Geo: -28.5306, 30.8958This morning we met at the guest house's dining room at 8am for breakfast. On the way to the dining room I noticed that the weather was still looking very average. The wind had died down, but the sky was quite grey. Our breakfast was delicious. There was a great choice of food. After we had eaten we agreed to be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. I then did a quick walk through the gardens and took a few more photos. I quickly finished packing and met the others at the car. By now the sky had cleared and was blue and sunny.The drive today was not a long one. We were driving in a south easterly direction to Ithala Game Reserve. This is where we were staying for the next few nights. ... read more

Geo: -19.0933, 22.4451We were up early this morning as we were going back to Pretoria. By half past seven we were at the airstrip packing our bags into the plane. We took off at eight and arrived at Maun ten minutes later. The flight to Maun was too quick and luckily there was no turbulence. Jan flew the plane quite low, which gave us a great view of the scenery below. Today was another clear day, with the blue sky making the view below look spectacular. At times it was hard to know which side of the plane to look out of. In Maun we went to a cafe for breakfast and then we were back in the plane. The flight from Maun to Sun City was very boring compared to flying over the delta. During ... read more

Geo: -19.0933, 22.4451A few days ago, our boss/lodge owner Jan offered us a trip to the Okavango Delta in the neighbouring country of Botswana. He was going there for a two night business trip and there was space in his plane – should we be interested. Paul and I were very interested in going to the Delta, especially as he was only going to have us pay the airport taxes, so a very cheap trip for us. This was going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity, although I was a bit sceptical of flying in such a small plane! I had seen his plane fly over the lodge plenty of times and everyone who had been for a flight with him did say that it was an amazing experience. So Paul and I accepted ... read more

Geo: -24.7605, 26.3246After work this afternoon I spent some time at the hide. Approaching the wetland area were a few giraffe - adults as well as young ones. They slowly bent down and spread their legs to drink water. The giraffe did not spend much time in the area. While I waited for more animals to appear I was able to get some reading done. This place is one of my favourite ways to de-stress and relax in between working, as usually I am the only one here and it is so quiet and peaceful.I was then disturbed by a commotion. A baboon had walked towards the waterhole and was chased away by an irritated troop of Banded Mongoose. The mongoose were chasing it and making warning noises. It was a funny sight - a large ... read more

Geo: -24.7605, 26.3246On the way to the hide this afternoon Paul and I stopped to photograph the troop of Banded Mongoose. The mongoose are very friendly and curious and not people shy at all. The best thing about them is that they kill snakes! From the hide there was no sign of any animals, just a few birds. We sat and read for a while. Twenty minutes later a couple of zebra arrived. They walked over to the wetland and drank some water and then they walked away back into the bush.Half an hour later we left the hide, as the sun was starting to set and the temperature had dropped. As we walked along the fence we noticed a lone bull elephant eating and drinking in the wetland.... read more