Day 41

June 22^nd. After being up too late last night after our drive, we had bush clearing this morning. I woke up around 7, but couldn’t pull myself out of bed before 7:30. My hip was randomly in spasms, and I couldn’t really put weight on it without lots of pain. So getting ready and hobbling to the truck was really fun. We left around 8, and went back to the same clearing spot we have been working at all month. On the way there, we ran into Toko and the bush camp-ers, whose truck had broken down. We had to go back to the truck and tow it home to Twines because it wouldn’t start! Then, we headed back to work in the bush. We have moved pretty far down the road by now! I started out with a panga, but because of my hip issue, I couldn’t lift my left leg high enough to step on the branch to get it at the right angle to panga it, so I traded for some clippers. Such a sad decline after becoming a panga-pro. We worked from about 8:30 til 10:45, and boy did it heat up fast! I teamed up with Toko again to be the branch pusher/dragger/clipper/whatever he needed. He is definitely amusing to work with. I got attacked by lots of nice thorns, almost like a good-bye present from South Africa. Lukas told us to each pick one last tree to take down before we left, so I did some panga magic on a nice bush willow! It was a pretty hefty tree, and I learned that my accuracy is not the best. But at least I am determined! We got home around 11, and we showered and cleaned up so we could go to a local orphanage for children that either have HIV/AIDS or lost their mothers to it. We left around noon for the orphanage, and went to Blue Cottages for lunch on the way. I got the chicken creole, to try to be native and South African! It was pretty good and a little spicy. Then, we drove through some native villages on the way to the orphanage. We got to a local supermarket, and we all pooled some money together to buy some treats for the kids. We got them atchai, which is some kind of spicy chutney-like fruit spread that they love. We also got some Mopani worms, which are dried, crunchy catepillars that local people often eat. They can be cooked in a stew of some kind, or fried with batter, but these were just dried in a bag. Toko opened the bag and ate one, so of course, we all followed suit. It first was just crunchy and dry, and had really no taste. But it was a powdery aftertaste that killed it! I had only eaten half, but I didn’t want to give in! So Justine, Daniel and I forced ourselves to do the full thing. You have to commit to things like that, hey? Judith and Lauren weren’t so brave. Haha. It was definitely interesting. We choked them down and tried to get through the powdery texture. Then we paid for all the goodies for the kids, and headed out. On the way out, we popped our heads into the next-door hairdresser, and we greeted by a bald flamboyant man in 70s bellbottoms doing the local woman’s hair. Only in Africa. Then we headed out to the orphanage. We got there around 3, and our van was instantly mobbed by children. There were about 50 kids there at the time, as 20 had gone to visit relatives for the school holidays. We were given a little info about the orphanage’s origins and history, then given a tour. We made instant friends, with cute children that wanted to hold our hands and walk with us. We played in the crèche for a little bit, with the little ones. I made a little friend who had the cutest laugh ever. I just danced with him and tickled him, and it was precious! We pushed some swings for the kids, and just hung out with them for a while. Then we moved on to the dormitories for the older girls and boys. I made another friend, a little girl named Magi. We played with them for a bit, and they happily helped to unload the treats we brought them. Then, Toko brought out the Mopani worms, and the kids went crazy. I’m only kind of sure they knew they were worms, but it was like Christmas! He couldn’t hand them out fast enough! Apparently, they are excellent sources of protein, and to locals, they are a real treat. They happily munched their worms and danced around with us until we had to leave. We had an hour trip home and we had plans for a braii that night for Lukas’s going away dinner. When we got home, around 6, we had some time to relax a bit. Lauren and I baked chocolate cupcakes, like I had attempted to last week! We got them cooked, cooled, and iced by the time the braii was ready. We were having a proper feast for our braii, complete with t-bone steaks, butternut, potatoes, onions, and fresh green salad. We all ate til we were stuffed and happy. I brought out the cupcakes, which were a huge hit as well! We all hung out late and chilled around the fire, telling stories and enjoying each other. The Siyafunda rangers had gotten Lukas a wooden lion carving as a going away present for him, so they gave him that as we all thanked him for being an awesome ranger. We all stayed up late and cooked marshmallows over our open fire and just enjoyed the bush. It was a blast! And the lions were going crazy! At one point, a lion roared and all the rangers were pretty sure he was in the block RIGHT next to camp. It was insane, how loud and forceful his roar was. They kept it up for a few hours, calling off and on. There were at least 3 different groups of lions calling! We think two of them were the Makhutswi ladies and Xinpoko and Masana, calling to each other. Lukas had them at the river today while we were at an orphanage, and he had an amazing 2-hour sighting with all the Makhutswi's and the two dominant boys. Nine lions in total, lying on a beach. You can’t beat that sighting as a going away present! He said they separated at the end of the sighting, and based on the calls we were hearing, that’s who they thought it was. At one point, we also heard what sounded like a fight between some males. It was just an incredible night full of fun and beautiful lion calls. What a way to cap off the trip. :)

 Beautiful mountains on our drives

 Mopani worms. I ate one of these buggers!

 The kids at the orphange LOVED the mopanis!