Skyways...

One of our many adventures on our trip (probably the most adventurous) was a tree top canopy tour just outside a little town called Graskop, where we spent 2 nights at the Graskop Hotel. Skyway Trails comprises of ten foofy slides (or cable slides) from platform to platform, over and then through a forest. It takes about 3 hours to complete and is a MUST for any adventure junkie, like my son. They start you off getting kitted out with harnesses, hard hats and gloves, give you some training to explaining how to brake and then take you off to the start. My mom, unfortunately had a panic attack and my dad cut his arm quite badly, which obviously put a bit of a damper on things, but we still had fun and both my parents still managed to finish the trail. Although, that said, once you start, you have to finish. I'm so glad we all did it and Jake loved every second, it was a real highlight of our holiday for both of us...

Here's me getting ready. Ron, remember Eve?? This is Gift...

Jake all ready to go, waiting on the training platform...

Folks ready to go. At this stage, my dad was nervous (he's afraid of heights) and my mom couldn't wait...

This is one of my dad's snaps (I've been told to point that out)... Mom took this one... Jake wanted to go first on the training slide...

Ready to go. How cute is that little bum...

My dad heading down the first slide. This one was 180m long and pretty high. The legs of the second base still go down into the trees...

Meeting Jake and Gift, who later carried my mom across each slide, at the 2nd platform...

The speed (and I guess adrenalin) makes the wind rush at you, which makes your eyes stream. Jake looks like he's crying here, but he was shaking with excitement and couldn't wait for his next turn...

Jake heads across to platform 3 with Given...

Off he goes again...

Another of my dad's photos - that's me with the white hat waving goodbye to my baby...

And here I go...

This was Jake's first slide on his own. My nerves were shot, especially since he wanted to go ahead of me, which meant I couldn't test the cable first...

At another platform, this time much lower, beneath the canopy, but probably still about 10m up. Jake dangles, unperturbed, waiting his turn...

Heeee-ha...This is the view once we were below the tree canopy...And at the end, I had to find something pretty and peaceful to settle my nerves...It was dark by the time we got back to the 'base station' and we were all feeling pretty exhausted. Everyone, except Given, travelled on with us to Kruger. Back row - my dad, Joanne, my mom, Kathy, Chris, Evie and Given, Jake & I in the front...

I'll end this post off apologising for putting so many pictures of Jake up, it was just so cute watching him go for it in such a big way.

Also, before I go, I wanted to share these photos that my dad took of their hotel room in Graskop. The Graskop Hotel is famed for having had it's rooms decorated by different artists from the area. Between us, we had 4 rooms and it was very interesting to see how daring some artists can be. My parents room was by far the weirdest, so I'll share theirs. Plus the photos of my room didn't come out that well and it was really boring next to this. In amongst all that busy above the bed, were little eyes and green buck and barbie doll ladies...The bathroom...The dressing table across from the bed...Oh and these, because they're funny...See how fast Jake moved? He thinks this one is hilarious...OK, that's it. I'll post more photos later if I get a chance. Hope every one's doing OK, enjoy Heritage Day tomorrow, nothing like a day off work...

Sue XXX

A kind of paradise...

One of our first touristy stops was a place called Chimpanzee Eden. I'd seen in on Carte Blanche (a local TV news programme) and read about it in a magazine. It is one of the most amazing, well-run sanctuaries I've ever seen (not that I've seen all that many). It was a real eye-opener for us and quite sad in many respects, you can't believe how badly some people are prepared to treat animals! I think it's mainly because they're just so human in appearance and because they're so intelligent (as intelligent as a 6-year old child!) that people take advantage of them. Each and every one of the animals at Chimp Eden have been rescued from horrendous situations and they are all thriving in their new home. They have contact with other chimps, they're well fed and are allowed all the outdoor space they should've been given all their lives. Chimp Eden has 3 camps and approximately 30 chimps. They are now allowed to interact with people and only the carers are allowed to supply them with meals, about 5 times a day. As I go through the photos below, I'll give you the background on the chimps (it's all on their website, plus lots more, if you go through the chimp adoption page). Please excuse the faint white lines, these photos were taken through 2 fences, we weren't allowed any closer...

The first two are Marco (5) and Mowgli (3.5). Both these chimps were orphaned by the bush meat trade. ie their mothers were slaughtered and they were sold off as cute pets. Chimps crave body contact and since these two were unable to receive their mother's love, have found comfort in one another. It's nothing sexual, just unsatisfied instinct. It's so sad, they seriously do not let each other go...

Martha (14) was hand reared as a pet by a family in Ghana until she was 4 and then given over to a zoo until she was 14. Although she was never physically abused, she did not integrate with the chimp group and was kept isolated at the zoo. As their website says, she basically grew up in social isolation in a concrete cage. She's quite an aggressive chimp and doesn't like new comers, invariably spitting at them (I know a child like that)...

This is Martha again...

Tamu (1.5) was also orphaned by the bush meat trade in Sudan. He's one of the youngest chimps at Chimp Eden. He's waiting for food here...

This is Charles (25) with one of the youngsters in their camp. Charles was rescued from a prominent South African circus, the Boswell Wilkie Circus (can I say that here?). He was used for entertainment purposes and when he became to large and dangerous, he was locked in a small cage in a dark back room. He was left in isolation and it appears that he's been severely physically abused. He was rescued with another chimp, Jessica, who was kept in a cage alongside Charles. Charles was in a bad mental state, he was severely depressed and malnourished. He had plucked his fur, mainly on his face and arms and because of living in the dark had lost his dark pigment. He did not settle into the adult enclosure at Chimp Eden, but has been moved into the juvenile enclosure and is their alpha male. He gets on well with the young chimps and is adjusting well. Jessica is with him in this camp now...

This one was definitely the cheekiest ape I could I could find all day...

This is Martha with little Lily (2) (Never mind, Wendy, there was one called Suzie too, I just don't have a good photo of her). These two are never far apart and it seems that Lily's adopted Martha as her mother. Lily was also orphaned by the bush meat trade. She was raised as a pet by the poacher who shot her mother and while not physically abused, she was kept in very poor conditions. Her owner tied her to a wooden crate in his garden out in the sun. The rope was too short for Lily to be able to get into the shade. When she was rescued, there was no sign of any water or food...

This is Jessica (25). She has the same life story as Charles. She also has 3 missing fingers, evidence of her abuse. She has gained weight well and has recovered from her past well...

Joao (60-65) is the oldest chimp at Chimp Eden, possibly the oldest in South Africa. He has retired from his position as alpha male in his enclosure and Zac has now taken over from him. Joao arrived in Maputo, Mozambique with a touring circus company when he was 3. They left him behind and he was sent to the zoo. He stayed there for over 30 years and when his companion chimp died after falling ill with an unknown virus, he was put into isolation until his rescue in April 2006. He did not integrate with other adult chimps well and had smoking and drinking addictions that needed to be broken. He was eventually integrated into the young chimp enclosure...

Here's Zac (20) enjoying the sunshine. Chimps don't like cloudy days, I must be more closely related to them then I thought. Zac, along with Guida (a female, who's since died), was kept chained to a tree outside a night club in Luanda. The two chimps were tied with short ropes to separate trees and were not allowed any physical contact with each other. They were fed irregularly and were taught to drink and smoke for patrons entertainment. Zac's condition was so poor on his arrival at Chimp Eden, that their vet didn't think he'd make it...

So human, it's scary...

This is Cozy (11). He's third ranking in his enclosure after Joao and Zac. Cozy was born in America, sold to an Italian & his girlfriend and raised on the road, living out of a caravan like a gypsy. Cozy was dressed up in human clothing and made to pose for photos with tourists. To make him less aggressive, he was castrated (this is apparently something fighting males do to weaken the opposition, so Cozy, although a beautiful, big, strong male chimp, can never become the alpha). His Italian owner died suddenly, the girlfriend got a job in a club and Cozy was left isolated and locked up in a 1.5m x 1.5m cage in the dark. When he first arrived at Chimp Eden, he could hardly walk. Like Zac, he's one of their biggest success stories. And he struts his stuff when there are visitors, standing up on hind legs and banging his chest. He even threw a stick at someone...

Nina (4) was rescued from bush meat hunters by authorities in South Sudan. She was then moved to a zoo and from there onto a safe house. She was rescued with 4 others and moved to Chimp Eden SA...

I have so many photos of these beautiful creatures. I was so moved to be so close to them and to hear of the hard lives they've led. Hats off to Dr Jane Goodall and all the wonderful staff at Chimp Eden for making such a difference in these animal's lives.

Sue x

Come take a walk with me...

So, it's been a week since we got home from our trip today. This time a week ago, my heart was heavy, I had again been on holiday and left a part of me there. There's just something about getting out into the wild and enjoying the smells, sights and sounds. I could've stayed forever.

But, back to the real world we must return. Work has been insanely busy and I've hardly had time to glance through my photos, let alone put them into any order or do any editing. I know I should pick my favourites and just put them up, but I'm not like that. So, I've decided that as I manage to work my way through the craziness of my hard drive, I'll take you on a little journey...

We flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg early in the morning on Thursday 28 August. We collected our rental, met up with our friends and headed (fast) out of the big, scary city of Johannesburg. Our first stop was a gorgeous mining village called Kaapsche Hoop. It's near Nelspruit and is just the most beautiful, quiet, tranquil place I've ever seen. If you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods, please do yourself a favour and stop in. You won't regret it. Kaapsche Hoop is "famous" for it's wild horses, but has bunnies and chickens running wild too. After leaving the glum weather in Cape Town, we were hoping for some sunshine, but as we neared the East of South Africa, we hit a storm. Seriously, I think it was the heaviest storm I've ever seen - the rain was pounding down so heavily, I could hardly see the road in front of me. It hailed and hailed and I was so frightened of damaging the rental. Plus it was literally icy cold. We ended up ordering pizzas from the local pub and stayed in with our sherry and wine. We had an early night, which was just what we all needed after our long journey, with lots more driving scheduled for the next few days...

Here's Jake with one of the horses, this one seemed very used to people. It was still very much wild, but it was freezing cold and obviously looking for a snack... She seemed particularly interested in my dad's camera...

This is one of the posters from the quirky local pub. For those of you who have bad eyesight, it reads as follows...

This was the view from our room. Jake and I were so excited to see the horses outside our window when we woke up, we pulled shoes on and ran outside in the drizzle, in our pyjamas, to get a photo. Pretty, hey? Even though it's a little blurred - I'll blame it on my lazy morning eye...

We took a little stroll through the village with my folks, before setting off to our next destination, it's just too pretty not to share...

Have you ever seen a white Guinna fowl??? Note the rusty sign. The roads are so bumpy, you can't go much faster anyway...

An old fashioned call box...

Getting rid of some energy, climbing trees... Chasing bunnies...Pooped...How cute are these? Seriously, they were egg sized...

This sign says it all...

I'm back...

Hi Everyone! Just a 2-liner to say we're home safely. I've got close on 1500 photos to look through and promise that as soon as I get time, I'll get cracking on a proper post with pictures. Jake & I had the most amazing holiday ever, we saw and did so much. Our trip went far too quickly, but it is good to be back home and settling into our routines again. Catch up soon!! Sue xxx