Long Day(s) of Travel

Well our trip has sadly come to a close. The last two days, like the last two weeks, have been incredible. Tuesday we had gorgeous weather and drove out the southern coast to Hermanus for whale-watching. We didn't actually see any whales in Hermanus, but we did stop in Gordon's Bay along the way where we saw a mom and her calf playing in the water not 100 yards from the shore! It was incredible. And we happened on a pretty big penguin sanctuary on the way, as well, where we saw hundreds of African penguins and even a few babies being warmed by their moms! The daddy penguins all stood close by keeping watch to protect the moms and babies - those creatures (and their relationships) are really incredible. And the scenery on the drive was amazing - green rolling hills, crystal blue water, gorgeous rocky mountains... the cape certainly has it all!

Tuesday night we checked in to our new lodging at the Mana Guest Cottages in Stellenbosch - we had our own beautiful little cottage on the side of a mountain right in the midst of beautiful vineyards. The setting really couldn't be beat! We spent Wednesday visiting a few gorgeous wineries for tastings (not too many, of course) and shopping for last-minute gifts in Stellenbosch and nearby Franschoek. The day started out cold and rainy but cleared up in the evening, perfect for our window seats at Tokara for dinner - we looked out onto the hillside and the lights of Stellenbosch and reflected on our two weeks in this incredible country, mentioning several times all the things that we'll do on our NEXT trip to South Africa... :)

And now we're in the Johannesburg airport, waiting for our long flight home (sitting next to Greg Jones, dean of Duke Divinity School - small world!). We flew up from Cape Town this morning without incident, and will hope to have an equally smooth 17-hour trip to DC with a quick stop in Dakar for fuel. Then hopefully we'll fly right through customs in DC and get our bags rechecked for our early morning flight to Seattle. We're looking forward to getting home and sharing all of our stories and photos!!

More adventures to come, for sure...

Incredible Scenery at Every Turn

The last two days have been full of incredible scenery and incredible people around every turn! We started out yesterday morning with an incredible breakfast at the Four Rosmead, then walked into town for worship at the Central Methodist Mission. Worship was great! It reminded us very much of worship at Seattle First UMC - the congregation was incredibly friendly and welcoming, and the pastor said a special prayer for our travels when he served us communion. We even saw our friends Jane and Gilbert, who continued their incredible hospitality and introduced us to their gorgeous grandchildren.

After church, we walked back up to our hotel (the walk back being less fun than the walk down into town) and changed clothes for a day out. After eating the 'chocolate log' that Peter had provided the night before (for sustenance, of course), we headed out for some more left-side driving. We drove all the way to the bottom of the world to see Cape Point! It was incredible. We drove down the coast and into the national park, then parked and hiked up to the Cape Point light house, where the view was incredible. It literally felt like were were at the edge (or the bottom) of the world!

After our hike, we drove up the other coast of the peninsula, where apparently all of Cape Town had turned out to enjoy the gorgeous weather (very crowded). We went into the de Waterkant district, a hip shopping/dining area, and had a fabulous sushi dinner before heading back to the hotel and turning in early.

This morning, we had another great breakfast (we're getting so spoiled with these incredible breakfasts!), then took off driving again. We stopped in a town called Darling to get picnic fixings, then drove out to the West Coast National Park, where we could spend days just watching the waves break on the huge beautiful boulders. It is also 'flower season' on the west coast: part of the park is only open for two months per year, and now is the time! This little area is absolutely covered with flowers. A giant carpet of yellows and oranges and pinks and purples - it's incredible! All with mountains and ocean as backdrop. This was truly a treat.

There are also ostriches hanging out in the flowers, which is a sight to see for sure. Apparently, before the first world war, ostrich feathers were all the rage in women's hats and things like that in Europe, so South Africa jumped on the wagon and started breeding them and making loads of money. Then the war started and nobody wanted ostrich feathers anymore, so now they have tons of ostriches and nothing to do with them. They're funny-looking birds, that's for sure.

We took a less-than-direct route from the west coast back to Cape Town and went through a couple of picturesque little towns in the wine country, stopping twice to sample wine and cheese at some great little wineries, and then having a lovely dinner in Franschhoek. Now we're back at the hotel lamenting that we have to leave here tomorrow, but looking forward to heading to Hermanus to look for more whales!

It's crazy how time works when you're away: part of me can't believe we're in Africa at all - and part of me can't believe how long it's been since we've been at home! Time flies and it drags all at once; and in the same way, I am both dreading leaving and looking forward to being home. This has truly been the trip of a lifetime.

[I will upload pictures from the last two days as soon as possible... ]

Venturing Out

This tells me that we are approximately 16700 km (10350 miles) from home.

Saturday was our first day on our own, and we hardly knew what to do without a full itinerary! We got up and had a lovely last breakfast at the High Gables with a nice (talkative!) German family that was also staying there. Then we got packed up and met the van at the bottom of the hill for a ride to the airport. There, we said our good-bye's and gave our hugs and ventured out for the first time by ourselves! As our comrades headed to the departure gate, we went inside the arrivals lounge to rent a South African cell phone and to pick up our rental car (with GPS, thankfully!).

Our biggest adventure thus far has been learning to drive on the left side of the road and the right side of the car! Once we get going, it's not a problem to keep going in a straight line, but we have to think really hard and be very careful when making turns. :) And the traffic customs and road markings here are quite different - there are several signs that mean absolutely nothing to us. I guess we should have gotten a list before we arrived! Oh, well...

Not sure what to do with ourselves after we got our car, we headed back down to the waterfront to have lunch and look at our guide book to make plans. We had a wonderful seafood lunch at Willoughby and Co. and happened to sit down next to a delightful South African couple who gave us all kinds of advice on how to spend our last few days. What good luck! After lunch we walked around the waterfront a bit more and visited the Two Oceans Aquarium, where we were just in time for the 'large predator' feeding - so fascinating.

That's me with Desmond Tutu (or a statue of him) at Nobel Square.

Nemo at the aquarium!

Then we wound our way around town (getting slightly lost, since our GPS had no idea where our hotel was) and made our way to the Four Rosmead, where Elizabeth's brother Brian had so graciously made us a reservation. It is an exquisite littel guesthouse with only 8 rooms and superb service - much nicer than we would have chosen for ourselves, but a wonderful treat! We've decided that the three nights here count for the anniversary celebration that we skipped last month. :)

We had a fantastic dinner at a little Italian place nearby, took advantage of the hotel's wi-fi connection to catch up a bit on blogging, and hit the sack, looking forward to three more days of Cape Town!

Around the Cape

Our second day in Cape Town started off beautifully! We woke up and looked out our window at the High Gables and saw southern right whales playing in the harbor!! The rest of our free time in Simon's Town and the surrounding area was spent behind our binoculars, admiring these giant graceful animals. What a treat!

After pulling ourselves away from the windows, we got ready and went down to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront area in Cape Town, which is a beautifully renovated, updated, posh business area right on the water. We weren't there for shopping, however - instead we caught a boat to Robben Island for a tour. The ride out was beautiful and peaceful (except, perhaps, for the giant school group joining us). It was interesting to think, as Dr. Storey prompted us, about the prisoners taking the very same ride - it was probably not peaceful to them, not only because they were headed to prison, but also because 90% of them had never seen the ocean before and would have been terrified...

We learned from our slightly-irritating tour guide that Robben Island was once a leper colony, and thousands of graves still exist from those times. It became a prison during apartheid, where it housed male non-white political prisoners. Robert Sobukwe was kept in a little cottage by himself because he was thought to be so dangerous to the government. Nelson Mandela and others were kept in a 'maximum security' unit for years - one letter a month, no shoes, no jacket (even in winter), no visits from your own children. Incredibly harsh. Unfortunately, the maximum security unit was under renovation so we were unable to see Mandela's actual cell, but having seen so much at the Old Fort Prison in Jo'burg, we could imagine what Mandela's cell looked like.

Sobukwe's solitary cabin at Robben Island.

A view of Cape Town from Robben Island.

The cross (with bird) on the Anglican church (which all Christians shared) on Robben Island.

Steven among the razor wire surrounding the maximum security unit.

These calla lilies grow wild all over the western cape.
They provided a nice contrast to the dark devastation of the prison cells.

After our ride back to the mainland, we enjoyed a nice lunch on the waterfront and then headed into town to meet the director of the SHADE ministry, which offers advocacy, education, and professional development for women all over Africa. Its director is Rev. Tembo Kalenga, who was a pastor in the Congo when fighting broke out there - she walked with her husband and five daughters for more than 3 months to find refuge in South Africa. Her story is amazing and inspiring, and her work incredible.

We retired for dinner to Simon's Town, where we had a fabulous home-cooked meal at Peter and Elizabeth's house with their neighbors Rob and Maureen and Elizabeth's brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Elizabeth (so there were even more Elizabeth's than usual!). Both dinner and conversation were excellent. I, personally, cherished the time to chat one-on-one with Joaquin about his former involvement with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and his service in seminary administration at Garrett. Much to think about for the future!

Friday was the group's last full day together, so we wanted to take it easy and relax around Simon's Town. The weather was kind of cold and rainy so there was no point trying to do any sight-seeing. Five of us were brave (or stupid?) enough to go sailing in the morning, though! Peter took us out on his sailboat, Flash, and we made a couple of turns around the harbor. The wind was really blowing, though, and it was beginning to rain, so we did not stay out long. And we all came in soaking wet! It was well worth it, though. We had a lot of fun and it was wonderful to see Peter in his element as captain of this ragamuffin crew.

Elisabeth and I wait below deck while the guys get everything together up top.

Sailboats in the marina. Notice the ominous clouds in the background...

The captain himself! [No photos during the actual sailing expedition, since salt and rain water were flying everywhere.]

We spent the afternoon hanging around internet cafes and shops in Simon's Town and visiting the penguins at boulder beach, then had a lovely dinner in the Simon's Town harbor at Bertha's. A perfect ending to a wonderful trip together!!

One of the cute little 'jackass' penguins on the coast near Simon's Town. [He's called 'jackass' not for his attitude but because of the sound he makes.]

The Cape

The first thing we did in Cape Town, of course, was to visit Table Mountain. We had gorgeous views of both sides of the mountain on our drive from the airport to Simon's Town, so we could not wait to get to the top to see all of the Western Cape below us. We enjoyed our cable car ride up the mountain (the floor of the car spins as you go so you can see views in every direction!), and got a few great vistas when we first arrived on top of the mountain, but a big cloud (they call it a table cloth) quickly moved in. Still, we enjoyed exploring the top of the mountain and hiking around a bit in the fog. It was wonderful to move our legs a bit and get some fresh air, even if we couldn't see much! And we had a fantastic cup of hot chocolate in the little cafe on top of the mountain, so it was totally worth the trip. :)

On the way up the mountain...

Steven and Peter pointing out landmarks as the clouds move in...

...and me blending into the fog!

After Table Mountain, we went down to the District Six Museum, which is actually housed in an old Methodist church which Dr. Storey served in the 1960's. It's an incredible museum chronicling the removal of an entire community of black and colored Cape Town residents durign the apartheid regime - but unlike the depressing museums we visited in Johannesburg, the District Six Museum is focused less on the injustice of the community's removal and more on the character and resilience of the community itself.

Plaque outside the District Six Museum, installed when it was still a Methodist church.

Then we took a walk downtown, and happened upon a giant march protesting the recent removal from office of the Deputy Health Minister of South Africa. There has been much controversy because the country is being decimated by the AIDS virus, but the Health Minister insists that AIDS is a result of poor nutrition rather than viral transmission. So people are not getting the drugs they need or taking the precautions they should. The deputy health minister was attending AIDS conferences to try to help the South African people with this giant issue, and she was removed from office and fined about $50,000 for using state money for unauthorized purposes. It's crazy. So hundreds of brave South Africans, many of them HIV positive, attended this march past the Parliament buildings to let the government know their thoughts on the health ministry.

HIV positive women march in protest of the removal of the deputy health minister.

We cheered on the protesters for a bit, and then continued on our walk to St. George's cathedral, former seat of archbishop Desmond Tutu. It's an incredible building, and just happened to be the home base for the protest march - as a result, on the steps of the cathedral we ran into Zackie Achmat - and since Dr. Storey knows him, we all were introduced! What a privilege. Zackie is the founder and leader of the Treatment Action Campaign, working to provide retroviral drugs to all South Africans who need them. He himself is HIV positive, but he publicly refused to take his medicine until retroviral drugs were made available to the public in 2003. Now he is healthy and successfully leading protests! He was the winner of the first Desmond Tutu leadership award and the Nelson Mandela award for Health and Human Rights. He's an incredible leader. And he was being interviewed in the cathedral by a woman who attended the public policy school at Duke. Small world!

Zackie Achmat being interviewed in St. George's Cathedral after the TAC-sponsored protest march.

After our protest participation and encouragement, we went out to the suburbs to have dinner with Gilbert and Jane Lawrence at their home. Gilbert and Jane are a colored couple who attended Dr. Storey's church as youngsters and were relocated in the District Six removals. They have gone on to lead extraordinary lives, Jane as an educator and Gilbert in civil service. It was a delight to spend time with them!

The group (minus Joaquin the photographer) with Jane and Gilbert.

There is much more to tell from Cape Town, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I'll post again and try to catch up soon!

So Much To Tell...

Well, we finally are in lodging with wi-fi access again, and I feel like there is more to tell than I can put into a few paragraphs! I'll try to leave nothing out, include pictures, and keep it brief. Riiight. Here goes:

Last time I posted we still had one day left in Johannesburg. That morning, we got up early and went downtown to Constitution Hill (where our camera batteries died promptly upon our arrival), where the Old Fort Prison stood for many years, and where the Constitutional Court (like our Supreme Court) now stands. It was incredible. Much of the three prisons (one for women, one for white men, one for black men) has been preserved, and they have had memorial events where former prisoners and wardens have come back to offer thoughts about their time in the prisons. We saw videos and read quotes from former prisoners who chronicled their torture in these overcrowded facilities in detail. I was amazed at how much humiliation these people could take, but even more astonished by how otherwise normal people could debase themselves to such levels as to treat other human beings like trash. It reminded me of the capacity all of us have to do incredible evil in the name of self-interest. It was appalling.

The amazing thing is that the city has torn down part of the old prison and used the very same bricks that once were the symbol of oppression to build the new constitutional court building, which now stands for freedom and justice. The court building is incredible - nothing like our fancy, distanced court building in Washington, DC. We were able to go right in and sit down and listen to supreme-court arguments, not 20 yards from the justices themselves. It was incredibly hopeful and moving!

That afternoon, we turned in our slightly defective rental van at the Jo'burg airport and headed for Cape Town on 1Time Airways, South Africa's version of Southwest (except they even charge for beverages!). Our flight was delightful, if modest, and Cape Town is gorgeous. The landscape changed dramatically as we flew over a few mountain ranges on our way south. The land got greener and greener until we saw the sea! How beautiful! We drove out of the city along the coast (in our new, slightly smaller rental van) and stopped for dinner at a delightful restaurant in Fish Hoek, just beside the bay. As we parked, the moon rose right before our eyes, over the mountains across the water. Incredible!

The moon over False Bay. Just beautiful!

We moved in to the High Gables bed and breakfast in Simon's Town, just down the street from the Storeys', high about False Bay. Incredible!

More to come from Cape Town...

In the Cape Without Internet

Sorry for the lapse in posting. Our really wonderful bed and breakfast in Simons Town does not have internet access, so I'm just quickly writing from an internet cafe before we get on a boat to Robben Island. As soon as we find a wi-fi hotspot, I'll post more about Table Mountain, impromptu protest participation in Cape Town, the District 6 Museum, Robben Island, etc., complete with pictures. It's incredibly beautiful here!! Can't wait to share more...

Signs of Pain and Hope

The cross outside Calvary Methodist Church

It’s been a very full couple of days here in Johannesburg. We’ve seen lots of the city from our rental van (still with a broken gas gauge and a rattling muffler), and we’ve been able to visits several sites where God is clearly working and several sites where remarkably evil deeds have taken place.

We started yesterday morning with a wonderful worship service at Calvary Methodist Church, between Jo’burg and Pretoria, where Alan Storey preached an inspired message about the call for all of us to be truth-tellers, an especially important task in a fragile new democracy with a history such as this. The church that Alan serves is remarkable in itself, as it’s a dynamic multi-cultural integrated congregation doing serious discipleship, reconciliation, and spiritual formation work. We were privileged to eat lunch with Alan to further discuss his work at Calvary.

Then we spent the afternoon at the Apartheid Museum, which was moving, indeed. Steven and I had known much of the historical detail presented at the museum thanks to Dr. Storey’s classes, but it was still very moving to see and hear accounts of the roots of apartheid, the horrors of its reign, and the sometimes-violent resistance against it. I was reminded of my visit in 2004 to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, and I wished the Apartheid Museum had the kind of outdoor art garden that was offered in Jerusalem to help visitors process so much emotion. We left with feelings of hope, despite the awful history on which we were dwelling, as the very existence and popularity of the museum means that its visitors will not forget their past.

Last night we had the wonderful privilege of visiting over dinner with Tom and Barbara Manthatha. Tom is a black South African who has worked for his entire life against systems of injustice, and was imprisoned on 16 different occasions as a result, including a stint on Robben Island. He also served on the reparations committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and now serves as a human rights commissioner in Johannesburg. Barbara served for many years with the South Africa Council of Churches – both of them had amazing stories to tell about the history of this struggle and the power of their faith in the midst of awful situations.

This morning we journeyed to Soweto, the township to which black South Africans were moved in the forced segregation of the early apartheid regime. Families were forced to share tiny poorly-built homes with no electricity or services, and their numbers grew rapidly. Today it is one of the largest cities in South Africa, with estimates at 4 to 6 million residents, and while still a very poor city, one with many signs of hope and renewal.


We started the morning at the Hector Pietersen Museum, memorializing the murder of many black schoolchildren during a peaceful march in 1976, an event which largely spearheaded the resistance movements which followed. After the museum and a nice “local” lunch at Wandi’s, we were able to visit with students in their first year of candidacy for ordination, stationed at various churches in the area. These students serve as pastors with no formal training, but they have classes and meetings two days per week at the Soweto Campus of John Wesley College. We really enjoyed meeting these students and learning about the joys and challenges of this first year of ministry, as well as the many differences between their experiences and the experiences of American seminary students.

With ministry students at John Wesley College's Soweto Campus

In the afternoon, we visited the Ikageng-Iteraleng Children’s Ministry in Soweto, where one woman has begun an NGO that now serves 2000 children who have lost (or are losing) parents and other family members to HIV/AIDS in and around Soweto. Some of these children, as young as 10 years old, are the heads of their households, taking care of younger siblings after losing both parents, including cooking, cleaning the house, and caring for siblings who may also have HIV/AIDS, while navigating the troubled waters of education and adolescence. The needs of these children and the ministry of this community are incredibly moving. The community refuses to label these children as orphans, so they remain in their own homes by themselves rather than going into a system of foster care or adopted families. The ministry is able to provide them with basic needs, such as school uniforms and monthly food parcels, as well as peer support groups and genuine love and care. This is a ministry which we will definitely take home with us – the plight of these children will be with us for a long time.

This evening we were able to spend significant time after dinner reflecting on our day as a group – it is a wonderful privilege to have other faithful Christians with which to process all we are seeing and experiencing here. Our experience is greatly enriched by these conversations!

We’re headed to bed early tonight so we will be ready to check out of our Johannesburg hotel in the morning. We’ll visit the Old Fort Prison and the new Constitutional Court before catching an afternoon flight to Cape Town. There is much more to come!

All Kinds of Monuments

We were awakened very early this morning by what I’m sure were some very beautiful safari-quality birds quarreling noisily on our balcony. It was a tough way to be reminded of the wonders of God’s creation (since we were trying to sleep), but a good way to start the day nonetheless. After a chilly breakfast on the terrace of the bush lodge, complete with some baboons climbing trees in our sightline, we took off in the van (now with a rattling muffler after our safari driving) toward Pretoria.

We had the great privilege this morning of visiting with two students from John Wesley College, one of the seminaries of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. The education/candidacy process toward ordination is very different from ours in the United States, and these two young men, in particular, were incredibly passionate and committed to the work of ministry. This small school seems to teach transformation without fancy buildings or loads of world-renowned professors: another witness to the work of the Holy Spirit. In many ways this place was a stark contrast to my own seminary experience, but the hospitality of the students made the space feel just as warm and welcome as the halls with which I have become so familiar over the last five years.

Dr. Storey converses with our hosts at John Wesley College

Later, we visited the union buildings, where the president and cabinet of South Africa have their offices in Pretoria/Tshwane (old name/new name). The buildings are gorgeous, and are positioned high on a hill so that one can see all of Pretoria/Tshwane from the steps. We stood very near to where Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president, and imagined the elated crowds on the lawn below. We were sad to hear from Dr. Storey that the grounds are actually more heavily guarded now than they were during apartheid, simply because of the paranoia of the current administration. Thus, we were unable to get too close to the buildings themselves.

One of the spires of the capital building with the South African flag.

After a quick lunch in a little hole-in-the-wall bakery sort of place, we headed up to the Voortrekker Monument, built by the Afrikaans people who moved inland killing or displacing the native African tribes who were living there; believing that they were God’s chosen who were given the land, like the people of the biblical Exodus. The giant (ugly) monument is readily visible from all over the city, reminding everyone of the power of this racist history, chronicled in marble in offensive scenes all over the inside. As I looked at this monument, I was reminded of the danger of believing that you are part of a chosen people, or at least the danger of believing that as a chosen people you have certain rights over against the non-chosen. We have seen this demonstrated in brutal ways throughout history: when groups of people have killed ‘others’ in order to ‘rightly’ inherit the land or space or rights that God has supposedly granted. It makes me wonder if we Christians have any specific rights at all, other than the right to worship and serve the God of Jesus Christ and to cultivate the fruits of the spirit. It’s a tough question with which to wrestle, but one that we Americans especially need to confront: if the rights we feel God has granted us oppress others, they cannot come from God at all.

One of the Voortrekker leaders immortalized in stone (giant stone, I might add).

The giant Voortrekker monument through the outside gates.

Tomorrow we’ll attend worship at Alan Storey’s church between Johannesburg and Pretoria before spending the afternoon at the apartheid museum. I trust that it will be a powerful day in many ways.

Into the Wild

We're "on safari." Who ever thought we'd say that? It's really quite remarkable. We left Johannesburg yesterday morning (in our rental van with a broken gas gauge) to head toward "the bush." Our van has a GPS very similar to ours at home, which is very lucky, as Dr. Storey argues with "her" a lot, and Steven and I are often called on to see what she's talking about. :)

On our way out of town, we got some wonderful commentary from Dr. Storey, which gives us a little foretaste of what's to come when we begin visiting apartheid resistance sites tomorrow. We saw the downtown of this giant metropolis (about 5 or 6 million in Johannesburg), including several "informal settlements," with hundreds of homes made of unmatched pieces of tin leaned together; the headquarters of the old secret police, where many resisters "accidentally fell" from the 6th floor; middle-class normal-looking homes surrounded by very high walls, some with razor wire; and the site of Sophiatown and the Church of Christ the King, the first black neighborhood to be forcibly moved to another part of the country.

The safari has been wonderful. We're staying at a really lovely lodge just on the edge of Pilanesburg National Park, and we have taken several "game drives" into the park to find animals. We've seen amazing things which I previously thought were zoo-only animals! And all without fences or cages. We have seen several elephants, zebras, hippos, giraffes, rhinos, baboons, warthogs, wildebeasts, lions, impalas, several kinds of antelope, and birds galore. And searching for the animals is half the fun! We have also enjoyed relaxing a bit, catching up on our sleep (getting rid of jet lag) and getting to know our travel companions (who are wonderful!) as we've admired the detail and complexity of God's creation. We've been humbled by the ways these animals work together, within and outside of their own herds, and by the way the ecosystem works as long as everyone does their part. If only we humans could take some cues from these brilliant creatures, perhaps all of us could have "enough"!!

Tomorrow we're headed to Pretoria and then on to Johannesburg, where we'll see lots of important reminders of this country's troubled past and present struggles. There is much more to come...

This may be my favorite photo of the trip so far! This little giraffe family paused at just the right moment for me to take their portrait.

A small elephant pausing for a snack. There was a baby traveling with this little group, and I waited very patiently to take its picture, but its mom insisted on standing between the baby and our jeep. Ah, well - such is life! Did you know that elephants can eat for 20 hours per day, and sleep an hour or less?

Here's a young zebra with its herd. They recognize each other by their stripe patterns, but I certainly can't tell the difference.

The hippos spent much of the morning under water, and most of the afternoon lying near the shore. This young (yes, he's smaller than the others!) guy seems to want the others to get up and play!

A rhino family portrait at the watering hole.

Our group with our dusty safari fan.

Above: One of the ugliest animals: the warthog.

Below: The King of the Jungle, and the beautiful twisted horns of the impala.

We Made It!

We have arrived!! Our flights went well, and actually passed more quickly than we had imagined. We left Seattle without incident and enjoyed watching movies on the 4.5-hour flight to Washington, DC (The Hoax and Shrek 3). We arrived a bit early to DC, and had no trouble finding some tasty sandwiches and our next departure gate. We met Bill and Elisabeth Stagg at the gate – they had been waiting there much of the day after their early morning flight from RDU.

Our flight from DC to Johannesburg left quite late, as the little shuttle-busses that taxi people from the terminal to the plane were quite slow, so we got settled into our seats (in the next-to-last row) and had plenty of time to get settled. We took off about an hour late but enjoyed a really comfortable flight (about 15 hours). We were fed well, enjoyed more movies, and Elizabeth even slept for several hours with her fancy new neck pillow.

We arrived in Johannesburg full of adrenaline/excitement and made it through customs and passport control with no trouble – as soon as we found our suitcase, we walked through the terminal doors and immediately saw Peter and Elizabeth Storey waiting to meet us. We found our hotel shuttle and got settled in at our very nice room before meeting for dinner with the whole group (Barbara and Joaquin were already at the hotel).

Tomorrow morning, we will head out to the game reserve, where we are told we’ll even get to see our friends Andy and Emily Oliver, who are at the tail-end of their own South Africa trip! We are really excited about that, even though we are not 'guaranteed' to see animals - any wildlife we see will be really thrilling. We’ll spend a few nights at Pilanesburg before we move on. We couldn’t be more excited!

Here’s a few photos from our plane window, coming into Johannesburg:

The view of the outskirts of Jo'burg from the plane. It is a GIGANTIC city.

If you look pretty hard, you can see the outline of downtown (from the airport) through the smoggy haze.

Now we're off to get some sleep so we can be wide awake for wildlife-watching tomorrow. Hopefully we will have another internet connection and some good luck with the animals so we can post more photos and adventures in the next few days!

Testing the Waters

So, I was just thinking that if I am planning on blogging from Africa, I should probably do a practice run or two to make sure I know what I'm doing!! So here's a little rundown of what we've been up to the past few weeks, complete with a few photos (assuming I know what I'm doing, of course). :)

One fun thing we did while Steven's parents were visiting was to take nieces Eden and Hailey to the Woodland Park Zoo. They have some really great exhibits, and a neat opportunity to feed 18-month-old giraffes! These guys were AMAZING with their giant blue tongues. I really loved this, and am slightly obsessed with giraffes now. :)

We have also gone to several Seattle Mariner's games. I have been a life-long baseball fan, and now we live in walking distance from a major league park! I am definitely a fan of Ichiro, but I think Kenji Johjima is my new favorite. I've taken hundreds of pictures at these games, so far, but the best ones are of Ichiro. Here's one of him hustling back to the dugout at the middle of an inning (we had super-good seats for this game, just two rows behind the Mariners' dugout!):

While Steven's mom was staying with us, we made our first trek up the hill at Gas Works Park and were amazed by the beautiful views of the city across Lake Union. We stayed there for quite a while, mesmerized by the float planes which took off and landed one after another! I had a lot of fun watching the people, too - it seems like there is something for everyone at Gas Works: young, old, singles, families, kite-flyers and book-readers and puddle-stompers alike. Here is one of the views of our beautiful new city!We have been blessed with lots of family this summer, including two brief visits from Elizabeth's parents. When they were here a few days ago, Elizabet's sister came over one evening and we were able to take a few family pictures from the rooftop deck at our apartment building. We hadn't done any family pictures in several years, so I was glad to get these, even if they are not professional!!

Lastly, we took a hike yesterday in Discovery Park in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle. This is an amazing place which used to be a military fort and is now primarily a public park. We parked near the visitor center at the park and hiked a few miles toward the coast, up and over a giant hill, emerging at a beautiful beach! It was a bit chilly for swimming, but we enjoyed a picnic lunch sitting on a driftwood log and had a quick tour of the small lighthouse which was there (pictured here). It's the oldest working lighthouse in Puget Sound, and is quite small but very pretty!

So there you have it. A little window into our lives as we prepare for the vacation of a lifetime. We made a last-minute run to REI this evening for a few final travel items, including serious bug repellent for any pesky mosquitoes who might be biting despite the winter season, a fancy neck pillow for our 20+ hours in flight each way, and a good sun hat for Steven to avoid sunburn. Tomorrow is devoted to packing, delivering Benji to his Aunt Chelsea, and getting to bed early for a VERY early Tuesday morning flight!! We are ready!!

Getting Ready

11 days and counting!

We're headed to South Africa on the 21st. Yesterday we stopped into REI to look for some perfect travel clothing and picked up a few key things to keep our suitcase small. And I went to the library and got plenty of South Africa reading to keep us busy for the next few years... and we've been watching movies about South Africa as often as possible, so hopefully we'll be ready for this big adventure!

I can't wait to post journal entries and photos from this adventure of a lifetime!