Back from Mozambique

gotta bring a little Auburn love to Africa

So i'm officially back...and still recovering....from Mozambique! I'm afraid I might have left part of my heart there...and I'm really sad. Guess that's a good thing. Anyway, I still plan on going back and after my mandatory prayer time-out of 30 days I will be applying for a 1yr stint over there as a nurse. See my Africa blog for all the details of my trip, updates, and pics! (in the left hand margin-my alter ego)

One cool thing I did get to experience was a little African safari. I was really unexpectedly blessed with the opportunity to go on a one-day safari to South Africa's Kruger National Park with an amazing missionary couple that works for Iris as well. They support themselves by working FT jobs on the side...this is the wife's job: safari guide extradonaire! They opened their home to us for 2 nights as well as picked and dropped us off from Zimpeto which is about a 7hr round-trip ride! So there was us 5 girls and then Lynne, our guide in a big open top safari jeep. We got to see everything but a cheetah (although I'm convinced that we just couldn't see her cause she was running circles around us so fast).

The list includes but is not limited to: tons of elephants and giraffes...a gaggle of giraffe right next to us on the rd; a herd of about 25-30 elephants crossing right in front of our jeep; a group of zebras crossing in front of us as well as right on the side of the rd next to us; lots of elephants really close (i wanted to jump out and pet the cute babies); hyenas; warthogs (think puma from the lion king); ververt monkeys; baboons; lots of really cool and wierd looking birds; water buffaloo; rhinos; tons of hippos and crocodiles; all 499,999 impala; kudu's; 2 leopards; a lionness den; a lone lionness (we supposed was being stood up by her lover under the kissing tree); 3 male lions eating a fresh kill; 4 lionesses stalking impala and kudu for about 20 min (better than animal planet!); oh and lots of idiots like us having way too much fun! Too bad it wasn't a petting safari.....so here's some pictures just for fun!

Me and giraffes

The view we had for breakfast

Me, Emily, and Hanna enjoying our breakfast (ok, waiting on it to come)

Elephant crossing

Let's play where's the lions?....promise there are 2 in this pic!

Hippos @ the local watering hole

Zebras!

And finally: while myself, Hanna, Leigh, and Rachel were checking out the cool elephants, Emily had found the cheetah and neglected to tell anyone! ok, we were really just having a little fun.