Close Up

I'm pleased that my blog is featured on the website Expat.com. If you are planning a move to South Africa or anywhere outside of your home country, Expat.com allows you to get in touch with expats living nearby and provides a great resource for discussions, jobs, housing information and more. The website also provides an opportunity to meet people and make friends in your new country. Check it out!

And now onto today's blog post.  

When on safari you have the chance to see many animals. The best part is you are seeing these creatures in their natural environment doing whatever it is they would be doing whether you were there or not. However the animals you are viewing may still be far away and if you are taking photos on safari you likely need to use a zoom lens in order to get really good pictures. 

Recently Mr. Deep and I had the chance to see some animals up close. A few weeks ago we went out for another 4x4 adventure near our home. We came upon some zebras munching on grass. These zebras must be very used to humans being nearby because we were able to get quite close to them and they didn't seem to mind. 

This is not a picture of a zebra. But I love this photo anyway.

Very artsy

A few weeks ago we also visited the Elephant Sanctuary in Hartbeesport in the North West Province. This sanctuary is housed on the same property where the thieving monkeys that I wrote about in this post live. The elephants and the monkeys are kept separately from each other. The elephant sanctuary is home to former zoo and circus elephants who now have the chance to live in a semi-free environment. 

While we were waiting to see elephants we were hanging out with this guy. We are caged and he is free. 

The elephant sanctuary gave us the opportunity to get extremely close to the elephants. We got some great photos!

I can't get over the eyelashes!

Close up of a broken tusk

Our guide, Charles. Pronounced Chouse (rhymes with house)

Charles showing us an elephant skull. The spongy looking area contains air to keep the elephant's brain cool.
The below photo is a dung beetle in the shadow of an elephant.

Here are two photos of the same bug. In the first he is eating a flattened mango. We first noticed the white stripes on his tail. In the second you can really see all of his colors. Does anyone know what kind of insect this is? 

Deep Thoughts

My apologies that the font sizes in the email version of this post were wacky. I have fixed that now. Enjoy the post!

As we kick off 2016 I thought it might be interesting to share a different perspective. You've read post after post describing my experiences and thoughts about living in South Africa, but what about Mr. Deep? What does he think about life in South Africa? What does he enjoy, what could he do without and what really annoys him about his wife? OK, that last question really doesn't have much to do with life in South Africa, but it might be interesting to find out anyway. Or, it might not be that interesting.

Before I get to our Q&A with Mr. Deep, I thought I'd share the reason that I call this blog My Thoughts From the Deep End. First, because when you are a kid, going in the deep end of the pool is a very big deal. Obviously you can't touch the bottom and you have to rely on your swimming skills to stay alive. That is how I felt about moving to South Africa. Very excited but totally outside my comfort zone. I wasn't sure if I'd be a strong enough swimmer to survive. Luckily, so far so good. 

Second, on my visa I am listed as a "dependent spouse" which means Mr. Deep is my only reason for being here. As a dependent spouse I can't have my own bank account, my own cell phone account or my own any account and I can't get a job. It means South Africa tolerates my being here because they figure if they ask my husband to leave me back in the U.S. he might not come here and work. 

As part of the visa application process, Mr. Deep had to sign a letter of undertaking saying he'd take care of me, his dependent, and see to all of my needs for the entire time that we are here. It's like when you agree to let your friend bring his dodgy girlfriend to your party. You say, "OK, you can bring her but you're responsible for making sure she doesn't go off the rails and if she does, you're sending her home ASAP"  So I'm deep-end-ent on Mr. Deep and if I act out, he needs to send me packing to the U.S.A. Thus, the deep end.

An interview with Mr. Deep.
Interviewer: Mr. Deep, you've been living in South Africa for over ten months now. Tell me, what are some of the things that you enjoy most about life here?  

Mr. Deep: Most of the time the weather. Despite the recent heat wave we've been having, the weather is usually beautiful.  I enjoy being able to see wild animals in their natural habitat pretty much any time I want.  I like the fact that we can live in such a nice house for way cheaper than something comparable would go for back home.  I also love that beer and food are pretty cheap.  I enjoy that we do things that most of the people I work with don't or would not do, like go to beer/music festivals, go on Soweto bar crawls, go to the CBD (Ed - Central Business District) to see an indie movie. Or take my Jeep out for a proper off-road beating. 

Interviewer: Why do you think most people don't or won't go to the types of places that you mention? 

Mr. Deep:  Some have kids/families, so beer fests and bar crawls would clearly not be the first choice for something to do. Some would just not think of going to CBD/Soweto in general. I would guess it is just a cultural thing that we as expats do not have a hang-up with?

Interviewer: And of the flip side, what are some things about living here that you find difficult or that you don't enjoy? 

Mr. Deep: The traffic really sucks.  Not all of the time, but during the morning commute, a 15 minute trip usually takes 40 minutes.  I don't enjoy running into cops looking for payoffs.  Also, seeing all the poverty constantly.  While I am not quite as overt in my altruism as the interviewer is, I do make it a point to pay the parking guards which many of my colleagues do not do. The load shedding is a pain in the ass and I also don't enjoy losing water for weeks at a time. The air quality also leaves a lot to be desired sometimes.  

Interviewer: If someone you knew was thinking of moving to Joburg, South Africa, what advice would you give to him or her? 

Mr. Deep:  Have an open mind.  It is tough to put yourself in anyone's shoes here as you are not from here.  I try not to have opinions on certain things here,  if you know what I mean.   Also, don't believe everything you hear on the crime - just be careful. But car-jamming is real.  You should manually double check your car is locked after you click the remote.  Third, just accept that the taxis will drive where they want and cut you off.  No sense getting mad about it.  Unless you have a Jeep and don't mind scratching it.  Then you will always win the game of "chicken." 

Interviewer: Yes, I know what you mean about having opinions. I once a read a quote that said, "don't judge a book by the chapter you walked in on." So I also keep my opinions to myself because I feel like I am a guest in this country and I know I don't have all of the information and the history. And I agree the taxis are very reckless. You need to be very careful and assume any taxi you see is going to somehow break a traffic law within the next 15 seconds.

Interviewer: You go to work every day. How are you finding your job here? 

Mr. Deep: A nice change from what I was doing, more hands on.  Although my last role really helped me learn much about one of the company's main businesses and the project turned out to be something really important for management.   Now, I am learning a new business and gaining good experience in "non-accounting-related" financial management.  We have set up a lot of processes from scratch and I enjoy the entrepreneurial atmosphere. We have a small team that I am one of the leaders of and I feel like more than just a "mid-level cog at McCann." Your fans of Mad Men should get that reference. 

Interviewer: Since you brought it up, did you like the Mad Men series finale? 

Mr. Deep: Nice way to end the show.  I liked it. 

Interviewer:  What do you miss about living in the U.S.A.?  

Mr. Deep: Surprisingly not too much.  Proximity to a few people that I care about and wish I could visit more. Friends that did not live close by are still just as close thanks to that interweb thing.  I do miss having places to walk or run.  This place is not very pedestrian friendly.  I do miss my sports and not being able to watch my teams, although this was a great year to not have to watch them, especially the Giants.  Ugh.  

Interviewer: Does it bother you that your wife is not working? Do you wonder what it is exactly that she does all day? 

Mr. Deep: No it does not. She deserves the break.  And the interviewer well knows that I have no right to complain even if it did, given my two-year sabbatical a while back.  I don't really wonder what she does all day because she blogs about it, texts me during the day and generally keeps me informed. 

Interviewer: Does it bother you when you meet new people, introduce yourself as Stephen and then your wife constantly refers to you as Steve possibly confusing your new friends as to what you want to be called?  

Mr. Deep: Not really.  I think the stigma of the "Don't be a Steve" campaign has disappeared but I still like to call myself Stephen now.  I will also answer to Steve.  Just not Steven.  Not sure how this works, but some people in the office address me as Steven in an e-mail, when the proper spelling is RIGHT THERE IN THE E-MAIL ADDRESS. 

Interviewer: Assuming that you only have two years left before you have to leave Africa, what are some of the places you want to visit and things that you want to do before you leave?  

Mr. Deep: In no particular order, Namibia, Madagascar, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Victoria Falls whenever it gets some more water running over it, Lesotho, Mozambique, Mauritius, perhaps a safari on the Zambezi river.  I would also like to climb Kilimanjaro as long as I am here.  As for other things to do, catch some live Rugby and Cricket, explore some other areas of Joburg and do some more fishing.  

Interviewer: Yes, you recently went fishing for the first time since living here. Tell us a little about that experience. 

Mr. Deep: We were over at the neighbor's for Christmas lunch.  His whole family was there so I got talking with his father and the topic of fishing came up.  Next thing you know I get an invite for the next morning to go fishing at the Lonehill Dam. Dam is what they call man-made lakes.  I caught some pretty big barbels, which is what they call African Catfish. I seem to remember a blog post about different words they use here.  Guess you can add a couple more.

Interviewer: What else do you want readers to know?  

Mr. Deep:  I am glad I am far removed from that shit-show also known as the Presidential Primaries.  U.S. politics in general to be quite honest.  It is quite nice to not be bombarded by that stuff 24/7. 

Mr. Deep on Boxing Day with the giant barbel that he caught.

More Tales From the Lebombo Eco Trail

If you ask Mr. Deep to share his favorite part of the trip to Kruger Park, he might say that it was jumping in the fray helping Piet to clear a tree that was likely knocked down by elephants and was blocking the road. In addition to getting to use his saw, he also got to use his tie down straps to drag the tree out of the way. You might remember from this post that he contemplated for a while whether or not to even bring the tie down straps on the trip. Good thing he decided to bring them along!

With our new friends Jan and Bella

Or, he might say that his favorite part of the trip was sneaking under the fence across the border to Mozambique with his new BFF Jan (pronounced Yon) and yelling "first time in Moz!"

Or he might say it was staying up late with his new friends drinking "police coffee" which seems to be like Irish coffee only the spirits are from Africa and not Ireland. I have no idea why it's called police coffee.

If you ask me what my favorite part of the trip was I would say it was when Mr. Deep stayed up late drinking police coffee. No, just kidding. It was definitely seeing the animals, the scenery and meeting some fun new friends. 

First time in Moz! Sorry about the bad picture quality. I tried to get a photo from a video. The poor quality does make him look more criminal like though.

Here are some of our most interesting pictures. 

This is a tree stump that has been rubbed smooth by rhinos scratching themselves on it. Piet said it has probably taken almost 30 years to get this smooth.

Part of the remains of a rhino killed for his horn. You can see on the left the spot where the horn was sawed off by the poachers.

Our route

Waterbuck

Piet with his shotgun

Bella sticking her head into a hippo skull. Kind of reminds me of when Mr. Deep climbed into a tortoise shell in the Galapagos...

Whether he is illegally crossing borders or wearing discarded animal parts he certainly tries to make the most of his vacations.

Southern yellow-billed hornbill. I looked it up.

Potentially spotting a poacher. There was definitely a guy up on the mountain but not sure what he was doing there.

Coming in my next post the long awaited results of the Lebombo Eco Trail preparedness challenge.

Kruger Park Lebombo Eco Trail Highlights

We have returned home from our five day/four night 4x4 camping trip in Kruger National Park. The drive through the park totaled 295 miles (475 kilometers) on rough roads suitable only for four wheel drive vehicles. We drove every day and camped every night. In order to show you the route that we traveled, Mr. Deep set up an elaborate system using his running watch to track our driving movement. To ensure the watch worked properly, it had to be stopped each time we stopped the car for any significant length of time and then restarted when we began driving again. 

We knew we'd be challenged to remember to stop and start the watch so we created little reminder signs which we hung in strategic spots in the jeep. 

And it worked!  Below is the map and our route is shown with the red line. Rest camp refers to places where we stopped for showers, gas and supplies along the way. The yellow line near our route is the border between South Africa and Mozambique.

On Wednesday, we left our house at 3:00 a.m. to drive to the park. We arrived a little after 8:30 a.m. and met our guide, Ranger Piet and our fellow campers at the Crocodile Bridge rest camp. Piet briefly went over how the trip was going to work. We would drive caravan style with Piet in his truck leading the way. If we saw an animal or something we wanted to look at, we could stop and take pictures and then Piet would wait up ahead for us. If we were taking too long and getting behind on our timeline, Piet would let us know to hurry it up. Also, Piet said that every night at camp we would have one fire so that we could all sit around it and get to know each other. He didn't want separate groups of people each sitting around their own fire.

The first day was the best animal viewing you can imagine. We saw four of the big five. The Africa big five are lion, buffalo, leopard, elephant and rhino and we saw all except for the elusive leopard. We are definitely spoiled from our trip to Madikwe when we had such a great leopard viewing. I doubt that will ever happen again. 

We drove into a huge valley at one point that Mr. Deep described as Jurassic Park.  There were animals EVERYWHERE. What also surprised me is that we were able to get out of the trucks and walk around quite a bit. At one point Mr. Deep asked the guide to identify a bird he was looking at. To give you an idea of the number of animals we were seeing at one time, the conversation went something like this.

Mr. Deep (looking through binoculars): OK you see the elephant over there? 
Piet: Yes
Mr. Deep: Above the elephant see the zebra and the giraffe? 
Piet: Yes
Mr. Deep: The bird is walking up the hill past the giraffe.
Piet: Near the zebra?
Mr. Deep: No, to the left of the giraffe.
Piet: Oh yes, that is a secretary bird.

Finding a secretary bird (lower pic)
 in our wildlife book

Piet's vehicle and trailer

The way it's pronounced by people here rhymes with Debra.

Thankfully no snakes were seen on the trip!

Hippos and a croc having a beach day

Cheetahs hanging out

We arrived at our first camp around 5:00 p.m. and rushed to set up our tent before it got dark. We then headed over to the fire to enjoy a sundowner (happy hour beverage) with our fellow campers. By now it was completely dark. We then heard a noise that I am not sure whether or not I should describe as a highlight or a lowlight of the trip because it was a little bit of both. Thrilling yet terrifying. We heard a lion roar.

We all heard it and we were all shocked. I knew it was a lion before Piet even told us because it sounded just like the lion roar you hear when you are watching an MGM movie. It sounded just like this only maybe not quite as loud because it was (hopefully) a little bit far away. Piet said the lions were 50 meters away and we probably drove right past them on our way into the camp. Did I mention that there are no fences around the campsites? 

It was at that point that Mr. Deep said to me privately that going on this trip might be the stupidest thing we've ever done in our lives. That's saying a lot because we've done some very stupid things. I asked him if it was even dumber than the time we went in the hot tub during a hurricane and he said yes.

Even Piet was a little surprised by the lion roar. He said in all his years he's never heard a lion that close to camp before and he's been leading these trips since the late 90's. He assured us that a lion would not tear into a tent to eat people. But then what was he going to tell us? If lions do claw their way into people's tents to eat them would there be any point in letting us know? He did say though that no one was allowed to leave anyone else alone throughout the night. Even if you had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, someone had to go with you. I'm not really sure why seeing two people (one of whom was peeing) would be more intimidating to a lion then seeing just one person, but I didn't ask because I didn't really want to know the answer.  I think he only suggested this buddy system in case someone went missing a witness could tell the others what happened. "No use waiting on Bob this morning, he was eaten by a lion last night."

We heard a few more roars as the night went on, as well as the sounds of hippos and hyenas close by. I was so tired that I really didn't care and went right to sleep the moment we got into our tent. Mr. Deep slept with a few weapons including his knife and a Russian special forces shovel by his side.

At about 2:30 a.m. we heard a huge crash that woke us both. It sounded like a stack of dishes being knocked to the ground. We then heard a lot of laughing. It turns out one of our fellow campers tried to climb into his tent which was on the roof of his trailer, but after more than a few drinks, he forgot to put the legs down properly when setting it up, so the whole thing tipped over.  Mr. Deep and I were cracking up at this and for the rest of the trip there were lots of reminders to this gentleman to remember to put the legs down before climbing into bed.

I will soon be sharing additional posts about the trip, both highlights and not so highlights. I will also soon share the much anticipated results of our self imposed "preparedness challenge!"

Sunset at the first night camp. There are lions out there!