South africa Day 4 (29 Sep 09) - Rest & relax at Kwa Madwala

the weather took a turn on this day and it was much colder that we all expected. in fact, it was freezing my arse off because we started the day with an early morning drive before the sun even got up.

my face was smacked with iced cold winds as the 4×4 vehicle drove on and i almost couldnt feel my fingers at one point in time. i wasn’t joking!

thankfully, my toes werent facing the same fate. i was seated on the first row, and whenever the vehicle moved, my teeth chattered and my hair whipped angrily across my face.

like the previous times, we drove around and hunted down the animals in anticipation. this time round, we took another route and went down steep sand slopes, into a dry river bed. it was a weird experience driving in the dry river bed of soft sand. many a times, the vehicle got stuck and didn’t move much. other times, the driver didn’t hold the steering wheel at all and the vehicle moves rhythmically left and right in a slow sway but never going out of control. very weird sensation it is. the animals we spotted are pretty much the same as the previous days, so i wasn’t as enthusiastic about taking pictures as the previous times, but spent the time really observing the animals instead. besides, it was really really cold and my fingers were so stiff, i couldnt hold the camera without shaking it!

we spotted a whole bunch of marabou storks lazing around on the plains, just lounging and chilling. there could easily a hundred or more of them.. (ok. the thought of a lucky plaza sunday scene suddenly came into my mind). we observed them for a while, and the driver started driving through the flock of birds and they all started flying!

a kudu, munching on the leaves of the tree. this particular one looks like a frail old man.

how about some hot coffee/tea in the middle of nowhere? exciting not?

a picture with the 4×4 vehicle. its covered with dust by the way, so never wear white or light colours to go on it.

enjoying a cuppa and a biscuit by the tree, looking totally relaxed. but seriously, how to be relax when you don’t really know if an animal will creep up to you?

can you tell i was trying to look relaxed but failing to the max? i was soooooo cold (though i hardly look it).

evidence of how cold the weather is. my uncle is all wrapped up in a blanket and still jumping around to stay warm.

my clothes are not meant for the cold at all. see that guy behind me in a fleece jacket? he was shivering, so you could imagine how frozen i was..

getting back on the vehicle!

my uncles and aunt. 🙂

am liking this picture of myself, but you can’t quite tell that i was standing on a vehicle, could you?

RAWRRRR! there’s a t-rex behind you…..not! 😛

ok, sorry. i was joking.. *stick tongue out*

we journeyed on after everyone had their hot coffee. sorry, no toilet breaks though a couple of the guys did go behind the bushes to relieve themselves. i should have taken some pictures actually!

elephants. nothing interesting huh?

trying to depict how ginormous they are in reality. and actually, quite close.

so close that i could see every single line and wrinkle on the face, and every tiny little vein in its ears.. and mind you, these are not the tame animals you see or ride on in the zoo.

side profile.

x.silly was out in the cold watching the elephants too!

what happened next was totally unexpected and the ranger asked everyone to shush up and not move ~~an inch~~ drastically, i.e. no big movements and no talking. the elephant got closer, and pulled up a tree!!

the tree came hurling in our direction! *gasp* ok, i didnt have a picture of that because at that moment, everyone was griping in fear, scared stiff and wondered what is gonna happen!

the tree hit the jeep bonnet with a loud clash, everyone held their breath and awaited for what seems like the longest 5 mins of my life. no one moved, and no one talked. then, the elephant decided that we were harmless and proceeded to move away.. Phew! well, i witnessed how strong the elephant is because uprooting that damn tree seems so easy but i could hear all the twigs/branches cracking and breaking away.. and that loud thud on the car.. the tree was heavy, ya know?

them moving on, we? staying put and not moving still.

everyone wanted a picture after that, but i wasn’t in the correct angle so i had to take the pictures instead. 🙁

i had a nice picture with the giraffes instead.

fat crocodile by the riverbed.

back to where we were when we first started out.

breakfast! nom nom nom..

i initally wanted to do the microlight flight, but the weather was bad and it wasn’t a feasible idea. was superbly disappointed and wasn’t keen for another game drive. decided to take it easy and rest in the quiet sanctuary of my room instead. but not without a nice 1hr massage first!

massage room with an awesome view.. but guess what? it’s FREEZING!

enjoying the peace and quiet, and an occasional intrusion of an impala or other smaller animals.

soon the night came and strong winds were howling non stop. at the communal dining area, the huge plastic sheets acting like curtains were let down to block out the strong winds, and were flapping against the wooden railings, like they were gonna give way anytime.. Despite being seated right by the fire place, it was freezing and i almost gave up eating my dinner. well, i ate as fast as i could and sprinted back to my room in the dark, and was very glad to be enveloped by the warmth in my room.

too cold!