A South African safari to Madikwe

Almost weeks ago we had the opportunity to go on our first South African Safari.  Having spent almost 2 weeks on safari in January 2013 in Tanzania we were not in a big rush to do a safari upon our arrival here last year.  About 4 hours north west of where we live is the 5th largest game reserve in South Africa called Madikwe.  It borders Botswana and comprises almost 75,000 hectacres filled with the Big 5 (elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard, and rhino) and the rare Africa Wild Dog.  For 4 days we explored the park and our lodge with our good friends, the Healeys.

Love these trees that stand alone with all the bird's nests

We picked a lodge based on the fact that we would be traveling with small children and babies and needed activities to help entertain them when they were not allowed on the game drives.  Tau Lodge was recommended to us by a travel agent and since they had family suites and a kid's club with babysitters we thought it would be perfect.  On our first day there we were able to take the kids on the game drive since no others families were in our vehicle.

Adalyn, Reiter, and Kellan enjoying a pit stop

The kids enjoyed themselves and were able to see quite a few animals.  Adalyn made note to me that she really enjoyed the pit stop for food and drinks, I guess this girl is more of a foodie than a wilderness girl.  After the 3 hour game drive we arrived back at the lodge for dinner around the boma (fire pit).

On day two, the kids joined us again for the morning game drive, though Adalyn's interest in seeing the animals was wearing off.

I was surprised that the guide would allow us out of the vehicle during pit stops for drinks and food.
I kept thinking an animal was going to come join us.

Grant missed the whole thing as he slept right through the entire drive.  One of the best parts of the trip happened this morning when we were able to see a pack of lions right after they killed a wildebeest.

After the female and young male lions killed it, the older male lion took his share first but evidentially was not quite ready to give it to the others so he laid cuddling it for quite some time.

When we drove up next to this guy, he lifted his head, looked at us then laid back down.  
I guess when you are the King, you don't worry. 

 It was nice that Madikwe would allow the safari vehicles to venture off the road and into the bush so we could get a close up view.  Circling the safari vehicles was a hyena and a jackal waiting for their turn.

Jackel

Hyena

The guide said if the jackel and the hyena got close enough to the "kill" the lions would get up and chase them off.  None of the animals could have cared less that we were there, just part of the scenery to them I am sure.

After our morning game drive, complete with a coffee and hot chocolate pit stop, we headed back to the lodge for breakfast.  Next we checked out the kids club and figured it would be a good place for the kids to burn off some energy during the afternoon game drive which they could not attend as another couple was going to be with us and kids under 6 are not normally allowed on game drives at this lodge.  Little did we know that the kid's club was not as formal of a program as we had been told and with a few last minute changes, we hired some babysitters I stayed back with Grant and the kids while the others did the afternoon game drive.

Although I missed out on seeing more of the Big 5 I did enjoy the Little 5.  With a 5 year old, almost 4 year old, 3 year old, 1 year old and a 3 month old, it was nice that all the other guests of the lodge were on the game drive because the Little 5 enjoyed running wild.  All the other staff loved to interact with the kids while Grant and I tried to keep up.  I love that Adalyn has made such good friends here and was able to enjoy this experience with others.

Our rooms at the lodge were called Chalets which is basically a little home, though they usually only comprise of bedrooms, bathrooms and maybe a living area.  The best part of our chalets were that they faced right out onto a watering hole and the perfect spot to view animals stopping for a drink.  Several herds of elephants would come at all hours of the day to get a drink from the fresh water spout that was piped into the watering hole.

Throughout the park they have a few watering holes which have fresh water pumped into them.  The guide stated that the elephants preferred to drink the fresh water and bath in the watering hole which was dirtier. 

It was amazing to see a whole heard of 20+ elephants coming towards you.  

I thought this elephant looked like he was sucking his trunk.

The guide said the grey elephant is a different color cause he is from another herd and his color would match the landscape of where he was from.  All the other elephants moved out of the way when he came through. 

The elephants were beautiful, we saw some as young as 1 week old.  I think of all the animals, we saw more herds of  elephant than anything else. 

This picture is taken right outside of our chalet. 

When the elephants would come for a drink, everyone from the lodge would hurry over for pictures.
 The elephants would come all through out the day. 

 Buffalo, giraffes, wildebeest and many birds would come by for water and we all loved getting so close to them.  I am pretty sure the 4 foot high electric fence would not have stopped many of them from venturing to our side, but thankfully they did not try.

Lots of animals came for water, it was perfect to have this huge watering hole right by the lodge.  

Herd of buffalo coming for a drink.

We saw a few crocodiles, but this one stayed visible almost the entire time we were there.  

Giraffes are one of my favorite animals.  I love that you can be driving in the bush and see their heads above all the trees.  The giraffe was all alone and stopped for a drink.  We saw very few giraffes and they were always alone. 

On the third day's morning game drive we were able to witness 3 African wild dogs attempt to pull a kudu (African deer) out of the water which had run in there upon being attacked by the dogs.  Since the dogs do not like water it was quite interesting to watch them try to figure out how to get the kudu out, often times just taking a bite out of the kudu right in the water instead.

Wild African Dogs

Two African dogs taking a bite out of their kudu

 Since only 3 safari vehicles are allowed to be near the animals at one time, we took our pictures and after a bit moved on so another group of people could enjoy the scene.

Later that day the kid's went on their own safari scavenger hunt and we passed right by the scene where the kudu was attacked by the wild dogs.  Turns out the dogs were triumphant and manged to pull the kudu out of the water and enjoy their lunch.

What was left of the kudu.  The guide said the African dogs would only eat about 1/3 of the animals they kill and have to kill/eat twice a day so there is a lot of leftovers for everyone else. 

 The scavenger hunt lasted about 90 minutes though Adalyn was only interested for about 20 minutes then Ken and Barbie came out of the bag and enjoyed their first safari.  I guess after a year of living in South Africa, it just becomes normal to see animals so close up.  She will be in for a surprise when we return to the States and she realized she can't touch the animals as they are all behind fences.  I will say that after a while of being here you do forget that these are not normal experiences that others can have every weekend if they want to.

After another wonderful dinner around the boma, Jennifer Healey and I tested out the spa with an African Head and Foot Massage.  Not sure what aspects about it made it "African" other than we were in Africa, but it was quite relaxing and we enjoyed our time.  In fact the whole 4 days were quite relaxing.  Despite the kid's club not being an actual program as we had been informed of, everything turned out well.  Our guide was quite good, tracking down the Big 5 and as many other animals as he could find.

Kudu

Buffalo

Rhinos

Rhinos

Another herd of lions

Not sure why they were laying in these huge piles of ash.

Kudu

Did not see too many zebras

Baboons

Lonely giraffe

Leopard enjoying his meal in the trees

We followed this group of 4 African wild dogs as they hunted for their next meal.  It was strange to see a fence around the park as that was not our experience in Tanzania, but safety first.  The guide stated they would scare an animal into the electric fence as their way to kill it before sinking their teeth into it. 

The food and accommodations were quite nice and it was a great first experience of a safari in South Africa.  Tanzania is still #1 in my book but I hope to go on a few more safari's here at other parks to compare and experience what they have to offer.  Safaris are about experiencing the wildlife and I felt we accomplished that, getting to enjoy it with friends was the icing on top.    

Grant's 3 month check up

It's been almost 3 months since we welcomed Grant into the world.  Adding a second child to our family has been a whirlwind and the time has flown by.  Of course by now I can't even remember what I used to do with all my time after 1 kid, let alone before any kids.  Grant has been a joy to watch grow and it warms my heart to watch Adalyn interact with him.  He is in love with Adalyn, watching and smiling at her all the time, and she of course likes his full attention when she performs her dance routines for him.

 In the last 3 months Grant has had 2 doctor well baby visits, and 2 immunization clinic visits.  The pediatrician we visit does not do immunizations but I feel that he is very thorough with his visits so we made the choice to have two different clinics to visit to complete his well baby care.  The first pediatrician visit was at 1 week then another at 6 weeks and we have one coming up at 4 months.  I feel that Grant's doctor does a good job of asking all the same questions that Adalyn's pediatrician did in the States and checking on all the same concerns.  Grant has received good assessments and no concerns about his health or development to date.

We take Grant to the well baby clinic inside the hospital I delivered him at for his immunizations.  There is a nurse and assistant who do a simple assessment for height, weight and head growth.  They of course think Grant is huge and "off the charts" but I have found that he is just a little ahead of where Adalyn was at each step of the way.  The nurse states that Grant is at 75% for most areas and most of the South African babies are at the 25-50% so to them Grant is larger than normal.  Grant received immunizations at 6 weeks and 10 weeks, plus those received at birth.  At 11 weeks he weighed 13lbs 7 oz (60%) and was 25 inches long (96%).  He is in 3-6 month clothing, mostly due to his height.  The immunizations cost me $5 each time and in comparison to the States he is receiving the same immunizations mostly.  The main difference is that he is not receiving the immunizations at the same time as he would in the States.  For example, he received his DTaP #2 along with his HepB #3 and Hib #2 at 3 months instead of at 4 months.  Most of the first round of those and other immunizations were at 6 weeks instead of 8 weeks.  We also opted for the Tuberculosis vaccine as it was recommended by the pediatrician and I don't want to take any chances since it is a threat in this country.  Next visit is at 14 weeks so hopefully he takes those immunizations just as well as the others.

In regards to milestones, Grant is holding up his head really well though he hates "tummy time" with a passion.  Only a few minutes at best and he is screaming which is probably why he taught himself to roll over instantly just yesterday.  I attempted to show Mark and a few friends his new trick but he evidentially does not like to perform under pressure and would not roll.  He loves to be carried facing outward, playing under his floor mat jungle gym, and hanging out in his swing.  Currently he is sleeping 6 hours at night then up to feed and back down for another 6 hours and up for the day.  Last night he surprised me and slept 7.5 hours without waking, I hope he does it again.  During the day he takes 2-2.5 hour naps then will be up for about 1.5 hours and back down again to nap.

He was not always a good sleeper, at my 6 week check up with my OB I was telling her that Grant could not connect his sleep cycles therefore not able to sleep much more than 45 mins at a time day or night and this had gone on since he was about 3 weeks old.  My OB gave me the name of a pediatric sleep consultant and I immediately called her up.  Having sleep trained Adalyn with no problems, I could not figure out how to get Grant to sleep longer than 45 minutes without being held.  With a 2 hour in-home consultation followed by 2 weeks of phone call support we changed only a few things I was doing with Grant and overnight he was a new child.

With kid #2 I have learned quite a few things.  First, I am getting really good with the metric system and can calculate weight in my head now instead of pulling out a calculator.  I have become even more organized, setting out Adalyn's breakfast the night before, packing her lunch 24 hours ahead of time and freezing more meals as some days I just don't have time to cook.  I never feel like Adalyn is getting the time and attention I would like to give as sometimes Grant needs me and Adalyn had done really well to accept that.  She is wonderful at entertaining herself and since I have the whole day with Grant while she is at school, I try to really focus on her once she returns home each day.  Now that we have made it 3 months as a family of 4, even going on our first vacation last weekend and hosting family for 3 weeks 2 months ago, I am feeling more settled.  Grant has added so much love to our family and I am grateful to be his mommy.

Mid Year School Review

Adalyn started a new pre-school in January called Tyger Valley College.  I wrote a blog about my first impressions and how it was going in January, so I thought a mid-year review would be good.  Adalyn is in grade 000, Triple Naught as South Africans call it, which is for kids turning 4 years old this year.  Not knowing what exactly to expect from school, I have been extremely pleased so far.

Adalyn has gotten over the initial horror of having to wear a school uniform.  For a girl who loves to pick out her clothes, this was quite the ordeal every morning for 2 weeks but now she knows what to expect and gladly puts on her green and navy attire.  Though she keeps her uniform on all day at school, her shoes come off first thing in the class.  Adalyn has really adapted to the South African lifestyle of not wearing shoes and she must have tough feet as this is her preferred method everywhere we go.  Her feet seem to be permanently stained black and we have to wash them first thing when we get home from school each day.  She even took off her shoes for her school photo, which I secretly love because it shows her personality.

Adalyn's teacher, Mrs. Nunan, said that this term Adalyn has become a social butterfly.  Adalyn loves her friends and talks about them non stop at home by name.  Currently she plays mostly with the other girls and always wants them to come over to play after school.  At the beginning of the first semester she was quite shy and did not talk much or sing during music.  Boy has that changed.  Mrs. Nunan said she is a chatter box, loves to sing and even dances to the music.  Along with music, Adalyn has enjoyed ballet, gymnastics and recently they started tennis.  Watching a bunch of 3-4 year olds learn tennis is super cute.  They have a hard enough time catching the ball once it bounces I am not sure how they would manage to play.

Tyger Valley is divided into 3 terms over the January to December school year with about a 4 week break in-between each term.  During 2 weeks of those breaks Adalyn has enjoyed attending camp which is run by a high school teacher with some Juniors and Seniors as her helpers.  Adalyn probably loves it because the older girls put make-up and nail polish on her.  I love that it gives her a chance to interact with other kids during the day and just play as the other two weeks she is stuck with me.  After this term is over Adalyn is starting in the math club called Miki Maths.  She requested to go and I figured it can only help her math skills so I am eager to see what progress she makes during this final school term.  

Adalyn's class focuses on themes that span about 2 weeks and so far she has learned a tremendous amount about subjects such as dinosaurs, professions (doctor, teacher, gardener), the ocean, and vehicles (construction, fire trucks, etc.)  I love that Adalyn can recall so many details about what she learns at school and I think Tyger Valley does an outstanding job of integrating each theme.  Adalyn has made a large amount of crafts and even gone on some small field trips around the school that help strengthen the lessons.

One aspect of her learning that is different is the ABCs.  Adalyn will tell me the name of a letter by how it sounds instead of how we normally say "P" for example she says "Ph".  I believe this is the phonics way of learning and as long as she learns them I am fine with that.  Each term her teacher fills out about an 8 page assessment on how each child is learning.  It is nice to have 3 parent/teacher conferences a year as I feel like I know where Adalyn stands on what she does well and what she needs to improve on.

Adalyn's school does a good job of hosting events that involve the parents as well.  So far this year we have had a Mother's day appreciation event, soccer day with the dads, a walk for charity and even mini Olympics with field events for the kids and parents to do together.  Seeing our friends and their kids at school each day during drop off/pick up makes it feel more like home to me.  I am very pleased with our decision to send Adalyn to Tyger Valley and the fact that she loves it makes it even better.        

Wrestling with tigers and feeding the lions

While Mark's parents, Gary and Gail, were visiting us in June, we took them up to Zebula Lodge in Bela Bela for a weekend getaway.  Located about 2 hours north of our home, is a lodged situated on it's own game reserve.  One reason I choose this lodge was because of it's possibilities for animal interactions.
On our first full day there, we signed up to play with lion and tiger cubs.

First up, two baby lion cubs, one boy and one girl who were 3 weeks old.  For an hour we got to feed them with a bottle, pet them and play.

Due to their age, we could not pick them up and cuddle them but had to let them come to us and hope they would crawl in our laps.  

They were quite accommodating and loved the attention.  Adalyn really enjoyed her time with them as finding animals to interact with that are actually smaller than her is hard to come by.  

Soft as a baby kitten, I could have spent hours with them cuddling and just watching them prance around.  When our time was up with the lion cubs we headed over to the tigers.

Two tiger cubs, 6 months old each were housed in an enclosure and due to their age and size, Adalyn could not interact with them. 

 We went into the area in pairs with Gary and I first.  

The tigers were ready to play and the tiger handler gave us great information on how to interact with them and we learned alot about their behavior and way of life.  Despite being only 6 months old these tigers were about the size of a large dog, but with huge teeth of course.  

The handler said they would bite and it would hurt so I was apprehensive from the start, I mean who wants to be bit by a tiger.  Already keen to hunting, we were told to watch out for both tigers as one would try to distract you as the other would come from behind and jump on you.  I basically stayed right next to the handler and only petted the tigers when they passed by.  

Before the playing ensued I managed to get a picture
while this tiger saved his energy for the wrestling match with Gary. 

It all started with a friendly handshake

Little did Gary know, he was in for a once in a lifetime experience.  With no fear he played with the tigers as if they were common house cats.  The handler said the tigers liked to play with Gary because of the coat he was wearing.  Loose fitting and with it unzipped it would blow and move as he did, therefore attracting the tigers. I would have removed my coat that instant, but Gary evidentially knew what he was doing.

From all angles Gary was basically attacked with each tiger going after an arm.  Gary just swatted them away and the handler commented on how good Gary was at that, he said he could tell Gary had dogs.  I guess we know what Gary has been doing in retirement, training to wrestle tigers.   

One lucky tiger did manage to sink his teeth into Gary's hand and draw blood, but that did not stop Gary from continuing his wrestling match.  

Tigers circling their prey

What a good sport Gary was as I tried my best to capture it all on camera.  I of course was way too afraid by this point to even pet them as Gary had them all excited to play.  Our time came to a close, I tried to get a nice picture of Gary with his new friends, but they pretty much viewed Gary as a chew toy so the tigers were not about to sit still.

Next up was Gail and Mark into the tiger enclosure.  Gary must have won the wrestling match because by the time Gail and Mark came in the tigers decided to lay down and nap.  The handler brought in some bottles of milk to try and coax the tigers to get up and play, and thankfully it worked otherwise Gail would have missed out on a great animal interaction.  

The tigers spent no time drinking, downing their bottles in minutes, then decided to sun themselves and let Gail and Mark pet them.  Lounging in the grass, Gail and Mark had free reign to basically lay down and cuddle with the tigers.  I was quite jealous that I did not get this experience, next time I will have to send in Mark to wear them out first. 

A true Mizzou fan, meets a real Truman the tiger.

I was glad to get some great photos for Gail and Gary to help remember their African adventure.  I am glad Gary lived to tell the story of being bit by a tiger because not many can say that.