Pictures of Drakensburg Mountains and Wild Coast [Amy]

More Pictures! [Amy]

More African Adventures [Amy]

Sorry that we haven't posted anything in a while, busy with school and church I guess. We were able to go on another wonderful adventure the first two weeks of June, as well as spending an amazing week in Kruger National Park in July. The pictures speak for themselves so other than giving you the itinerary, I will just let you enjoy the pics.

We spent a week in the Drakensburg Mountains which run along the easter border of Lesotho. They are spectacular. We hiked and canoed, heard the famous "Drakensburg Boys Choir" give the most amazing vocal concert I have ever heard, and genuinely had an amazing time. We spent several nights in a "rondavel," a traditional African round house with a thatched roof. We were on a rance in the middle of nowhere, all by ourselves. The stars here are indescribable. While at the ranch, we went on a all day horseback ride into the mountains. We saw eland and some amazing scenery. Then it was on to Durbin, along the coast for a waterpark and aquarium. Very fun. After that, we spent a week along what is known as the "Wild Coast." And wild it is. Very undeveloped, rocky shores, beautiful beaches. We stayed at this dirt cheap "backpackers," which turned out to be our own cottage overlooking the ocean! Truly one of the best weeks of my life. Other than my third bout of intestinal problems due to bad water and a weak stomach, it was a great trip.

In July we went to Kruger National Park. There really aren't words to describe such a place. It is not a "park" like so many other places but truly just wild Africa. It is bigger that the state of Maryland and has 100,000's of animals. We saw the Big 5, including a leapord which alludes many. We had some really scary moments with large female elephants-there are a lot of babies right now and the moms and aunts are VERY protective. It is a bad combination because the babies are curious. One came right up to our car and put his trunk in my window. His Mom didn't like that much and we found ourselves sitting very still while three full grown elephants were within touching distance outside our window deciding whether or not to roll our car off the road. Did you know elephants can growl? They can, I heard them!!! It was fantastic.

The wildlife here has been a real treat for us, but for me it is the people I love the most. I have never met such wonderful people. They are all struggling to turn this country into something great, and they will, there are just a lot of growing pains right now. Enjoy the pictures!

Zeke's New Candy Discovery- Dad

Chapter 1.

For a couple of days now we have noticed two things about our car. First, it had a new refreshing and somwhat pleasant smell when you got in it. Second, Zeke's new suit coat was slopped on the floor of the car. Now, Zeke's clothes being slopped is no new thing, but the refreshing smell in the car...now that was new.

Chapter 2.

Tonight Sarah, Zeke, Luke, Lydia and I were all in the girls room having fun with the lights all turned off. Eventually, this turned in to a dirty clothes flinging fight. After we turned the lights on Sarah found two round, blue, discs on the floor of her room. She picked up the two blue disks and asked "Dad, what are these?" In the context of a girls bedroom in our home the two blue disks looked completely unfamiliar. Then I remembered in a flash of recognition that these were two urinal mints from the men's bathroom at the church and said "Well, they're urinal mints". I immediately turned to the curious, inquisitive, and somewhat spontaneous Zeke and had the following conversation:

"Zeke, did you take those out of the urinal at the church on Sunday?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know?"

"What did you think they were?"

"Candy"

"Did you taste them?"

"No."

"What did you do with them?"

"Just put them in my pocket."

So, the mystery was solved, both the cause of the mysterious lovely smell in the car and the appearance of two urinal mints on the floor of our girls' bedroom. Zeke had taken the urinal minds out of the urinal at the church on Sunday when his curiousity got the best of him. He them put them in the pocket of his new suit coat. The suit coat sat on the floor of the van wafting the smell of its unusual contents all around the car. When I finally had Zeke take the coat into the house tonight, he put the coat in the nearest dirty clothes bucket he could find- in the girls' room. In the furor of the dirty clothes fight, the suit coat was flung across the room and the two blue stowaways in his coat pocket ended up on the floor. Needless to say, both Sarah, Zeke, and I have all washed our hands quite extensively tonight following this unusual discovery.

Isn't it great to be six.