Mkhaya Game Reserve

Doug took me for an overnight getaway to the Mkhaya Game Reserve last weekend in celebration of my birthday. We tend to travel in packs over here, so it was only the 2^nd time in 6 months that we went out of town by ourselves! Mkhaya is one of the three ‘Big Game Parks’ in Swaziland and is just 90 minutes from Mbabane. While it boasts numerous animals, it is probably best known for its open air accommodations and full course meals (sign-me-up; I like to sleep AND eat).

The reserve operates on a couple of different schedules and we opted for 4:00pm Saturday to 4:00pm Sunday which includes a late afternoon game drive, early morning drive, late morning walking safari, and early afternoon game drive (with lots of eating in between, of course). The weather cooperated and while it didn’t rain during the day it actually rained all through the night, which was really cool since we were sleeping in a thatch roofed hut without walls in the middle of a forest.

The ranger was waiting for us when we arrived just before 4:00pm.

When we reached reception and finished checking-in, there was a poaching display that showed the number of traps and snares removed from the park.

There were also skeletons, which I haven't seen a game reserve do before. So sad. Although, I did ask the ranger if poaching is a current problem in Mkhaya and he said that they haven't lost a rhino to poaching since 1992 (which made me feel better).

While we were busy checking-in there was a baby impala that was busy checking-out our bags. I had drool all over my purse!

Clearly he was a part of the family, because he laid down at our feet like a dog!

You've probably noticed by now that I like to take pictures of wherever we stay...so, get ready.

Our hut

'Inside'

Bathroom sink

Toilet

Dining room

With three game drives and a walking safari there were numerous opportunities for animal sightings. And, there were lots and lots of animal sightings.

Zebra

White rhino 'hiding' in the grass

Giraffe

Giraffe eating

Another white rhino. This mother had just been in the mud and her toddler came racing along after her.

There was a hippo party in one of the watering holes. We counted 6 hippos that we could see; although, our guide assured us there were others as they have a large hippo family in the park.

Just coming to take a closer look and to check us out

Our first endangered species: the white wildebeest (not a very good picture, but you get the idea)

Our guide took us through the 'elephant' graveyard which was really a graveyard of trees. The elephants eat the bark and pull the trees down to the ground, so the foliage becomes very thin in elephant territory.

And here they are, now

Baby warthogs in the road. They hadn't heard us yet, but when they did...

I am pretty sure this is where the phrase, 'high tailing it out of here' comes from...

When we were in Klaserie Game Reserve over Christmas, we went on a couple of walking safaris and I couldn't help but feel that we were taken to the parts of the park where animals were known NOT to hang out. The ranger explained the purpose of a walking safari was to learn how to track, to learn about the insects, birds, foliage, etc. but secretly I was always a little disappointed when we didn't run into an elephant or something. Well, with this in mind, while on walking safari in Mkhaya, I was traipsing along (head down) simply following Doug's feet (admittedly kind of bored) when we stumbled upon this little lady and her baby. Nuts-o.

Hands down the coolest thing, EVER to be 25-30 feet away from a rhino while on FOOT.

And of course, my favorite, poop-rolling, prowling for chicks kind of dung beetle

Rhino tracks

Speaking of being on the prowl...these leopard spotted turtles were looking for a good make out spot (so our ranger said)

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me! Thank you, Doug! XO

Part IV: Blank/Thiel Christmas Vacation 2009

Finally…Part IV. After a whirlwind tour of South Africa and Mozambique we returned to Swaziland on Monday, December 28^th to explore our home country for a few days before Biss and Josh returned to the States on the 31^st. As we were driving into Mbabane, we were speculating about whether or not our house had been robbed as it is a not-so-uncommon occurrence for expats to return from vacation to find that there has been a break-in while they were away. Fortunately, this is not foreshadowing, but we did have a nice little treat awaiting us upon our return…our water heater burst! Or, as they say in these parts, our ‘geyser’ burst. So the story goes, on Christmas Day our guard saw water rushing from underneath our front door into our driveway. He alerted our American neighbors of the issue and since they had a spare key to our place, Karen and Randy came over and shut-off the water (as there was a waterfall cascading down our staircase). Then, they proceeded to phone our landlord who came by on December 26^th to survey the damage. Since we had switched over our cell phones to a Mozambiquan SIM card we didn’t receive any of the messages about the flood (thankfully, because there would have been nothing that we could’ve done)! Although many steps had been taken prior to our return, we were still taken aback by the state our home when we returned from Mozambique. Fortunately, we had a few more days of vacation left to take our mind off of the 4x8 foot hole in the ceiling of our master bedroom!

Miraculously, on Monday the water heater was replaced. On Tuesday the ceiling was torn down and re-dry walled. On Wednesday the drywall was re-plastered and on Thursday it was painted. So, as you can see, by Friday morning there was no physical evidence of the broken water heater, damage, or flood. Except of course for the smell. It was ripe. Four inches of water covering 20 year old carpets that have NEVER been vacuumed (only swept) makes for stinky times. But, the silver lining is that our faux, blue leopard threads are going to be replaced the 2^nd week in February…Hooray!

What happened? Sad...

All of our furniture from the family room was pushed into the dining room to allow the carpet to dry out

Anything that was wet upstairs was thrown in the tub

Anything that was on the floor that wasn't wet was thrown on the guest bed

So, back to Part IV of our vacation…on Tuesday, Doug went back to work at the clinic and Biss and Josh and I went to Milwane for a mountain biking safari. We had a perfect day and there is just something to be said for riding your bike around with wild animals. It’s fun. We also went for a special, traditional Swazi meal at a restaurant called, Edalaleni. It was very tasty, but we all got diarrhea which was not fun. Alas. On Wednesday we ventured down to Pine Valley and climbed Sibebe Rock and then went to Swazi Candles for a non-diarrhea inducing meal (too much information?) and lots and lots of souvenirs. Our last adventure landed us in Manzini at the market in search of a traditional Swazi shield to add another traditional weapon to Josh’s collection.

Driving into Milwane

Wildebeast

Warthog family

Josh on mountain biking safari

Paisley, Biss and zebra friends

Close-up

Biss and Josh

Fighting impala

On departure day, we couldn’t let the adventures die and of course there had to be a little excitement. When we got to the airport for their 11:00am flight, we learned that the flight had been delayed until 3:00pm. We checked-in their bags and retrieved their boarding passes and opted for brunch at Guava Gallery and a little more souvenir shopping. It was great to steal a little extra time with them, and they weren’t going to miss their connection in Johannesburg, so really, all was well. Enroute back to the airport we even stopped to do a quick group grocery shop so that I wouldn’t have to run the errand by myself (as everyone who has to run errands knows it is more fun if there are others along for the chore). On our way from the grocery store to the airport is when the adventure really kicked in because the King had announced a national holiday for Incwala. Since the King was on his way to the traditional celebration, all of the roads in the area had been closed and gun clad military men were lining the streets. The street to the airport, that is. We went in circles trying to find an alternative route but kept being met with roadblocks (literally), so let’s just say it was really, really close. Note to self: don’t go to the grocery store on the way to the airport…you just never know. Three cheers for the best vacation and visit, ever. Who’s next?

Part III: Blank/Thiel Christmas Vacation 2009

If you've made it this far, you know that we arrived in Tofo/Praia da Barra on Christmas Eve night. So, on Christmas morning we woke-up leisurely, read on the patio, and enjoyed a typical 'English' breakfast including 'beans on toast.'

Early birds

Writing in her journal sporting a Christmas tee

View from the patio

There was an apron provided, so I mean why get my nightgown dirty?

Then, about noon we headed to the Tofo side of the peninsula and tracked down a surfboard for Doug while the rest of us enjoyed the perfectly warm and clear Indian Ocean and reading or walking on the beach.

Praia da Barra side of the peninsula

Tofo side of the peninsula

It was a perfect, relaxing Christmas! The highlight for me was when we discovered the Hotel du Mar was open and stopped in for a couple quality Mozambiquan beers only to learn that a sushi bar had just opened on the 20th of December. HALLELUJAH. Apart from my nephew, Henry (see Happy New Year blog entry), the #2 thing I miss the most is SUSHI.

Let the record show that we ordered the ‘salmon platter’ and all 4 of us shared it…but, two days later we returned and I ordered a salmon platter FOR MYSELF. Okay, in my defense, Biss got one all to herself, too. It was just that good. But, I digress...

Our casita

Bathroom

Kitchen

For Christmas dinner we bought some jumbo shrimp from a couple of locals and Biss chopped off their heads and cleaned/peeled them all!

On Saturday and Sunday we did three dives with Tofo Scuba (where I was certified) and since Biss and Josh had borrowed a friend's underwater camera we were able to take lots of underwater pictures. Our first dive was a shallow dive at 'Salon' and then we did a deep dive to 'Manta Bay' and ended with another shallow dive at 'Simon's Reef.' The weather was perfect and the sea was clear. We even saw this crazy octopus that changed colors from white to blue to purple and finally to speckled just like a rocky piece of coral. Amazing.

Tofo Scuba

Doug and Paisley

I don't know this fish's real name, but I call it a 'bandit' fish because it has a mask over its eyes

Look closely, this is a crocodile fish and they are so camouflaged that you can swim by one without even noticing them

Biss and Josh

I think his real name is a 'porcupine fish' but I call it 'dinosaur fish' because they just look like they come from the deep and have been around for a really long time...

Leopard spotted eel that was as big as me

So sinister

Much smaller zebra eel poking his head out

I am so funny...

This little fishy was amazing - looks like coral, but that purple guy is actually a 'paper fish'

This guy is pretty clever, too...the top orange piece is coral and the bottom is a fish!

Pretty coral

I am less into taking out my regulator on the ocean floor

Blue spotted sting ray

Brown spotted ray; he let me get so close!

School

Starfish

Hooray for sun, sand, and scuba!