"Hump Day" and a Weekend in Mabula

A relaxing weekend in a bungalow at Mabula Private Game Reserve in Limpopo, celebrating our halfway point as missionaries. 5-year old Tyrone found our camera and snapped this candid shot of  Bob working/dozing in the shade
on our patio in between game drives on Saturday, Halloween Day. It was a really nice getaway.

Monday, November 2nd was our "hump day," our 9-month anniversary as missionaries with 9 more months to go. It's hard to believe that we're already at our halfway point! One of Bob's Cape Town sister missionaries, Liezel Schwulst, was given a timeshare weekend at a game reserve lodge for her birthday weekend, and she insisted that we come along and celebrate it with her and her fiancé, Hendrick ("Hennie") Andrews and his 5-year old son, Tyrone.

Liezel had taken us by surprise just two weeks before, after inviting us for the weekend, by telling us that she not only suddenly has a boyfriend, but they are engaged to be married in December! We had her over for a family home evening the next Monday, and she shared with us all the excitement of her love story and told us Hennie and his son would also be with us for her 34th birthday weekend. Her birthday is November 1st. Hennie has been married before, but this is her first marriage, and they met just as she had become content to spend her life alone.

We drove the 2 hours to Mabula after our temple shift on Friday, 30 October, and arrived about 8:30. We hit it off immediately with Hennie and Tyrone, but couldn't stay up late visiting, as we had to wake up early for a 5:30 am game drive (safari) Saturday morning, Halloween Day.

Our safari guide told us we barely missed crossing paths with a male cheetah while walking from our bungalow to the open Range Rover safari vehicle! Then, 5 minutes into the drive, we came upon three cheetahs in the road blocking our path. We watched them for a while, and they seemed calm and docile until we got closer, and one decided to walk right toward us, so our guide, Mauricia, reversed the vehicle and took a different path, but not before we got a few snapshots...

Although we didn't see any of the "Big 5" that morning, we were thrilled to see the three cheetahs, 5 hippos and baby crocodiles in the dam (lake), two kudu, a large eland whose hooves clicked as he walked, and herds of wildebeests, impala and other antelope, as well as the most zebras we have seen on one drive. We also saw a giraffe and lots of warthogs. It was a beautiful morning that turned into a hot, 100 degree day.

Two of about five hippos cooling off in the dam



A herd of eland, the largest of the antelope family,
even larger than kudu

We spent the hot  afternoon relaxing on the patio and lounging around the swimming pool in the shade. When we walked the short way to the playground and pool, we saw that the playground was pretty much occupied, by a family of at least a dozen baboons! When they saw us at the gate, they scampered over the fence quicker than we could get our camera out to take a photo, and so we had the pool and playground all to ourselves for a while. Ultimately other human families came and joined us to keep out of the heat. Tyrone loved the water and the playground, and the adults visited and got to know each other better. Then we did a night game drive after things cooled off a bit and saw African buffalo and some nocturnal animals, including owls and an aardwolf, which we mistook at first for a jackal. We saw herds of antelope lying down for the night and other fun things.

 

We were very impressed with both Hennie and Tyrone, but more than anything, we were impressed with how readily Liezel has become a Momma to Tyrone. He calls her "Momma" and honors and respects her and his dad. He has been raised Afrikaans and starts Grade R (kindergarten) when the new school year begins in January, and Hennie and Liezel didn't know he spoke any English. But he amazed all of us with his ability to communicate in English and with his English vocabulary, which grew in leaps and bounds over the weekend. He and Martha became especially close, and he began calling her Ouma (Grandma in Afrikaans) and asked her after every meal, "May you please wash the dishes with me?"  He was extremely polite for a 5-year old and very bright.

Tyrone in the lounge (living room) of Bungalow #53

A look at the thatched ceiling of the lounge

 

Our bungalow was a very nice 3-bedroom accommodation, right out in the bushveld with the animals. The birthday girl had her own bedroom, Hennie and Tyrone shared a bedroom and we were fortunate to have the master suite. The lounge had a whole wall of windows looking out to the patio and braai (barbecue), and Liezel and Martha made the most out of the small kitchen.
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At the Soshonguve Ward Sunday morning, November 1st, with Hennie
Andrews, Tyrone and Liezel after attending the 3-hour block of meetings

We were quite surprised at the large, beautiful LDS chapel that houses the Soshonguve Ward, about an hour and
45 minute drive from Johannesburg and about an hour and 45 minute drive from the Mabula Private Game Reserve.
Here Tyrone is running to his dad, while Liezel follows, after the meetings were over.

Soshonguve is a much nicer township than almost any other we have seen in South Africa, as seen here from the church

Martha got up early Sunday morning to shower and get ready, as we had to drive away at 7:15 to get to the 9:00 sacrament meeting on time. The closest LDS meetinghouse was in Soshonguve, about an hour and 45 minute drive from Mabula. As she was putting on her makeup, she heard footsteps and someone trying the door handle over and over again, then she heard more footsteps, including footsteps on the roof! Then there was a lot of scampering across the roof and noises of attempts to pry open doors and windows. She looked out the window and saw a large troupe of baboons who were trying to get into our bungalow to find food. Luckily, all the doors and windows were locked, so they headed to the next bungalow, and we got some photos as they headed down the road.

A family of baboons were our neighbors for the weekend

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the fast and testimony meeting, Sunday School class and Priesthood and Relief Society meetings at the small all-black township ward in Soshonguve. There was a wonderful spirit there and the people were very friendly. It seemed a whole cut above the average South African township. We continue to love our African adventure!