Thursday, June 26, 2008

This morning we left Johannesburg for our safari and took a six hour bus ride to the Djuma Game Resort, which is located next to the Sabi Sand South African reserve. Djuma was also right next to Kruger Park were the famous YouTube video was shot. Wow, was the extremely bumpy bus ride worth it. We arrived at camp and went through a big metal fence that was guarded by men with big rifles. We were loaded on to our big Land Rover caravans with our luggage in another and we took a short dirt road ride to camp. We pulled up out from the rugged and dusty trails to an oasis of straw hut bungalows. With two per room, my sister and I walked in to our hut, and our luggage was already there. Shortly after, we all met in the tri-level open-air lodge. Here we were greeted at the bar with lychee juice and were surrounded by the bush. The lodge consisted of a small pool, hammocks, an upper level with a deck and game table, and a lower dining level. Safari magazines littered the tables and two huge posters that listed every animal in the reserve hung on the upper walls. We immediately were told to go change and layer up for we were going on a night safari in ten minutes! My sister and I rushed back to our bungalow with its vanity, rainfall shower, tribal blanket, an electric kettle, and complete with chocolates and fresh flowers on our mosquito net draped bed. It was truly like what you’d imagine in the movies. We layered up not knowing what to expect, grabbed our cameras and headed out to the sunset. Shortly after driving, we had our first sighting, it was an elephant. The guide, Abel, instructed us not to take pictures because we would get closer, and at that point we were less than forty yards away! How could we safely get any closer?! As he promised, we pulled right along side the elephants. That was when I knew we weren’t messing around. We saw water buffalo, giraffes, and rhinos too. But it was getting darker by the second so we stopped in the middle of the bush for drinks and chicken meatballs. After our short stop we hopped right back in to the Jeep and continued onward. Now our spotter guide was sitting on the front seat on the hood of the car, with what looked like a huge sports light that now lit the way instead of the African sun. The stars were so clearly visible and we could see millions more than at home. We then got a radio talkie call from the other Land Rover that they had found a leopard. We quickly drove over and met them. As they promised there was the leopard right in the distance! It was off the trail however, so we off-roaded it, ducking from thorn bushes and knocking over trees. I felt like Indiana Jones, it was so thrilling. After all that excitement it was time to head back to the lodge for an amazing candle lit dinner. The dinner started with an amazing butternut squash soup, and then a buffet of roasted oxx tail, pumpkin, corn on the cob, and cabbage, all traditional food. After went back to sleep in our huts, but we had to be escorted incase there were any dangerous animal. After safely making it back my sister and I changed in to our pj’s and amazingly we hoped in to bed and to our surprise they were pre-heated with hot water bottles! I can’t wait for the exploring tomorrow!

Friday, June 27, 2008

My sister and I were woken up this morning by a sweet old lady at 6:00AM with scones to be ready for safari by 6:30AM. I made hot chocolate with the kettle and layered up again. We set out and this time we saw rhinos and zebras. After a short while, we stopped for our morning hot chocolate by a hippo at his watering whole. After we hopped in to the Land Rovers, we drove around again until it was time for breakfast. We were then taken to a campsite in the middle of the bush with picnic tables with table settings and a grill. We had juice with fruit skewers in it, fresh toasted granola with milk, pancakes, and beer bread. It was delicious. After that we didn’t see too much but we went back to camp for a short one hour walking hike with one of the guides and his rifle. On the hike we learned that smoking dry elephant dung cures headaches, and if you rub a certain plant in your hands with water it turns in to soap. We then were so hot we took a dip in the pool back at the lodge. It was very cold but refreshing. After our swim, we went in to the lodge for lunch. This wonderful meal started with delicious tomato soup and fresh foccatia bread, and even had skewers of raw springbok. After lunch we went back to our huts to take showers and get ready for the night safari ahead. This night all the kids rode together. We ended up seeing more elephants and then we stopped for our sunset snack and drinks. This time we stopped back at the hippo watering whole again from this morning. We had fresh jerky of some sort and sodas. After a long stop we headed out sadly to find nothing. But we came back for dinner, and this time around the campfire back at the lodge. Starting with a fish soup, and the cous cous, corn, pumpkin, and roasted springbok. And for dessert was banana upside down tart that was very delicious. We went back to our rooms for another amazing nights sleep with our heated beds.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

This morning we were again awoken by our kind friend with some scones and I made hot cocoa along with it. We headed out for our last safari, which, we didn’t know at the time, would be our best! We drove out and found lion tracks that the guides said were extremely fresh, and almost immediately after that we heard a male lion roar in the distance. As we tracked and tracked, scoping watering wholes and common resting places, we found an open clearing right on the boarder of Kruger Park where some wildebeests were grazing. The guides stopped for hot cocoa and jungle granola bars hoping the wildebeests would lure the lion closer. After patiently waiting, we heard the lion call for his pride again. We swiftly loaded in to the Land Rover and drove down the road to search more. Literally two minutes after driving we turned around after getting a call from another Land Rover that said the lion was exactly where we had just finished eating! We hauled backward and there he was crossing the road as if he had waited for us to leave. We followed him off-road in to the brush getting caught in a sand trench but we made it out… just like you do on the Indiana Jones Ride at Disneyland! The lion was literally ten feet away from me and it was the coolest thing ever! After all that excitement it was time to go back to the lodge for breakfast. The feast consisted of apricot muffins that tasted like funfetti cupcakes, porridge that I had three bowls of, corn flakes, toast, bacon, and guava juice. It was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. We then had to sadly go back to our rooms and pack our bags to leave. We were driven back to the park entrance where we met our bus driver Kookie again who took us to our village home stays in Hluvukani.