...vacation concluded

And for my last installment of my trip with my parents…After leaving Cape Town we flew to a little air strip in Neilsprut, near Kruger National Park and took another Cessna into the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve. Before this trip I had not heard of many of these safari camps, and now I know that Sabi Sabi is one of the more famous camps in all of South Africa. This place was much bigger and not as intimate as our stay in Camp Okuti in Botswana, but it was amazing nonetheless. They had world class service, food, guides, safaris, etc. This is the view from our room at Sabi Sabi. I was sitting on my bed when I took this shot.
Our guide’s names were Elliot and Sylvester. They were very knowledgeable about everything in their game reserve. At this camp we saw everything…rhinos, leopards, hyenas, hippos, wildebeest, impala, kudu, nyala, elephants, lions, etc. Some of our more memorable experiences there was at dusk watching a lion devour the carcass of a buffalo while 5 hyenas were slinking in towards the kill through the fading daylight. We sat and watched for some time, until all we could see of the hyenas was the reflections of their eyes in a sea of blackness. Or watching a baby rhino with its mother wallow in the mud. We saw too many things for me to recall them all here, and for all those that dream of going on safari, here are some pictures to whet your appetite, and I hope you also have as an amazing trip as my family and I did.Elephants are always neat to see. This is the shot of a lion after eating it's fill. You can just make out the carcass of the buffalo in the background. Baby Rhinos are cute!

For the last stop of our trip, after leaving South Africa, I brought my parents to Ghana to check out where I’ve been living for the past year. We spent a good amount of time in the capital, Accra, but I also brought them out to my house in the Central Region and introduced them to a few of my friends. My parents were really excited that as soon as we got out of the car, a group of guys, some of my former students rushed up in greeting and helped us with our bags to my house. And we showed my parents the school where I teach and around my town. Then after that we went down to the beach at Anomabo and rested our feet in the ocean for a few days until my parents had to start their trek back to the states. Now for those that haven’t traveled much, coming to a third world country can be a huge shock. I know it was for both of my parents, but seeing with your own eyes the way people live in the third world is much different than seeing pictures in a magazine or on the television. That’s one of the reasons I love to travel so much….I need to see things for myself.
I hope you have all enjoyed. Cheers.