Elephants

March 21

We had a pretty quiet weekend. Andrew had work to do so that kept us house (apartment) bound. We did manage to get out to the shops and bought our selves a couple of desks, one for the computer and one for my sewing machine. We have been told our stuff has arrived in South Africa and we should get it in the next couple of weeks! We are not holding our breath.

Another little bit of excitement in the weekend was ...we went out for a walk! Only 30mins or so and just around where we live. We made sure we had nothing of value visible and dressed in tee shirts and shorts, trying to look very local. We only meet a few folk but all were very friendly when we greeted them with "Sawubona" Hello! it was great to be out and about and I am sure we will do it more.

Wednesday was a holiday, " Human Rights Day". We decided to go north to Hazyview,a small town about 60ks away, with lots of places to see. Our first port of call was to the Elephant Sanctuary. It was fantastic. We all know elephants are big but when you stand right beside them they are huge.

This is Casper the biggest elephant. He is 26 years old. What a beautiful wise face.

Kitsu the younger, smaller one giving me a very sloppy kiss.

Andrew is inspecting Kitsu's teeth. Interesting elephants only have four teeth, two at the bottom and two on top. Each one looks like several molars joined together. The teeth last about four years then they are pushed out by new ones growing in from the back of the jaw. Each set lasts about eight years. When the final set fall out the elephants have to find soft food and are really doomed to die of starvation.

We had lunch at a coffee plantation where Andrew chatted with the grower and learned a few more interesting facts and tips about coffee!

It was a great day and has really whetted our appetite for our visit to Kruger Park this coming weekend.

Lots of love Pam