Safari!

One of the main goals of the African leg was obviously to partake in a safari. To do this, we contacted an agency dealing the trips and got one organized three weeks before while still in the Philippines. We knew little about the safaris in the area and requested a standard Kruger safari which we didn't get because all of them were full. But then it turned out this was a good thing as they recommended us to take a look at private game lodges in the Greater Kruger Area. They do similar safaris but are not restricted to sticking to the roads and there are no masses of tourists around. The other main difference is the price; the private ones charge more, but then you get to stay in a 4-star accommodation where I definitely feel very out of place. But I guess a bit of luxury once a trip doesn't hurt.. we did sleep on the airport floor on the way here just to retain our backpacker credibility. :p

After an early departure from Jo'burg airport we'd drive for 5 hours on two different minibuses to the game lodge, have lunch and set off for our first game drive adventure. And only 20 minutes into the drive we find a bunch of elephants. We turn off the engine and wait for them to surround us, and just stare awestruck as 15+ big animals (and a few tiny ones) flap their ears at us and munch at the vegetation no more than 3 meters away. After the elephants we find a sleepy lioness that won't be bothered by our presence much. At sunset we stop at a viewpoint for drinks - white wine from an icebox - and continue for two more hours after dark, locating promising animal tracks and seeing the African Buffalo for the first time. Score for the first afternoon/night: 3/5 of the Big Five and countless jackals, antillopes and birds seen. Also our lodge has a nice grassy area from where you can look down to a plain with a water hole, where all kinds of animals from crocodiles, zebras and giraffes congretate. And this is while sipping on an icy cold drink.

The next morning we get up at 0530 and head off in the insanely comfy elevated Land Rover and go looking for the leopard & buffaloes. And after a while we come across a herd of 100+ buffaloes. Here we descend from the vehicle and do a small bush walk. Our tracker & ranger had been receiving tips about lion tracks, so we go take a peek and are the first vehicle to find the lion pride. With 10 animals, this is one amazing thing to see. Sitting quietly in the vehicle with cameras rolling we get to see the lions hunting a Kudu antillope, not more than 20 meters from us. So far, the amount of animals we've already seen is just so unreal that I'm getting a bit suspicious even heheh. We finish the morning's drive with an hour long bush walk back to the lodge, and come across some more zebras and giraffes very close up.

On the evening drive we first did a bushwalk with elephants and then set out to find lions again; another big pride had been spotted in the area and it was best to make the most of it. Come dark, we'd soon find them and watched them hunting for a good hour, slowly following them in their midst. Quite intense to see crouching lions from a distance of 2-3 meters in an open vehicle. Later we ran into them again, this time to find them resting in the bushes as a big pile of sleepy cats. We didn't have time to look for rhinos, but that was covered the next morning when we spent 3 hours looking for them on both the Land Rover as on foot, and finally found 2 white rhinos in a thicket, too far and too quick for pictures. So that's 4/5 of the Big Five done and 2 game drives to go! Come on, leopard!

When returning from the last afternoon/night drive we came back to the lodge to find the local crocodile in the swimming pool of the lodge! The reptile would just swim around happily in the water that had mysteriously turned greenish yellow earlier in the day, as if to welcome the scaly fellow for a skinny dip. And after yet another dinner feast and a good night's sleep we went out for our last drive and found two male lions with their great manes sleeping and lazily trotting around, and made a visit to a dam that a hippo calls home. And despite the best efforts of the ranger team we could not find the leopard. We came so close a couple of times, finding half eaten impala carcasses that had been hunted down by the elusive feline, but didn't get a sighting. Nonetheless the safari exceeded all our expectations and we could start our journey back to Jo'burg with big grins on our faces.

See all the safari pictures here!