Wedding Crashers

Wedding Crashers ...

... when a crash - the collective term for a group of rhinoceros - graze in the bush below a wedding reception in Mabalingwe Nature Reserve.

I am not your trophy, bitch!

A couple of the protected lions of Mabalingwe ...

Je suis Cecil.

Bela Bela

horseback safari in Mabalingwe Nature Reserve

This was the second time in a couple of months that I was on horseback. Vince on the other hand had not been astride a horse in more than twenty years!

Even so, after our horseback safari in Mabalingwe Nature Reserve on Saturday, I went along with Vince to take the waters in Bela Bela, the hot springs resort town nearby. After all, I had just journeyed for more than 22 hours on three planes from the USA to Johannesburg a mere two days before. I deserved a soak too!

the source of the geothermic hot springs in Bela Bela

Bela Bela is the town in Limpopo which derives its name from the geothermic hot springs around which the town was built. The strong mineral springs flow at a rate of 22,000 liters of water per hour at a temperature of 52 °C.

When the Tswana first moved into the area in the 1800s, they discovered the hot springs. The springs' source was discovered by the Voortrekkers in 1887. The town has changed its name five times since then, from Het Bad to Hartingsburg to Warm Baths, then again to Warmbad (Afrikaaans) / Warmbaths (English) and in 2002 to Bela Bela (pronounced Biela-Biela), the Shangaan name for "water that boils."

The Hydro Spa

And right in the center of Bela Bela is Warmbaths, a Forever Resort. Along with full accommodations, wedding and conference facilities, the resort also allows day visitors into its Hydro Spa and Recreation Center. Hydro indoor pools, facials, mineral body treatments, massages, saunas and private or couples mineral tubs.

mineral cocktail of Bela Bela

Vince and I took a "Healing Water Journey" complete with a Sauna session, a Dead Sea Salt Tub, a Dead Sea Mud Cocoon Body Treatment, and a Swedish Full Body Massage

It sure felt good after a morning - plus 22 hours in my case - in the saddle!

Blue Moon over Mabalingwe

Photoshop-induced Blue Moon

It was "Once in a Blue Moon" last night, Friday evening July 31, 2015. Astronomers call the second full Moon in a month with two full Moons a "Blue Moon."

The Moon was not however actually blue on Friday night. A Moon that actually looks blue is a very rare sight indeed. The Moon, full or any other phase, can appear blue when the atmosphere is filled with dust or smoke particles of a certain size; slightly wider than 0.7 micron. The particles scatter the red light making the Moon appear blue in color. This can happen for instance after a dust storm, forest fire or a volcanic eruption.

Eruptions like on Mt. Krakatoa, Indonesia (1883), El Chichon, Mexico (1983), Mt. St. Helens (1980) and Mount Pinatubo (1991) are all known to have caused blue-colored moons.

Vince and I were in Mabalingwe Nature Reserve in the Waterberg for the weekend and on Friday night we set up our tripod on the balcony of our thatched cottage in order to take some pictures of the Blue Moon through the trees.

 The next Blue Moon will be January 31, 2018. I wonder where we will be for that one!

Je suis Africa

It's Friday and Vince and I are packing for a weekend trip to a Big Five game reserve in the Waterberg. As I am sorting through the camera equipment we will bring, I am once again struck by how lucky we are to be able to experience and photograph these majestic creatures in the wild in Africa -  especially against the backdrop of the recent death of Cecil, the much loved and protected lion in Zimbabwe. Lured from his sheltered home by trophy hunters and shot with a bow and arrow, Cecil's slow death has unleashed a firestorm of anger and disgust and has brought the crisis of animal extinction to international attention.

Images of endangered species will be projected on the
Empire State Building in NYC this weekend  to raise awareness

Canned hunting, poaching and bushmeat snares. The scourge of Africa. Yes there are other scourges. Boko Haram, ISIS, Ebola, Human Trafficking. They all deserve attention, policing and positive action to eradicate.

But Cecil's death is an opportunity to capitalize on the world's focused attention. It will take concentrated international political will to stop the extinction of African animals. I hope the opportunity is not squandered and Cecil's death will not be in vain.

Cecil projected onto the Empire State Building!

Fightin' Sables

During one of our horseback safaris in the Waterberg, we saw two beautiful male sables fighting for dominance.

They are as fierce in battle as they are gentle in repose. Awesome!

Rhino's Nest

Mama and baby Sophie came to say hello to Jill!

Ant's Nest has about eight rhinos living in their game reserve. And they frequently come up to the paddock to graze. We could see them right from our cottage too. Heavenly!

rhinos outside the Ant's Nest fence

our thatched cottage at Rhino's Ant's Nest

Jill and I each bought a "Save the Waterberg Rhino" bushstrap survival bracelet to help support the rhino conservation efforts of Ant's Nest and Ant's Hill. Save the Waterberg Rhino was founded by the Ant Collection's owners Tess and Ant Baber.

Horseback Safari

There are some South African experiences I hear or read about that I store in my memory vault until the right person comes to visit for whom it would be a perfect match. Such an experience was the Ant Collection of Ant's Nest and Ant's Hill in the Waterberg.

Jill riding in Northern Ireland

They were just waiting for my niece Jill to come visit from Colorado. Jill is an equestrienne who has been riding since she was about three years old and the Ant Collection offers the best horseback riding safaris in South Africa.

Jill watches Alyssa ride her horse in Colts Neck, NJ

(So is my niece Alyssa, so pay attention Aly! I want to take you to Ant's Nest too someday!)

me in Bryce Canyon, Utah

Needless to say both of them are much better riders than me. I didn't start riding until my sophomore year in high school and I really enjoyed it until a freakish accident occurred in college involving the mare I was riding and her newborn foal. The little tyke got loose, mama horse got spooked, and I got thrown. 25 stitches later I didn't get back on a horse again until adulthood and by then it was too late. I never regained my confidence on horseback. After that, I only got on a horse for guided trail rides under the most supervised of conditions.

So I must admit I was a little nervous about taking on a serious horseback safari in South Africa with wild animals roaming about, but I knew Jill would love it so I put aside my fears and got back in the saddle one more time.

Jill brought all her own riding equipment to SA

We had to fill out a lengthy riding questionnaires in advance for Ant's Hill to determine our riding ability. (I was brutally honest.) The stables at Ant's Hill used our responses to customize our experience, making it a perfect fit for both Jill and I.

There were four other riders staying at Ant's Nest with us. Two Brits and two Canadians, all expert riders. They had their own guides and went out on horseback as their own group. That left Jill and I and two more guides for our private horseback safaris.

Most of the time the four of us stayed together and rode at a leisurely pace. We were first and foremost there to see African animals on safari after all!

But whenever Jill got bored with just walking and cantering along with me, she and Moses, our lead guide, would go off into the open bush and get up a good gallop. Then they would join back up with us a little further down the trail. Everyone was happy!

Jill and her giraffe

You are able to get amazingly close to the animals on horseback and they were not at all bothered by our proximity.

me and my rhinos

well-deserved sundowners

... and a well-earned massage in the lapa!

 We love Ant's Nest!

Adding a Rhino to RhODIS®

First, the ranger helicopter darts the rhino with a sedative from the air

There are many perks to working for a conservation organization in Africa and one of them surely is being able to participate in an animal capture in the bush. And that is exactly what I did this week in the Waterberg with the vet and ranger team at Marakele National Park as part of the RhODIS® project.

RhODIS® (Rhino DNA Index System) is a project that was initiated by the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory of the University of Pretoria in order to help with the plight of the rhinos. The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory collects DNA samples of rhinos across the country in order to create a database using the unique DNA profile of individual rhinos. The goal is for all rhinos to be on the system to deter poachers and assist in forensic prosecutions.

the rhino's pulse is carefully monitored throughout sedation

RhODIS® was first used in a rhino poaching case in 2010 and resulted in a Vietnamese citizen being sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for having rhinoceros horns from poached rhinos in his baggage when he was apprehended at OR Tambo International Airport.

DNA samples are collected for the data base

South African National Parks (SANParks) have partnered with RhODIS since 2010 and in association with the Forensics Science Laboratory of the South African Police Services have played a key role in the development and implementation of the RhODIS Kit for sample collection.

identification chips are inserted into the rhino horn and body

notching the ears helps w  identification in the field

measurements are taken

 

measuring the horn

I ♥ rhinos

afterwards we wait nearby until he revives

up and ready to reunite with the crash