Africa 2013

As for our trip... it was amazing!  We weren't in any major cities so it was a very remote trip, but sometimes there is nothing better than peace and quiet. We got to watch the sunrise and sunset each day, have delicious meals under the stars, and even take some naps and read books (not articles on websites).  

So we took hundreds of pictures so here is just a snapshot...

Our first major action in the delta... a spotted leopard

 A female lion waking up from a nap

 A hyena walking along the road on our way back from an evening drive

 Side shot of our vehicle, which protected us from all of these animals

 Hippo

 A wild dog, which was a rare find as they are not common at all

 Herd of Elephants

 Zebras

 Enjoying the view during our daily siesta

 Tiny Crocodile

 Two lionesses lounging around - they are sisters that snuggle and hug:)

 Here are two brother cubs that were playing together on a tree branch.  They are about 5 months old.

 We had lions in the front of us and this beautiful sky behind us.

 Mama monkey and baby monkey getting a ride

 Our mode of transportation between camps.

 I was in the back for this one, but got to sit in the front next to the pilot on our first small plane flight.

 Ryan in the front!

 View from the plane

 Our second camp - that's me on the lounger reading during our siesta.

 A family of hippos hiding in the water.

 A mama lion with 3 little cubs nursing.  The guide thinks they are about 3 weeks old.  The mom was trying to nap and the cubs were walking all over her, on her head, her body, and nudging her face.  We were there almost an hour in silence just watching.

 So you can see from the pic that rhino is actually behind a wire fence.  There weren't currently any wild rhinos in the delta due to poachers so And Beyond, who owns the camps and land that we were on, decided to transport 6 wild rhinos from Africa to Botswana.  The rhinos were in the enclosure for just a couple weeks before they are released.  They should be released by now, but we got to see them up close and talk to the researcher in charge of watching and tracking their migration for the next 3 years.

 The elusive male lion.  Our amazing tracker, TK, spotted these guys about 300 yards away.  We followed them almost a mile or so as they walked through the delta.  They move so quietly I get how they are king of the jungle.

 A herd of buffalo.  There were about 300 of them traveling together

 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.  So they weren't that much different from Niagara Falls, but definitely larger and higher and we were at peak season so the water was raging.  During dry season, parts of the falls will actually dry up enough that people can walk along the crest.

 A beautiful elephant we came across right at the start of the morning drive.

 Lots of giraffes

 Here was the lodge at our first camp.  No walls, open air, very peaceful

 Africa 2013.... we will be back!

Safe and Sound

So we arrived back in the US less than two weeks ago, but I'm still struggling getting back to my real world.  Ryan and I are both missing the peace and serenity of Botswana.  We came back to a very happy girl, who appeared to have an amazing time with her grandparents.  She was spoiled by each of them and I'm sure she's wishing they were back since we keep her on a much tighter schedule.  Monday morning was a reality check for all of us.  Unfortunately, I was still on Botswana time and was up by 4am ready to go.  We had to wake Maeve up for school and she was not happy.

General feedback from our time away was that Maeve was good.  She got to spend lots of time with her aunts and uncles, have playdates with her cousins and get to eat lots of treats and watch more than her usual amount Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  When we walked in the door, she just stared at us for a good 10 seconds before it registered that it was us and then we got lots of hugs and kisses.  I'm pretty sure I didn't take a breath for those 10 seconds just hoping she wasn't going to burst into tears once she realized who we were.

I'll post pics from our trip next, but back to our girl.

Maeve is at a very fun, yet increasingly difficult age / stage.  She is talking like crazy, chatting and singing away, entertaining us on a daily basis.  However she had 3 incident reports last week (only 1 so far this week) due to biting.  There was Mother's Day Tea last Friday and I was so, so worried the rest of the moms would be pissed that my kid had been biting their kid.  Thankfully no one said anything, however she did bite Charlotte in her arm when she wouldn't let go of a balloon that Maeve wanted.  I had to tell Charlotte's grandma what happened and the teachers... very embarrassing.  Maeve would stand in the middle of the room at the top of a slide just taking in everything ... and blocking the poor kids from going down the slides.  For the youngest kid in her class, she's a bit of  beast.  She is talking so much that she'll even tell us which kid she bit at school that day.  I think I preferred not knowing.  I was able to confirm the first two names she told me with her teacher so she's already too smart for her own good.