Sunday, January 23, 2005
Day 21 Kruger, Worship, Emerald
23 January 2005
---Grandma's Birthday!!!!
Eight eager adventurers wake up for a 4:15 departure on an early morning walk through the wild Kruger National Park wilderness. Two park rangers drove them to their walk in darkness before the dawn. While walking, they stumbled upon a juvenile elephant that almost charged the group. In fact, the guide had to #### his .50 caliber rifle and try to scare the elephant by making loud noises while the second guide lead the group the opposite direction. Most hearts were pumping at a rate higher than normal. Fortunately, nothing came of the event besides a good story.
Later the group fell upon a breeding herd of elephants ? another dangerous situation. There were about 10 mother elephants that would have become very aggressive if they felt threatened. The group decisively moved on in another direction. The other animals seen on the walk included some baboons, some impala (antelope), and a neat looking spider.
The early morning walkers were not the only ones who woke up early. About when the sun rose at 5:08am, five more adventurers departed for their own drive through Kruger National Park. These explorers were fortunate to see 12 lions, 5 hyenas, an elephant, tons of wildebeest & impala, an iguana, a leopard tortoise, some baboons, and some kudu.
The group packed up and met for breakfast at 9am at the lodging grounds. After breakfast, there was a meeting from 10-12 where Neil presented his paper on Conservation and South African Game Parks. After the presentation, the group had their own church service organized by Allison, Janae, and Christine. Then there was a discussion on what the response to Kgautswane should be. Throughout the meeting everyone was entertained by baboons jumping, chasing, tumbling, and falling in the trees.
At 12:30 the kombis and Grandma's car departed from Kruger amidst sweltering heat and humidity. During the car ride, there was much napping, laughing, talking, and being silly. The top dogs of laughing their heads off about nothing in particular were Melinda and Allison. The caravan arrived at Johannesburg at 6:45pm with much elation. To be back in a familiar environment at the bed & breakfast was like being back at home. Seeing a familiar face like Nico's was pleasant. Dinner followed with much laughter and high spirits. The cooks of the food were warmly applauded by everyone from Calvin.
At the conclusion of dinner, we proceeded to take Grandma Heun outside and the guys hoisted her up in a chair while everyone cheered in African style and sang happy birthday to her. What a joy it was to celebrate the birthday of this wonderful woman who has given us so much on this trip from just being with us.
After a brief meeting at 9, everyone proceeded to finish their day however they wanted by going to bed, playing games, or talking.
~ Jonathan Langdon