Kruger National Park (April 17)

Of course we couldn't allow Stefan's parents to come all the way to Africa and not visit a game park! So last week we all piled into the car and made a day trip to the internationally renowned Kruger National Park! It was so much fun for adults and children alike, but it was particularly fun to see what interested the boys.

We saw so many different animals including...

wart hogs

baboons

vervet monkeys

hippos

crocodiles

giraffes

rhinosourus

elephants

buffalo

and others...

After seeing one animal, we typically asked the boys, "What do you want to see next?" and without fail, in a few minutes we would come accross that particular animal! At one point, Cohen informed us he'd like to see a lion...Well, we didn't want him to be too dissapointed so we explained to him that it wasn't likely since they would all be hiding and sleeping during the day...but not 30 minutes later we actually saw a pride of lions resting near a large swamp in the shade of some trees!

As we came to the last few hours of our time in the park, Cohen and Christian said they wanted to see a zebra--one of the last animals we still had not come across. However, the boys fell asleep and we continued to make our way toward the park entrance, actually not seeing many animals at that point. No sooner did Cohen wake up, then we came accross some zebra!

Graskop (April 13)

We spent one day in the area around Graskop (a town about an hour north of here). We were originally going up to see Blyde River Canyon and the beautiful lookouts which surround it...however, it turned into quite a cold and foggy day without visibility. So we spent some time in Graskop (once again at a pancake house!) and enjoyed just being together.

At one of our stops, Stefan and Cohen kept warm as they waited for us to look through some of the artifacts.

The boys sort of got tired of "smiling for the camera" and began to make faces toward the end of the day.

Melissa, we are still all scratching our heads at your choice of the chicken liver and piri-piri pancake! ?? Only in Africa!

Wesley was completely unimpressed with the splendor around her. But pretty much everyone was impressed with her! Everywhere we stopped, people were completely taken with her. (In most of the local African traditions, it really is not cutomary to take the baby out from the house until he or she is older--one lady in church the other day was telling me in her culture they don't usually take the kids out until they are at least 3 months old--so it is quite a sight to see a newborn being hauled all around!)

The serious family photo didn't quite turn out.

Lowveld Botanical Gardens (April 9)

Two years ago when we were here in South Africa for Christian's birth, Stefan and Cohen and I visited the Lowveld Botanical Gardens and thoroughly enjoyed walking throug the beautiful forrested areas with waterfalls and rock formations and manicured gardens. So we came back and this time brought Stefan's parents with us. The boys particularly enjoyed climbing all over the rocks and trees and the picnic lunch!

Kapsehoop (March 28)

These past few weeks we have done quite a few day trips in the area showing Stefan's parents (who are here visiting from Germany) this beautiful and interesting area of South Africa.

Kapsehoop, a small town about 45 min. south of us, is situated up on a high plateau and surrounded by huge rocks and boulders. We spent the morning climbing around on the rocks (well, the boys and Stefan and our friend Melissa climbed--at a week post baby's birth, I sort of just shuffled). We had an amazing pancake brunch, and the boys enjoyed watching the "wild" horses that sort of roam the area.