Some of you (family) know that I am home alone now. For the rest of you (I actually know of one or two who read this), Debbie is being cared for at ‘Gloria’s’ in Mbabane after being diagnosed with African tick bite fever. She is on a short course of azithromycin and is feeling better already and will be home before the end of this week. The culprit is Rickettsia africae, passed by a tick. All Rickettsial diseases require a vector (the tick) and Rickettsia rickettsii is the etiological agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever which is more severe. Even if I was bit, I might not have presented symptoms because I take doxycilin prophylactically for malaria and 'doxy' is the first line of defense. Except for that…
We had a very nice time on the Elephant coast. Of course, you have to start any venture here with a khumbi ride and our first night out was very cold, but once we were on our own we had perfect days with crystal clear skies and beautiful scenery (and a total lunar eclipse as a bonus).

Find the crocodile. We saw lots of crocs and hippos this trip but I'm having trouble choosing pictures without Debbie here to help make selections.
Getting into South Africa requires you to walk across the border. First you present your passport to be checked in Swaziland; when okay'd, you get a little piece of paper to carry to the next guard who takes it and allows you into SA. The same process is then repeated on that side of the border. The scraps of paper appeared to be dropped into a waste box
.
Beach on Indian Ocean.
The towns in SA are African in nature with the bus ranks, make markets, and Indali stores, but they have a decided Dutch boer influence and signs of prosperity with nice neighborhoods and the prominent Dutch reformed church.




Hippo pan
We took it pretty easy the whole week because Debbie wasn't feeling well. We think she contracted African tick bite fever as much as three weeks earlier on one of our hikes. In spite of that, we had an enjoyable time, great weather, and good food.




The Indian Ocean
The town of St Lucia is between the Indian Ocean and an estuary that drains from Lake St Lucia. It is a quaint little westernized town accomodating to tourists. Monkeys greeted us on our way into town every day. We visited a crocodile center on the outskirts of town.




Lake St Lucia
We based ourselves in St Lucia for the first three days and explored the wetlands and coastal area before moving inland to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park where we 'camped' at Hillside Lodge. We cut our vacation short by one day so Debbie could have an appointment with our PCMO.



iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
The entire area is surrounded by a Natural World Heritage Site and is noted for its' ecological diversity.








Indian Ocean behind us.











'white' rhino









An adult male kudu.
Large spiral horns, mask, and thin stripes on flanks.









A crowded beach on the Indian Ocean.


To be continued...