Trip to South Africa (June 2008)
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Centipede
Fortunately, we didn’t notice this little five-inch critter greeting us until after we took our showers.
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Sunrise (Day 1)
This is the beautiful view we awoke to each morning, right outside our room.
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Birdie
It’s nice to see different birds than what we’re used to.
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Wart Hog
Even their dogs look different... Whoops, that’s a wart hog wandering around the grounds.
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Doppleganger
Which one’s Chris?
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The Lodge
They’re currently extending and refurbishing the lodge. All of that brick is new—it wasn’t there when we checked in.
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1 little, 2 little, 3 little Barbies
Will the real Barb please stand up?!?
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The Gang
They have these special platforms that help us climb in and out of the Land Rovers used for the safari.
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The Land Rover
Our daily transport. Amazing handling, and more comfortable than it looks.
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Cool Plant #16
These guys grow everywhere. It’s cool how they just get taller every year.
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Female Nyala
One of the antelope species found there. We also saw impala and kudu.
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Male Nyala
He don’t look much like the ladies, but the ladies still dig ‘em.
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Zebra Crossing
Basically wild donkeys, but with stylish speed stripes.
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Zebra Close-Up
This specific species of zebra has black and brown stripes.
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Lonely Hippo
One of the few Hippos at this reserve. He likes to keep to himself, but doesn’t mind the company of birds.
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Sunset (Day 1)
A beautiful vista.
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Sunrise (Day 2)
Peaceful.
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Cape Buffalo
A cape buffalo, just like on Wall Street. Only this one is on vacation.
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Impala Gals
A herd of female impala.
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Impala Gals
My actual view when not looking through the camera.
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Giraffes
Giraffes are such beautiful, graceful, and quiet animals.
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Mmm Mmm Good!
They eat the folliage in spite of the three-inch thorns!
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Fever Tree
Beatiful trees, but covered in thorns.
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Vultures
A bunch of buzzards buzzing around.
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Rhino
Our first sighting of rhinos.
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Rhinos
A pair of peaceful lawn mowers.
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Rhinos
And another view.
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Dead Tree
Elephants often knock over trees to gain access to the nutritious roots. Other animals cheer them on, since they gain easy access to the whole tree, too.
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George
George is the name of the largest giraffe on the reserve, in honor of his namesake who holds the Guiness record for largest giraffe. Since George is old, his markings are much darker.
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Zebra Mug Shot
Ain’t he handsome?
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Giraffe Mug Shot
“Hey, I’m handsome, too!”
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Wart Hog
A face only a mother could love. Aren’t they cute?
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Lizard
A lizard guarding its nest.
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Mama and Baby
A cute pair.
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Sunset (Day 2)
Another gorgeous sky.
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Dinner
Our group (sans Chris) at dinner.
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Sunrise (Day 3)
Ahhhhh.
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Cape Buffalo (Back)
For some reason, we alway seem to encounter the back end of the animals first...
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Cape Buffalo (Front)
This time, however, we out-smarted them by taking another road around so we could see their fronts.
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Cape Buffalo
They didn’t mind getting rather close to us.
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Cape Buffalo
Dad and son.
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Vulture
A close up of a vulture.
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Elephants (First Encounter)
Our first encounter with the reserve’s elephants. We couldn’t get particularly close.
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Elephants (First Encounter)
We did get a decent font-end view, though.
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I Dreamed of Africa
The film, I Dreamed of Africa, was filmed on this reserve. We got to visit the movie set, which they use for weddings, etc.
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I Dreamed of Africa
The old house from the movie.
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I Dreamed of Africa
I love the thatched roof, which is very common throughout South Africa.
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I Dreamed of Africa
Nice wood-work inside the thatched house.
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I Dreamed of Africa
Barb by the mantle.
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I Dreamed of Africa
The cool looking, but deadly stairs.
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I Dreamed of Africa
More nice wood-work inside the thatched house.
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I Dreamed of Africa
The view out the font door.
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I Dreamed of Africa
A nice exterior shot of both houses. Notice the tree limb with the thorns.
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A Typical Tree
Very large, sharp thorns on those trees! It doesn’t appear to stop any of the animals from eating the tree, though.
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I Dreamed of Africa
Nice flowering vine of some sort.
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I Dreamed of Africa
The front drive is lined with cactus trees.
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Cactus Trees
It is interesting how these cactus look just like trees.
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I Dreamed of Africa
The rounded side of the thatched house.
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Animals
Here we have wildebeests, rhinos, and zebra traveling together. This is not unusual; the animals each eat a different part of the greenery.
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Male Nyala
A nice shot of some male nyala.
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Rhino
Another nice shot of a rhino.
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Wild Cat Rehabilitation Center
We got to visit a rehabilitation center for wild cats. Here is pictured a Cerval cat.
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Wild Cat
This is not a house cat! It is one of many wild cats that happen to look just like house cats. But they are not. Honest. It’s a African Wild Cat.
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Wild Cat
Besides, have you ever seen a house cat with an attitude like this?
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Wild Cat
A slighly larger species, a Caracal Cat.
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Hungary Cheetah
A hungry cheetah waiting to get fed. Any volunteers?
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Cat Guide
Our host, explaining the habits of various kinds of cats.
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Wild Cat
Look who’s no longer hungry. (A Cerval Cat.)
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Feeding Cheetah
The cheetah is eating his dinner. We volunteered to visit the cheetah for dessert...
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Dessert for Cheetah
Apparently, cheetahs are really quite cowards. This one has been around humans enough that we could visit right there with him while he finished the leftovers.
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Cheetah Bath Time
Bath Time!
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St. Lucia Estuary
We took a side trip to the St. Lucia Estuary.
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St. Lucia Estuary
What a beautiful day!
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St. Lucia Estuary
Our first croc sighting.
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St. Lucia Estuary
And a pekingese striped curly woodpecker. Just kidding. Just another pretty bird.
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Goliath Heron
This Goliath Heron (actual name) stood about three feet tall!
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St. Lucia Estuary
This croc is waiting for the Goliath Heron to get a drink of water...
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St. Lucia Estuary
The view from the boat as we were backing away.
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St. Lucia Estuary
Another bird. Flying this time.
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St. Lucia Estuary
This croc is cooling off by holding its mouth open.
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St. Lucia Hippos
Our first hippo sighting at St. Lucia.
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St. Lucia Hippos
The water isn’t as deep as it appears... Anyone up for a swim?
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St. Lucia Hippos
These hippos got bored with us, and decided to move on.
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Little St. Lucia Hippo
We encountered a whole herd of hippos. Here’s a little one imitating an adult’s yawn.
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Big St. Lucia Hippo
Adults yawn to show dominance (just look at the teeth!).
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St. Lucia Birdies
A purple heron and a kingfisher.
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St. Lucia Monkey
What’s my brother doing in downtown St. Lucia?
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St. Lucia Beach
Our fist encounter with the Indian Ocean.
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St. Lucia Beach
Chris gets his feet wet.
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St. Lucia Beach
One of Chris’ obligatory “artistic” shots.
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Back on the Reserve
Another shot for the birds. This time an ibis.
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Reserve Elephants
We finally found the elephants: Mom, baby, and aunt (back behind).
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Reserve Elephants
Mom is a bit tichy, and begins to warn us off.
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Reserve Elephants
Elephants advance while flapping their ears when annoyed. Mom is pushing us back at a good pace, but we refuse to leave.
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Reserve Elephants
She finally gives up and gets back to eating.
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Reserve Elephants
Mom even allows the little one (a four year old adolescent) to get close to us.
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Reserve Elephants
Watch the “baby” eat. Lots.
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Un-Reserved Elephant
I don’t have pictures because it happened so fast, but this little bugger got scared of us at one point, and Mom ended up charging us as a result. Armand, our guide, even stalled out the truck for more drama. It is quite exciting driving on these dirt roads with a multi-ton elephant running after you!
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Romantic Giraffes
Ah, the romance of Africa. Since this is a family-friendly site, we can’t show you the next picture in this sequence...
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Eagle Eye
A tawny eagle.
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Eagle Eye
The tawny eagle close up.
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Sunset (Day 6)
Our last sunset at the reserve.
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Sunset (Day 6)
Proof we were actually there.
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Sunset (Day 6)
The whole gang.
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Table Mountain
A view of Cape Town from the base of Table Mountain. We didn’t go up because it was too overcast.
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Table Mountain
So overcast that the upper half of the mountain is in clouds.
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Seaside
So we continue on the Red Bus Tour, around to a little village on the other side of Table Mountain.
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Something Fishy
We eventually end up at the Two Oceans Aquarium on the Victoria and Alfred waterfront. Chris is apparently stuck in the Nemo tank.
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Wine Country
The next day we visted wine country. This is manor house at Meerlust.
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Wine Country
This winery, Fairview Estates, uses this goat tower as their logo.
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Wine Country
It’s an easy life, being a logo.
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Table Mountain, Take II
It looked clear when we started up Table Mountain, but a cloud rolled in before the cable car reached the top. A very unique view of sunny Cape Town below, though.
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Table Mountain, Take II
The mist is clearing a little bit.
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Table Mountain, Take II
We are really high up. Can you see the base where we launched from? And that tiny little cable car?
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Table Mountain, Take II
The top station for the cable car.
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Table Mountain, Take II
A neighboring mountain.
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Table Mountain, Take II
Chris with Cape Town below him.
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The Cape of Good Hope
Same day, but nicer weather out on the Cape of Good Hope.
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The Cape of Good Hope
Chris begins his hike up the rocks.
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The Cape of Good Hope
Barb’s summit.
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The Cape of Good Hope
Much further up the rocks. Tricky climbing; going down was even more difficult.
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The Cape of Good Hope
But the views are spectacular!
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The Cape of Good Hope
But the views are spectacular!
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The Cape of Good Hope
Chris didn’t make the summit; he just didn’t want to keep everyone else waiting... (Yeah, right!)
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The Cape of Good Hope
Another great view on the way down.
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The Cape Butterfly
One must always stop and smell the roses. Or, in this case, snap the butterflies.
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Cape Point
Our next destination: the lighthouse at Cape Point.
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Cape Point
Proof Barb was there.
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Cape Point
Proof Chris was there.
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Cape Point
Fantastic views from right below the lighthouse.
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Cape Point
We are quite high up.
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Cape Point
Birds nest on the cliffs.
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Cape Point
There goes one now!
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Cape Point
The view past Cape Point into False Bay.
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Cape Point
I told you we were quite high up!
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Cape Point
Another beautiful view.
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Cape Point
Last look at the light house.
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Penguins
Look, Mom, real penguins!
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Penguins
“Look, Mom, real humans!”
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Penguins
This seaside village is home to a penguin reserve.
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Penguins
Some of the natives.
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Penguins
They just dig nests in the sand.
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Penguins
Birds gather just off shore.
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Penguins
The lovely views the penguins get from their living rooms.
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Penguins
Dad and Jr.
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Penguins
A penguin innovator, who wanted more than just a nest in the sand.
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Penguins
Home, sweet home. (Which was our next stop, too.)
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