The Potter's Clai: Pilanesburg

I have to be honest with you... I don't think that words or pictures can justify the experience of Pilanesburg National Park! This past Monday all the interns had a day off of work to go to the game reserve.. it was fantastic!!

If you are one of my American friends reading this: Go back to elementary when you are learning about elephants and lions, learning their sounds, habitats, and food. You look at pictures in books when you are three and point, "Mommy lion! Rawr!!" When you are older you might write a small report or two about these animals in Africa. You look at pictures and dream you'll see them but who really thinks they will ever be 10 feet away from a real Rhinoceros? Not me! But, I was!! It was an absolute dream to drive around and see these animals out in the wild!! I kept a record of everything we saw: Hippopotamus, baboon, grey duiker, steenbok, impala, grey heron, kudu, wildebeest, giraffe, waterbuck, wild tortoise, warthog (Sarah called these Razorbacks! Pig Sooie!!), Elephant, Mongoose, Lion, Tsessebe.. a lot of awesome birds, and a dust tornado! :)

I'm sure anyone who knows me will find this hard to believe, but everyone with me was constantly having to hush me because I was so excited that I kept yelling when I saw animals. I thought maybe we would drive around and see something every now and then, but it was so crazy!! We saw animals literally ALL DAY LONG! CONSTANTLY! They were just there eating, drinking, hanging out.. seriously!! God was so kind to let us see lions which is not a given at all! Oh man ya'll... it was an awesome experience!! I'm so thankful for the diversity and beauty of God's creation! For the African sunrise and plains, the wild animals, the vibrantly colored birds (Seriously.. I've never seen such colors on birds before!) and beautiful water. When you are out there seeing what I saw, your heart can't help but overflow with love and awe for the God who loves us! Here's some pics; Praise the Creative Creator with me as you look at them!

I took this picture because it says "Five Roses" and "Rooibos." Here's one fun fact about South Africa: people always offer you coffee (instant usually), and tea. But for tea they always ask "Five Roses or Rooibos?" It's the two most popular kinds here!

These are cool birds nests found everywhere. They build them in a special way where they hang from the branch and the entrance is in the bottom so predators can't get in!