The hungry lions...

 Did I mention that Jake and I saw a total of 104 lions during our holiday?  104?  That's insane!  Many of our sightings were really close to the road, which was an experience in itself.  Just to hear them growling at each other and to see how they interact with one another is a treat.  I do love these magnificent cats.

Unfortunately, we seemed to be on the unlucky side of seeing them actually killing anything, although we did see some unsuccessfully stalking a giraffe.  On two or three occasions, we missed the physical kill by just 30 or 40 minutes!  Like this one, where we counted a total of 18 lions enjoying their mid-morning buffalo snack!  Their pride consisted of 6 cubs, 8 females and 4 males, whom we hadn't seen hiding in the shade...

 The cubs seemed genuinely excited to see their dad...

 Look at their little round bellies...

 The males weren't too happy about the females having already started on their meal and the females weren't eager to offer up their spots at the dinner table...

 The pride, less one or two that were off snoozing in the shade...

 Growl!  Love how the cubs climbed on top of the kill...  I'm the king of the castle...

 Patiently waiting his turn...

 It was like a writhing, growling mass of lions and we were fortunate enough to have front row seats...

 Unfortunately, my camera settings had shifted in the bag and I only realised it later... lesson learned and it was a tough one, but I think we still managed to get some OK shots...

  The boys were getting hungry and tired of waiting...

 When the males were eventually allowed near the carcass, they headed straight for the gut and had it open within seconds.  I don't know what they opened, whatever it was that came out looked disgusting, but as soon as the carcass was opened up, it was a lion feeding frenzy...

   Baby roars...

 They couldn't get to the body quickly enough...

 Feeding is exhausting work and it was very unusual to see a male step aside for the females and cubs...

 This cub managed to get himself full of the poopy stuff that came out of the buffalo.  I had wanted to cuddle him before, but I changed my mind...

 I've decided that lions must be quite smelly animals...

 A little one getting up close to his daddy...

 And getting a right telling off...

It's so difficult to chose which photos to share and which to leave out.  I haven't even finished looking at them and have hardly managed any editing...  Also, forgive the poor settings on these snaps, I just love them though - how big was that pride???

Love,

Sue xxx

A Turf War...

Some photos demand a post all of their own...

We happened upon quite a scene one morning, around the middle of our trip.  We spotted a hyena in the water and a rolling mass of movement along side it.  When we stopped the car to have a better look, there was the hyena hanging onto a carcass with all his might, while a massive crocodile flung himself around in the water, trying to get the carcass away from the hyena.  It was quite a thing to witness the hyena actually managing to wrestle the carcass away from the croc.  The croc managed to tear a leg off the carcass, but the hyena got the rest...

 While the hyena managed to get the carcass to the safety of the shore, the croc circled...

 Every time the croc circled away, the hyena got stuck into eating as much as he could.  I guess the risk of his meal being nicked was too big a risk...

The hyena was very aware of the croc and I guess all of us watching were hoping for a bit more tug-of-war action, but it didn't happen...

 As you can see, the croc really did get very close to the hyena and he was really nervous...

 On one of his loops, the croc got a little close to a huge hippo and got a right telling off...

  What a messy face!  We'd actually seen this same hyena the day before.  He is blind in one eye and his legs are so frail that his hips are poking through the skin, we didn't think we'd see him again.  This meal would've been so important to this guy, we were very happy to see him getting something substantial to eat.

Not a great picture, but I love how the croc is lying in the water with his mouth wide open, while the hyena looks on over his prey.  I wonder who would win if they took each other on...

Unfortunately, we didn't have more time to sit and watch the show, we still had a long drive ahead of us that morning, but what a way to start the day!

Love,

Sue xxx

Just one or two...

 Well, I'll try, but with 4200 odd photos, it certainly won't be easy!!

Jake and I had a truly memorable holiday and it was so special to have time together to just relax and enjoy each others company again. The school term was a very busy one, as always, and so we really enjoyed being silly and just us for a change.  It was good for us to have a laugh together.  My little family has taken quite a knock this year for many reasons and so it was nice to let it all go and to be able to talk to each other in the confines of the car.  We will get there and thank goodness for therapists.

Anyway, Jake and I saw so much in our 19 days in Kruger.  From the minute we arrived, till the moment we drove out the park gates, we were spoiled by nature.  Jake and I flew into Nelspruit this time around, which is probably about an hour away from Kruger's gates.  We stopped in Hazyview to do our grocery shopping (what an experience!) before signing in.  Our first sighting in the park was of the leopard above.  Last year we had one very poor leopard sighting, this year, we saw 10 mostly up close!!  

Our next stop on our way into camp was for a black rhino.  These are incredibly rare in the park.  I stand to be corrected, but I think there are only 50 in total.  The sighting wasn't amazing, the light was fading fast and he was tucked way back behind the trees, but it was definitely a black one, lucky us!!

 We saw lots of lions this year too - Jake counted a total of 104 lion sightings!  They're just incredible, massive creatures and we both adore these cats.  They just look so cuddly...

 These lions were parked off across from a waterhole and we kept hoping that they'd go off and look for something to eat across the road, but they'd get up and stretch and yawn and then go back to sleep again.  We watched them for about 3 hours - thank goodness we had sandwiches and coffee in the car...

 Buffaloes are gorgeous.  They look like grumpy old men and their faces are all so different.  Jake learned this year that buffs with thick horns on top of their heads (like this one) are males.  Female's horns are much thinner on top...

 Hahaha... he looks grumpy with the little ox-pecker cleaning his face...

 We had plenty of exciting experiences along the way too, like this yellow-bellied sand snake (non-venemous) that fell out of a tree and nearly landed in the skottle braai, where we were standing making our bacon and eggs.  The poor lizard was still alive and kicking when they hit the ground and the snake was very protective over his kill...

 After allowing me a photo shoot, he eventually managed to find a shady spot where he quickly swallowed the lizard, who'd thankfully stopped flinging his arms and legs around...

 Morning traffic in the bush...

 A young buffalo, with 2 red-billed ox-peckers sorting out his bugs...

 Zebra reflections along the Olifants River...

 Water is scarce in the park and this ellie wasn't happy about having to share his water hole with these zebs...

 One of my favourite things to see is a baby elephant.  Their trunks seem to have a mind of their own and their ears always look a million sizes too big for them.  Elephants are super affectionate and protective of one another and the herd usually has a mixture of elephants of varying ages.  I love how tactile they are with one another, like these babies...

 And these two.  They were so excited to see each other, it was just too precious for words to see them running in between their mommies legs and loving each other...

Our best lion sighting, was definitely 3 magnificent male lions, that crossed the road in front of us and came and lay in the sunshine in the road right next to our car...  We could hear them breathing and it was quite thrilling to hear the first lion roaring to get his buddies to come and join him in the sun, which they did and it was AMAZING...

 Seriously, don't you just wanna go cuddle into that mane??  They look so docile when they're dozing in the sun...

 YAWN... life in the bush is hard work for some...

 The look that says it all!  This guy seemed to be the "main" lion.  Look how big and dark his mane is, just stunning...

 These three were definitely hungry and restless.  This is the best picture I got of all three of them together - my lens zooms too close to get them all in one frame...

 This is possibly one of my favourite photos from the trip.  Look at the love...

 A young kudu.  I love their ears - they're just so huge and so pink...

 After our experiences last year, Jake and I are both completely in love with rhinos.  We were thrilled when this pair of white rhinos crossed the road, with matching ox-peckers on their horns...

 There were only 2 cars at this specific rhino sighting.  The less people, the better.  The rhinos were very nervous about crossing the road and hovered in the bushes for a long while before braving up and crossing over to the water hole for a drink.  Our view couldn't have been clearer...

 Late one afternoon, we witnessed a black backed jackal hunting.  We'd stopped to watch a giraffe with twins and spotted the jackal lurking around in the background, ear to the ground.  I managed to get some very cool shots of him launching himself into the air and dive-bombing the ground, before digging to eternity and catching the poor creature below.  It was either a dwarf mongoose, or a mole.  The jackal proceeded to eat the entire thing in about 2 minutes flat...

 Oh gosh, can you ever get bored of leopard photos???  I know I should crop this one, but I'm going to be making a photo book again and I don't want to crop too much before I get going on that...

 A scene during one of our sunset drives (we did 3).  There are 2 male lions lying under the tree and another 4 females to the left of the shot...

 A dwarf mongoose popping out to say hello...

 Sleepy lions slowing waking up in the evening sun and preparing for the hunt ahead...

OK, so that's a few of my favourites from our first few days in the park.  I know the editing's not amazing on all the pics, but you must remember that the light's often not in your favour and you can't really move your subjects around to get the best light.  These are just some of my favourite memories.  I'll sort out some more for you soon and hope you enjoy these in the mean time!!

Sending love,

Sue XXX

Just keep swimming...

Wow, OK... I have been bad about keeping this spot up-to-date!!  SORREEEEEEEE! No news in 2 months - well there has been lots happening, I just haven't found time to share it all.  I have nothing to blame for my silence, besides my own busy-ness.  Work has been explosive of late and I've had a crazy time keeping on top of things in the office.  I love it though and I'm very happy being busy.  Rather too busy, than too quiet.  Jake and I were also away for 3 weeks during the school holidays, which was wonderful and much needed.  I promise that pics will follow as soon as I actually find time to look through all 4200 of them.  Jake has learned a lot about photography too and I'm definitely going to need to invest in a second camera for our next holiday.  In a nutshell, I'm struggling to juggle life at the moment, but please bear with me.  I have a new laptop and internet connection at home now too, so I will be able to write more often when I get going properly.

Sending lots of love to anyone who still stops by here,

Sue XXX

12 years, 12 lessons...

I have been a mom for 12 years today!!  Happy, happy, HAPPY 12th birthday Jake!!  You are growing into such a handsome, kind and caring boy and I am SO very proud to be your mom.  It's so much fun watching you grow up and learn new things every day!  It's incredible to see you becoming an independent young man and to watch your passion for nature and animals growing.  I am SO excited for our upcoming trip to Kruger and I can't wait for our long stay in the park!  I love sharing this special place with you and creating new memories and adventures together.  I LOVE YOU XXX

Since Jake was born, life has thrown me more than my fair share of curve balls.  Some have been more painful than others, but here's what I've taken from the last 12 years...

1.  Life changes. When Jake was born, life was so, incredibly exciting. I was young and innocent and life hadn't hurt me yet.  The thing is, though, we can't stop change, it is inevitable and we just have to learn to roll with it.

2.  Grief hurts forever. Yes, you do learn to live with the hurt you feel and someone once told me that the immediate ache of grief is like having a hole in your heart, that eventually gets a scab and forms a scar, but it never heals 100%.  It's true.  My heart still hurts so often and I miss Jacques all the time.  In 12 years, I've never once gone a day without thinking about him at least once.  No matter where I've been or with whom, he is always on my mind.

3.  Being a mother is all-consuming.  I live, eat, sleep and breathe Jake.  I would go to the ends of the earth to make sure that he's happy.  He's mine and I'm so PROUD of him.  Jake's needs come ahead of my own from here on out.  No more messing around, it's mom full time!

4.  I am fiercely protective.  Enough said - don't you dare do anything to upset my child!

5.  I have choices in life.  Be happy, or be sad.  Life is too short to be miserable and believe me, I've had plenty of reason to be miserable, but why?  Get off your bum and go outside and enjoy life with those who love you!

6.  Friends come and go, but the real ones are there when you really need them!  Even when you don't get to see them as often as you would like to, when you do catch up again, you pick up from where you left off.  Best friends are few and far between.  People who I thought would stand by Jake and I haven't and some have stepped up where I never expected them too.  

7.  I have an incredible family.  My mom, my dad and my sisters are my absolute rocks in life.  The 5 of us have been through so much together and I believe that we've come through whatever life's thrown at us with flying colours.  Jake, along with my nieces and nephews and my 2 amazing brothers-in-law form now form part of that inner circle for me.  I am also blessed with really wonderful in-laws - Jacques family are really fantastic too.

8.  Don't rely on others for my own happiness.  I have always been very quick to trust other people.  Trust is free, but should be earned.  I have learned a lot about this through my past relationships and this is something that I need to be a lot more cautious with in the future.  Trust needs to be earned, especially as far as men are concerned...

9.  Nothing in life is certain.  When you think you have a good thing, it's not necessarily that others feel the same way.  In the last 12 years, I have been let down numerous times, by people I didn't expect to let me down and I have learned from it that I need to be more careful in the future.

10.  Life is short.  It sounds so cliche to say it, but it's true.  Time goes far too quickly when you're having fun.  Jake is growing up too fast and I sometimes wish that I could press pause for a little bit.  Jake has also realised that he's growing up quickly and has decided that he doesn't want to be grown up just yet.  He is terrified of hitting puberty and just wants to stay as he is for a bit longer.

11.  Say what I want.  I have always been very indecisive.  I hate chosing a movie or what to have for dinner.  I am terrible at confrontation and will either not say what's on my heart, or otherwise it comes out all wrong.  Through Jake's ADD problems, I've had to learn to put my big girl pants on and make decisions for him on my own - that's been a really big lesson for me.  I can make decisions and I do make them well.  I just have to trust my gut and listen to the inner me more closely...

12. I am a single parent.  Single parenthood is incredibly difficult.  Unlike divorced parents, when you're widowed, you're 100% responsible for your child's welfare, both financially and emotionally.  It's a huge job when there are 2 of you and it's really tough when there's only 1 of you.  That said, I'm glad that I don't have an ex, fighting with me over money and visiting schedules.  I'd prefer to do it alone than to have to expose my child to all the unhappiness that goes along with a broken home.  That said, it is really awful making decisions for someone else (see 11 above).  I've learned that I don't have to make up the fact that Jake doesn't have a dad, I just have to smother him with love!

Love,

Sue XXX