It has been a journey of experience and emotion. Of hot and cold both physically and emotionally. A journey to the soul of South Africa.The day we left Swasiland there was a protest closing the three major border crossings. The South African Union organizers are trying to bring workers in Swasiland under their umbrella. They are angry that the King is spending millions of Rand on his 40th birthday celebration (which happens to coincide with the country's ...

So now it is a cool morning amid the clear cut forests of Swaisland. We have been on the tour since the 14th and are surviving. It is a small group, 15 people, of very different backgrounds and interests. That makes it very pleasant. Our tour operator is full of information. Being a little hyperactive I get exhausted just watching him. Our tour started in the Proteo Hotel in Johannesburg. Just a little different than our usual accommodation. A very upscale...

Short entry to let you know about our last few days on our own. We went from Hazyview early in the morning for our last 'privatae' game drive to Kruger Park. By the end of the day we had seen the big five again... without any help. It was a hot day with, fortunately, a few fluffy clouds in the sky to keep our little rental car from getting too overheated.That night was spent at a B&B near the Crocodile Gate. There was a sort of family reunion going on...

As for the rest of our trip we have been amazed by the wildlife and the hospitality here. From Madikwe Game Reserve we travelled on to Pilanesburg (North of that Michael Jackson owned Sun City I spoke about in an earlier blog entry). Here we drove on our own toview wildlife and stayed in a tented camp at Bakgatla Gate. Saw lots of white rihino, giraffe, and water bucks as well as impala,m wildabeest etc. Very few elephants nere and no cape buffalo to be seen....

The title pretty well sums up the travel portion of our trip so far. Shane thought I should again mention what it is like to drive here! Even the locals worry every time they venture out. So I've told you about the speed, the number of cars and the no passing zones where everyone passes. What about the cows on the road and the guys trying to sell you stuff at every stop sign. The police are out in force to hand out 'speeding' tickets. There are ...