South Africa For Christmas: Part 4

Christmas day!

We opened presents from Santa and family then had a very eventful afternoon.

This part of the trip is very interesting and entertaining!

Keep in mind this is Christmas day.

We were on our way to an Elephant Sanctuary when our car stopped running. 

We tried to restart it but it wouldn't run. So we wouldn't be late to our appointment...

we had to walk the rest of the way. We hiked about 3 miles.

Finally, we got where we were going but had no car because Lee left it

on the side of the road. 

The people at the sanctuary called us a tow truck..it's Christmas day...we

finally find someone to come and get our car.

In the process of leaving, a couple drives by us, turns around, and asks if there is anything

they can do to help us. They had passed us on the side of the road when

the car broke down. When they were coming back, they saw us with the tow truck and

stopped. They offered us a ride back to our hotel,

about 30 minutes away, then invited us to their house for lunch the next day.

Elephant Sanctuary....really cool!

This is us when our car broke down. In the middle
of nowhere.

Starting the long journey

We made it...or so we thought. It
was another mile up a dirt road.

Our poor African safari truck.

****

Peter and Caroline are macadamia nut farmers. They live on their farm which includes

4 horses, 6 dogs, a lake, and lots of trees! It was absolutely gorgeous.

The whole gang! Dogs included!

I went horseback riding! That's right!

All in all, our truck breaking down turned out to be a nice thing.

We finally got it fixed after a few days then went to Joburg!

Until next time....

South Africa For Christmas: Part 3

We visited some mountain and waterfalls the next day.

It was so beautiful!

We visited the Blyde River Canyon. It was so pretty
and peaceful.

So green!

Love these girls so much!

I was being a bit rebellious. I wasn't supposed to
go beyond the sign. Oh well! I got some good pictures!

***

This waterfall was so cool. We were able to walk
in the water and everything!

I am blow away at how God made this.

These were called Potholes. They were really cool!

Love this lady!

Wonderview. Can it get any prettier?

God's Window....completly in awe.

Part 4 coming to you soon!

South Africa For Christmas: Part 2

The first full day in Nelspruit involved caves and chimpanzees!

I can't begin to tell you how much fun I had. Prepare to be amazed!

First stop...caves!

It was dark and I was bright.

We were told all kinds of things about the cave
and all of it was Evolution based. I just marveled at
what our God created and kept my mouth shut.

I spy a sharks head...can you see it?

Great picture minus all the random people staring at the
camera. Hahaha!

There were bats in the cave. I was a little creeped out
and scared they would swoop down and bite me. Too much
TV I think!

Yes, I did face my fears and crawl through a small hole.

It was fun while it lasted!

Walking through more tunnels

On the inside and the outside, God showed His beauty.
This is the view right outside the cave.

***

Second stop...
.Jane Goodall's Chimpanzee Eden

Meet Jessica. She made me laugh!

Excuse me, I have a question!

Snack time for the chimps

This is Cozy. He was rescued from the circus. Abused and
used but still full of life.

Can you find the chimp hanging from the tree?
He's an acrobat!

33 chimps were rescued from the wild and the circus.

I'm a bit obsessed with landscape pictures. 

This concludes part 2 of our adventurous Christmas journey!

Stayed tuned for part 3...

South Africa For Christmas: Part 1

Our family went to South Africa for Christmas. Tracy's parents came from

the States to celebrate with us.

First we went to Nelspruit then to

Johannesburg. It was so much fun and I enjoyed every minute of it.

It was hard not being in the States with my biological

family and celebrating Christmas with our normal traditions, but now

I have new traditions to start when I get home.

I'm going to write several blog posts to cover our 2 week adventure!

This is part 1...

To get to South Africa from Quelimane, you have to drive through all of

Mozambique. It took us 2 days to get to Nelspruit. Let's just say, we were all cranky and tired.

14 hours for 2 days is a long time to sit but we saw some pretty amazing

things on our drive down!

This is the Zambezi River. It runs through 6 countries on
its journey from central Africa to the Indian Ocean.

Before this bridge was built, you would have to ride a ferry
to cross the river.

A beautiful yet funny looking mountain

We saw a lot of the coast as we traveled through
Mozambique. Absolutely gorgeous!

Just stop and think about the Creator who decided to
let us see just a glimpse of Himself in this picture. How
could you not believe in a God so holy and powerful?

Write your own caption for this picture.

First "American" food since I moved here in August! I
was a happy camper! 

***

Finally in Nelspruit to surprise grandma and granddaddy!

The girls were thrilled!

First time seeing each other in almost a year!

Love both of these women! Such godly role models in
my life!

Emma and Lilly decided to scare me when I walked out
of the bathroom. I almost wet myself!

This concludes the first 2 days of our Christmas adventure!

To be continued...