Safari Part 2 - Sabi Sands and Elephants

On the third day of our South African safari we were driven to a private reserve that borders Kruger called Sabi Sands. Within Sabi are 12-15 private lodges. We stayed at one called Inyati (which is a twist on Nyati, the local word for buffalo). We joined the afternoon game drive and quickly learned that this "private" thing does make quite a difference.

Our driver, George, was featured on the cover of National Geographic in 1999 and clearly knows a thing or two. He not only knew where to find particular animals, but he would drive off the road and get very close to the animals. At first, this was a little unnerving as I was worried they would get scared and charge the vehicle but they could not have cared less about us being there. He would drive around to get a different angle for better photo opportunities... this clearly was not his first rodeo. We saw many of the same animals we had seen in Kruger but much closer. Some walked so close to the car that I probably could have pet them if I wasn't concerned with losing a hand.

A rhino who walked over to wish my dad a Happy Birthday

The elephant also sent birthday wishes 

(that's my dad's hand/iPad on the right for perspective)

A leopard on our last morning drive

Momma and baby cheetah. Apparently the mom had lost a cub

a few days earlier in this area and came back to see if it was still alive.

After we left Sabi Sands, we spent one night at a place called Oliver's in White River, not far from the airport where we would depart the following day. Oliver's reminded Dan and I of a cottage in Napa. We had one last activity on the agenda, a sunset meeting with some elephants. We learned a lot: how much they eat, how they cool off, and the saddest fact, most elephants starve to death. They get 6 sets of teeth throughout life and when the last set breaks down and falls out they cannot eat enough to survive, and they die. This particular sanctuary had 6 elephants that we met, and rode for a quick stroll through the park.

Left: My parents on Zizi, Right: Dan and I with Tembo (the biggest one)

That night, the four of us had a really nice dinner in the wine cellar at Oliver's. It was the perfect cherry on top to our well-assembled itinerary (huge thanks to Siyabona Tour company for arranging our entire safari experience). 

We woke up the following morning and started our journeys back home. It was a wonderful trip that we highly recommend. We appreciated have two days in Kruger and then two up close and personal in the private reserve. Three to four days is probably the ideal amount of time. Towards the end of the four days we started to lose appreciation for the experience. You find yourself saying "oh, a rhino" with much less enthusiasm than you did on day 1. We took a ton of photos, had some great meals, and enjoyed some quality family time.

Now to finish catching up on the Tembo-sized mound of laundry we brought home with us. Until next vacation...

Our South African Safari - Part 1

Well no one got eaten by a lion so we're back in Ghana safe and sound. We had a fantastic time on our 5 day African safari! Dan and I flew out on Friday night, getting to Johannesburg early on Saturday morning. My parents had flown from the US to Cape Town earlier in the week and spent a few days there enjoying that beautiful city and adjusting to the time change. We met at the Johannesburg airport and took a small plane over to Skukuza airport in Kruger National Park, where we were picked up and driven to our first lodge.

We spent the first two nights at Rhino Post Camp within Kruger Park. You can self-drive through Kruger but you have to stay on specific roads and can only be in the park for certain hours. The rangers who work at the camps can take many more dirt roads that go off the main drag, giving you a greater opportunity to see more animals. Additionally, the guides share a radio/walkie talkie station so if one finds a pride of lions, they'll let the others know so you can come see it too.

The schedule during the day was pretty standard at both lodges we stayed at. Wake up call was at 5:30am, then people met for coffee and muffins before hopping into the vehicle. About an hour and a half in we'd stop and stretch our legs and have a coffee, then get back in for another hour or so. We arrived back at the lodge around 9:30 or 10am for brunch. After brunch you had the afternoon to yourself until 3pm. We gathered again for some light bites before getting back into the vehicles. We'd drive until sundown and then stop for a beer or a glass of wine and some snacks and enjoy the sunset. Then back in the car for another hour or so to see if we could find any animals hunting. Drinks were at 7:30pm and dinner was served at 8pm. After dinner most people went back to their cabins to crash and prepare for the next 5:30am wake up call.

Rhino post had a really cool "common area" for lack of better term. They had a fire pit and a small bar that backed up onto a river bed that had dried up. So you could just sit there and watch the animals walk by. Each cabin room also had a patio that faced this so you could relax in the afternoon and watch impala, elephants, monkeys, buffalo, etc walk right by your room.

Sand pit/watering hole from the common area of  Rhino Post.

A family of elephants and some buffalo spending the afternoon

Elephants at a watering hole during our first sunset in Kruger

The evening drives were less fruitful than the morning drives, in our opinion. The morning drives brought more excitement as we saw different animals than the ones that frequented our lodge's watering hole. We saw giraffes, rhino, a pride of lions, a leopard, and a few zebra. Our driver was very experienced and we had a really great time. We were so successful in our first two days that we couldn't fathom how the second lodge could be any better than this one... it was. But you'll have to wait til the next post. 

A rhino crossing in front of our vehicle (excuse the windshield wiper curve)

Sunset on the second/last night in Kruger

Our First African Safari

It was approaching that time again... that time when our 30 days would expire and we'd have to get out of Mozambique just to turn around and come back. While Cape Town was amazing last month, we decided to do something a little closer to home and a bit easier on the pocketbook. In doing some research, I came upon a day trip to Hlane Royal National Park in Swaziland. The trip included pick up and drop off to our hotel, game park fees, a bush walk, a game drive, as well as lunch and bottled water throughout the day. Sold! Sign us up!

Worst part of the day was probably when the alarm went off at 5am on a Saturday and we both groaned. Dan pulled the sheets up over his head, but alas, we were functional enough to get some breakfast and meet our driver at 6am downstairs at the hotel. It was a 1 hour trip to the border, where we had to get out, present our passports and get stamped for exiting Mozambique. We then drove maybe 100 yards, got out again, presented our passports... again, and got stamped to enter Swaziland. Once clearing Immigration, it was maybe an hour to the park (not including multiple stops by corrupt policemen trying to get money from our driver... good to know it's not just us! haha!)

We arrived and went on a 2 hour bush walk... which turned into more like 3 hours. But it was neat to walk through the park and learn about some of the things the animals do and the various purposes of different trees and insects within this ecosystem. We started out on the track that the cars drive on and we were thinking "oh, this is fine". We ended up literally trekking through the "bush" through high grass and trees. While walking through we saw lots of impala (aka antelopes) as well as some in inyala, another type of antelope native to southern Africa.

 Impala (left: female, right: male)

 Female Inyalas (Males are more black/grey)

After our bush walk, we returned to the camp and had some lunch. There was an oddly long break at this point but we were never provided with the day's schedule so I suppose we didn't know what we were in for, anyway. After eating, we sat on some benches along a fenced in watering hole and watched the hippos do pretty much nothing. Eventually, a family of elephants came over to get some water so that was pretty cool. Dan's quite sure that he woo'ed them by pulling out some cashews. I'm not sure whether the circus-planted idea that elephants like nuts is accurate but it was, at the very least, a coincidence.

 Lazy Hippo

Elephant family at the watering hole

Around 2pm, we got to go on our first game drive. We piled into an open air, covered jeep-like thing that had three rows of stadium seating in the back. There were 8 of us and 9 seats, so naturally Dan and I took up the entire top row. (Side note for anyone considering a safari: this was the wrong seat choice. You absolutely should sit in the front row behind the driver. Not because the pictures are better, that really makes no difference. But if the driver sees something in the bushes, he stops the vehicle so that people can look. Problem is that the driver stopped the car where he could see it. We're probably 6-8 feet behind him blocked by trees.)

We drove through the park for about 2.5 hours. We saw several elephants, some turtles, monitor lizards (which are HUGE lizards), a lioness, warthogs, and two giraffes from a distance. We were unsuccessful on the rhino and the male lion. Game drives are understandably unpredictable. The roads are where they are and you are not always lucky with every animal.

The lion was by far the hardest to find. We drove and drove in their section of the park (they are separated from the rhinos because awhile back the park lost 90% of the their rhino population to poachers so they are trying to keep them safe from predators both internal and external to the park). They tend to sit in the tall grass, making them difficult to find. We did eventually find a lioness. She came out and was maybe 6 feet from the car. She was equal parts beautiful and powerful and much larger than we expected... and only slightly terrifying :)

 Lioness and a few elephants on the road

 We also found Pumbaa from The Lion King (warthog), and giraffes

At one point, we were stuck behind an elephant. He was in the road and did not seem to care that we were patiently waiting for him to move. He eventually stopped, stood in the road and decided to have some grass. He could definitely see our vehicle but just didn't have any interest in moving. It was actually funny to see him just go about his ways with little regard for the car.

After the game drive, we were driven back to the hotel where we promptly showered, watched a movie and crashed.

(Photos courtesy of super awesome camera that my Aunt Kristi sent me a couple years ago. Thanks, Zalich Family!)