{"id":2773,"date":"2011-08-29T09:34:01","date_gmt":"2011-08-29T13:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tuckers.cc\/brian\/?p=2773"},"modified":"2011-08-29T09:34:01","modified_gmt":"2011-08-29T13:34:01","slug":"close-encounters-the-elephant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tuckers.cc\/brian\/close-encounters-the-elephant\/","title":{"rendered":"Close Encounters: The Elephant"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we first decided to move to Abu Dhabi, our eyes glazed over at the long list of nearby places that we could visit. Places that would otherwise be a long and tiring journey from the U.S. We narrowed that list down to 3 major highlights, and last week, we were fortunate enough to be able to cross off the 2nd place on that list – South Africa!<\/p>\n

Only an 8 hour flight from Abu Dhabi, South Africa has much to offer, but I would be lying if I said going on a safari was not the sole motivating factor.<\/p>\n

As part of the first leg of our journey, we stayed at Ulusaba Lodge in Sabi Sands Reserve, next to Kruger National Park. We enjoyed game drives twice daily. And during our very first drive, we met up with a member of the Big 5 – the elephant. We happened across a half dozen adults and kids grabbing an evening snack. No, they don’t eat peanuts…<\/p>\n