We were on a mission to see cats today, specifically leopards, lions (a big male), and cheetahs. While I haven’t seen a cheetah yet, I did see leopard and a pride of lions today. The leopard was especially fulfilling, because we’ve been scanning trees for leopards for the last two days. Today, the leopard we saw was small and she was interested in us, so she came literally within 10 feet of us and stared at us the whole time. It was so cool! She was beautiful.
Dylan has trained me to see animals, and I am making progress but of course he’s much better than me. He saw a herd of zebras that I struggled to see even with the binoculars! We saw zebras, elephants, and giraffes today. He is letting me identify the gender of the giraffes we see, and it made me laugh today when we approached a giraffe and he asked “Do you want to sex that one, too?” I explained that it would sound better if he asked me to identify the gender instead. Another funny time today was when he had to break out his Leatherman to open my bottle of water. I appreciated his effort and commitment so much, but the whole situation was so funny that I was crying with laughter. Yesterday, he was convinced that a hippo was a rock (it turned out to be a hippo) and today he was convinced that a rock was a leopard (wishful thinking).
We left Kruger through Phabeni Gate (a new gate, constructed in 2002) and made our way towards Shiduli. We passed through Blyde River Canyon, seeing the 3 Rondavels, and stopping at God’s Window and Bourke’s Luck Potholes. God’s Window is incredible, and it feels like the top of the world. Just amazing, sweeping views. I can’t imagine how anyone could stand up there and not believe in a magnificent, mighty, and majestic God. As is so often the case, pictures don’t do it justice.
After God’s Window, we stopped to see Bourke’s Luck Potholes, which we really enjoyed. They are a chain of fascinating (and huge) potholes that were scoured into the rock by sand and stones flowing through two rivers.
After passing through a mountain tunnel that Dylan told me was the longest he’s ever seen (for the record, I think it might be the shortest mountain tunnel I’ve ever seen, so we laughed about that), we arrived at Shiduli. This private lodge (www.shidulilodge.co.za) will be my home for the next few days. Dylan dropped me off and went to go visit his uncle and grandparents.
As I mentioned before, Pierre did a great job organizing this trip for me. As part of that, he saved the best accommodations for last. When I arrived today, the manager greeted me by name before I even introduced myself. Turns out they are booked solid today: me plus a tour of 29 people from France that was going to arrive later. They greeted me with a scented towel to freshen up and then offered me some delicious iced tea with a grape in the bottom of the champagne glass. My room is very nice and the grounds are beautiful. This is truly a luxury resort, and a great way to unwind for a few days after the hectic pace of the last two months. My thatched room doesn’t have a clock (or cell phone coverage or internet access), so my personal ranger Morris calls me to wake me up and to invite me to game drives. I’m still feeling like a princess in Africa :)
After lunch (seriously, the amount of food is out of control, especially since there is no exercise on safari), I got settled into my room and unloaded the pictures from our morning game drive before heading out for the afternoon/evening game drive. The hotel staff keeps reminding me that the French tour is only here for 20 hours, and that it will be “normal” again as soon as they leave. They seem friendly, but I understand what the staff means because on our afternoon game drive, I was really missing the silence that Dylan and I usually share. Their camaraderie is great, but the incessant chatter makes it difficult to enjoy the Bush and its own sounds. The good news is that it helps remind me of the French I so long ago lost.
Pierre told me that the private lodge would be a very different experience than the public Kruger experience, and he was right. I can’t say which I prefer, but they are very different and I feel fortunate that he was wise enough to ensure that I have both on this single trip (while staying within my time, money, and location constraints). I can’t adequately explain the difference in seeing the animals, but it’s very different. Kruger enabled me to see lots of animals, and the private lodge is allowing me to see their behavior better. Kruger has paved roads and dirt roads, but we’re not allowed to go off-road. Here, it’s a private reserve so the Land Rovers can do what they want. We’ve crossed rivers and literally driven into bushes and over small trees. It’s great!
The Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland is one of my all-time favorite rides, and safari in an open Land Rover is a million times better! There are more golden orb spiders here than even in Kruger, and their gold webs are intricate and beautiful throughout the reserve. Often, we have to stop and let Morris’s mate move the web so we can drive through. (They’re very big spiders, but not scary because they don’t bite humans.)
On the afternoon game drive, I saw baboon, warthogs, impala, kudu, giraffe, elephants, rhinos, and lions. We saw a herd of ~15 elephants, which was wonderful. We sat there in our Land Rover for a while and watched them eat before demolishing the trees. Their immense size allows them to knock over huge trees with apparently no effort. Amazing to be so close to see and hear them (even when a big elephant relieved himself, both ways). We saw a family of three rhinos, including a baby. And we saw a pride of lions: dad has a black mane and there are three cubs. Being so close in an open vehicle is a great experience, even though I didn’t get good pictures because it was dusk. (A funny aside, one of the French guys was growling in an attempt to get the massive lion, laying 20 feet away, to look our direction. Um, we’re in an open vehicle with the engine off, and the lion can probably pounce from where he is to where we are. Needless to say, Morris stopped the guy’s stupid behavior right away.)
I have really enjoyed the sunsets in Africa. The colors, and the trees on the horizon, make the view spectacular. Tonight, I watched the sun dip behind a mountain while I sat in the middle of the bush. On our night drive, we saw a jackal. Morris also comes to fetch me and walks me to dinner, and tonight we had Moroccan and South African dinner around a fire under the stars. It was delicious, but the best part was the Shangaan-style singing and dancing after dinner.
The key benefit of the French tourists is that they pay extra to have a show after dinner, which I got to enjoy since I am here. So our hotel staff sang, drummed, and danced for 45 minutes after dinner. I loved it! One of my favorite things about Africa is the rhythm and harmony. The rhythm of life. The rhythm of music. The harmony of it all. How people can sing a capella at any given moment and have their songs stir my soul. How their music and dancing persuade my hips to move, too. I’m seriously wanting to move to Africa, and have been praying that God will make it clear for me so I can do His will and not my own.
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