Our time in South Africa

You may wonder what in the world we were doing in South Africa. We went twice and spent a little over six months each time we went. We were there the first time to fill in for a missionary family who were coming home for a six month furlough. We moved into their house, drove their car, worked on their computer, and filled in for all the activities with the Calvary Baptist Church.



The second time was because there was an emergency in the church and they needed someone to fill in again. This time we went for another six month period during which time we lived in a condo owned by someone in the church, drove an extra car of one of the church members, used a computer loaned by one of the church members, and cared for all of the activities of the church.



We were pleased that by the time we left this tour of duty, a fine South African family came to take over the pastoral responsibilities for the church . They began their ministry four and a half years ago, and have been there ever since.



We had never been to South Africa before the first time we went there. We must say that we felt at home and were well received by all the members of the church. We had a fantastic group of people made up of Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Indian, Colored, and even an Australian family who were there as contract workers.



We had to learn to drive on the left side of the road. That wasn't too bad. We learned that there were many words that we pronounced differently. We found that our Afrikaans people loved their language very much and would prefer to speak it any time they could. Our services were in English so we did not have to have a translator.



It was a special time for us. My wife has said that it is one of the only places she has been that she is homesick for now that she is not there. We loved the people, the food, the country, and the ministry. I guess you can tell that this is why we are excited about sharing news about South Africa.

The Big Fellow

The big fellow is our favorite in the game reserves. The first time that we visited a game park we drove inside the front gate and seven or eight giraffes met us. We had never been close to an unhindered giraffe before. We drove up to that crowd standing in the middle of the road and they were not challenged at all. They acted as if this was their park, and that we were merely intruders into their sanctuary.
When you stand in a zoo gazing at a giraffe, he looks tall, but it is nothing like driving up to one standing in the middle of the road. Tall does not describe them. They are intimidating, but they are lovable and look like they really want you to like them.
They don’t hide because they can’t hide. They are too tall. They want to be around their favorite kind of tree, The Thorn tree. They like those leaves way up at the top of the tree. Evolutionists tall us that the giraffes neck is long because they wanted to get those leaves at the top of the Thorn tree. How did they know they wanted to get them? What’s wrong with all the other animals that they didn’t want to have those delicious leaves? They could have stretched their necks and had them too.
All of the animals are beautiful and fun to see, but our favorite is the giraffe. They are really something when six or eight of them are stretched out across the skyline

Special South African condo

The condo in the picture was a place that we discovered just by riding into some places close to the Indian Ocean. This was a three bedroom condo with a lounge (living room in the States), a dining room, and two porches looking at the ocean. It cost us about $25.00 per night. We are not at liberty to advertise for them because they are rather tight about their clientele. I only show it to illustrate that there are bargains to be had, and it frees you to find them when you are on your own.
We could walk out of our condo where we had a nice little garden and an outside barbecue built in, and just take a few steps down to the ocean. I can’t promise that there were no sharks, but in most of the regular swimming area they had protection against the sharks.
It was pleasant even if you never entered the water. The second picture is a view that we had looking up from our Durban motel to the city's beaches.

White and Black Rhinos

Those two rhinos wallowing in that over sized puddle are incredible. We found them there one day when we were just riding through hluhluwe/umfolozi. We sat for about an hour and just watched them and it was difficult to believe that we were just that close to them and they did not pay any attention to us.
Being alone with giant and small animals is a great experience that everyone should enjoy. It is wonderful to see the creator’s hand so evident in everything that is around you.
Those rhinos are white rhinos. “Wait a minute,” you say, “they don’t look white to me.” You’re right. They don’t look white and they are not called white because they look white. The Afrikaans word for “wide” sounds like “white,” and that is why the animals are called “white rhinos.” The color of black rhinos doesn’t look any different from the white ones, but the single horn and the narrower mouth sets them apart.
Umfolozi established a program for raising white rhinos because they are unique to the area. They have been so successful in raising and selling these fellows that the last year we were there they didn’t sell any at their annual auction. All of the game parks had all that they needed or all they could afford. We decided against buying one and taking it home with us, but we still like to look at their pictures.

Kruger--a country of its own

Elephants are just One of the Big Five, but they are definitely big!

A friend said to me that Kruger was the size of New England. I could not imagine a place to go and look at wildlife that was that large. In this day of instant everything, you need to be sure that you dedicate time to visiting this amazing part of South Africa. Don't try to see it in a day. A week would not be too much time to spend there, but at least be sure to give it three or four days.

Hazyview is a great town to stay while you are visiting this fantastic place. There are plenty of spots inside and out of the park. There are interesting eating places as well.

Kruger is the kind of place in which you want to just wander. It is good to keep track of where you have been so you are able to keep seeing new and exciting areas of the park. There is no guarantee that you will see all the big five animals, but it could well happen. We were only able to be there two days and saw all five of them. We also saw a pack of wild dogs which are practically extinct, hyenas, many birds, and numerous other animals.

The area can have malaria present so it is good to check it out. The park keeps information available so the malaria risk can be checked. There are pills that can be taken, but we were advised that it is better not to take them. We were told that when you take the pills, you still can get malaria only you won't know it. It can come back with a vengeance later on. I would certainly check with a trusted physician when you go. There are sightseeing vehicles were you sit high and can see well. The driver knows where there have been sightings that day so it can be beneficial to take a trip in one of those. In one park, we took a night trip which was really interesting. We did feel a little sad when we saw a lone wildebeest, and the driver told us that meant he was just waiting to die. Otherwise he would be with a group.

Don't do anything foolish when you are in areas where there are wild animals. Stay in your vehicle or close by. It is amazing how close you can get to the animals and still stay in the car. If you are at all squeamish about doing it on your own, hire one of the tour vehicles which allow you to sit up high and get a great view of the animals.