Landing: take two

The past few days have been truly invredible. Hard to put into
words. I have a hundred or so photos, but they don't do justice. I
feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to join Jodi on this
safari.

We arrived at the airport on Saturday morning and realized that we
were in for quite a luxurious trip. Far from the hostels and camp,
that's for sure. We were the only two people on our flight!! A 12
passenger plane...just the two pilots and the two of us! It was a
beautiful (and slightly nauseating) one hour flight to the Madikwe
Game Reserve area. It was a bit nerve wracking when we hit turbulence
and i watched the pilot tighten his seat belt! He then looked back at
me with a smile and a thumbs up. Excellent. Much better. As we were
landing I tapped Jodi on the shoulder, as I was sure that we were
about to die. We were definitely overshooting the runway. As we got
close to the ground, we suddenly shot up again! The pilot looked back
and let us know that there were zebras on the runway. Hah! This was a
great introduction to the trip. Zebras on the runway. REALLY?! (a
definite "is this real life" moment)

We were picked up by a great guy named Stuart who would be our guide
for our time there. To get to the lodge, we drove back down the
runway (read: dirt strip) where we did in fact see the zebras that had
been in the way, as well as a few giraffes. Amazing. The lodge was
incredible, aside from the millions of ants that found there way into
all of my stuff.

We woke at 5am each day and went on a drive for a few hours and then
went on another in the evenings. Elephants, giraffes, wildebests,
impalas, wild dogs, lions, rhinos, hippos, buffalos, kudu, so many
beautiful birds...

Though it was SO beautiful and such a unique and amazing experience, I
am ready to go back to hostels and traveling the coast for my last two
weeks here. Off to Durban in a few hours! Jodi heads back to the
states this evening, so it is just me again. But, I may meet up with
some of the counselors from camp later this week, and many people have
given me advice of places to go/things to see on my trip down the coast.

I should have internet access almost every day for the rest of my
trip, so feel free to email and I will do my best to respond.

Love!!