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Today we say goodbye to Dunfeld and transfer to the Humala River Lodge in Songimvelo Game Reserve. By 9 we have eaten and our bags are packed into the two vans. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive almost due east. I plead for the shotgun seat this trip to ease the misery on my knees and behind.
Bakkies has a treat in store for us. He stops by a local chocolate shop with an interesting specialty. You get to pick a a chocolate cup (and by this I mean a small egg-cup-sized cup made entirely of chocolate) with the choices being dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate. The cup is then filled by hand from a milk chocolate fountain. Very tricky to eat, but absolutely delicious!
Bakkies provides his usual entertaining dialogue on the area we are travelling through and to. As was the case yesterday, the further east we go, the more rugged the terrain. We are following a mountain range called the Drakenberg (Dragon Mountains), which grow gradually higher like the scales on a dragon's back as you travel eastward.
We arrive at the entrance to Songimvelo. We sign in and receive a refreshing
All aboard the land rover
Songimvelo Game Reserve, SA drink. But our journey is not done, because Humala lies deep within the reserve. Our belongings and our bodies are loaded into two specialized land rovers and we are off on safari.
What a ride! Every part of the vehicle is heavily padded, which is a good thing because the roads are two tire tracks over rocks and mud. We hang on for dear life, wondering what the heck we have got ourselves into. Our driver, Richard, is an engaging young man with a fantastic wealth of knowledge about this area and its flora and fauna. Somehow while negotiating the rocks and hairpin turns and while talking on the walkie-talkie, he is able to spot animals hidden in the forest. We see some impala and other antelopes that bound off too quickly to be photographed, but the prize is a beautiful kudu with her calf, a magnificent animal with long, black, spiral horns who fixes us with her eyes but stands her ground. We also catch a glimpse of some wildebeast in the distance.
We arrive at Humala and are warmly greeted by the director, Wessel, and his staff. I can't help noticing as Wessel is providing his
Savanah landscape
Songimvelo Game Reserve, SA introduction to us in the main lodge that a giraffe is standing motionless just across the river from where we are. Wessel tells us that this is an old friend of his who is typically in that spot at this time of day. His name is Garkey (the "G" pronounced as a velar fricative like the Scottish "ch").
After a short time to settle into our cottages (more on them later), we are immediately off on a late-afternoon animal drive with our driver/guides Richard and Jo-Jo.
Off on another crazy chase around the rocky tracks through the reserve. Once again, we get to see several kinds of antelope, including a great look at a herd of blesbok. Believe it or not, this animal got its name from the fact that it sneezes (snorts) almost continuously, leading one to "bless" it.
The sun is setting quickly. Our drivers suddenly take the land rovers off-road as we shriek in surprise. They rattle and roll their way to the top of a hill and produce wine, beer and other drinks from the coolers strapped to the back. We sip our beverages and watch the African sun set over the hills.
Kudu and calf
Songimvelo Game Reserve Unbelievable.
Back to the lodge under darkening skies. By the time we reach the lodge, the southern sky is ablaze with light. Again, we identify the southern cross but now we see it embedded in the river of stars of the Milky Way stretching almost vertically across the heavens. I notice Orion in the other direction and point out the belt to Richard. He informs me that they call those three stars the Three Sisters.
Excellent supper featuring lamb chops. We are happy to retire early, not only because this has been a tiring day but because we have a sunrise game drive scheduled for tomorrow morning.
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