A 5 Star Job Interview

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Geo: -24.7768, 26.2903

Over the last week we have been sending our CVs to many lodges and browsing lodge employment websites. Finding a job was looking difficult as all lodges wanted guides with experience and Paul had none yet.

Yesterday morning we received a call from a lodge who had received our details through another lodge. It was a lodge called Jaci's in Madikwe Game Reserve. It is in a part of South Africa that we had not yet considered working. Paul had a long chat on the phone and they were interested in meeting us. We were invited to stay a night, receive the full 5 star treatment and check the place out. It sounded good to us so far. That evening we packed a bag and tried to get a good night's sleep.

This morning we got up early and tried to beat the traffic. It was a 3 and a half hour drive to get there. The reserve borders South Africa with Botswana. Once we passed through the reserve gate it was about a 10 minute drive to the lodge. Unfortunately we didn't see any animals along the way, only some birds.

We meet the general manager Deon and had a long meeting about the lodge and expectations. It was then lunch time. Lunch was served on the deck amongst the bush. We then checked into our room- wow! It was a lovely room, very romantic with an outdoor shower and a gorgeous bath. It was very private, as if we were in the middle of the bush with no others around. We were really impressed with everything so far and excited about the possibility of working here.

High tea was served at 4pm and from there we went on a game drive. Our guide was David and we shared the jeep with a Dutch couple. On our safari we saw zebras, warthogs, birds, lions, giraffe, a beautiful sunset and a couple of rhinos. Ten minutes into the drive we came across the airstrip and learnt that guests and staff can fly from here to Johannesburg- which would be so much better than the drive! The best thing about our drive was a very close encounter with five lions.

Once we got back we took a few minutes to prepare for dinner. Dinner tonight was being served in the boma. A boma is a traditional African village meeting area for adults. It is round and surrounded by sticks. In the middle is a huge fire which is used to cook the meal on. It was a really nice meal and we felt so spoilt. It was an early night as we were going on a morning drive tomorrow.

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Photos

01 Room
The gorgeous mosiac bath.

02 Room
Another view of the bath and the outdoor shower to the right.

03 Room
Looking out of the room.

04 Room
Our comfy bed for the night.

05 Outdoor Shower
The outdoor shower that has plenty of running hot water.

06 Three
Three zebras walking along.

07 Looking
The three zebras looking at us.

08 Sitting
Sitting in the red soil.

09 Rolling
The zebra having a great time rolling around in the soil.

10 Still Rolling
The zebra still rolling around.

11 Red
Now the zebra is red with black stripes!

12 Warthogs
A group of warthogs (sounder) that are about to put their tails up and run away.

13 Airstrip
The reserve's airstrip, where the guests can fly in from Johannesburg.

14 Eagle
A silhouette of an unidentified eagle.

15 Walking Away
A lioness walking away from us.

16 Joining
The lioness joining another lioness.

17 Greeting
The lioness greeting the young male lion.

18 Lazy
The young lazy male rests while the lioness looks to hunt.

19 Sleepy
The male lion seems sleepy.

20 Yawning
Having a yawn.

21 Up
The male lion has stood up.