St. Lucia

Just got back from our last week off before we go on placement as I had spent the last 2 weeks off here around camp I really wanted to go somewhere for this one. Suzie and I decided we would go down to St. Lucia, a coastal touristy town near where we wanted to go on placement. St. Lucia is a great birding destination with hippos and croc that swim in the ocean and Turtles that come along the beaches to lay their eggs. Also, Our placement was going to be at Bonomanzi a reserve near by and we could stop in meet everyone and see what it was like.

We left early Sunday morning preparing for a 10-hour drive ahead of us with lots of snacks and good music to listen to on the way down. The drive is beautiful with windy roads through the foggy Drakensberg mountains then on to vast stretches of forest that lead into rolling hills and grasslands. I much enjoyed it even though we encountered much construction along the way. The landscape was nothing like you would imagine South Africa to be. We arrived about 4 in the afternoon to St. Lucia without a hitch. The room we were staying in was like a little apartment with a kitchen, TV! and even a Bathtub in the bathroom. Now for us this is luxury.

Monday Suzie and I went for a drive in the local park and within minutes came across Rhino sleeping under a tree 2 females and a calf escaping the heat of the day just relaxing by the water’s edge. As we drove on we came across so many different birds I can’t even begin to list them all. The next outlook brought us to a boardwalk where we could stroll up to the water’s edge and see the Flamingos and Hippos in the water. We decided to stop for a picnic lunch and then head back as we had booked on to a hippo and croc river cruise.

The river cruise was very good getting extremely close to the hippos (I got some great pictures). Suzie and I spent most of it taking notes on anything new the captain would say about things we would see along the way. We learned tons and it was worth it just for that not to mention everything else.

That night we stayed in and watched a movie, when there was a knock on the door. Who is that? We wondered. Well it was the security guard. He came to tell us there was a hippo on the grounds and we could come see if we want. So out we went and right there, not even 10 meters from us was a hippo happily munching away on the grass. What a cool way to start off the week.