Africa Wild

Yikes!! That is a bit too close for an Emu.

That emu is a bit too invasive I wonder what an emu is doing Leeupan

Big Bird is funny!

Very clever narration again, Moggie!

Jax was on the roof of the car checking for nuts, screws and bolts to fix the spot and big bird was being totally painfull. After playing ring-a-ring of rosies and running round the car with big bird after me I decided a good lecture may be in order.

Although it listened very intently my instructions fell on deaf ears and it was back to ducking and diving big bird. I eventually persuade it to follow me through the gate and before you could say "bob's your uncle" I had managed to shut big bird out side of the immediate area.
Amazing how much quicker and easier it was to get all the bits and pieces packed and the light fixed without big bird on top of us.
We headed to reception, with kitty cat in the car and big bird following us, to settle our account. Before hitting the road we decided to pay a visit to the tented side of the farm.
This side was very basic but also very nice, more of a feeling of being in the bush.


Time to hit the road and make our way on the last skip and a hop to the KTP.
As we got further and further from Leeupan we started receiving messages and calls. We decided to stop and check our messages as we were well aware signal was very intermittent and we had no idea if we would have signal again before Twee Rivieren.

Sadly this is when I received a message to contact my security company urgently as my house had been broken into the previous night. I managed to get hold of my house sitter and initially she told me I had been cleaned out - then we lost signal.
My biggest concern were my animals. I have to keep my dogs in separate packs as two of them are like a red rag to a bull to each other. It is not an even match either - the one weighs in at over 30 kilos and the other one weighs in at just over 5 kilos!
Fortunately all the dogs were unharmed and an exaggeration of my having been cleaned out.
Not feeling very happy (whether from the OB'sthe night before or because of the theft - I am not sure) we wasted over an hour as I contacted police (who refused to give an OB number and in fact never even recorded the incident until the following week when my house sitter went to try and find out about an OB number). The security company was amazing and soon I had done all I could from the middle of no-where and it was time to move on as it was now much later than we had anticipated.
We bounced away along the dirt road and my mind was certainly not at peace with my surroundings. In fact it was a kaleidoscope of thoughts and images flashing through my head.
We arrived at the gate a lot later than intended. Fortunately there were no problems booking in as Jax had copies of my bookings for Botswana

We had forgotten to get our last minutes odds and sods at Van Zyls Rus so it was a case of doing some shopping at Tween Rivieren. This didn't take long and we had enough wood to last a a good few nights.

I knew I had to get my mind right as I did not want to spoil the trip by being a bear with a sore head!

It wan't long before the Kgalagadi magic was working and I was enthralled to have the sand between my toes but I knew the 'bad"would sneak into my thoughts in unguarded moments.


When we arrived at our site there was already a vehicle set up. It seemed as if Bots had overbooked (again). Paper work was produced and we were very happy to share with them for the one night.

In two shakes of a dog's tail we had set up camp and we were ready to chill and forget the outside world existed.

Ai, Moggie!

But we Saffies are tough, I must say.

Probably a good place to relax after that?

Did you remember to leave Kitty Kat at the farm...

It must have been difficult to shut all the unpleasant experiences out of your mind, but as you had decided to continue the trip there was nothing that you could do about it anyway

As RP said, life is not easy in SA!! At least your animals were safe, and knowing you that would be your biggest concern.

Moggie, enjoy those moments while there!!

After all, that's why we go to these places where
nature forces us to accept some strange peace of mind!!

Moggie, I hopped on board as well and must say brave girl to continue your trip

Great Emu shots and must say I do not that trust such big birds but for sure must have been something very special