Home is Waiting Here for You When You Return

Nae has made it back safe and sound to Santa Cruz. I spoke to her earlier today, after 30 hours of flying and stops in Dakar, Senegal and Washington, D.C. She sounded happy and not at all tired. She said she misses South Africa already and would like to move there. Maybe someday she will find a way to. I was glad to hear her voice again and to hear more details about some of the things she saw and did. The fire has been lit under her bum to pursue grad school so that she can propose a cool project idea and get back down to S.A. to study sharks upclose and personal again.

Anyway, these pictures have nothing to do with Nae's return, but are from walks I've taken over the past few days. I hope you enjoy. (Be warned, you might get bored-there are lots of mushroom pictures! Haha, I don't know why I think they are so neat.)

An area that has become a swamp where there was never water last year.

Kookaburra blending in with the trees and grey sky.

The little flash of color in the top left is one of two rainbow lorikeets that flew past me as I walked close to their nesting spot.

There are tons of ugly termite mounds on trees along the path.

The only bright spot in our backyard.

Looks like we will have a few more bananas this year.

I think this might be garlic. We have a garlic plant in our front yard at home and these flowers look really similar.

Someone thought it would be a good idea to try and build a castle in our neighborhood. They ran out of money and it was never completed.

Isn't this one freaky? I've never seen a mushroom like it. It looks like it should be from a Super Mario Brothers game. There is a little fly on top and I don't know if this mushroom was its home or its deathtrap.

Cause I Can Picture all the Pictures of You and Me on Your Walls

Here is another big batch of pictures of what Nae has been up to in South Africa. She leaves in a few days time and I'm sure she is starting to get sad about it, but it seems like she has had such an amazing time down there and I know she'll make it back again if she sets her heart and mind to it.

The bridge Nae jumped off of. It is supposed to be the highest bungee jump spot in the world.

She walked off rather than jumped off.

View from the top of Table Mountain looking towards Lion Head.

Cable car up.

Nae called this a Daussie, which must be it's South African name. I know it as a Rock Hyrax. Can you believe these guys are the closest living relative to elephants? From what I remember of seeing them in Kenya, they are about the size of a rabbit.

Rock Hyrax contemplating a swim.

I messaged Nae and said something along the lines of "Wow, now I know why they didn't put pictures of the rooms on the youth hostel website" before I realized that this was actually the prison at Robben Island, where the great Nelson Mandela was kept for many years.

Nae always finds a way to get her bronze on.

Nae said this was the best day of her life because she got to see 2 different breaches and got to tag a shark herself.

Coastline along Mossel Bay.

Near Cape Town.

Penguins in Cape Town.

A cheetah cub licking Nae's hand, or as my parents said was probably more likely, "A cheetah cub tasting Nae"

Lemurs sunning themselves at Cango Wildlife Ranch

Nae getting to pet cheetah cubs

Nae with white tiger cubs

Nae with adult cheetahs, she said they were purring the whole time

Feeding day at Cango, it's a donkey head!

African Rain Spider...looks like a bigger version of the Australian Huntsmen