Day 11 - Lions and Rhinos and Elephants, Oh My!

Thursday, August 1, 2024

The delegation met at the Gweru Church to head to Antelope Park around 11:00 AM. We arrived at the park by noon and had plenty of time to explore the reception area and ask questions. We enjoyed a buffet lunch at 1:00 PM and discovered the is a popular tourist attraction as we discovered other white people — some from Canada, and some from the UK.

The delegation having lunch at Antelope Park in Gweru.

📸 S. Westergren

After lunch, we loaded up the safari truck to tour the grounds. Rather than tell you about it, I’ll just SHOW you:

📸 S. Westergren

Here are some fun facts we learned on the tour:

• One can tell giraffe sex by looking at “horns” on the head

• “Bvumba” is Shona for wildebeest And there are 2 kinds, black or blue — m ales have a black forehead and f emales have a brownish-black forehead

• In many animals, one can tell which are the females by looking at their back legs: females have wider back legs than males

• Impalas are a type of antelope — the distinguishing mark is 3 black stripes on the tail in the shape of an “M”

• Elephants are right- or left-tusked so one tusk may be shorter than the other

• Elephants have six sets of 4 molars each used for grinding plants and grain food; the tusks are actually considered incisors (2 of them)

We arrived back at our host homes around 6:00 PM. We were able to bathe before dinner . Rev. Mandy, Sarah, and Steph all stayed with the same family: the Mhlangas. After their dinner with the family, there was a cake that their second-born daughter, Busi, made and their third-born daughter, Chido, had iced and decorated.

The cake said “Thank you” which left us in awe because WE were so thankful for THEM! After a long 10 days, to be welcomed into a home with a family, laughter, and love was just what we needed on the back end of a long journey. ❤️

The cake was vanilla and chocolate and made with so much love!

📸 S. Westergren

(Left to right) Chido, Sarah, Rev. Mandy, Betty, and Steph with the “Thank you” cake

📸 Busi’s husband

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