September passed by in a blink which always seems to happen when a time at a post is coming to an end. I have been busy sorting our things, getting walls repainted for inspection and sorting out paperwork on 4 animals so we can apply for Kenyan import permits. Meanwhile, a lot of other things happened....
Lots of Goldens! From left: Savannah, Jagger and Sallie, a retired Guide Dog we fostered for a few weeks.
The whole gang.
Maria's obsession with unicorns knows no bounds. We had a few families over for a dinner and she insisted on adding a piñata to the festivities.
Gio and some of his 4th grade classmates played "Happy Birthday" for their school director.
Snuggles.
In early September 5 friends and I headed to Rwanda & Uganda for gorilla trekking!
First night dinner in Kigali (after a sobering visit to the Genocide Museum).
Meanwhile back in Pretoria Paolo was holding down the fort which included quite a few birthday parties!
Friday morning we started the drive into Uganda.
Our cool vehicle!
Border crossing....
...which included a hand wash in water full of bleach...
...followed by an Ebola screening.
Luckily we all passed!
Getting close now!
We did not stop but my phone could have used a charge!
Sand harvesting.
We arrived at our lodge in late afternoon. Gorgeous views from the deck.
The next morning we headed off bright and early to start our trek.
We each hired a porter. Adie got the only woman on the team!
My porter Francis was terrific. He and I have children the same age! Porters work on average only once/month. We paid them $15 plus tip. For most this is their only income for the month.
Off we go!
We followed a beautiful path for a while. Just as I was lulled into a sense that this would be an easy day things changed. Our guide got a call from our trackers that they had found our gorilla family. And so we started heading down, straight down. Our guards used machetes to cut the vines and our porters held us steady as we scrambled down.
Finally we met our trackers. They spent the early morning finding the gorilla family. Once we spent an hour with them (the limit of time allowed in order to reduce stress on the gorillas) they continued to follow them until they bed down for the night.
Our first sighting!
This female brushed right by a few of us before we even noticed she was there. I actually thought she was Kate at first! Quite a surprise!
Silverback!
What an amazing experience!
This was my favorite of the gorillas we saw. She had a fabulously round belly (our guide told me she "does a lot of good eating!") which she was rubbing gently as we watched her.
Our team!
Yes, the gorilla trekking was amazing but I think my favorite part of the weekend was spending time with dear friends.
Once back in Kigali we treated ourselves to a day room at the Hotel des Milles Collines (The movie 'Hotel Rwanda' was based on what happened at this hotel during the Rwandan Genocide.). Our flight home was late at night (we landed back in SA at 3AM) so this was a relaxing way to finish our adventure.
Once back in Pretoria I had the bittersweet task of driving Savannah back to GDA for the final time. Next weekend she will be matched with her new person. Alaska and Jagger came along to say goodbye.
Back home and missing Miss Savannah...
Nearly every morning Maria waits for the bus with a drawing to take to her beloved teacher.
Jagger and I got back to our therapy dog visits. This one was at a hospital's pediatric ward.
Alaska's favorite sleeping position is on my foot. Many a dinner is delayed when I just cannot bear to move once she does this.
A rare shot of both cats in the same frame. Yes, they still hate each other!
I buy a year's worth of clothing for Maria when we travel back to the US each April. This morning she got to see all of her new size 5 clothes!
How is this comfortable?
Nap buddies.
Meanwhile, over in the other bed...
Bunnies!
My lovely friend Marissa (a professional photographer) captured our two boys on a walk at Hedianga Farm.
Alaska has a bit of a shoe fetish. This is how I found her bed one morning. Luckily she does not chew them, only relocates!
The dogs went to my friend Bronwyn's for a long weekend while we were in Nairobi. The first night they found a baby hare in distress. It snuggled with Bruno until it gained some strength and could be released.
Off to visit Papa in Nairobi and to look for a house.
While we had no luck finding a house we did get to visit the school and Gio met his teacher Dr. Karen and met his new classmates (they already declared him the class clown!).
New school! Yes, Gio makes it his life goal to ruin pictures.
I know I have not lived in the USA for 11 years, but is this really a thing? My sister sent me this photo. Maria is now eagerly awaiting our April visit so she can try one!
Looking just like I did when I was a child. Love smocking!
Another fun GDA Pretoria class. Our fearless leader is very popular with the dogs. Alaska is on the right in the purple collar.
On the 28th Paolo and I drove to Parkview in Johannesburg to watch Savannah's graduation walk. We had been told nothing about her new person so this was our first time seeing her. Paolo and I had to hide across the street and not talk. They passed us by twice. At one point Savannah did look right at me (possibly she smelled me) but she did not break her focus and carried on with her work beautifully. So proud!
The next day we all went to Guide Dogs for the graduation. Before the official ceremony we were able to sit with Savannah and Estine for over an hour to share a meal and to get to know one another. Savannah is Estine's 3rd guide dog. We could see immediately that Savannah has landed with her "bum in the butter" (A SA expression which means she got very lucky.). She will have a furry buddy as Estine's husband also has a guide dog. And Estine told us that "my dog's happiness is more important than my own."!
Back home after an emotional day. Alaska, quite convinced she is a lap dog, could see I needed a snuggle. Sadly, she started her second season the next day so I had to take her back to Guide Dogs. I hope she is able to come home again before we leave.
October will bring a trip to Namibia and HOPEFULLY a new house in Nairobi. Wish us luck with that!
