A kid with an attitude...

and a REAL cute face I might add! While we were in Kruger National Park the other day with Gary we came across several herds of elephants. One herd had some real cute little guys, and this one took exception to our being on the road! He twirled around several times in his mock charges, fanned his ears, shook his little noodle-trunk and kicked up his feet (note the hind foot). He put up quite a fuss and sent dust everywhere. We were in stitches! I guess the youngsters are known for having a quick temper so this unprovoked behavior is quite common. Another not-so-funny incident was when a gianormous adult female elephant came walking up from behind then came to the side of our car, stopped an arm's length away, perked her ears forward and looked far too interested in us! My window was down and she was on my side, yikes! I sort of wanted to wind it up so she couldn't just poke that huge tusk or trunk inside, but I also didn't want to seem alive and threatening. We all sat dead still while we prayed she'd lose interest, which thankfully she did! There were a number of vehicles behind us and as some passed by us after the event they asked us how it felt at that moment. A bit like a bug actually! And isn't this just a sneaky guy? Come right in, the water's fine :)
After a fantastic day at the park it was time to take Gary to catch his flight in Johannesburg. We overnighted there then headed right back to Mercy Air to finish up some more business. Two days after Gary left, Nat Zook arrived and will join us on our flight to Mozambique tomorrow. So today there's lots of rushing around, packing, doing last minute stuff, etc. Our time here in south Africa has gone by quickly and we're very ready to head for the bush again! All going well (ie. satellite internet working) I'll try to blog again next week. In the meantime, stay out of the water!