Whale watching with seals and pelicans

Sunday night we had dinner at a seafood restaurant called Tug. I had delicious fish and chips, Nick and Esther had sole and Charles had a seafood combo. Charles insisted we try the chocolate fondant for desert, and it was fantastic. 

Monday morning we met Charles for breakfast at 7 and took off for our “sea safari” at 7:30. It was very chilly and I tried to layer with my warmest clothes, but I really don’t have anything that heavy or a windbreaker. We arrived at the Catamaran Tours office, and Charles collected our tickets. We saw seals and large pink-toned pelicans while we waited. We stood around about 20 minutes before they called the Silver Cloud group. (All the boats start with silver in their names. We boarded (Charles stayed on shore) and took seats at the top of the boat and then noticed that seals and pelicans had actually come on board with us. 

We pulled away from the dock and were given a safety briefing by Damien, one of the 20-something crew members. He then pointed out an oil rig in the distance, saying it was not there the last few days, but now it’s back. I didn’t realize these giant rigs could be moved, but Damien said there are specialized ships that move them. They may be on a 5-year contract. 

Next we saw numerous barrels arranged in rows in the water. This is an oyster farm. Pacific oysters were brought from Chile in the 1980s and cultivated here. They start them somewhere else and finish them off here. The area is ideal because of the cold Benguela current that brings lots of nutrients to this part of the Atlantic Ocean. The oysters are grown for 9 to 12 months, while in France it may take up to 3 years. The oysters are filter feeders and help clean up the ocean, unlike other types of fish farms. Damien described that there are ropes hanging vertically from the barrels, with 2 or 3 baskets attached to each rope. Each basket holds about 60 oysters. Their markets are in Asia and South Africa. Only 17% stay in Namibia. They think their oysters taste better than French ones. 

We kept sailing with the pelicans and seals walking around the boat and posing for pictures. We did not especially want our photo taken with the creatures, but the crew kept feeding them fish all around us so I’m sure we are in someone’s photos. At one point Nick put his hood up and a pelican started pecking at his head. They did a lot of gross pooping and a member of the crew was constantly grabbing a mop to clean up the mess. 

Next we came to a long sand bar that formed from sediments carried by the Orange River. The sand bar grows in length each year and one day will probably enclose the whole bay. We saw a lighthouse on the sand bar and a structure next to it that formerly was the lighthouse keeper’s cottage but now has been turned into a luxury hotel. 

On one portion of the sandbar was a Cape Fur Seal colony. There are over 2 million seals in Namibia, and 100,000 of them live here. On one side was the “nursery” with moms and babies. The babies’ calls sound like lambs bleating. When a baby is born the mom stays for 5 or 6 days and then the mom leaves and goes hunting. When the mom returns the baby gives a unique call so the mom can locate them. On the other side of the bar, the males live with their harems of 5 to 75 females. A male will mate with up to 75 females per year. The seals here have no natural predators in the water, other than humans and pollution. On land, hyenas, jackals and seagulls (who attack babies) are their predators. 

We heard of a whale sighting and sailed over. We did see a humpback briefly surface. We then left to look for dolphins. I personally did not see any but Nick said he did. We also saw a beached whale that came ashore yesterday. People had tried to get it back into the water but failed. They were going to try again at high tide today. By this time we were quite cold and the crew offered us blankets. I was the first to accept one, and soon everyone on the boat followed suit. 

We were served lunch by the crew. It was fresh oysters and also some cold cooked meats and deviled eggs. I liked the raw oysters the best. Most of the guests were German and I was surprised to learn they did not know what horseradish is. They prefer black pepper and lemon on their oysters. 

We returned to shore and reconnected with Charles. We browsed in a souvenir store and bought some carvings from local woodcarvers. We then returned to the hotel, and we will meet Charles for dinner later. 

To Walvis Bay & Swakomp

 We woke early and it was very chilly. Unfortunately the shower was lukewarm. We had our last breakfast and said goodbye to the friendly staff at Kulala Desert Lodge. As we drove out we saw two pairs of ostrich, again noticing the contrast between the lighter colored females and the black colored males. We stepped out for a photo op at the UNESCO World Heritage marker. The inscription was very moving and impressive. We passed a large area for tent camping and more sociable weaver nests. Then it was back to the gravel road - again, very bumpy and noisy. I am constantly grabbing the bar above the window for stability. It amazes me how Charles can drive this for hours on end. I asked him why more of the roads are not paved, and he said it’s too expensive. We drove between mountains with lots of other cars. Charles passed most of them so as not to follow their dust cloud. We saw large hills consisting of piles of large round rocks. We passed the village of Solitaire, but none of us needed the pit stop. It was 9:30 (we had left at 7:30) and we had 3 more hours until Walvis Bay. We were still on the bumpy gravel road. We passed some oryx and then drove into a mountainous area with gorgeous peaks bathed in sunshine. It was stunning. 

We were still in the desert according to Charles. We passed a sign for the Tropic of Capricorn and then entered the Gaub pass area. It was a striking gorge of black mica rocks. Nick thought the whole area was reminiscent of the South Dakota badlands. 

We hit a temporary stretch of paved road which was very welcome. Next we stopped at the Kuiseb Pass, an area of canyons and gorges made of sheets of mica. These were formed by the shifting of tectonic plates. On the ground were many mica stones as well as large beautiful pieces of quartz. The rock collector in me was sorely tempted but the only way I got my suitcase closed today was wearing my heaviest clothing. Charles said that two German friends hid in this area to avoid going into the army in World War II. They subsisted on bushes and springbok. They wrote a famous book about it called The Sheltering Desert of Namib. It’s almost impossible to believe someone could survive in this desolate area. The canyons were formed by the same river that brought the red sands to the sea. 

There were more gravel roads and they suddenly turned to a paved road about an hour and a half from Walvis Bay.  I was able to nap a bit. Just outside the City, we passed an area with white sand dunes that were made up of quartz sand. Then we saw a large uranium mine and later some fresh water ponds that were populated with thousands of flamingos. Charles said there were two species - the greater and the lesser. 

We then arrived in Walvis Bay proper. Charles said the name means Whales Bay. He said that even after Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990, South Africa hung onto Walvis Bay because of its importance as a port. They finally relinquished it in 1994. We drove through the trim streets to the harbor area. We turned at the sign for the yacht club and there was a row of restaurants. Charles chose one called Anchors and we all ordered seafood. Esther and I had calamari on a skewer with green and red peppers. The skewer was mounted on a stand above our chips. Nick had mussels and Charles had prawns. They still had their shells and heads on. They brought him a bowl of hot lemon water to clean his hands. It was a lot of food and very tasty. We passed the catamaran that we will take tomorrow. 

We walked back to the van and drove along the coast to Swakomp. We saw the world’s longest line of palm trees at 5.7 kilometers. We passed miles of white sandy beaches with no people. There were some mansions on the beach including one owned by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. We saw some large boats that Charles said were fishing boats anchored offshore. Charles said there were purple rocks in the sand that were garnets, but I didn’t really see what he was talking about. We saw a seal and a few fisherman on the beach. We saw a place offering camel rides and dune buggy rentals. Finally we entered Swakomp proper - a cute beach town with lots of German influence. The Driftwood Guesthouse is our home for 2 nights. It’s very similar to the Olive Grove Guesthouse, and seems to be owned by the same people. It is not 4-star. We’re in a second floor room (up a flight of stairs), and the beach is visible from our balcony. It is not as advertised “right on the beach”. It is on the outskirts of town, in a very residential neighborhood. We settled in around 3:00 and will meet Charles for dinner at 7:20. We took a stroll on the very windy beach. There were lots of walkers, many with dogs. The ocean was very rough - Nick said almost surface but for the rocks along the shore. I was able to walk even into the stiff breeze with only a couple rest breaks, so I’m hopeful my issues have been altitude related and on the wane. Fingers crossed. 

Red Dunes

 

After a pleasant dinner, we made our way down the path to our tent. I fell asleep almost immediately but Nick was still awake and heard a hyena pass through very near the tent. I woke up around 5 am and tried the shower. It was lukewarm at the hottest. Not pleasant at all as the outside temperatures are in the low 50s. We went up for breakfast, and in my head I counted the times I will need to use the path again. There was a breakfast buffet and you could order eggs. Remembering the sweet omelet in Windhoek, I ordered 2 eggs over easy. They were delicious. 

We boarded the van and drove out of the camp and then turned onto a paved road. It was heaven. We saw a jackal running. Soon we were surrounded on both sides by the beautiful red dunes. Charles explained that there are over 300 dunes, but 300 have names. We stopped near Dune 1 and Dune 7; others are named Big Daddy and Big Mommy. Some are vegetated dunes with grasses growing on them. These tend to have snakes as that’s where their prey may live. We also learned about the Dune Lark, that is only found in this area. We saw some oryx, ostrich and vultures. 

We got out of the vehicle and Charles drew a map of Namibia in the sand and showed us how the dunes were formed. Iron sediments wash down from the mountains in South Africa and end up in the Orange River where they are carried to the ocean. The ocean grinds the sediments into fine sand which the winds blow into Namibia, forming the dunes. The dunes are 6,000,000 years old. We saw where beneath some dunes were craggy gray mountains. Most of the dunes have mountains underneath them. There are three basic shapes: linear, star and bacun (rounded). The shapes are dictated by the winds. Some dunes have tan areas, and Charles explained that this is the white sands from the dry river bed that has blown onto the dunes. It was reminiscent of the glaciers in Alaska, with the debris flow down the middle. We saw Dune 45 with people on it. They looked like ants. Charles said the area is called the Namib Sand Sea as it looks like ocean waves made of the sand from the dessert. We then left the paved road and drove on very bouncy sandy conditions toward Big Daddy and the Dead Vlei. It was teeth jarring. We finally arrived at the parking area. We were not going to attempt to climb Big Daddy, but I was really looking forward to seeing the petrified trees of the Dead Vlei. Unfortunately I only walked about 100 yards before I was gasping for breath. Nick, Charles and Esther carried on without me and I rested on a bench among the Dunes. Nick later shared some photos of the preserved trees. 

We drove to Sossusvlei which means “river’s end.” It is the place where the dunes block the river from flowing. We drove back to camp and had a nice lunch. A manager asked about the water and we said it was not hot. She had the staff try to fix it and then offered to move us to Tent 17. I asked, is it steeper than this and she said no it is not as steep. I said great, let’s switch. It turned out to be a completely flat path to reach Tent 17. Hallelujah!! A nice man carried our luggage. 

We dozed in our new digs until we 5:30 when we met Charles and Esther for a sundowner. This entailed driving out of camp to a remote location to watch the sunset with a glass of wine and snacks. We saw some

Oryx, springbok and a jackal along the way. In fact we

saw the same black backed jackal 3 times. The jackal is a hunter in this area while in the savanna it is a scavenger. We stopped to look at a large bird’s nest belonging to the sociable weaver. About 80 birds had built this huge nest in an acacia tree. After sundown we returned to camp for a lovely dinner - great chicken - and headed to sleep in our new tent. The jackal was blocking our path near the tent, but Nick shooed him away. Tomorrow we head for the coast. 

Hello Namibia

 Thursday afternoon we took a Federal Air flight from camp to the Johannesburg airport. It was a larger plane than we had taken into camp, but the trip took much longer - about 90 minutes as opposed to 50. We landed at the same small charter field as before and inquired about a shuttle to Terminal B to catch our Airlink flight to Windhoek. We were told it would leave shortly. Not exactly. The van was packed with people and they kept bringing different pieces of luggage, asking Is this yours. We identified our luggage 3 times. When the luggage was finally sorted, we drove away and the driver told us there had been an accident on the highway into the airport, so we would be taking an alternative route. It took plenty long. Then we stopped at Terminal A where half the passengers got off. Finally we got to Terminal B and saw huge lines for South Africa Air. I was so tired it took me a minute to realize we were not on that airline, and there was no line at Airlink. Nevertheless the lady told us we did not have much time. We had to walk all the way back to terminal A to get through security. Then another long line for passport control. Finally we had a trek to the gate, where we mercifully learned the flight was late. They let us start down the jetbridge, and then we stopped and waited over 15 minutes before they let us board. We plopped into our seats for the 2-hour flight to Windhoek. 

There was a lady holding a sign with our names and we were led to a small office. Nick visited an ATM. The men in the office said our guide Charles would pick us up from the hotel at 9 am. Our guide’s name was supposed to be Forester, but they said you are getting Charles, and he’s good too. We were driven through the dark streets to the Olive Grove Guesthouse, an over 45 minute drive. The roads are narrow and there is lots of passing. At least the roads were very smooth. We got to the hotel, and the office was closed, but there was a young man who checked our names on a clipboard, grabbed our suitcases and headed up two flights of outdoor stairs to our room. It was large which is about the only nice thing I can say about it. Concrete floors throughout, a grungy toilet and an uncomfortable bed. I had originally booked another night here before our return home - so glad I canceled that. 

In the morning, we showered, and went to breakfast at 8:15 which should have been plenty of time for our 9 am departure. It was not. The menu had several tantalizing options, but after bringing us coffee and “cold buffet” nobody would take our order for the hot food. Finally we got someone’s attention and ordered. Our guide Charles showed up at 8:50, but we said we were waiting for our eggs, so he went inside and hung out with Esther, the other Boundless Journeys guest on our itinerary. Finally my mushroom omelette came, and it looked good but it seemed someone had substituted sugar for salt - it had an off putting sweet taste. Nick shared some of his pancakes with me. Also not ideal as they were blueberry pancakes which I had a bad experience with in my childhood so never eat. 

Finally we went to find Charles and Esther and begin our Namibian adventure. Charles provided each of us with a water bottle, and we boarded a large van. Esther took the front row, and Nick and I the middle. Charles gave us some facts and figures about Windhoek (means Windy Corner, population 300,000, built between two mountains, designated the cleanest city in the world) and Namibia (population 3,000,000, gained some independence from South Africa in 1990 and full independence in 1994). We passed Hero’s Acre with a Washington Monument type obelisk; Charles said this is where the presidents and ministers are celebrated and buried. 

We passed savanna, with many bushes and trees. It looked very dry. Charles said they have been in a drought since 2011. We stopped in Rehoboth, a town the Germans had settled. Charles said the natives are a mix of German and African heritage and have much lighter skin tones than other Namibians. We stopped at a pharmacy as Esther thinks she picked up a cold on the plane. I was able to buy some pain medication with aspirin, as I’m still experiencing a fast pulse on exertion. I looked for baby aspirin but they didn’t have it, so this will have to do. Back in the van, we talked about each other’s backgrounds. Esther worked for several government agencies, including the EPA. She worked in offices of inspectors general. She is retired now and has traveled extensively. 

Just outside of Rehoboth, we turned onto a gravel highway. We had another 5 and 1/2 hours to our first camp, apparently all on this type of road. It was noisy and it was bumpy. Sometimes the car would drop suddenly down a hill. It was hard to hear each other. Overall unexpectedly unpleasant. We stopped to look at a village called Klein Aub, which means Small Springs. It had a tin mine that produced lots of jobs before the demand for tin went down in 1992. There’s a large area of debris from the mine that looks like snow. Four years ago the demand came back, and there’s hope the village will thrive again. They all became farmers which is another risky business with the drought. 

We now passed through the semi-savanna. There were a few less trees and bushes. We saw some donkeys on the side of the road. Charles said that donkey carts are a main source of transportation. We saw some beautiful flat-topped mountains. The area was very reminiscent of New Mexico. We passed into the semi-desert area with even more beautiful mountains. At one point we stopped under a tree and ate box lunches. Probably I have been spoiled by the food at Leopard Hills. 

We saw some Quiver trees, also known as upside down trees. The San people used the hollow branches for holding their arrows. When the leaves are stripped off, the branches look like roots. We saw some Oryx which is Namibia’s national animal because they are found all over the country. They are the most adapted to the desert. When they get too hot, they  pant like dogs, but through their noses. We saw several, including one who only had one horn. 

We then turned into the Namib desert, the world’s oldest desert. The beautiful shades of sand stretching in front of the gorgeous mountains was breathtaking. Charles pointed out some Fairy rings, which are circular formations in the sand that no one knows how they are formed. Finally, we turned down the road for the Kulala Desert Lodge. After awhile we arrived and were greeted by Maureen, and told about the facility. There are large open air lounges and dining areas, a pool and several tented suites. The setting looks west across the desert to the mountains. Sunsets will surely be beautiful. To get to our tent we have to walk down a steep narrow path with a drop off at one point. Then we walk up four steps into the tent. Again, I am spoiled by the luxuriousness of Leopard Hills, but Nick points out it beats the Olive Grove Guesthouse. Nick and Esther will take a walk with Charles, but I plan to pass and just enjoy the view. 

Final night/day at Leopard Hills

 We saw lots of great wildlife from our room during the Wednesday afternoon siesta. We hoped it bode well for the evening game ride, and we were not disappointed. Turning out from camp, we saw a couple zebra and large herd of impala. Next we saw a mom and a cute baby elephant. Morne then pointed out a white backed vulture. We returned to our quest for Ravenscourt the leopard and came upon a crash of 5 white rhinos, including 2 calves. It was impressive. 

We saw some Cape buffalo and brindle gnu, and a large herd of elephants. More vultures were spotted along with 3 giraffes. We stopped for a sundowner along the river. It was very picturesque. Rickie and I are getting better at climbing out of the truck. 

It was getting dark so we headed for camp but stopped to go off-road and came upon 2 trucks. They were watching the leopard, Euphorbia (named for a tree in the area), lying in the grass digesting a kill. The kill (an impala) was up a tree out of view. We hoped he would get up and go eat some more, but he never did. We got some photos in the spotlight, especially of his piercing eyes. According to Morne, he is more aggressive towards humans on foot than Ravenscourt. We observed him for awhile, then headed back toward camp. Along the way Morne stopped in a field to describe the various constellations, including the Southern Cross and Scorpio. He explained how you can find Celestial South and a bit of the mythology behind the positions of Scorpio and Orion in the sky. Back at camp we had a final night dinner with Rickie, Ralph and Morne.  I had eggplant Parmesan that was delicious, and Nick had a pork ribeye. We were walked back to our room by our “Uber driver” for one last time. 

Thursday morning we learned that Rickie would be skipping the morning drive, so Ralph and I took the first row of seats, and Nick sat in the second row. Amazingly, Ralph said it was easier climbing down from the second row than the first. We saw some Kudu and brindle gnu. We drove for awhile, and I could tell from the radio chatter that someone had located Ravenscourt. Sure enough, we rounded a corner, drove off-road and found 2 trucks looking at him sitting on a termite mound. When one truck left, we got primo viewing position, and then he got up and walked right past our truck on my side. I could’ve petted him if I wanted to. He settled down watching some impala, but made no move to hunt one so we moved on. 

We saw some giraffes and then stopped on a causeway on the river to look at some hippos in a large pool and 2 crocodiles sunning themselves on the bank. These were the largest crocs we’d seen and we stopped to snap some photos. When Morne tried to restart the truck, it would not turn over. He tried and tried but it just clicked - the engine would not start.  He asked Advice to get a Coke for him, which he retrieved from the back. They proceeded to open the hood and pour the Coke on the engine. The crocodiles were eyeing us.  One slid into the water and swam toward us.  Luckily the Coke worked and the engine started.  Something about corrosion and the solenoid part on order. 

We proceeded to cross the water, at one point driving into the river itself and climbing up the other bank. We drove for awhile and stopped to watch a family of giraffes that included a 2-month old baby. 

We then pulled over for our coffee break. We climbed down from the truck and Morne and Advice headed toward the back to grab the coffee and muffins. Morne asked Advice if he forgot to close the back of the truck, and Advice said No, of course not. But it turned out he did. There are supposed to be 2 coolers in the back (they call them hot boxes). The coffee one was there but the Amalura one was missing. Amalura is a liqueur they put in the coffee. Also in that box were the cokes and other soft drinks- but they were not worried about those. They just kept wondering where the Amalura box fell off, and asking whether hyenas got ahold of it, and were ready to wreak havoc. We jumped back in the truck to retrace our steps. Morne was mercilessly teasing Advice. We passed our giraffe friends and rolled up and down several hills. It looked like we were going to discover the box fell out when we drove up the river bank. But all of a sudden we turned a corner and there it was in the middle of the road, pristine as could be, sitting as if someone had placed it there on purpose. We all laughed with relief.  We stopped in another place for coffee and blueberry muffins, and no one had any Amalura. It sounded like Morne was going to hold this over Advice for a very long time. After these adventures, we returned to the lodge, checked out of our room, and waited for our 2 pm ride to the airstrip. Tonight we fly to Windhoek, Namibia. 

Gloomy Tuesday/Wednesday

 It will be difficult to top last night’s mating leopards, but we set out to try. Rickie and I climbed into the front row of the truck, while Nick and Ralph took the second row. It was still chilly but not as windy as yesterday. I brought along my new Leopard Hills fleece jacket. A slight mist was in the air, and Morne offered ponchos. Rickie later took advantage, but I held out until the afternoon drive. 

Within 100 yards of camp was a herd of elephants including several juveniles and a small baby. The matriarch was huge; Morne guessed she was 50 years old and, amazingly, she had swollen breasts which meant the smallest baby was hers. We watched for awhile and headed out, coming upon a herd of Cape buffalo hunkered down in the grass. Morne explained they may look like cows but they are far more aggressive. They have a hierarchy, and the top class is placed in the center of the group where they can be protected. 

We saw some impala, and Morne explained why they are the most successful antelope in Southern Africa. During the mating season or rut, a new male takes over the harem every two or three days. He also said they have a unique ability to delay giving birth for a month or two, depending on the rains, ensuring better survival of the babies. We next saw a large herd of zebra and then a pack of African wild dogs, featuring 7 adults and 10 puppies. Some of the adults were gone and when they returned the puppies pushed at their cheeks, and the adults regurgitated food for the puppies. The puppies were very cute and playful, coming up to and all around the trucks. Morne said there are an Alpha male and female and a Beta male and female in every pack. When the beta female gives birth, the alpha female sometimes kills the puppies. The alpha female then has a built-in babysitter. (Google does not support this factoid based on cutting edge research.) They can have between 10 and 25 puppies in a litter. 

After spending a considerable time watching the adorable dogs scamper around, we moved on. We saw some white-backed vultures and a hyena running down the road. The hyena went into some thick brush where we could not follow. We drove through a beautiful dry riverbed where we saw a gray duiker and, amazingly, a hippo out on dry land. Morne suspected it had been forced from a nearby pool. We saw some wildebeest and a tawny eagle. We turned a corner and had a clear view of a striking giraffe. He stood placidly as we snapped many photos. We had a coffee break near a hippo pond and then drove around looking for leopards. This time we were unsuccessful and returned to the lodge for breakfast. 

I had eggs Benedict and a smoothie, and we chatted with the British guests. Then we went to our room to nap, shower and catch up on the news and games. The Wordle streak lives. It was too cold to sit on the deck, but from our glass wall we watched in wonder as the wildlife paraded around the nearby waterhole. First a group of impala showed up and then a family of kudu. A bit later a rhino bull appeared, and then some Nyala, a large striped antelope that is common around the camp. We thoroughly enjoyed the show. 

The afternoon game drive was not as eventful. The weather was worse, and I was forced to resort to the poncho. Morne kept having to remove his glasses as they were covered with rain. We saw a gray bird known as the ghost bird and lots of impala. We saw a rhino cow and year old calf and 2 ginormous bull elephants. We passed a couple of young elephants and then went off-road and found two lionesses lying in the grass. One was totally asleep but the other showed some signs of life, but never got up to hunt as Morne had hoped. After spending about 15 minutes watching them as the light faded, we returned to camp. We had dinner in the Boma, and it actually rained on us a bit while we were eating. Morne told us about his background and training for becoming a guide, and Rickie and Ralph told many stories of the nutty people in their condo. We enjoyed the dinner and returned to our room around 9:30 pm. Having taken Melatonin, we never heard the leopard come around the room at 4:00 am like our next door neighbors did. 

Wednesday morning we awoke with hopes of better weather, but it was not to be. It was possibly a bit warmer, but the mist was thicker, and turned to a steady rain at one point. We all eventually took advantage of the ponchos. Worse we spent hours tracking the leopard that had visited the camp at night, but never found it. It was very frustrating. Advice and Morne got out of the truck several times to search for tracks in the bush. At one point Advice became covered in ticks. Despite all their efforts and those of several other trucks, no leopard was spotted. We did manage to see male and female nyala, which look quite different from each other, a giraffe, some baboons, two grizzled old Cape buffalo, and a little bee eater, a beautiful green bird. It was not a pleasant morning, with the miserable weather and slippery steps to climb in and out of the vehicle. At breakfast we learned that the morning’s Federal Air flights were canceled- leaving some of our fellow guests stranded. We returned to our room and were treated to a wonderful show, as giraffes and elephants visited the watering hole right behind our room. The weather is clearing, and I have high hopes for our afternoon drive, which may be our last game drive at Leopard Hills.