Hi blog readers

After the busy weekend we had a lazy day today. We went to Gateway Mall (it was rather large) and saw the last Harry Potter - our first 3D movie. We also stopped in at McD's just for you Kristin.

Given that I don't have much to report on from today I thought I'd write some of my random observations from our weekend trip.

We drove through Zulu land to get to the game reserve. The 'houses' are really quite different from NZ! They have round buildings with thatched roofs and each property had lots of small buildings. Often beside the round building there is a half completed small concrete block house. People build new houses bit by bit as they can afford it. Eventually a tin roof is added as thatch is getting harder to come by. They don't have any gardens around the property - no flowers, bushes or trees, just dirt and the occasional veggie patch. They usually have a rather rickety wire fence around the property which doubles up as a washing line ... and they don't use pegs. Fences for animals are not usual though, the cows and goats seem to roam free ... including on the freeway.

What I've seen on Africa so far is certainly much more beautiful than I expected. There are lots of green rolling hills - usually covered with sugar cane fields.

Transportation is rather 'interesting' over here. On the road I saw a Toyota Corolla hatchback (like my old one) with 6 people in it, utes (with a canopy) with people piled in the tray and worst of all, parents driving in the cab of a ute with their kids (both under 10 years old) in the uncovered tray in the back. All quite mind boggling! Over here a taxi is a van which (usually) only black people take. The vans are of quite varying quality. The people wait on the side of the road for the next taxi and when one arrives the driver piles people in ... the number of seats doesn't really matter.

What I've found really different is that no matter where you are, there are people on the side of the road. You can be miles away from any visible house yet there are still children and adults walking. Definitely not like NZ where you can drive for hours and not see anyone!

I thought I'd also let you know about some exceptional moments at the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve. The park definitely exceeded my expectations. We saw most of the major wild animals very close ... like 5 - 10 metres away. I was like a kid in a candy store - so excited and amazed. In some ways it was easy to forget that they were wild ... not zoo animals.

We were very fortunate to see the animals so close, it was mostly a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Elephants are HUGE and very wrinkly. It is amazing how they can disappear into the bush despite being so large. We saw a group of 6 or so eating. It was really something to see them pulling leaves off with their trunks and pulling down a tree so they could eat easier.

While driving down one of the paths, we saw a number of cars stopped, so we also stopped to see what they were looking at. To the left a lion was crouching watching a heard of wildebeest and a couple of impalas. An approaching car scared it away so we carried on. Just past a little hill Brett and I looked to the left and saw the lion only a matter of metres (maybe 5) from the car. It was incredible to see one so close. We were beyond words and struggled to tell Uncle Allan to stop the car. There was a mass of flapping arms as we tried to grab the camera and shut the window at the same time. The lion completely ignored the car and walked around it - disappearing into the reeves. You never even saw the reeves move.

On Saturday night we stayed at the Hilltop. It was a beautiful unit with a thatched roof and Zulu styled weaving on all the cupboard doors. The views were fantastic. That night we looked at the photos we had taken that day and made a list of the animals we were hoping to see on Sunday. Top of the list was a giraffe. Within half an hour of taking off on Sunday we saw a group of 6 giraffes and 3 zebra together on the road. They walked right by the car - watching us but not reacting at all. We got to see them close enough to see the ticks on their skin. Later on that day we saw the same group again - it seemed that the giraffes and zebras liked hanging out together.

On our way home we stopped at the side of the road to buy some pineapple from a lady. Aunty Faye was chatting to her in Zulu when a group of young guys showed up trying to sell us some sugar cane. It kind of shocked me how loud they all were! Faye did buy a sugar cane so I could try it and told the guys we were from New Zealand. They were rather excited to meet people from NZ and a couple of them shook Brett and my hands. The second one declared that he loved me and wanted my phone number!! Definitely the first time that has ever happened.

We stopped for lunch at Prince's Grant where Uncle Allan and Aunty Faye have a holiday home. The views are fantastic. I tried my first sugar cane there. While it tastes ok it would seem I don't have the hang of spitting just yet (you chew and suck the sugar cane and then spit it out ... yep, pretty lady like!).

All in all, a spectacular weekend - have seen so much and experienced a heap. It's been very cool to experience and see firsthand some of the things Brett talked about.

Check out the photos we uploaded in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve album.

I'll sign off now that I've written an epistle

- Rebecca