From Lorelle: Plum-stealing monkeys and sun-bathing crocodiles
Sodwana Bay, Saint Lucia and Sanni Lodge.
We are taking different parts of the trip to describe and these are the places that have fallen to me :-). After our adventure on the sandy roads of Mozambique, we arrived in Sodwana Bay National Park. This is one of South Africa's most beautiful and warmest (in terms of water temperature in the winter) beaches. We found a lovely campsite and woke up the next day to see monkeys playing in the field across from our campsite. It was fun to watch them until things got a bit personal. After we were up, we got out our breakfast food (dried plums, granola, tea, milk, sugar) and then were doing various things around the camp. It didn't take long for the monkeys to learn that it was breakfast time at our campsite. The food was just beside the tent and Lori was inside the tent finishing up rolling up a sleeping bag -- the monkeys came by and, quick as a blink, carried it all off -- all of our breakfast. Val saw them and we all ran to chase them -- they dropped the sugar and granola (after spilling a bunch of it) but they got away with all the dried plums -- we saw monkeys everywhere eating them. After that, we were a bit more careful, but the monkeys stayed around and made themselves at home in our campsite -- cute until they became camp robbers!
Sodwana Bay is also known for it's snorkeling and scuba diving. We found a place to rent our fins, goggles etc and after a walk on the beach (waiting for the tide to turn) we dove into the (rather cold) water. Beautiful! fish in the midst of the coral reef that is just offshore. Very fun to become a part of the underwater world and dive down to swim with the fish. The only problem was that the coral was sharp and we are each still carrying our wounds to remind us of it. And though this is the warmest beach in South Africa, the fact is that it is still midwinter here and the water was rather cold for no wetsuits. We swam with the fish until we were all shivering and then got back on land, rinsed off, and settled into the Land Rover for another few hours of driving.
We stayed at St. Lucia National Park the next night. We saw some in the campground the first night and woke the next morning to explore just a bit before our drive. Hippos!! Dozens of them swimming in the water just offshore. There were several of them sleeping in a group while a others - mother and baby and others played in the water nearby. We went for a walk down a boardwalk and out to a beautiful beach. After our walk on the beach we came back by the hippos and discovered crocodiles as well sunning themselves on the spit of land that juts out into the water. A fun morning for wildlife!
We drove another 7 hours and ended up at Sanni Lodge by 5 -- enough time to go for a quick walk in the hills before it got dark. Magnificent views of the valley stretching below and majestic mountain peaks against the most incredible red, orange sky of the setting sun. I got up early enough the next morning to go for a run up to the top of the mountain behind the lodge and saw an incredible sunrise as well.
It's late -- more soon. Lorelle
We are taking different parts of the trip to describe and these are the places that have fallen to me :-). After our adventure on the sandy roads of Mozambique, we arrived in Sodwana Bay National Park. This is one of South Africa's most beautiful and warmest (in terms of water temperature in the winter) beaches. We found a lovely campsite and woke up the next day to see monkeys playing in the field across from our campsite. It was fun to watch them until things got a bit personal. After we were up, we got out our breakfast food (dried plums, granola, tea, milk, sugar) and then were doing various things around the camp. It didn't take long for the monkeys to learn that it was breakfast time at our campsite. The food was just beside the tent and Lori was inside the tent finishing up rolling up a sleeping bag -- the monkeys came by and, quick as a blink, carried it all off -- all of our breakfast. Val saw them and we all ran to chase them -- they dropped the sugar and granola (after spilling a bunch of it) but they got away with all the dried plums -- we saw monkeys everywhere eating them. After that, we were a bit more careful, but the monkeys stayed around and made themselves at home in our campsite -- cute until they became camp robbers!
Sodwana Bay is also known for it's snorkeling and scuba diving. We found a place to rent our fins, goggles etc and after a walk on the beach (waiting for the tide to turn) we dove into the (rather cold) water. Beautiful! fish in the midst of the coral reef that is just offshore. Very fun to become a part of the underwater world and dive down to swim with the fish. The only problem was that the coral was sharp and we are each still carrying our wounds to remind us of it. And though this is the warmest beach in South Africa, the fact is that it is still midwinter here and the water was rather cold for no wetsuits. We swam with the fish until we were all shivering and then got back on land, rinsed off, and settled into the Land Rover for another few hours of driving.
We stayed at St. Lucia National Park the next night. We saw some in the campground the first night and woke the next morning to explore just a bit before our drive. Hippos!! Dozens of them swimming in the water just offshore. There were several of them sleeping in a group while a others - mother and baby and others played in the water nearby. We went for a walk down a boardwalk and out to a beautiful beach. After our walk on the beach we came back by the hippos and discovered crocodiles as well sunning themselves on the spit of land that juts out into the water. A fun morning for wildlife!
We drove another 7 hours and ended up at Sanni Lodge by 5 -- enough time to go for a quick walk in the hills before it got dark. Magnificent views of the valley stretching below and majestic mountain peaks against the most incredible red, orange sky of the setting sun. I got up early enough the next morning to go for a run up to the top of the mountain behind the lodge and saw an incredible sunrise as well.
It's late -- more soon. Lorelle
posted by OregonEdwards at 4:06 PM
2 Comments:
Hey Lorelle - Jenny just told me about your blog. I'm glad to see you're doing well. Jamie's envious about all the animals you are seeing!
Lorelle,
I'm so glad to hear that you are all well and enjoying yourselves. I hope the coral cuts heal well...I know they can take a while to heal. Miss you much, can't wait to see pictures!
Rocio
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