Advertisement
Published: April 24th 2010
Late in the afternoon, we arrived in Cape Town with Table Top Mountain as a spectacular back drop to this South African city. We immediately drove to Signal Hill for the nightly Sun-downer to toast the sunset over the ocean with champagne and appetizers. It was a fitting way to end our memorable 35 day cruise. Now it was back to the ship, enjoying our last dinner with friends, packing, waking at 3:30 a.m. for our 4:30 a.m. transfer to the airport. We flew to Johannesburg and took a 20 seat prop plane to a small airstrip in the bush and our much anticipated safari had begun.
This 6 day experience was everything we hoped it would be and more. We split our time between 2 private game reserves- Leopard Hills and Lion Sands in the Sabi Sands area of South Africa. Because this area is adjacent to the famous Kruger National Park there was a huge population of animals and birds. On our 12 game drives, our knowledgeable rangers and trackers were able to identify 23 varieties of mammals including the “Big 5” and 51 varieties of birds. We traveled in open air Land Rovers along small dirt
paths until the ranger learned of a sighting from communication with a short wave radio and then we would go off road to view. A couple of unbelievable sightings were 1) A rare cheetah that had not been seen for 2 months 2) a leopard clashing with a hyena over the leopards recent kill that she had stored in a tree 3) a playful game of hide and seek with an elephant and a leopard with only a termite hill separating them 4) a male lion roaring 6 ft. from us in the dark answering a female lion in the distance 5) the many babies that we saw 6) all the sights, sounds, and smells of the bush when the ranger would stop the vehicle and cut off the engine and 7) the crystal clear views of the Milky Way and Southern cross in the night sky.
Our accommodations at both reserves were luxury glass fronted individual suites overlooking the bush, a water hole and the Sabi River. From the comfort of our private hill top balcony we could view the animals, enjoy our plunge pool and bask in the sun. The food was 1st class and most of
the time we ate outside where the weather was mild. One night there was a Boma dinner in an enclosure of intertwined branches with an open fire and barbecue area. Many local meats were served like impala and eland and it was explained that this area was used by the tribes for meetings and community events. On another evening while enjoying an outdoor candlelight dinner, Chuck saw a hyena at the edge of the patio. Our waiter said that he makes a nightly visit looking for food and has to be scared away. Our last night at Lion Sands was particularly special because we were the only guests at the camp. Due to the situation with the Iceland volcanic ash many had to cancel their reservations. The chef took our requests for meals and we had the best table in the house with the full attention of the staff. We also had 2 private game drives with lots of 1 on 1 time with our wonderful ranger.
It was truly an experience of a life time that we will never forget! We both agree that we have never felt so close to nature while enjoying all the comforts of
home. We can highly recommend it.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.275s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 8; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0648s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Vivienne and Bill
non-member comment
Chapter 6--Safari to Africa
These are the most amazing animal pictures I have ever seen! We loved our two trips to Africa, but we never viewed the animals this close--really remarkable. Thanks for sharing. Vivienne and Bill