Looking at the two dots in the distance throught the binoculars, I saw that they were, in fact, Rhino's. I was impressed--not just by the Rhinos, but by the fact that our guide John had actually spotted them from so far off. Soon I found out, however, that this was just the beginning of our experience in the Hluwlie-Imfolozi park, and the wildlife viewing here was unlike anything any zoo could dream of. As we continued through the park, we began to see animals every few minutes--herds of Mpala (Antellope), Wildebeast, Buffallo, Warthogs, and Zebra. We were very excited to see a lone Elephant, and a few more Rhinos. After a picnic lunch--where we were joined by several begging Warthogs, a grazing Zebra, and a Water Buck, we headed back out to explore. We were astonished to drive right up to a group of 5 White Rhinos, including one baby, grazing right by the side of the road! I was sure that would be the highlight of the day, but shortly after, we chanced upon a group of 7 Giraffe eating leaves from the trees by the side of the road. But the real highlight of the day came right as we were leaving the park-- right as we were coming to a river, our jaws dropped to see a herd of 20 elephants (we counted) mixing with a group of at least as many Africa Bufallo. We watched as they moved closer and closer, and eventually walked right past our vehicle, taking absolutely no notice of us.

The following day, we headed out to the St. Lucia wetlands estuary, located in the area between lake St. Lucia (the largest in Southern Africa) and the Indian Ocean. After a bird-watching walk (which I'll admit wasn't the most exciting thing I've ever done) we went on a boat ride on the river, where we saw various Nile crocodile and numerous Hippos--including a family of about 10. In the afternoonwe headed to a big cat sanctuary, where we got to see lots of large felines, including several Cheetah, being fed.

Today I headed back along the coast to Durban, and will head to Johannesburg tomorrow (11 hours on the bus :( ), and fly out the following morning. I will spend almost 2 days getting to Nepal, via Bahrain and Oman. I'm not excited about spending the next 3 days straight travelling, but am getting very excited to see the Himalaya!

I've seen alot in a little time in South Africa and am very satisfied with how I've made use of my 2 weeks here. Overall, the trip is going very well so far and I'm still less than half way done. 2 continents down, 2 more to go...