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.

 

 

 

 

Taolanaro, Madagascar

I took a gazillion photos at our second port of call in Madagascar, but I'm going to focus on my friendly little primates.  The Nahampoana Reserve has 4 types of lemurs living on their grounds.  I only saw 3 types and one of them (brown lemurs) I was only able to get butt shots.  But the other two types made up for the rest of them.  If I have this correct, the first ones here are sifakas lemurs (black face ringed with white fur) and the second are the ring-tail.  So darn cute.

Sainte Marie Island – Madagascar

Coming back to Africa is always a treat, and to finally make it to Madagascar is special.   On the first day we anchored off of Sainte Marie Island and its main town of Ambodifotatra.  From there I did an excursion that took us to the small island Ile Aux Nattes.  Our primary base was the only resort on the island – a small, simple place with individual huts.  From there we walked much of the island through small villages and up to the highest point with the island’s lighthouse.  There are no cars on the island making walking the dirt streets easy. 

 

 

 

 

Two lemurs came to visit while we were there.  They didn’t stay around for too long, but long enough to get a few photos while they were atop one of the huts.

 

 

And as always, there were cute children...

 

The French Island of Reunion

Reunion is another tropical paradise, but quite different from Mauritius.  Mauritius is an independent island nation with a strong Indian influence.  It’s quite flat with miles of sugarcane fields and pretty beaches.  In contrast, Reunion is French territory and is very mountainous with villages dotting the lush slopes.  Many of the miles of beaches are beautiful, but not prized as swimming beaches due to the hot black sand laced with broken coral. The French influence is evident everywhere.  I did a 4-wheel drive excursion into the mountains to check out the tropical scenery.  
 

 

 

Just a sample of the many flowers to be found up in the mountains.



 

We had lunch at the home of a family who cater to small groups, cook over a wood-burning stove and use veggies and herbs from their own garden.   They specialize in maintaining knowledge of the healing properties of the region’s plants, even working with scientists to figure out why one of the leaves works to lower cholesterol.  Chopped up plants, bark and whatever where laid out drying to be used eventually in teas or other preparations.  Lunch was fabulous.

 

 

 

 

The Island of Mauritius

It was a long way across the Indian Ocean to find land again and what we found was quite lovely.  On Mauritius three of us hired a cab driver for the day and he proved to be a good tour guide as well.  We spent some time in the city of Port Louis before venturing out to see smaller towns, beaches, and sugar cane fields.

From the dock we took a water taxi to town.

 

 

Providing some shade at a strip mall.

Scenes from a fish market.

 

 

Sunset on Mauritius