Safari!

This was my third safari and my first high-end one.  Each experience has provided special memories in terms of the people I was with, the locations and most especially, the animal encounters. This time I stayed at the 5-star Lukimbi Lodge in South Kruger National Park and it certainly delivered with wonderful staff, accommodations and meals.  A far cry from the accommodations on my camping safari with Carrie 26 years ago.   Good grief, was it really that long ago?!

I was in a hut at the end of the walkway which provided views of the surrounding grounds and passing animals.  You could watch them - mostly impala - from the comfort of your porch, as you cleaned up in an outside shower or from your free-standing soaking tub positioned in front of a large picture window.  It was all good.

 

 

We drove around in safari-style Land Rovers that came in handy when we got off the usual pathways to true off-roading.  As long as we were in the private reserve area (as opposed to on Kruger Park land), the guides are allowed to follow lions and a few other animals into the bush.  And boy, did we!

 

Our first game drive was the afternoon that we checked into the lodge.  The trackers spotted lion tracks and decided to follow on foot. 

 

 

Eventually they let our guide know where the pride was and off we went into the bush.  It was wild.  We were driving through – and I do mean through – bushes and trees.  Just running them down (although most popped back up again behind us).  But no lions. 

It was getting dark by now and the final glow of the sunset was used to determine direction.  Only problem was that it turned out to be the glow of a sugarcane field burning way off in the distance.  I was pretty hard for the guides to find their bearings in the high growth but the good news was that we eventually stumbled upon the lions.  19 of them!  And it was wonderful.  They were hanging out and didn’t seem to mind some spotlights on them.  Eventually they got up and meandered off.  We did the same and eventually found our way back to the path (I refuse to call these paths ‘roads’).  We were only a bit more than an hour late getting back to the lodge that night. 

 

 

 

 

We had many other great encounters including finding a herd of about 25 elephants at a watering hole…

A herd of water buffalo, zebra and a mom giraffe with her 2 week old.  Babies were everywhere - lions, water buffalo, rhino. 

 

  

 

 

 

And, lions in the sunshine.  The cubs are about a year old now.  We followed them into the bush to a water hole which was now merely a mud bath.  They hung out for a little while anyway.