What to do on a cold Zimbabwean night?

.... Run around and play like a wild dog and sit by the fire pit. Kodi does the running round and we do the sitting by the fire pit. Notice the attire though, it is just never that cold here! Marshmallows anyone?

15 August 2010 - Lion and Cheetah Park

We haven't been out to the Lion and Cheetah park recently so when a visitor arrived we had the perfect excuse to head out and see the lions. Located only about 30 min from downtown Harare, this really is a great place to get up close and personal with wild cats. We were lucky because as we were arriving, they began feeding the big cats. Never have I seen cheetahs in motion like this and very very close to the chain link fence. We had just a week before been traumatized by the lion feeding at Antelope Park, well, Lion and Cheetah was just about as scary. The sounds the lions make when battling over food is really something to hear. Because of all the commotion the lions were making, the hyenas were up and moving about as well. You just never know what you will find at these places...

Love,

Shannon

11 August 2010 - First Day of School

On the coldest day of the year, Charlotte and Lucas went back to school after a long summer break. Charlotte is in 6th grade, middles school here and Lucas is in 2nd grade. I can hardly believe it!

Love, Shannon

6-8 August 2010 - Antelope Park, Gweru Zimbabwe, Part 4 Lion Feeding

This was the scariest thing... watching 4-5 year old lions being fed. These are big, hungry, wild cats and it was quite a site. Eight lions being fed a truckload of cow parts. During the whole bloody thing the lions never took their eyes off Lucas. As the smallest in the group, he was immediately singled out as the most likely candidate for dinner. The only thing between us and the lions was a rusty chain link fence. Probably won't be doing this activity again...

6-8 August 2010 - Antelope Park, Gweru Zimbabwe, Part 3 Elephants!

The elephant safari was great. We didn't see much game on our trek but we sure enjoyed hanging out with the "ellies." Lucas most of all!

6-8 August 2010 - Antelope Park, Gweru Zimbabwe, Part 2 Baby Lions

The highlight of our stay at Antelope Park was being able to play with three 8 week old baby lion cubs. They were so amazing!

6-8 August 2010 - Antelope Park, Gweru Zimbabwe, Part 1

This is the open air shower.


We spent three days in Gweru at the Antelope Park Lion Conservation Center and had a blast... The place was great, our lodge overlooked a river offshoot the was home to so many beautiful birds. Directly across the river was were the young 9 month old lions were kept that folks could actually take a walk with (no one under age 16). In the morning and evenings we could hear them growling and grumbling. The lodge itself was rustic but nice, the coolest feature was the open air shower. Thankfully, there was plentiful hot water. Electricity was in short supply for most of the visit, but that didn't stop us from enjoying our time there to the fullest. Here are some pics of the lodge and surrounds.

Love, Shannon

25 July 2010 - Dombashawa

Today dawned so beautiful, clear, blue and warm that we decided to take a short road trip north to Dombashawa to take in the view and climb the rocks. There was no one there but us so it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. Kodi got to try out his new doggie back pack, he carried his own bowl and water. Dombashawa is a rock formation/cave area about 30km north of Harare. In the caves there are ancient rock painting. We didn't find the caves (need to leave a reason to return!) but we did climb to to the very top. The view was spectacular! Such a treasure and only about 3o minutes from our house. We'll be back.

24 July 2010 - Spanish Dancers

Today Charlotte and her dance group did a Spanish dance demonstration at a local school's Fun Day here in Harare. She is getting really comfortable performing in front of an audience. So much so, she has decided to join the Drama Club at school.