It's their world
Today we did part two of our game drive. Being up at 5 am to go on an open air game drive sounds like insanity but was a great time to see some of the animals in their habitats. We unfortunately didn't see the primates that seem to enjoy visiting the immediate area around the lodge.The giraffes were eating breakfast and we go to get pretty close to a male giraffe eating acacia. By the way a group of giraffes is called a tower. Giraffes have four stomachs and are ruminants.Today's animal sighting for my particular travel group included
- A zeal of zebra
- Goshawks
- Kudu have big ears to aid them in hearing in the bush.
- Duikers
- Elan antelope
- Guinea fowl scratch open elephant dung and pick out the seeds and eat them
But the story of the day for one of our groups was the sighting of two young male elephants. Upon arrival at the sight the two young elephants were jostling with each other and locking tusks. One of the elephants decided he needed to come and investigate the open air vehicle the group was riding in and bumped it a couple of times. It then got its tusk stuck in the canvas door of the vehicle. A very scary tale for the person sitting in the seat but a gentle reminder that we are in their territory which is one of the first things that we were told before embarking on yesterday's journey. No one was hurt but everyone gained a new respect for the giants.We must respect the environment in which we are in and be grateful for the experience to intrude on their lives.
Our group also drove by Executioners Hill which according to local lore was the place where tribes executed those in the tribe that had committed treason and a few other "offensive" acts. If it was believed that a person had shared tribal secrets with another tribe or not shared information that could benefit the tribe about other tribes they were taken to Executioner's Hill and dropped over the age. This was also the fate of women unfaithful to their marriage vows.
Cape Town
Today we traveled to the final city on our itinerary. We arrived in Cape Town aboard Mango Airlines. Must say the bright orange plane was moderately amusing to me, but I digress. The sight of Table Mountain as we landed was absolutely awesome. 
The city is in a major water crisis, due to a multi year drought, and there are signs and even metal art posted all over the city on the streets and in establishments reminding people to conserve water. Thankfully Day Zero, the point at which the taps will be completely dry, has been pushed back to May from the April date that we were given prior to preparing for this trip. People are limited to 59 liters of water per day.There is heavy rain currently predicted for late Friday afternoon which while
Capetown is the second largest port in South Africa. It has a known population of 4.2 million. Known refers to the fact that there are many informal settlements in Cape Town wherein the people living there would not have been counted as part of any type of census.
Dinner this evening was at Tiger's Milk Restaurant. The restaurant specializes in American fare. Not sure they were completely ready for a party of 56 even if food had been chosen in advance but it was a nice social end to a long day. I got to taste a Coca-Cola product actually in another country. I visited the World of Coke Museum in Atlanta last summer. One of their rooms was dedicated to Coke products around the world. Each continent had a station and tasting cups. I have decided as a result of that experience that some products just don't translate well to other countries. I tasted the African products at the museum but got try this particular one today in Cape Town. This was my cream soda. Notice anything odd?
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