It's true, Bea earned the nickname "USHEEVU", which is Zulu for "Poisonous". Why? Her taste for Coco and Amarula Cream at 9:30 in the morning at our coffee stop in the middle of the bush. Is that a lion roaring in the distance? Bea doesn't mind! She's got some booze to cool her nerves! Breakfast is served? How about topping off that orange juice with a little champagne? That's how Bea kicks it at Phinda Forrest, and our guide had a tremendous amount of fun with her. He always asked bea if she walked a little "poison" with her cocoa or soft drink, his word for alcohol. He even offered to take her back to her room in a wheel barrow if she had too much to drink at dinner, to which Bea responded "I would expect a gold guilded carriage, thank you very much."
Other nicknames and highlights from our stay in KwaZulu Natal...
Grandma..."GANEELE GOGO"...or "One Tough Grandma"...The long travel days have caused some aches and pains. We've consulted doctors and nurses, who gave her the green light to play with pain, and play she did. She wills herself to the vehicle, walked lengthy stretches over sandy and uneven terrain. She carries a cane, but doesn't always use it - sometimes it doesn't hit the ground. Its a sign of excitement that we only see during the christmas shopping season. She is comfortable inside the vehicle and enjoys taking in the wildlife one animal at a time. While the rest of us are snapping pics and rolling video to preserve the moment for eternity, Grandma takes it all in moment by moment. So while I watch the wild life through the lense of a camera, she takes it in fully and gloriously. And that seems to make the pain subside.
Tree..."ENTIBAN ABUNFU"...or "Red HEaded Warthog"...Only I could get away with calling my wife this and still have her think its cute and endearing! This nickname comes from the red-tinged warthogs that tree said were "so ugly, they are cute". I am happy to say that tree bears no physical resemblance to the hogs, other than the color of her hair.
(and with that, I may have pushed my luck. Expect another dispatch from the doghouse shortly...)
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