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Published: October 14th 2012
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Oct 10-12 Shambulala Game Lodge in Thornybush
Since each day is fairly the same (with different animals), I'm just going to use one entry for each location.
Daily schedule at Shambulala:
5am - wake up call
5:30am - tea/coffee and leave for morning drive
8:30 - breakfast
9:30-11 - walk
11-3:30 - time to rest/relax
3:30 - High tea
4 - evening drive with a stop for wine/drinks and snacks
8ish - dinner which usually lasts 3 hours or so
Our first day, Oct 10 and we saw ALL of the big 5 (leopard, buffalo, lion, elephant, rhino) in 1-2 hours!! The other 4 guests said we are good luck, and our guide said this is only the second time in his two years here that he's seen them all in one drive.We saw: Baboons, Wildebeests, Impala, Kudu, Boar, Guinea Fowl, Monkeys, Leopard, eagles, vultures, jackal (black backed - eats nothing but insects and small rodents), zebra, crested heron, starlet, some grey bird, elephants, lions, buffalo, and the white rhino. The rhino was a lone territorial male. The elephant we saw is probably 5.5 tons and likely 40ish years old...
they live to be 65-70.
As far as food, the chef typically has a couple of options and takes our orders in the morning. She is specifically making vegetarian food for me, and all of her food is wonderful!
For tea had a delicious fruity iced tea, couscous stuffed tomatoes
For dinner: appetizer was a filo purse stuffed with brie and chutney, and a rice pilaf with veggies like peas, carrots, etc. John had pork and chutney.
Dessert was a wonderful bread pudding.
Our Second day, Oct 11
Morning drive we saw Impala, Kudu, some giraffe remains from fighting another male (remains are a year old) - they fight by trying to break each other's necks, saw a herd of elephants and a cute little baby ~2 days old, black rhino with a baby of ~2.5 years old.
Then we went on a walk where our guide told John about a contest they have while drinking. He picked up some impala poop, chewed it up and spit it as far as he could. John then did the same and spit further... the guide said no one ever beat him before!
On the
evening drive we saw all big 5 again!! Plus zebras and a baby, the mom and baby rhino, a king fisher, a magpie, a giraffe.
When we came back after the safari, there was a pretty red heart wreath on our door, rose petals and lit candles leading to a drawn bath with a bottle of champagne next to it and two rubber duckies on the edge of the bath.
After our bath and the bottle of champagne, we had a private dinner on the deck overlooking the watering hole, saw more rhino come to drink.
Breakfast we had omelets with mushrooms, peppers, and tomato. There is also a huge buffet of fruits, breads, cheeses, meats
Tea were mini salads and filo cups with spinach and feta, blintzes, chicken quesadillas, and lots of fruit.
Dinner was cream of mushroom soup and grilled polenta with veggies in a tomato sauce for me, calamari and kudu steak in a merlot sauce for John.
Third day Oct 12
Morning drive... it's been quite chilly each day (haven't seen the sun yet!) which is unusual for this time of year, and this morning was particularly
Lioness
We learned just how very lazy lions are! cold/drizzly, so much so that the ponchos in the jeep had to come out. Our guide pointed out holes in the dry riverbed where the elephants sniff out and then dig for water. It was a very slow morning, but we finally came upon a male lion! He walked by the jeep only 2 feet away, and the guide had us freeze... he was visibly a little bit nervous. Then the male went near 3 females, and one of them got up to greet him! This is apparently very unusual as the females don't want the male around unless they have babies and need protection. The guide suspects the female is pregnant and thus will eventually need the male. Also unusual to see them move as they usually just sleep all day and don't show much action.
We also saw a lot of giraffes and zebra on this drive. The two other couples left today, so at the moment we are the only guests although a couple more are supposed to come in today.
The rest of the day poured rain so we relaxed in our room with a fire in the fireplace, John in the bath, and
a herd of zebras came to our watering hole! Because the weather was so dismal, we had dinner in our room.
We met the new guests during the afternoon at tea... an American couple in their 80s and French couple in their 60s.
For Tea we - salads veg rolls, zucchini and mushroom mini quiche without crust, carrot cake.
For Dinner - potato leek soup which was awesome in this weather, for me salad, grilled veggies, a layered potato casserole. John chicken curry.
Sad to be leaving Shumbalala, amazing place. As we later learned, probably our favorite place.
Buffalo in the rain:
Male Lion:
Male Lion getting up and coming REALLY close to John!
Male Lion the day before
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