Gab and Aimee's Music Video of the Trip!

chttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq19eZqGV4c

So we've returned!  The trip was amazing!  Sorry that uploading the photos did not work-- we struggled with the internet bandwidth throughout the trip.  Gab and Aimee put this together on Gab's phone and it is a fun window into some of our great times.  Hope you enjoy it.  More photos to come.

Hi all from outside Kruger Park.  The students endured a long travel day yesterday on the road from a magnificent and quite rustic lodge in the bush at Thanda.  They were able to feed and snuggle some rescue elephants, which was hysterical!  After that they headed on a game drive in safari vehicles with many exciting moments such as cheetahs walking a road, lions resting in some thick bushes, as well as wild elephants nudging trees and flapping their ears to cool themselves off.  It was pretty amazing.  One vehicle of all girls, including a rare female guide, had to push the vehicle out of the deep mud, with immediate success and the reward of being very muddy!  The evening was blustery and the braii (South African barbeque) outside by the fire knowing that just behind a small fence were hyenas and giraffes was pretty exciting.  Kids slept in pairs in separate thatched roofed chalets under mosquito nets and the setting was quite rustic and beautiful.  Today we are heading to do a day with ECO kids with a service project of painting, gardening, and playing with students.  More exciting adventures to come!
JO

Hoedspruit Day 2

We survived several amazing animal encounters today...at the animal rehab center we were able to rub a cheetah's back and some fed a vulture from a gloved arm!  We saw lions, wild dogs and hyenas up close, though behind a tall enclosure.  The students loved hearing the snorts of the leopard up close and the terrifying snapping of hyenas chewing up the bones.  From there we cruised to the town of Hazyview for our rafting adventure on pontoon style inflatable boats that we call "duckies" at home.  The water was a perfect, refreshing temperature on a hot day of 31 degrees Celsius (about 85 degrees) and it was flowing fast and muddy after last week's rains. We all hopped in to pairs and set ourselves loose!  There was plenty of splashing and crashing as the many boats navigated the narrow river.  We even spotted a tiny croc on the shore smiling at us.  The rapids were great...rough and fun and the afternoon went quickly on Sabie River.  We are now washing up for a chicken and rice dinner at the hotel before heading off to Kruger park tomorrow.   I think that will be the highlight of the trip. The moon will be full and the weather is clear! Wish us luck on the sightings for our last two game drives in South Africa!!!
JO

Hi from hoedspruit!

Hi all from outside Kruger Park.  The students endured a long travel day yesterday on the road from a magnificent and quite rustic lodge in the bush at Thanda.  They were able to feed and snuggle some rescue elephants, which was hysterical!  After that they headed on a game drive in safari vehicles with many exciting moments such as cheetahs walking a road, lions resting in some thick bushes, as well as wild elephants nudging trees and flapping their ears to cool themselves off.  It was pretty amazing.  One vehicle of all girls, including a rare female guide, had to push the vehicle out of the deep mud, with immediate success and the reward of being very muddy!  The evening was blustery and the braii (South African barbeque) outside by the fire knowing that just behind a small fence were hyenas and giraffes was pretty exciting.  Kids slept in pairs in separate thatched roofed chalets under mosquito nets and the setting was quite rustic and beautiful.  Today we are heading to do a day with ECO kids with a service project of painting, gardening, and playing with students.  More exciting adventures to come!
JO

Hi all from outside Kruger Park.  The students endured a long travel day yesterday on the road from a magnificent and quite rustic lodge in the bush at Thanda.  They were able to feed and snuggle some rescue elephants, which was hysterical!  After that they headed on a game drive in safari vehicles with many exciting moments such as cheetahs walking a road, lions resting in some thick bushes, as well as wild elephants nudging trees and flapping their ears to cool themselves off.  It was pretty amazing.  One vehicle of all girls, including a rare female guide, had to push the vehicle out of the deep mud, with immediate success and the reward of being very muddy!  The evening was blustery and the braii (South African barbeque) outside by the fire knowing that just behind a small fence were hyenas and giraffes was pretty exciting.  Kids slept in pairs in separate thatched roofed chalets under mosquito nets and the setting was quite rustic and beautiful.  Today we are heading to do a day with ECO kids with a service project of painting, gardening, and playing with students.  More exciting adventures to come!
JO

Pictures from St Lucia

St. Lucia!!

Hi Everyone,
We are enjoying our second day in St. Lucia today!   Yesterday we spent the day at local nursery schools, playing with the young kids who seemed to be a bit frightened by us big kids from America. We played games, colored and did some face painting.  From there we went to a big garden where we planted beets, onions, tomatoes and spinach for a local clinic that helps to serve people who are malnourished.  We struggled in the the heavy, wet sticky soil with our tools and had fun admiring the local insects with grasshoppers the size of our fingers!  From there we headed to an after school program where we decorated paper frogs and played ice-breaker games with the kids. THe older
South African students were more comfortable with us and it was fun seeing these great interactions between our students and theirs.
Today we woke at sunrise to get in two safari vehicles for a game drive at a nearby reservation.
 We were lucky that the temperature was cooler as it is very hot in the sunshine this afternoon!  From our vehicles we admired the hilly landscape and saw some great wildlife such as impala, zebra, giraffes, buffalo, warthogs and one group was lucky to see a rhino lazing in a big mud puddle!  The students took some amazing pictures that I hope to share with you soon.  After lunch we walked to a local a craft and fruit market and the students did some shopping for friends and family.  I hope to share a picture of the the girls in their matching safari outfits or Thai crazy pants!  Off to a hippo and croc boat tour this evening and tomorrow to Thanda wildlife conservation center in the hills.
The students have been amazing guests of this new experience.  We can't wait for more!

Sorry for the lack of photos.  having trouble saving images to the blog.   yesterday the wireless was not working...more to come from Africa!!

Hope all is well at home,
JO