ElephantsAbroad

It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to catch up on what’s happening with the Morlots in Cape Town, but it’s been quite the month. June started with Andy and Dana (Andy is Kip’s friend from high school) staying with us for a few days so they could attend a wedding in Stellenbosch. I hadn’t met either of them before they arrived and they were dream guests. So much fun to have them at the house. Andy and Dana would sightsee during the days and then we would all reconvene for dinners. Since they were in town for a wedding, they had tons of South African friends and were kind enough to introduce us to a few couples our age.  We even went to dinner with a couple of new friends last Thursday night. Thanks, Andy and Dana! A couple of days after they left, my parents arrived. I have been looking forward to seeing my parents in Cape Town since the day we found out we’d be living here. It was amazing to have them finally here. We only had a few days in town before leaving for safari so we had a packed schedule. We hit up the Waterfront, day tripped to Cape Point, ate at the Old Biscuit Mill, shopped in de Waterkant and we were able to squeeze in a night in the winelands. The P’s had quite the shopping agenda and I feel pretty confident they left South Africa happy campers.

Before heading to the bush on Sunday, Mom, Dad, Kip and I spent Friday night in Franschhoek so they could see the stunning mountains that surround Cape Town’s winelands. It’s pretty chilly here now (yes, winter has arrived) so we stayed in and played cards by the fire at the estate. It was a perfect evening.

My aunt, Beri, arrived on Saturday morning and we all prepared to go on safari the following day. To say we were excited would be an understatement. We arrived at the airport on Sunday and Dad looked like a kid on Christmas morning. With his big blue eyes lit up, he said, “I have wanted to do this since I was a child.” YES! What is better than getting to fulfill a childhood dream with your dad? We spent five nights on safari and it was a trip I will never forget. We had spectacular sightings, fabulous ranger/tracker teams, and our accommodations were delightful. I could go on and on about what we experienced but this is already getting a little long so I will spare you and give you the highlights. Our last night at the first reserve, we witnessed a warthog try to find shelter from a lion in a hyena hole. Once the warthog figured out his “safe place” was filled with hyenas he bolted right behind our vehicle closely followed by a hungry lioness. My heart rate was up to say the least. It was fast but thrilling – for us and the warthog. At the second reserve we saw a pride of six lions hunting a heard of 200+ buffalo, a cheetah feeding on a kudu, and we had six leopard sightings (two of which were eight-week-old cubs). The cub sighting was all thanks to our wonderful tracker and ranger who found the den, then drove us to a safe place to watch the mom assure them it was safe to come out. They finally did and it was well worth the wait. Apparently seeing leopard cubs is so rare that we were asked not to talk about it back at camp so the other guests wouldn’t be jealous. Gotta love a secret sighting!

After an amazing safari, we all headed back to Cape Town to see Mom and Dad off. Thankfully, Beri stayed for another few days which helped to lessen the blow of saying goodbye to my folks. Beri and I had a great couple of days knocking around the Western Cape. We did tons of shopping, found some gorgeous African fabrics, and ate delicious food. When it was time to wave her off as she journeyed back to the States, I was filled with tears. Being so far from home is tough but getting to have these once-in-a-lifetime experiences with your loved ones makes it worth it. My aunt, Bernadette, arrives a week from tomorrow and I can’t wait.