Posted by

ginalrodgers2013

Posted on

May 9, 2024

Posted under

England, Europe

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Cotswold Walk – Day 2

Stanton to Winchcombe

8 miles / 13 km

After a hearty breakfast, we hit the trail by 9:30 AM enjoying gorgeous Spring weather.

Today’s walk was similar to the first as we walked crossed many green pastures & said hello to some sheep & lambs.

Yes, they speak English in England; but, that doesn’t mean I always understand what they mean.

A fairly common sight in England are the ruins from the many abbey’s that were destroyed by Henry VIII.

Just after 1:00 PM we made it to Winchcombe. This town is over 1,000 years old with many old buildings. Our hotel dates from 1554.

This town could easily be used on a historical movie set.

After a quick lunch we visited the nearby Sudeley Castle. British royalty ranging from Richard III, Charles I, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, & Elizabeth I as well as many other well known names in British history are included in its story. Henry VIII’s last wife Katherine Parr who survived him is interred here making her the only English queen buried in a private castle. Sudeley Castle is also where Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn along with Henry’s Chief Minister Thomas Cromwell decided Britain would break with the Catholic Church so Henry could divorce Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn.

Henry VIII & his 6 wives- (L-R) Catherine of Aragon (Divorced), Anne Boleyn (Beheaded), Jane Seymour (Died), Anne of Cleves (Divorced), Catherine Howard (Beheaded), Katherine Parr (Widow)

Henry VIII’s last wife Katherine Parr is buried in St. Mary’s Chapel on the castle grounds.

Great story on how Katherine Parr’s burial place was found

Posted by

ginalrodgers2013

Posted on

April 19, 2024

Posted under

Africa, South Africa, Uncategorized

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Kruger National Park, South Africa

For the past four days we enjoyed safari driving in Kruger National Park located in South Africa’s northeastern corner.

Kruger ranks among the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 17,576 square miles which is approximately the size of New Jersey or the country of Wales.

It took us 4 days driving many hours each day & we only saw about 1/3 of the park. We were rewarded with seeing many animals along with some new first time safari experiences.

One rare sighting was seeing a mother hyena nursing her pup on the side of the road.

Our theory is the mother hyena knows that predators don’t like being close to the road where vehicles & people are, so she felt safe nursing her pup there instead of in the bush.

The other rare sighting was a dead leopard in a tree.

Apparently it was deposited there after being killed by another leopard.

Leopards are not only very territorial m’; but also, they have very strong jaws & are excellent climbers.

Leopards are the only cats who can climb that high carrying another animal.

Like most African game parks, you get very close to the wildlife.

We enjoyed our game drives each day. Here are a few animal sightings from the past few days.

Posted by

ginalrodgers2013

Posted on

April 16, 2024

Posted under

Uncategorized

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Ol Pejeta Conservancy

We were lucky to have half a day to explore the Ol Pejeta Conservancy wildlife park near Nanyuki. This is a private park that helps protect & conserve numerous African wild animals. With the recent rains, we were glad to have a 4×4 vehicle to maneuver the muddy roads getting to & from the park as well as within it.

Near the entrance is a nice sign marking Zero Degrees latitude on the Equator.

One unique feature at Ol Pejeta is their chimpanzee sanctuary for rescued chimps which was started in 1993 by the world’s preeminent chimp expert Jane Goodall. They currently provide a home for 2 troops totaling 40 chimpanzees.

You can get up close & personal with a blind black rhino named Baraka which means “Lucky” because he was Lucky to be rescued & cared for. He likes to be fed & to have his ears rubbed.

Here is an assortment of other animals we enjoyed watching on our game drive.

The very rare white rhino.
They are protected from poachers by an electric fence.

Posted by

ginalrodgers2013

Posted on

April 13, 2024

Posted under

Kenya

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Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy Animal Orphanage

A great place to visit near Nanyuki, Kenya, is the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy Animal Orphanage located at the Mount Kenya Safari Cub.

It makes up for its small size by providing true interaction with the animals. Each visitor is provided with their own wildlife management guide. The guide is able to answer all your questions & helps you interact safely with a few animals.

Up Close & Personal with Llamas, Monkeys, Ostriches, & Turtles