so we had to wait for the other cars with tools to come. And mind you- it's like being on the gutter lane on the grapevine- no shoulder! So we prayed as a group for safety and stood by the railing so that if a semi that came didn't see us and Reg told us "JUMP!" we'd be ready to fly over and be safe. Praise the LORD we didn't have to do that drill! In ended up cutting up some ripe pineapple with a mini pocket knife that some people had bought a few hours before and we had a frightening little fiesta on the side of the road! And our leader Reg was AWESOME! Calm as can be and assertive. The boys got that tire on in no time when the tools came and we were off again! We were blessed to have police come by towards the end and their flashing lights gave our flash light people a break!

And that was an end to a very eventful week! Loved every minute (minus the flat tire, that was a little freaky at times) and really saw God in creation. Seeing the MASSIVENESS of those animals and the awesome way they walked and acted... it was truly an experience! I hope no one thinks I'm bragging... It really just was such an awesome experience!

Goodnight from Geoffrey and myself :) Back to service sites this week, preparing for finals next week, taking tests, making powerpoint presentations, writing my last paper, Skyping with people so I'm not a stranger, emailing, etc. etc. I'm having tons of fun though :) It's hard to be away sometimes but I will be home in 5 1/2 weeks! Got to make the best of this last time in Africa... for a while at least ;) And I really do appreciate all your guys' comments and emails. Although sometimes I'm too busy to respond quickly I love knowing that I'm not forgotten! :) Ok, it's way too late and I must go to sleep!


With love from South Africa,
Paige

(more pics on Facebook)