From February 10-12, we were in Kruger partly to get some work done and partly to enjoy ourselves. It's hard not to in Kruger. I didn't think that I could beat the trip to Kruger I had last year, but boy was I wrong.

The photos here are just a few of the hundreds I took. I have not yet edited them, but hopefully you'll find them beautiful enough. Some of them are blurry, but I think you can still get the feel for them. The blurriness is either due to my inexperience with the DSLR camera or a quick movement, or both.

For just under a week in March, I visited some friends in the Mabula Private Game Reserve. This was the first private game reserve in South Africa. Some very lucky wealthy folk have the unique pleasure of actually owning a house on the reserve, or being a part of a time share. Others can simply stay at the lodge. I was even luckier and I got to stay at Jacaranda camp, which is the base for the Ground Hornbill project. One of the best parts of this camp is that there are no barriers to keep the animals out. It definitely makes things interesting. You are able to get an idea of what it would have been like to really live in the bush.

During my stay, I got up close and personal with a variety of animals, mainly hornbills and elephants. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of my real close encounters with elephants as that would have just angered them even more, but at least I have the stories to share. To say the least I laughed a lot at the predicaments that we found ourselves in because really what else can you so...well besides squeezing your toes and hoping for the best.

Before heading to Mabula we decided to camp out in a little bit of luxury by staying at the hot springs. It was definitely a nice relaxing break after being up in the mist belt for 2 months. We also found that our night there soaking in the natural hot springs really helped whatever ailment was upon us....mine was predominantly my fractured toe .

One of the baths got to 42 degrees celcius. Definitely not one you can stay in for too long. My favourite temperature was the other indoor/outdoor pool which was 35-36 degrees the night we stayed there. We had some fun on the water slides in the afternoon...a perfect reprieve from the heat of the day, although the water was also warm.

The pictures leave you wondering what ever happened to the conference.

Another year over....it hasn't been a bad one at all, but I still hope that this next year is even better. I was hoping to document the entire evening, but alas the batteries in my camera ran out after taking 12 photos....my luck. Although the pictures don't show it there were more than the 4 of us, but we may have been the only 4 straight people there. I don't know how that keeps on happening.

Happy New Year!

Another trip to Elands Baai....with friends, music, surfing, eating, laughing, and a whole lot of relaxing in the scorching heat. We did manage to score the prime camping spot after the first day. We needed all the shade we could get.

On this Beautiful Sunday, everyone Marta knew in Cape Town came over to celebrate her big day. There were pojties, and other braai treats, loud music, and a good all around vibe to the day/night. Her birthday kayak was the icing on the cake.

There are only a few pics....I guess I was getting lazy.