Today was a special day again for our delegates. A full day outing was planned at the Tembe Elephant Park. In the poetic words of Jasmine ( Wing Tung ) Chan of Hong Kong: “The South African morning is so beautiful. Long grass dancing in the wind and birds chirping…the rustle and bustle of Hong Kong is so far away from me now.”

Before setting off, Bush Blossom was passed on to its next deserving owner: Sarosh Brohi of Pakistan who explains how he earned it: “while giving the final plugs to the boat, I accidentally trying for the second time… I did it wrong and the plug was pulled out completely. [He] would regret this later! Eager now to experience the African bush with all the plant and animal life it has to offer, we crossed the lake to meet the vehicles which would take us to Tembe. Cherry (Xiao Yuan) Ren from Mainland China expressed what many are feeling: “This is the kind of gentle and fresh nature that we only get to see on postcards.”

We were to travel in three open game-viewing vehicles where silence is most important. Not long into the trip, luck was on our side. Some of the sightings included: elephants (obviously), majestic Kudu; Zebra and Buffalo.

Emily (Manshin) Chang of Taiwan adds, “ We were so lucky that we saw a white rhino, red ‘dakas’ (duikers), impalas, nyalas (lots of them), an Egyptian goose, a wooly neck stork, lions!!! giraffe!!!! and warthogs that I been longing to see!” For many it was the first time seeing these animals in their natural environment. Eric (Shu Yang) of Mainland China said that he “took a lot of pictures all way kind of because my bio teachers told me to do that, but I really loves the environment there.” WE stopped at a hide an were treated. Young Won of South Korea noted the following: “ …we could see elephants and warthogs at a big pond, drinking and having shower. It was just like what I had seen on television shows, but it was much more thrilling to see them in real life.”

At lunch time, we pulled into a picturesque picnic site where we could alight from our vehicles and enjoy tuna mayonnaise and salad roll.

After a few more hours and many more encounters with the wonders of Tembe, we reluctantly left the park behind us to return to Bhanganek – our campsite – for a welcome shower and a good meal.