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Published: June 17th 2017
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01 Scenery
The scenic view as we drove to the game reserve. Geo: -24.1511, 30.9588
The last week of my life has been quite crazy and emotional. Yesterday was my last day of work at Jaci's Lodges. I had worked there for three and a half years, beginning as Front of House and soon after progressing to an Assistant Manager. Just over a month ago I handed in my resignation and spent the last few days packing and selling things that I wouldn't be taking with me. In less than a week I was permanently moving back home, to Australia.
This morning Paul and I are on our way north. For the next four nights we were staying at Maninghi Lodge. It is on the Oliphants River in the Balule Game Reserve. We were self catering and stopped along the way to buy food and drinks.
The drive to the game reserve is very scenic and even more on a beautiful sunny day like today. The roads were a bit windy and hilly. As Paul drove down one of the hills, we noticed a police car parked on the side of the road with its radar pointing towards our car. Paul braked, but it was too late and we were signalled to pull over. This
02 Scenery
The scenic view as we drove to the game reserve. is the first ever time since arriving here four years ago that we have been pulled over for speeding. We had a little chat to the police, asking if there is a cash discount and of course there was! It saved them paperwork too. A win, win for all involved.
We arrived at the entrance of Balule Game Reserve early in the afternoon. The drive to the lodge was quite bumpy and I was glad we had a 4x4. Finally we arrived at the lodge and wow – what a magnificent location. For tonight we were sharing the lodge with the owners who are friends of Paul's parents and then for the last three nights we would be here here on our own.
The lodge is located right on the Oliphant's River which flows through Kruger Park. On the lawn there were a couple of warthogs greeting us as we arrived. The properties in this game reserve are unfenced and there is a chance of encountering a variety of wildlife.
We met our hosts, freshened up and then had lunch together. I just couldn't help it and very frequently looked out the large windows hoping to see some animals. From the
03 Scenery
The scenic view as we drove to the game reserve. lodge we could not see any other building. Tomorrow we would be going for a game drive and looked forward to seeing more of the reserve.
That evening we enjoyed a barbecue outside under the large thatched roof of the lapa. As we sat we heard a noise from the other side of the river. We all stopped talking and sat quietly. We could just make out the shape of a breeding herd of elephants. They had come to drink from the river. What an amazing sight! Later on we fell asleep to the sounds of the bush.
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