The safari morning started like every other one usually does.
An early wake up call. A couple of seconds spent thinking “Where in the world am I?“. A subsequent realisation that I’m thousands of miles away from home on safari. A rumble around the villa to get ready. Several cups of coffee, swiftly followed by what was fast becoming your typical animal sightings – impala, giraffes, zebras… you know, the usual.
I have to admit though – it never gets boring! This is a trip I’d been looking forward to for a long time so I fully intended on savouring every moment of it.
Our first source of excitement for the morning came in the form of two lions who apparently were a mating pair. Lions mate every 15-20 minutes and carry on doing so for days!
These two appeared to be taking a well-earned break though…
… but in true form, they soon got up to go ‘get in on’ in the privacy of the bushes. 🙂
We left them to their business and went along our merry way.
The stop for the morning tea and coffee break was near a river (and I think it was the first time near the river too). It got me thinking – “Surely this is a watering home and the animals are bound to come by for a drink“. Apart from two ducks, we were fine and didn’t spot a single animal while we warmed up with our morning brew.
Over the last few days, we’d managed to see all the big 5 and them some! It’s the only time I’ve ever been pleased to be woken up ridiculously early, especially after sampling South Africa’s wine offerings each night till quite late, and is truly a holiday I would recommend to anyone who asks.
We had to get a photo with our tracker Stanley (he finds the animals) and our ranger Chane (she drives and is something of a resident expert).
The rest of the morning drive was spent spying on curious giraffes and spooking warthogs.
After breakfast, we returned to the spa for another afternoon of pampering sessions. (I could really get used to this!)
By the spa, the animals roamed around…
…with the odd giraffe popping to the river in front for a drink (the way they drink water is somewhat enthralling – there’s always a spray at the end – no doubt due to their long necks).
Afternoons by the pool in the scorching heat is truly an amazing way to spend time in between safaris!
Even when you fall in!
An afternoon of massages, followed by over-stuffing our faces at lunch was soon followed by the evening drive…
…and a rather amazing sunset!
We skipped sundowners that evening and headed straight for drinks in the reception area…
…before being led through the bushes in the middle of the night to an opening where, seemingly out of the blue, lantern-lit tables all surrounded a fire place in a circle.
The delicious smell of barbecued food filled the air and we very quickly went about the important business of selecting our wines for the table and limbering up to gorge on the feast!
Okay, I know I have many favourite parts of going on safari but these evenings were very quickly becoming one of my highlight! (Perhaps in a large part due to the fact that I’m a huge fan of food-related activities. 😉 )
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