I'm standing with a herd of zebra!
The red, sandy soil is so nice.
The "Dr. Seuss" aloes that are everywhere
Wednesday was a holiday in South Africa (“Heritage Day”) so Sarah and I took the opportunity to go to Luchaba Nature Reserve, a park about a 20 minute drive from Mthatha (only a few miles, but a very bumpy dirt road). We drove around for a while looking for animals, and just when I thought that this was going to be a disappointing trip, I spotted the zebra herd! We got out of the car and walked towards them and managed to get quite close (maybe 50 metres away? I’m horrible at estimating distance). We laid out our blanket on the grass and took some time to just hang out and watch these beautiful animals. In a way I found myself thinking that it was kind of silly that I enjoyed watching the zebra so much, when really they are not that much different than watching a bunch of horses, which wouldn’t be very interesting to me at all. But I enjoyed the novelty of seeing the black and white (actually kind of brown) stripes with a mountainous backdrop, sandy red soil, and tall dry grasses. It was during this experience that I really came to appreciate the fact that I’m staying in South Africa for 3 months. I can escape the touristy feeling of going through the park, getting my token zebra picture, and moving on to the next destination on the agenda. Since this place is my home for the next little while, I have the privilege of spending the afternoon just sitting in the grass, journaling, reading, and watching zebra roam around me as if it’s any other ordinary day. It doesn’t get much better than that!
4 comments:
Ooh! Nice pictures - I wish I could see some zebra. I think I'd really like the red soil too.
So you're with Zebra! or is it Zebras, I'm not sure what the plural is. Possibly Zebri? So you know when you took the 78 and it was the most round about trip. I had the same experience. I started in Linden Ridge at the Optomitrist and ended up at UofM!!!! then I had to come all the way back to Caimbridge, by the time I realized what had happened it was too late to get off. Well I hope you're having an awesome week. I promise I will send your letter soon. Sorry this is so long
I love the zebra pictures! Also your house looks very nice!
So cool...the stories you will be able to tell! I am really glad that you will have the opportunity to see some of the country :)
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