Paradise in Parys

We had had a good number of stressful drives and days leading up to our time at Kruger. We left there on the next leg of our journey to Parys, pronounced "Puhrays" to visit Renee Hartslief, a friend of Lynn Young and many others in Colorado Springs. Renee was born in Oklahoma, raised mostly in South Africa, lived in Colorado Springs for 10 years and now lives on a nature preserve. Renee loved our kids and they loved her.

While we had a great time in Kruger, Renee's property has a bunch of animals that come to the fence just outside her home, so we got to observe them close up.

These are sable, somewhat rare and quite valuable. Horns like an antelope, strips and made like a zebra.

Two white rhino just outside the enclosure. Apparently, the main difference between black and white rhino is not their color, but the shape of their mouths, square-lipped and hook-lipped depending upon what they eat.

A baby cheetah that Renee is raising. The kids got to help her give it milk.

Brooke and Sophia on a sunset safari ride.

We slept at the CarryBlaire River Resort, a neighbor of Renee's and had our very own thatched cottages on the Vaal River. Yes, life got much better in Parys.