South African Safari

We spent 4 days on safari at Sir Richard Branson's Ulusaba Reserve and had an amazing time.  It took a few days but we saw all of the "Big Five" (lions, leopards, cape buffalo, elephants, and rhinos).    More to come - Cheers, Chris.

Ulusaba was about an hour flight on the bush plane from Johannesburg. 

Bryce had a pensive look the eve of our first game drive. 

The main lodge was beautiful. 

Bryce and Phillip were hot on the tracks of something. The gun was a necessity every time we left the Land Rover. 

 An awesome sight

We saw 2 giraffes on our frst evening game drive. 

The hippos were not happy with our presence.

Impala (yes we ate some) 

Kudu (also tasty as jerky!)

Kaiser our expert tracker

Morning tea 

I think the Leopards were our favorite.  An awesome animal.

A female we found on our second evening drive.

A male leopard taking an afternoon siesta. 

A lioness with a wildebeest kill. 

Lioness 

These are the up and comers. 

White Rhino 

Ulusaba Rock Lodge was high above the plain.

Sunset on the evening game drive. 

Dinner was a special time. 

Sunrise over the game reserve. 

Wildebeest (a very tasty game meat, Bryce and I had some and now understand why 4 out of 5 lions prefer it for dinner) 

The zebras thought something was funny!

Hong Kong - A Giant that Never Sleeps

Hong Kong was what most would imagine - a bustling city with 7 million people crammed into an area smaller than Manhattan. more to come - enjoy the pics. Cheers, Chris

Classic Hong Kong Skyline at night.

Fish market was amazing. If you want it, they have it - dead or alive. 

No room to move in the market! 

Typical building in Hong Kong - especially the laundry racks. 

Everything in the pig but the oink! 

The Hong Kong office had a gret view. 

Another type of fish market - for aquariums.

Dim Sum was excellent - even the chicken feet.

Building staging made completely of bamboo over 20 stories high. Amazing. 

Bird market has every kind of bird imaginable. 

Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan - Sumo, Sushi, and Cherry Trees

More pics I'm posting.  Yes, yes I know, we are going to write that darn blog soon!  Enjoy the pics in the mean time.  Cheers -  Chris

We hit the Cherry Blossom season at the peak. 

After 19 hours after leaving Australia - we're almost awake!

The Sumo stable was an incredible privelidge to see.  We gained a huge respect for how hard these men work at their art. 

Hard hitting and quick.  That is a sumo wrestling match.

#3 on Bryce's bucket list accomplished!

Tokyo's fish market.  Not coincidental that we had incredible sushi here.

One - Two-Three HAI! Japaneese drum lesson was alot of fun. 

Bhuddist Temple in Tokyo 

Emporor Mejii Shrine Temple entrance. 

Mejii Shrine Temple 

View up Tokyo Tower 

View of TV Tower (not a very original name!) 

Mt Fuji as seen from the Bullet Train crusing along at 150 mph on our way to Kyoto. 

Our Tokyo guide Me-u-ki with Bryce.

The train station in Kyoto 

A Zen moment for Bryce in an ancient house in Kyoto. 

Biking the streets of Kyoto was a joy. We really got to see alot of the city that way. 

We got helmet heads! 

Our guide Hiro in Kyoto was super.