Tranquility

One of the guest lodges I stayed in was across the street from a bird sanctuary.  Another medivaced PCV from Ghana and I went over and spent the afternoon.  They had a lovely restaurant overlooking the sanctuary.  We had a couple glasses of wine and lunch and just enjoyed the scenery.  Oh the rigors of the Peace Corps!  Below is an example of what we had to look at when we were enjoying our wine.  Poor me.

The birds below are Crowned Grey Cranes.  I think you can understand how they got their name.  They are quite spectacular looking birds.

These are blue cranes, the national bird of South Africa.  At one point only chiefs and great warriors were allowed to wear their feathers.

The critter below is obviously not a bird, but there are a lot of them roaming through the sanctuary, including a family of three.  This one was kind enough to be right next to the restaurant entrance so that I was able to get a good picture of him.