Third Safari - Ngala Reserve

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We were shuttled from Jackalberry to the Ngala lodge, the final game lodge of our trip. And as luck would have it, the best was saved for last.

Ngala, meaning "Lion" in the local Shangaan language, is the only private safari reserve in the world-famous Kruger National Park. Ngala Private Game Reserve is host to two exclusive properties - classic Ngala Game Lodge in the north and contemporary Ngala Tented Safari Camp in the south. Ngala has exclusive traversing rights over 14,780 hectares (36,506 acres) of Kruger's two million hectares (4,940,000 acres), one of the richest and most strategically important wildlife areas on the continent.

We were lucky to get Dyke as our guide who I am sure was a Jedi in his previous life. Thanks to Dyke and our trusty spotter (I forgot his name), we saw the following during our six game drives:

A leopard relaxing in a tree
A cheetah running full speed in an attempt to take down a wildabeast
A leopard cub eating an impala
A mother and cub leopard relaxing on a dry river bed
as well as:

Elephants
Lions
Rhinos
Giraffe
Water Buffalo
Impalas
Zebra

In just a few days, were were fortunate to see almost every animal that Kruger has to offer.

I will never forget the 3 days we spent at Ngala and the sights, sounds and smells that occured.

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Photos

Baby Elephant
A wee little one keeps up with the mother as this group of elephants makes its way to a watering hole.

Male Pride
This male lion basks in the shade and gives us a once-over before returning to his nap.

Getting a Leg Up
The female lies with her leg up as she and the male nap.

In the tall grass
This leopard sits patiently in the tall grass after it snacked on an impala.

Mother and Cub
The cub leopard joins its mother as the two lay in the dry river bed. The impala they killed the night before (we watched them eating it the night before) is behind them in the tall grass. They will eat more of it later in the day.

Skull Warning
The skull of an unlucky animal sits on the side of the road reminding us all how dangerous the animals here are...no matter how cudly they look.