I know it's the middle of December and I'm a bit behind on posting pictures of our adventures… I'm working on it! This is what happens when you have too much adventuring—no time to journal it!

After our hiking adventure in Switzerland, I was soooooo excited for my mom and Kel to follow us back to our home here in Marloth Path. How is it that when joy of something is shared, it magnifies the joy tenfold? I was excited to share our home, the backyard zoo, and the lovely people we've met here in South Africa with my mom and Kel. I knew they would love it here as much as we do. And, of course, they did! They had already adjusted to the time zone since Switzerland is in the same time zone as South Africa during daylight savings time, but mom was still recovering from the dreaded covid. Up and down on the plane didn’t help her recovery and congestion either. They would be here for two weeks though, so plenty of time to relax and recover!

We landed to the COLDEST temps we’ve had since we moved here. I swear, when Jim and Kel get together, the weather gods like to play with them! The first two days they were here, I think the high was maybe 62 🥶 warmer than Switzerland, but not warm! So we spent a lot of time hanging out inside those first few days with just a little drive around Marloth so they could get a feel for the area.

Then… I started to feel sick. A sore throat and headache and general fatigue. Thanks to Jim's brother, we had plenty of covid tests! I took one that night and it was negative. Overnight I felt considerably worse-fever, horrible ear pain, achy… covid-y. I took another test that morning and it didn't take more than two minutes for it to pop up with that dreaded red line that meant I had covid. Booooo! Almost three years and covid finally caught us! So the next few days I pretty much stayed in bed taking Dayquil and Nyquil (thank God Kelly brought me a supply when she visited in August!) for the next few days while mom and Kel hung out with Jim. We all know covid isn't really gone, but it's so easy to forget until it gets in the way of our travel plans!

I had scheduled a lot of fun activities for us, but I had to sit them out until I was done with the five-day quarantine. Of course, I really didn't feel up for doing much anyway in those first days!

They went off and adventured without me. Getting to meet Tswale, the rescued elephant; give him some treats; and learn about elephant life. I stayed home resting and got to hear all about the adventure when they got home.

Day five, I was finally free of quarantine, but Jim obviously caught covid from me and had his own avoiding people—meaning he couldn't join us for the full-day private safari in Kruger National Park I had organized with our friend Kerry who owns Kruger Pride Safaris. (Side note: I highly recommend a safari with Kerry if you visit us! A self-drive is great and also recommended, but the value Kerry adds to the experience is well worth it!)

I was super excited to try to find some wild dogs and show off Kruger to mom and Kel… and Kerry delivered!

Next up was a self-drive in Kruger. Jim was feeling better and out of his self-isolation so the four of us set off to see what we could see. We started our drive with each of us putting in our requested sightings- Jim wanted to see wild dog, Mom wanted to see a leopard, Kel wanted to see some dwarf mongooses, and I wanted a live birth-our friends had just recently gone on safari in Kruger and witnessed a baby elephant being born. And I much prefer seeing a birth over a kill.

Seven rhinos, ellies, wild dog, a leopard, and the usual impala, zebs, giraffe, buffalo, steenbok, warthogs, and kudu—all in a short morning in the park. Everyone got their requested sightings-except me. Maybe I was asking a lot, but I figure if you don't ask, there is less chance of getting what you want!

The bush is dry and we've learned the secret to happy zebras and kudu. A bale of lucerne (hay) every week! Our first bale became not just a popular spot to eat, but to bed down and to play in too!

Their time at our place just seemed to fly by. Before we knew it, it was their last night here. We invited some friends to come to our place for a braai to meet mom and Kel and enjoy some tasty food.

It was a sad goodbye when we dropped my mom and Kel off at the airport, but I did some retail therapy while in Nelspruit (aka “the big city”). A new couch for the living room, some new plates, a new mattress. Somehow I seem to be re-furnishing the house that I bought fully furnished!