Monday
(Photos to follow in separate posts.)
We got up at 5:00 and drove to the airport to leave the
rental car and catch a flight to Johannesburg. The flight loaded right as we
arrived at the gate. In Jo’burg, we changed planes and caught a full flight to
Hoedspruit where Yolandi picked us up and drove us to the Elephant Plains
Resort in Sabi Sands game reserve.
The drive was an hour and a half and Steve was thrilled to
see a giraffe and some antelope on the way to the lodge. We checked in, went to
our fabulous room with bath and patio and then had a really fine smorgasbord
lunch at 2:00.
A brief rest after lunch and then we were off for a safari
drive at 4:00. This is a very different experience of safari from what I
experienced last year in Tanzania. Here we were six passengers in a tiered
jeep. The other four were from France. We had a great safari in that as Steve
says, “We saw four out of five of the big five.” We were two meters from a
young male lion and, perhaps, ten meters from a leopard. The leopard was
absolutely amazing to see.
We had drinks at sunset under a tree and a snack and then
came home for dinner. Steve is over the top with glee as seeing the animals as
I was last year; this year, the best part for me in not taking photos. I have
seen these animals before so I only take pictures of animals I have not seen or
not up close before. I just love being a passenger and not driving, the warm
evening air and the stimulation of seeing places never seen before.
Dinner here is as it was in Tanzania. Well presented, lots
of variety, small portions and a menu similar to comfort food. With supplies
coming from so far away, power at a premium and a challenging climate makes for
compromises from fine dining, but it is good.
Tuesday
There was a five am wake-up call (I was already dressed) and
to the lodge for a hot drink and rusk (similar to biscotti). Then off for a
morning drive. It was raining mildly and I was not keen, but as soon as the
rain stopped I felt keener and we saw a mother leopard and her cub and that was
as surprising as unexpected. At the end of the morning drive, we came home in
pouring rain. We wear rubber ponchos when it rains and stay reasonably dry.
Then back to the lodge for the real breakfast. About the
food: there was a family with three children beside us. Read between the lines.
After breakfast it warmed up and brightened up and so did my
spirits.
Regarding Elelephant plains…. We are awakened at 5:00 am for
our first ride. We get back around 8:00. Breakfast is at 8:30 and at ten there
is a guided walk with a ranger. Lunch is at 2:00, followed by a siesta until
4:00 when the evening drive happens. The drive returns at 7:00; dinner is at
8:00, then you go to sleep in your cabin that is very well equipped with a
fully loaded large bathroom and lovely sitting/sleeping room with a deck. It is
deathly silent and $250/day per person.
The other lodges around here go for between $800 and $1,100
per person per day, so Steve chose well for us as this is a more than adequate
place to be—especially during the rainy season.
Steve read and I worked on my script after breakfast and
until lunch (at 2:00). Then we ate a particularly good and abundant meal, had a
brief time to change and refresh before the evening drive. For the third time
out of three, we saw a leopard and you never tire of that. And we
re-encountered our lone stray make lion, but by far the hit of the drive was Fen,
our tracker.
We set off at 4:00 and you drive until around 6:00 when you
stop for “sundowners”—drinks that you pre-order and enjoy with snacks and we
have time to talk to others in the jeep. Then, we headed back to camp with Fen,
sitting on the front of the jeep and sweeping the bushes with a searchlight looking
for nocturnal animals.
First he spotted a genet—a small cat, spotted like a leopard
that was in the crotch of a tree. That thrilled me to bits because it was
unexpected both tonight and in my life and they are stunningly beautiful and
sleek. Fen’s ability to see that cat was incredibly impressive. But then, going
even faster, he spotted a chameleon on a tree as we drove by. That blew the
minds of everyone in the truck.
The same thing happened to me last year in Tanzania—same
incredible skill of the tracker, and same animal; another chameleon. These
people have absolutely skills! I wrote last year that my guide could spot dust
on the moon.
Even if we don’t see animals, I love being driven around in
the warm summer air instead of being at home in winter and hearing Christmas
music and overeating. I’m enjoying overeating here much more.
Wednesday
Up at 5:00 for another drive. The highlight this time was
two female lions lying on the road. When we got back, we went for a walk
through the park for an hour and looked at the smaller world here.
When we got back, I wondered if it was a rock in the pool
out in front of us down on the plain, and so I got my binoculars and it was a
hippo. I knocked on everyone’s doors to tell them and we all assembled on a
neighbour’s deck to watch it move. The neighbours, from London, come here every
year and they say this is the worst weather they have ever had and the least
animals and the densest growth (making viewing harder). Still, I am enjoying
everything we do and Steve seems to love it a lot too. He is marveling at many
things and I am confident he is very happy he came. Were it as sunny and hot as
it usually is, I don’t know how comfortable I would be. It was a very humid 34°
the day we arrived.
After the morning drive about we went for a guided walk
through the bush (With a guide, a large gun and many bullets). It was wonderful
to be on the ground and focused on the small things of the park.
Then lunch, then the evening drive and now leopards,
chameleons and lions are routine. The best part of our drive was the sun coming
out briefly, giving us hope for our first sunny day tomorrow.
At dinner, all us guests at Elephant Lodge formed a flash
mob for dinner. We pushed all out tables together to eat as one and I think the
staff were amused, but it is a good sign when people from all over the world
and speaking different languages come together to eat. It was really fun and we
stayed late in the dining hall together.
Lynn and Jack are a lovely couple from London and they have
been very, very pleasant to visit. They are my age and come to Africa every
year. Lynn gave me some valuable information so just before the evening walk, I
went down to the Plumeria grove and picked up tons of fallen blossoms and made
Lynn a lei.
Thursday
YAY! Finally we have a clear sky. Our last day here is going
to be the best because the sun is out this morning, plus I finished yet another
re-write of my script.
It was spectacular to drive through the bush in warm sunny
weather. The evening ride was particularly pleasant and the one stop we make on
each drive was the best yet because of the weather and the other passengers in
our touring jeep. Henrich, from Finland, and Elena, from Romania, are a couple
that works together on a 33-meter yacht. Henrich is the captain and Elena is
the cook; they are open, warm, jubilant people who are excellent company.
Steve is thrilled because tonight we saw buffalo and so he
has seen the big five.
On impulse, all of us guests tonight decided to push our
dinner tables together and eat as one big family. It was really, really
fabulous and reflects the camaraderie that has developed amongst us. One thing
that brought us together was my doing; I spotted a hippo in the waterhole in
front of Jack and Lynn’s cabin, so we all gathered there to look. The other
reason, I think, was Steve. It was he who first suggested we all eat together.
Later, Louis, our guide told me how impressed that made all the guides and they
resolved on seeing that to treat us excellently.
Friday
First thing, our last game drive, then we packed, got our
lift into Hoedspruit for our flight to Johannesburg—all uneventful except that
as we arrived into Jo’burg, we flew into lightning and thunderheads and emerged
into a downpour. Obviously, our plans for camping were toast, so we got our
rental car, came to Pretoria (feeling it would be less anxiety producing than
staying in Jo’burg, and took a room at the Sheridan. (And YAY, there is a botanical
garden here.)
