In less than a week, the fall soccer season gets started so I know it is time to kick the blogging into high gear. The plan is to finish the remaining two posts about South Africa before then. So with that said, I thought I would share just some of the hundreds and hundreds of photos we took when we went on safari.
If you've read my last post, you know that while we were attending World Cup games in Johannesburg, we took a side trip for a couple of days to visit a game reserve near Kruger National Park. To get there, we took a tiny little Cessna... we were sitting right behind the pilots so we had a pretty sweet view. After flying for an hour and a half over the dry plains that cover the eastern part of the country, we approached a small stretch of dirt in the middle of the African bush... I couldn't believe that was the landing strip, but thankfully we arrived on the ground safe and sound!
Shortly after landing, we were whisked away in a Land Cruiser, and within minutes we were at at our safari lodge, the Djuma Vuyatela. As soon as we arrived, we could tell it was an oasis of luxury in the middle of savage wilderness. The main lodge, where we'd be eating all our meals, had a neat fire pit area that they call a boma in Africa. It also overlooked a large watering hole. We noticed what looked like a large rock in the middle of it... well, it turns out it was a hippo! Following a yummy late lunch, we were shown to our room....
Our room actually turned out to be a few rooms... a bungalow to be exact. It was a beautiful place, and we definitely felt spoiled by it! It even had a separate coffee room (which we didn't use because we don't drink coffee... oh well :), an outdoor shower (a new experience!), and a small dipping pool (but it was a bit too cold out to use it since it was winter down there). We also had some cute little creatures hanging just outside... the giraffe mongoose.
Before heading out on our first game drive, it was tea time, during which we got a nice preview with a lot of animal life flocking to the watering hole. This included baboons, birds, and deer-like animals called nyala.
Soon we met the men who would be our guide and tracker during our stay at Djuma, Ephraim and Fanode respectively. We also met the rest of the group we'd be doing our game drives with... a couple from Brazil, Graciana and Camilo, and three Australian guys, Brett and two guys named Dave. Excited for the excursion ahead of us, we all piled into a Land Cruiser and headed into the bush to find some more animals. The first one we spotted was pretty ferocious... a lioness feeding on a water buffalo! After watching her chow down for a little while, we continued on, passing some more nyala and taking in the landscape.
Next we stumbled upon a pack of Africa's graceful giants... elephants! Despite their huge size, they are incredibly quiet. It was so neat to watch them snack on surrounding trees as the sun went down... it was a very memorable sunset.
With night settling in, we ran across a gorgeous leopard lying in the road near our lodge. What a stunning creature! Soon they had to break out the spotlights, and we watched as another leopard joined the first. It was pretty crazy to think that these powerful animals were lurking so nearby to where we were staying!
Before calling it a night, we were able to observe a pair of intimidating male lions. They were just hanging out in some tall grass, but somehow watching them was still mesmerizing. They would look at us, only a few yards away, and yet I didn't feel like we were in any imminent danger... well except when one of the lions yawned and we saw the size of his teeth! I think he was just tired and wasn't planning on making us his meal :)
Yet even our very experienced guide showed great respect for the fierceness of these animals... when one of the Aussies dropped his sunglasses, Ephraim wouldn't even let him reach out of the vehicle to get them. Instead, he slowly backed up the Land Cruiser and very carefully reached out to grab them himself, all while watching the lions very closely! With the sunglasses retrieved, we were soon on our way back to the lodge for a delicious dinner. We had an African specialty that night... kudu, which is kind of like an antelope with huge spiral horns. It was actually very tasty! Following dinner, we had to be escorted by an armed guide to walk the 100 yards back to our bungalow... it seems you can never be too cautious when surrounded by wild animals out in the bush!
We were up quite early the next morning because we were taking off for our second game drive at 6:30 am. We knew it would be well worth waking up so early since we'd been told that the animals are most active around sunrise and sunset. Before we saw any animals, we did get the watch the morning sky turn from gray to a beautiful rainbow of colors. Once the sun was up, we made our way through the dirt roads of the game reserve. At one point, we saw some lions hiding in the grass... can you see all three of them in the photo below? :) After driving around for a while longer, we spotted our first giraffe! We watched it for a few minutes while it enjoyed its breakfast.
Speaking of food, we were all getting pretty hungry so thankfully it was then time for a morning snack. They pulled the Land Cruiser over to a rocky area and set out a nice little spread for us... hot chocolate, rolls, fruit... just enough to hold us over till the hot breakfast we'd have back at the lodge. In addition to eating, Daniel and I also made sure to get a pic with the Land Cruiser and with the group.
Once we were back on the trail, we ran into some kudu... we didn't get a very good photo though because they are really quick! Not far down the road we saw some elephant trunk tracks in the dirt... although we were expecting to see elephants next, we actually spotted some rhinos! They are so prehistoric looking, I think, with their horns and skin that looks like body armor. The pic of Daniel and I below shows just how close we really were to them... kinda insane, isn't it?!
Not too far away from the rhinoceros was where we had seen the lion feeding on the water buffalo the night before so we went back to check out the scene. There we found a lion protecting the carcass while a leopard was looking on from the cover of some bushes. There was no confrontation between the animals, but you definitely got a sense of the wildness of the animal kingdom.
Back at the lodge we had some breakfast, which was followed by lunch not long after... seriously, I felt like all we did was eat, sleep, and observe animals the whole time... not that I'm complaining! :) During lunch, a bunch of animals came to the watering hole... we climbed up the "treehouse terrace" to get a better look. It also provided a pretty neat view of the lodge too.
Afterwards, we had a chance to stretch our legs a bit with a nature walk. By this time I was not surprised when our guides were both armed with guns. Ephraim showed us around the area by our lodge, pointing out where elephants had dug up roots or scraped away bark to eat. We also saw some pretty marula trees, which are native to the area. We even spotted a group of warthogs scampering by!
Following some down time that afternoon, we climbed back into the Land Cruiser for the evening game drive.... as you can see from everyone's smiling faces, we were looking forward to it :) Since South Africa was playing France that night in the World Cup, our guide and tracker sported bright yellow shirts in honor of their team... we all just hoped it wouldn't attract too much attention! Just down the road from the lodge, we spotted a baboon off in the brush, but it hurried off pretty quickly.
A while later we came upon another watering hole, where a hippopotamus was hiding out, usually only with its eyes and snout above the surface. However, at one point, it gave us a big, thrashing yawn... then I was quite glad it was in the water and we were up on land!
Next we found a herd of wildebeest. After Daniel's successful hunting expedition while we were in Johannesburg (when he nabbed himself a wildebeest), it was pretty cool to see wildebeest in person. Since the sun would soon be setting, we then found a safe place to park in order to have some "sundowners"... what they call drinks and snacks enjoyed while during sunset.
While the dark crept in, we noticed that a large group of elephants were coming to a tiny watering hole about 100 yards away from where we parked. With the help of the spotlight, we got to watch them for a bit... the highlight was when two young ones were play-fighting off to the side. The baby elephant was pretty cute too.
Since we had so much luck every time we went to site of the water buffalo kill, we thought we'd go back once again... it turned out to be a good decision because we got some really dramatic shots of a lion helping himself to dinner. He kept staring us down as to say, "You're next!" but thankfully the water buffalo kept him busy. Further down the road, we saw some hyenas, our last sighting of the night... we expected them to be mangy, but they really weren't. I guess "The Lion King" doesn't given an accurate depiction of them :)
After another delectable meal and a good night's rest, we were up and at 'em before sunrise for our fourth and final game drive. Even though we were pumped for it, it felt really early... that is why we look so tired! Before taking off, Daniel tried out the tracker's seat but wisely decided to give it up for a the warmth of a blanket and a hot water bottle in the back seat with me :) The morning started off serenely with another lovely sunrise.
While Ephraim and Fanode were checking out some tracks, I took a moment to shoot some picturesque barren trees nearby. When we were back on the trail, we saw yet another lion chilling out in some brush. A good distance away we found a baby giraffe all on its own.... I just hope the lion didn't find it after we did!
Soon we came upon a group of animals we had yet to see... water buffalo! The whole herd was surrounding the Land Cruiser... probably about 50 in total. We were told that they are actually one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, but gratefully they just liked to stare at us and not charge. By finding this herd of water buffalo, we had officially seen the "Big Five"... elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and water buffalo... the mark of a successful safari!
Following our buffalo sighting, we added another new animal to the list... zebras! I was thrilled... I had been wanting to see zebras since we arrived at the game reserve. It was a pretty large group of them, and they were even hanging out with a couple of giraffes. However, due to the trees, it was pretty heard to get clear pictures of them, but we tried our best.
Seeing so many new animals had worked up our appetites :) So we stopped for the morning snack on a rocky terrace... this time we made sure to get a photo of the whole crew, including our guide and tracker too. We had a great group in our Land Cruiser, and we really enjoyed getting to know them all.
After the break, we were able to see another mother elephant and her calf... the baby was so small a termite mound nearby dwarfed it. While we were watching, the elephants just calmly continued with their meal... even though they are such formidable beasts, I think these close-ups catch a glimpse of their tender souls.
To wrap things up, we went back to the water buffalo kill one last time... when we arrived, all that was left was the horns being picked over by a pair of hyenas... it seems that, in the wild, all the animals make good use of every last bit of meat.
We had one more treat in store for us nearby... a leopard lounging in a tree. No matter how many times we saw this animal, I could never get over how beautiful its coat was. It was particularly neat to see it up in the tree in all its glory. It was a great way to end four excellent game drives! Needless to say, we headed back to the lodge with smiles on our faces.
With the game drives done, we took the opportunity for one more photo with Ephraim and Fanode and then thanked them for the incredible time we had. We went to pack up and then had one more yummy meal before it was time to go. Before long, we were jumping back on the Cessna to head towards Johannesburg.
As we boarded the plane, Daniel and I turned to each other and said, "That was probably the neatest thing we have ever done... it was truly amazing!" And it really was.... between the wildlife, the food, and the setting, it was an unbelievable experience, and I must say, it was the highlight of our time in South Africa. Just like the sign outside of our bungalow said, we are still dreaming of Africa....
Well, believe it or not, I still have more to share from our South Africa trip, so please come back very soon to check out the final installment, "Part 3"... Beautiful Cape Town!
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