Pumba!

Thankfully we read Trailfinders instructions our last night in Wilderness and arrived between 12:00-13:00. It was a 4 hour drive but the very early start was worth it. We have arrived on Safari in the most idyllic setting. See a video of our lodge here, and the restaurant and “lounge” area here. Photos and words cannot do it justice so watch the videos.

What Steven said about the monkeys is true. A young french couple left their patio doors open for two minutes and found the monkeys in their lodge, and the humans on the outside. They had to get the rangers to rescue them. Steven was startled out of our plunge pool by our own couple of monkeys needing a drink. Watch here.

The reason you are asked to come so early is so that you arrive in time for lunch, and then your first game drive at 16:30. There are two a day at 06:30 and 16:30, each 2.5 hours long. Each with snacks and alcohol, yes even the 06:30 – Baileys (or the equivalent) in your coffee or hot chocolate ma’am?

What can I say about the game drives? The photos show what we’ve seen in only 1.5 days. Our safari ranger, Thomas, is superb. He really understands the animals, their signs and noises and also reads the marks on the ground so he knows exactly where to look for the animals. Not sure I want to be a dung expert though! His African name means humble, which he is to both humans and Mother Nature. He is so thoughtful and considerate not just to us, but to the animals and land as well.

Once I paid for the men in my life to go on a jeep safari for Chanukah, chickening out myself. Now I know what it felt like, although Steven says the scenery here is more stunning. The good side is that being bounced about my Apple Watch thinks I’m doing tons of exercise. I’m beating all my previous exercise records and the boys and I reckon I could make the Olympic team with those stats.

In between game drives we sit, watch the hippos in the lake, avoid the monkeys, relax and eat and drink. With a 2 course breakfast, 3 course lunch and 4 course dinner, plus twice daily safari snacks and the free bar and I am rivalling that huge elephant in the photos for size🤣

So the only downside here is the WiFi, which is fair enough as we are in the middle of nowhere. This has meant it can take for ever for stuff to get uploaded. I can press the “upload” button and not see it on the internet for nearly 24 hours. So whilst this has been written/sent Friday, I have no idea when it will be uploaded or when you’ll be notified. As such my next post with the final animal photos will be Sunday night, from Durban