Safari! Safari! Safari!

---

It was our last weekend in South Africa and we had started it full of animals so what better way than to finish it full of animals!

We left our beloved place at little Orchard, with Graeme offering to take us to the pick up point for the mini bus. As usual, we were running late, so our heavy backpacks went in the car, we got in, Graeme started his BMW and the windowscreen wipers went back and forth rapidly...normally in the UK this would not be a problem however today the sun was finally shining and it was boiling. So he began pressing lots of buttons in panic and the wipers just got faster and faster and all i could see was Alex looking at his watch thinking we are going to miss this minibus. So Graeme decided to set off on this glorious day with the wipers going as fast as they could with no screenwash coming out. He then decided to drive through a public running race, with people touching the car with their hands as he drove past because he was so close. Oh dear! If it wasn't the car playing up it was Graeme nearly running over some runners and it wasn't even 9am! After a scary five minute ride we arrived at the hotel where our driver was waiting.

We got in the bus and were handed a form to sign. We signed a form to basically say we waver all our rights if a lion eats us and then we were on our way to central Cape Town to pick up some Safari friends! The minibus was soon full and we were off to find the said lions that may eat us. After a two hour drive we finally made it to Aquila Private Game Reserve to be greeted with wine, Alex was happy to say the least. We felt like we had arrived in "real" Africa, you know like the stuff you've seen in The Lion King. First stop was drinks by the pool, in which we spotted two elephants and some ostriches in the distance, followed by a long lengthy discussion with Alex that we will not be seeing a crazy baboon lifting up a lion cub with Elton John playing in the background. Next was lunch, hmmm, and then it was finally time to check in to our African hut. It was amazing with its thatched roof , coal stove and outdoor rock shower! We were in Africa!

Once settled it was time to head off on our Safari. The drive lasts about three hours with no guarantees of what you will see. First we saw a tiny glimpse of a hippo, closely followed by some Rhino. In the distance, we spotted a baby Rhino that had been disowned by it's mother :-(. What the game reserve had decided to do was to avoid too much human scent being left with the Rhino, they had a goat that they walked...the Rhino followed and interacted with the goat. It was quite funny to see a man essentially walking a Rhino. As the drive continued we got incredibly close to many animals including wild buffalo, Springboks, Zebras and then we stopped for some refreshments with the most breathtaking views. Plenty of fizz and biltong on offer. We set off again and not long after we stopped at some electric gates. Remember that scene from Jurassic park when you see all the electric fences and the ridiculously tall gates slowly open and you wonder what are those gates keeping in? It was a tense moment and we slowly went crossed into a new "enclosure". I use the term enclosure loosely as the enclosures are so vast and stretch right up into the mountains. A few minutes later and we had arrived to witness the lions and lionesses. The truck fell silent, everybody was in awe of these cuddly looking yet powerful animals. We stared in wonder whilst the safari guide gave us some information about the pack. The truck stopped and we were no more than six foot from a lioness. She just lay there, composed staring at the truck, probably eyeing up who would be the meatiest option... this was the point we regretted signing that form! We had quite a scary moment, one of the other safari trucks pulled up behind us to stop and stare, a tourist from the truck behind took a picture of the lioness and the lioness did not appreciate the flash and snapped. Alex continued his selfie, I moved to the other side of the truck. It made us very aware that there was nothing to stop any of the animals, especially the lions attacking us. We were informed that in South Africa 'canning' is a big issue - canning is overfeeding an animal and putting it in a small cage to minimise exercise and to encourage weight gain. Once the lions had gained a considerable amount of weight they were then killed for their skin and fur with the poachers getting more money due to the stretching. It was sad to hear and although they lived a healthier lifestyle at Aquila, the lions had a lot of excess saggy skin from being stretched. After our game drive, we drove back for our evening meal. Once we had had our food, the time was to do with as you please. We decided to sit outside in a huge dug out pit, with two fire bins roasting marshmellows with a guy telling us all about star constellations. After our amazing evening of stargazing and marshmallows it was time to return to our African hut.

We were up dark and early for our second game drive. We ventured out to see some of the animals we had seen the night before, hoping to see Giraffes and Elephants. Unfortunately the Elephants were up in the mountains, nowhere to be seen and the giraffes were so far away we could barely see them. We both felt it was a bit of a disappointing drive compared to the night before. We then ventured over to the Animal Rescue Centre which was quite sad. Many animals were there due to sickness or because Aquila were unable to reintroduce the animals for many reasons. There was a cheetah that had to permanently live in the ARC as when it was found it had had it's claws removed (it would be unable to catch food/defend itself/climb trees). Shame as they say in Cape Town.

After a hearty breakfast and a quick pack up/sitting on our backpacks encouraging them to close we checked out and relaxed with the peacocks by the pool before it was time to head back to Cape Town.



Here is a brief overview of an overnight stay at Aquila Game Reserve;

Welcome cocktails

A buffet lunch is served before the game drive departs

2 – 3 hour game drive

Traditional South African dinner

Accomodation

Early Morning Game Drive & Visit to ARC

Buffet Breakfast

Check Out of Cottage

Travel via the scenic Du Toitskloof Pass and wine lands to CT



Although our safari was a lot out of our travelling budget, we both could not recommend it enough. A once in a lifetime kind of thing and we would do it all over again.

It's the circle of life, and it moves us all through despair and hope, through faith and love. Till we find our place on the path unwinding.

---

Comments

[Carly Marie]

Wow!
Love reading about the safari...sounds like an amazing experience! Xxx