About two weeks into the expedition we were given the opportunity to experience the mountains of South Africa. We went for three nights and four days into the vast peaks of lush forest, situated about three hours from base camp. The camp itself is called Leshiba and is teaming with wildlife that roams freely, right down to the infamous dung beetles and multitudes of pepper ticks.

We took morning hikes daily. Here I'm perched on a precarious rock on one such hike.

Once there, we settled into our camp which hosts several huts. We were the only lucky souls there so we actually could have enjoyed our own huts if we preferred. Kim, Jen and I decided that our preference was to share. We bunked in our hut quite happily.

Our little compound :)

Naturally, diplomacy is not only encouraged but crucial for foreign relations.

Just beyond the patio of our kitchen lay a pond or watering hole. Each day we would find that visitors would swing by to take a bath, grab a drink, or just roll in the muddy banks. Such visits would usually be announced with a crash through the brush, followed by the heavy lumbering steps of our friend, a white (or square-lipped) rhino.

Here's our girl. We didn't know this, but she gave birth to a calf only two days after we left.

One particular night we were standing out in the yard enjoying a beer and watching the starry sky when we heard a "crash" coming through. We quickly took our beer to the patio just in time to see a large male rhino walk only 60 feet from where we stood. It was astonishing and humbling to say the least.

A group of rhinos is actually called a crash. It's easy to imagine why.

White Rhino Print

Leshiba is home to a great number of giraffe. You literally can't go anywhere without encountering at least a couple of them. One morning we were fortunate enough to get to walk in on them. The perspective of standing on your own two feet only yards away from such an enormous animal is breath taking. They're shy creatures with a curiosity that has them watching you just as much as you watch them. They are earth's tallest animal. They have wonderful eyesight and their name is derived from an Arabic word that means swift-moving.

And of course, they're simply beautiful.

We also had daily visits from a family of warthogs. They too came to indulge in the waterhole.

This is a skink. It is a lizard like creature that dwells in the crags and cracks of rocks. They are brilliantly colored little guys.

Another common inhabitant of the forests and the bush of South Africa is the golden orb web spider. It is a large species that builds its webs between trees. The web itself is the strongest of any spider.

The mountains are a little piece of paradise...minus the ticks maybe.