Safari so Goody

---

We needed to be within striking distance of the Game Reserve called Shamwari (which was about 200 miles from our B&B in Mossel Bay) in order to get through the gates for midday check-in, this meant an overnight stay in Port Elizabeth which was only about 40 miles south. We got lost in the sprawling industrial areas in the dark on the way in. Thanks to Sat Nav we managed to avoid any dodgy circumstances and arrived at Port Eliz B&B quite late. We still had enough time to pop out and sample the delights of a rugby bar and a beach based cinema, bar, casino, entertainment complex nothing to write home about so I’ll stop there….
Next morning we set off to Shamwari, again getting lost in the industrial outlying areas for 10 mins until the sat nav kicked in properly.
After 40 miles or so Shamwari signs pointed us on a gravel track to our tented lodges in the wilderness.
Monkeys running across the road greeted us, I’m sure they were laid on for tourists, one even had a peeled banana in its hands!
Once parked up we checked into the lodge and were walked down to the “tent” only to find our luggage had already been delivered and jackets hung up, a free mini-bar, twin sinks, roll top bath, plunge pool and outside shower area beckoned… it looked like our camping trip would be really tough.
After a spot of lunch we popped back to get changed ready to go On Safari!
First things first though, high tea and cream cakes were taken before the evening drive at 3pm.
The reserve is a quarter of a million hectares square and criss-crossed with 4x4 tracks for the 6 seated land cruisers to traverse. Plenty of space to hunt down the game - see photos for proof!
Returning in the evening cold and dark, hot water bottles and blankets were in the jeep and hot chocolate was brought out to greet us, told you it was rough 
Dinner was served after drinks where the safarists (is that a word?) swapped tall tales of animals spotted. Speaking of which our Ranger Guide “Balou” seemed to rely on Jills ability to spot animals for the 4 game drives we took over the next 2 days - she’s the one who should have got the tip everyone agreed!
Highlights included food, food, food and more food with wine, good company from all 4 corners of the world and plenty of animal magic - 4 of the big 5 spotted in the wild and the remaining 1 seen in the Born Free foundation for rescued animals.
A 550 mile drive after checking out, saw us in wine country for the next part of the trip.

---