As always, the images and any videos in this posting are best viewed on the web page. View the complete set of blog posts here.
The ship’s internet continues to prevent frequent blog posting. We had a good window of network performance yesterday, but file upload failed again this morning, and for many of the last few days. Sorry for the delay.
If you are viewing the post notification email, it will be a long one (yes, I know, many long posts lately). Please ensure you see the last paragraph: “End of Post” so you do not miss anything.
The following image was taken from the sliding door of our stateroom.
We were two hours late into port today because of thick fog. After I took the image above, fog rolled in again. It was eerie for a few minutes. As you can see, the sun came out, the sky cleared, and we had a nice sunny day. Gqeberha, a city of 1.2m, is called the windiest city in South Africa.
Tour – “Scenic Addo Elephant National Park. Observe South Africa’s big-game wildlife with a tour through the scenic landscape of Addo Elephant National Park. Travel inland to the Sundays River Valley to arrive at the park, a more than 463-square-mile bush-country reserve that is home to more than 450 Addo elephants. The park was built in 1931 to protect the 11 elephants remaining in the area from extinction by big-game hunters. Today, it is the only park in the world to include Africa’s “Big 7″—elephant, rhinoceros, lion, buffalo, leopard, whale, and great white shark—in their natural habitats. Board an open, canvas-roofed 4×4 vehicle for your guided tour through the park on its well-maintained network of roads. Keep a lookout for the rare Addo elephant—identifiable because of its reddish color and rounded ears— as well as lions, hyenas, cheetahs, and zebras. After your game drive, you will board your motor coach for a drive back to your ship.“
We had our fourth safari today at the Addo Elephant National Park. It was another fantastic day finding and observing wildlife in their natural habitat.
Given that we were in South Africa, which has significantly better infrastructure than our other stops in Africa, the one-hour ride to and from the park was really easy. The roads were of high quality, and we were in a large bus. Even our tour vehicle and the roads within the park were better. We were not bounced around nearly as much on this trip as on our previous three trips. Physically, it was a much more enjoyable experience. We learned that the National Park Service operates rental cabins in the park.
As we drove to Addo, we passed by the Alexander Sand Dunes along the Atlantic Coast. See the first photo below.
We saw many elephants again today (not surprising given the name of the park). From the images, you can see that the animals were both red and gray. They are exactly the same species; the gray ones just coat themselves with different mud. It is simply awe-inspiring to be so near these terrific animals.
The following three images are videos.
We saw many, many “Plains Zebras” again today. We pulled up to a group that was about 30 yards from the truck. They did not seem bothered by our presence.
They had slightly different stripe colors than the ones we saw in Kenya, as they had both distinctive black and brown patterns (as opposed to just black). They often group together to make predators think they are bigger, especially the mamas and their babies.
The following three images are videos.
We saw many warthogs today. They are not the most attractive animals one encounters, but really fun to see. The images are not ideal because every time they were near, the sun was behind them.
We observed many birds, many more than on previous trips. We saw Blue Cranes (which are the national bird), black-headed heron, and Ludwig Bustard birds, among others. The first photo is of a black-headed heron, which is common in South Africa. The second is a Dark chanting goshawk. They sit on the small trees and survey the grass for food and predators.
The next four images are videos.
Again today, the antelope species kept their distance (and still mainly exposed their backsides). The images are a bit blurry as they are all taken from a distance. We did not see as many grazers today as we have on our previous trips. When we did, we would stand quietly in the safari jeep and watch them eat, play, gather, walk, and run.
We had a different type of vehicle today than the Land Cruiser in Kenya. The truck is larger and is built with an exposed roof, and the views are more open than those of the 4x4s with raisable roofs. Went a little crazy with selfies today.
So we are driving around, and a truck pulls up directly behind us. We notice our fellow cruisers, Susan and Rick, right up front of the vehicle, directly behind us. During the cruise, we often run into them while out and about in port, so it was really not surprising to see them. We took photos of them taking photos of us! I have no idea why I have such a ridiculous look on my face in the last image above (Susan told me I said, “Look, there they are, in the wild”). Kind of embarrassing. Yes, that is a Minnesota Vikings T-shirt. When a group of animals is spotted, everyone gets excited, stands up, and readies their camera in quest of the perfect photo.
On the way back to the ship, our tour guide sang a few songs for us in his native language of Zulu. There are 11 official languages in South Africa. The driver also entertained us with a song in his native language, Xhosa, including the use of clicking sounds. (This YouTube Video explains a bit about the clicking language – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrLYUKKmLZA .) All in all, we had another terrific day. The weather was fantastic, and the environment was excellent. It was simply a great day in Africa.
We returned to the ship and made a quick turnaround – taking the shuttle to the Boardwalk beach area outside the downtown area. It was pretty and windy, so not very many people were swimming, including Cheryl. We walked around for a while, buying a few souvenirs from the street vendors, and then headed to a nearby shopping mall for dinner. We asked the waiter to recommend a local beer for Cheryl, and he recommended a Namibian beer from the Windhoek brewery.
Cruise Director Cornelia David: “This is Me – Sailing Through Life” Join your Cruise Director, Cornelia, for an uplifting and heartfelt journey through song. Sailing Through Life blends high-energy performances with touching, emotional moments, celebrating the highs, lows, and everything in between. Featuring timeless classics, powerful anthems, and a few delightful surprises, this show will have you laughing, singing, dancing, and perhaps even shedding a happy tear.
The Viking Singers each perform their own show on the cruise. Tonight, it was Cornelia’s turn to share a bit about her life and perform a wide variety of songs for us. We learned that prior to becoming a professional singer and cruise director, she worked at an investment bank in London and was a certified hedge fund manager. (Yup, that got a reaction from the audience! She has a bubbly, vivacious personality, which is not what you expect from your hedge fund manager.) Her father told her that she needed a real job and that being a professional singer wouldn’t work out. Well, Dad was wrong. She told us that while she was good at her job as an investment banker, it wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life. So, she quit and worked her way into the entertainment world, became a cruise ship singer, then cruise director, and along the way, met her husband, Marcel, who is the Hotel General Manager on the Viking Sky.
End of Post.