2/27/2010

Well, to finish last night, we got back from the internet around 5, and then we packed and ate dinner and went to bed. Nothing too special. Lots of chaos in packing land.
This morning, we got up at 4:45 to finish packing and have everything outside by 5. Then we loaded all of the suitcases that weren’t going with us, as well as the ones that were. Luckily, we were done right on time, and got out of there by 6. I opted to drive with Alan, and it was the best decision I have made in a really long time. He is one of the most interesting people I have ever met. We talked about everything, from sympatric speciation to Britney Spears. The drive was almost 12 hours long, and we enjoyed ourselves the whole way. While going up there, we saw almost the entire big five; buffalo, rhino, elephant (TONS), and leopard. Everyone else saw a lion but us. We had left the lunch restaurant late because Alan had to foot the bill, and the lion was gone by the time we got there. BOOOOO. But, we got a sweet picture on the Tropic of Capricorn.
We got to Punda Maria, our next location, at around 5 pm. It is a beautiful little site, with a pool and a bird hide right in camp. We each are two to a little chalet, which is basically a hotel room with a fridge and bathroom. I’m rooming with Elizabeth again . There is also a little shop on site, and a restaurant. The kitchen/common room area is unfortunately absent, so we are cooking and eating in a little outdoor cooking thing, and eating wherever we can find a spot to sit. Everyone is just storing food in their fridges, and we have cheese, yogurt, breakfast stuff, and the butters (peanut and animal). After dinner, a bunch of us went down to check out the hide, and then to bed, because tomorrow we leave by 630.
Highlights of the day:
- Leopard sighting (it walked right in front of one of the GDV’s)
- Alan identifying butterflies after seeing them for less than a second
- Alan’s bright blue flip flops
- The elephant femur
- Babalala in general
- Jackaranda
- Life’s greatest hits