The young man in one of the pictures in this group is dressed in his Zulu costume. It was Heritage Day in South Africa and South Africans are encouraged to dress in their traditional garb. He descends from Zulu warriors, so he is wearing a period-exact piece. The pink across his chest and the necklace around his neck are beaded pieces. The Zulus have a huge business in jewelry now. In fact, everywhere I looked there was jewelry for sale, hand-made by the tribe. The beads they use are different too. All are glass, but they don't look the same as the beads we see coming out of China now. These, in his outfit, were gorgeous. His sandals are hand made, as is the rest of the outfit. He was one of the few employees at Jock Safari Lodge to wear traditional clothing that day, but I'm glad he did. Besides which, this guy was adorable. Tall and handsome. Sigh....
The red and white flowers are from a bush called an Impala Lily. It blooms with these flowers before it ever gets leaves, similar to a Lilac. The picture, luckily, captured that wonderful color. But no fragrance. :-(
The next is a Lilac Breasted Roller. This is one of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen. She/he stands about 6-7" tall, so its not a big bird. It is named the "roller" because of the acrobatics it does when its looking for a mate. It soars high into the sky, then dives, rolling as it falls, to attract the attention of the opposite sex. I wasn't able to catch this dive with my video camera, as it happens unexpectedly and very quickly, so I had to settle for a still picture of the colors. :-)
Then some elephants again, cause I fell in love with them over there. They are the true kings of the bushveld, jungle, or wherever you go. Lions will run from elephants and if they don't run fast enough, the elephants will chase them. I have it on video. :-)
Now onto a Blue Wildebeest and a Rhino family. :-)
I'll stop here and make another post with some Cape Buffalo, birds, and a few others. :-)
