Geo: -28.4965, 29.9048This morning we were woken up at 5:30 and it was already light. Then we quickly got dressed and met the others in the main lodge. Here I had a green tea, rusk and yoghurt as I sat on the deck of the lodge and watched the sun rising. At 6am our guide Kingsley led us to the vehicle and then we were off for the morning game drive. It was freezing, but Kingsley was prepared and we each had hot water bottles to help warm us up. The hot water bottle and the blankets made it a much more comfortable drive. What wildlife wonders would we see this morning? We drove to an open plains area where the grass was very long and dry. Here we saw a herd of wildebeest that were ... read more

Geo: -29.2004, 29.5276It was dark when we arrived here last night and we were not aware of the great view from our lodge. This morning Paul took his guests for a bird walk around the lodge and I enjoyed a little sleep in. This is when I noticed the great view from our bedroom window. The view was amazing even though it was a cloudy, overcast day. I could see the valley with the walking trails that lead to the cave and continue on to other natural attractions in the reserve. It was then time for me to prepare brunch and soon after they returned from the birding walk. We had a great spread and I enjoyed having a cooked breakfast. At 11am Paul and Max went for a walk to the cave to see the ... read more

Geo: -28.21, 32.0059This morning we left early at 6am for our game drive. Soon we spotted a rhino in the distance. Further along the road there was a small herd of dagga boys. The old male buffaloes were mainly resting, just one of them was eating. On the other side of the road we saw the rear end of a white rhino as it was walking into the bush. We then arrived at the river and parked on the bridge to observe. Initially there wasn't anything to see except for a few Hadeda Ibis. Then in the distance in the dry river we noticed movement. There were lion cubs running around and a couple of sub-adults. It was exciting to see them, just a shame that they were so far away. Then when we looked out ... read more

Geo: -28.21, 32.0059This morning I had a sleep in as I didn't want to go on another early morning game drive. The temperature was so much warmer here than it was at Ithala. I got out of bed at about 8am and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Paul had taken the others on a morning game drive once he had found the car keys! There was a bit of a panic this morning and it wasn't made any easier by the lack of electricity. Using our head torches we managed to find the spare car key. This was a lesson learnt to be more organised in the evening before the electricity is turned off.Soon after I got up, the cleaner arrived to clean the lodge. I walked around outside the lodge – but didn't stray too ... read more

Geo: -28.21, 32.0059It was mid-afternoon when we arrived at Umfolozi-Hluhluwe Game Reserve. Two game reserves merged to become one of South Africa's largest game reserves. The reserve has the big 5 animals and is separated by a main tarred road. We were staying in the Umfolozi part of the reserve. On my first visit to South Africa in 2008 I stayed in the Hluhluwe part of the reserve. Our private bush lodge was only 7km from the entrance, but we had to drive to the rest camp at Mpila which was 19km to do the check-in process. On the way to check-in we stopped at a lookout point. From here we could see the nearly dried up river and six buffalo enjoying the little bit of water that there was. At Mpila while Paul was doing ... read more