Luxurious Lodge

After three days of conference we leave to drive further north for a few days holiday. On the way we see a beautiful hyena, big herds of zebras and wildebeest and the landscape changes becoming more open and more how I imagined Africa with rolling grasslands and only occasional trees. We are lucky to see a group of rhinos basking in the sun and see some spectacular storks in the many waterholes along the way. Unfortunately we get a puncture and greatly fear getting eaten by a lion whilst changing the tyre. It can happen - I saw it in a documentary! Luckily we do not suffer this fate but nervously drive without a spare tyre until we can buy a new one. We stay in Letaba rest camp that night which is also alongside a river and see many almost tame deer in the park. We meet up with some friends Justine and Aleiks - friends from the workshop and find out all the gossip from the workshop with much wine.

The following day we drive in the most northerly section of the park where the vegetation changes to spectacular sandstone plateaus and amazing Baobab trees that sometimes look like the whomping willow tree in Harry Potter when they have red-billed buffalo weaver nests in their branches. We are staying for two nights in the luxurious Outpost Lodge which is spectacular. Our room is like a verandah open on three sides to the most beautiful view across the plains to the Luvuhu river, a tributary of the Limpopo. It is lovely lolling in the bath and watching the sun set and the stars come out. The milky way is superb up here with no light pollution and it is an amazing experience sleeping under a mosquito net watching the stars and then the sun rise. We have an amazing dinner around a fire and get to know our guide Sarah as we are the only people staying in the lodge. The impact of the global financial crisis I think.

We wake up at the crack of dawn and drive for an hour where I have never been so cold I think, but we arrive in a forest full of these wonderful fever trees and get a little too close perhaps to Africa's most poisonous snake, the black mamba. On our return we have the most amazing breakfast/brunch which forces me to sleep for the next few hours just digesting it before the next beautiful meal. After lunch we drive to a breathtaking gorge and climb to the top feeling like such adventurous explorers, at least I do. All too soon we have to leave paradise and head back south. Luckily on the way back we see a leopard sleeping in a tree thereby ensuring that we have seen the famous big five animals of the park. But really I prefer the wonderful zebras whose stripes are so vivid and strange to all these scary beasts. We also see a spectacular ground hornbill who obligingly poses for a picture by the side of the road. It is easier driving back with the sun behind us and we stay at another rest camp called Olifants for our last night in the park. It has indeed been a great African adventure.

Gorgeous Giraffes

We see many elephants which is lovely until Charlene explains that they can be rather unpredictable and can charge at cars if annoyed. Indeed quite soon we see an elephant coming towards us rather fast flapping its ears angrily. Luckily we are a few cars back and reverse quickly but the car in front was having difficulty getting out of the way. Very scary as they are enormous animals. My view of elephants undergoes a change and I prefer from then on to see them at more of a distance. It is great fun looking for all the animals on our list and we soon see many kinds of deer and antelope including a huge herd of buffalos. It is nice getting to know the other women - Becky who is from England and Wendy who is from the U.S.

At night we have a traditional BBQ which South Africans are very partial to and call a Brai. I tasted my first meal of pap, a kind of cornmeal mixture with a spicy sauce, very tasty. We also get to try a number of nice South African wines and talk to many interesting people working on Antarctic conservation from around the world. Our next safari is exciting as we see lions sleeping and then later four lions eating their kill, a buffalo. The event causes a lot of road rage with people eager to get photos and not behaving very considerately. It was all pretty gruesome rather like a national geographic programme but fortunately we were too far away to hear the sounds! I decide I much prefer herbivores and that afternoon we see a lovely giraffe placidly feeding by the side of the road. Again I was looking at the giraffe without noticing it for five seconds, so well does it blend into the environment huge and unlikely though it is.

That afternoon Hugh and I visit the local bird hide and we get up close to a group of hippos snorting and groaning in the water. It was very peaceful listening to them blow water out of their nostrils and flick their cute pink ears. They are very zen and I decide that if there is such a thing as reincarnation I would like to come back as a hippo. We walk around this amazing golf course nearby somewhat anxiously avoiding the crocodiles and the wart-hogs. We see lots of wonderful birds including a multi-coloured purple-crowned Lourie which pleases Hugh greatly. My favourite bird however is the lilac-breasted roller which likes to perch in dead trees so as to be more easily seen. When it flies it has these long blue tail feathers and is extremely gorgeous.

African Adventure

After a long flight across the Indian Ocean we land in Johannesburg en route for Kruger National Park where Hugh has a workshop on Antarctica believe it or not! We hire a car in Nelspruit and bravely drive ourselves to Kruger. We learn later that the organizers of the conference were worried about our safety as security on these roads is not good. I must say we kept the doors locked and were rather relieved to enter Kruger. We had lunch at one of the oldest rest camps at Pretiorskop and Hugh was happy as we saw lots of birds including a pretty pearl-spotted owl blinking at us in a tree surrounded by colourful sunbirds. The landscape was quite thick with thorn-trees so I saw my first elephant by the side of the road without realizing it was there for a few seconds. It is hard to believe that you could miss an elephant!

For the first three days we were staying at Skukuza, the largest rest camp which is located along the river. We stayed in one of the iconic round huts with thatched roofs which are very cute and include little kitchens in the verandah. There are many of these rest camps in Kruger which are quite affordable and very comfortable. I saw my first hippo in the river and fell instantly for these large peaceful creatures. Although they are responsible for many deaths in Africa it is not that they are aggressive but that people get in their way. Much misunderstood I think.

It is lovely winter weather, quite warm during the day but coldish at night. We are still able to sit on the deck for sundowners and to meet the other invitees. We have our first taste of Amarula, the drink made from the fruit that elephants are rather partial to. It is a little like Baileys. Quite nice. There are a number of other consorts at the meeting and we have been allocated a guide of our own called Charlene who takes us out on our first safari the next day. I have bought a nice little tick-list of animals and birds of the park which interestingly includes trees and on our first drive, a number of trees we pass obligingly have names on them which helps me to recognize them and tick them off my list which I find very satisfying!