Sabi Sand

Our lodge and safaris are actually within the Sabi Sand Game Reserve which is next to Kruger National Park. It’s actually a group of private game reserves and my old colleague had been to one of the other lodges for his honeymoon.

Our specific reserve is called Sabi Sabi and the reserves permit each other to explore each other’s reserves in order to view the best game. When booking this trip, there were lodges that varied in pricing and when I would ask for one, the availability was quite difficult. Ultimately, I had to ask them what was available versus going by preference due to timing. However, we have been thrilled thus far by the accommodations and service.

At 5:30 am, someone knocks on our door for a wake up call and check the premises for animals. By 6 am, we are having morning coffee and tea and then head out for safari. We saw a long tail paradise whydah and more red weaver nests, and of course a herd of impalas.

But the initial excitement came from seeing a male lion. Lions apparently sleep 18-19 hours a day, and this male lion has been kicked out of his pride as he has become too old. Male lions only have control for about 2 years and at around the 6 to 8 year mark. When they are kicked out, it’s very hard for them to hunt because he doesn’t have the help of the pack, so he is probably very hungry. As such, these are the most dangerous when traveling by foot and we stayed safely in the car (except for when Will had to pick up the dropped mobile of one of the Dutch kids).





Yesterday we saw some vultures, but had a closer viewing here. It’s a cape vulture and very heavy, so it sits often on these dead trees. You can see on the right tree:



Will stopped in front of a fever tree that smelled minty and fragrant. I mentioned it’s a soda brand in the U.S. and he said he had seen it. He also said sometimes they put it in the sundown gin and tonics. We then saw these antelopes called nyalas that have beautiful stripes!



But the highlight of the morning was seeing this mama leopard where we staked out for awhile:





You can see her with one cub here, but there are actually two cubs. We took more video which I’ll upload later.



At one point, an impala saw the cubs but when it saw the mama, she made a yelping alarm sound. I was concerned we would see a kill, but Will said it was too late. The leopard would not go after the impala because the impala knows it’s there. He explained it’s much harder to hunt and kill than you think, and he’s only seen a few kills. Here’s one of the cubs that came out and stared at the impala in front of our trucks:





We got to watch the mama leopard migrate to a tree with one cub up high and the other at the base:









After we left the leopard family, we saw some scurrying mongoose and this wildebeest:



Then we were ready for our mid-safari break which included tea, coffee, and with the option of amarula cream which comes from marula trees, also known as the elephant tree. Apparently, elephants enjoy the fruit from these trees and it’s quite tasty like Bailey’s.





I told the group that I was impressed that we’ve seen so much so far. Lucky and Will described how stressful it is when guests only stay for a short period. He reminds those guests that this is a safari and not a zoo. Some folks apparently ask why they don’t bait the animals, but logically that would reduce their survival skills and also attract hyena who get used to this behavior. We definitely want it to be as natural as possible, as we had to hush the teenage boys a few times to preserve the serenity of observing animals naturally.

We passed some rhinos from afar, but we were going to be late for breakfast and didn’t stop. But we were able to observe this zebra that was near the road and has a few scars on its neck - Will said it was probably for fighting, again for dominance:



For breakfast, the buffet was lovely and you have the option of ostrich, duck, quail, or chicken eggs. I opted for the mainstream chicken. The dining room also has unique character and open air with tusk-y lighting and hoof-y table legs:







We can even lookout to the reserve. There were waterbucks today, and apparently herds of elephants have come up before:



We have a long break before our afternoon safari. So we enjoyed time in our room which has a lovely sitting area and an awesome giraffe coat hook:





Our bathroom is pretty spectacular as well with an outdoor shower as an option:





On our afternoon safari, we were joined by a new family from São Paolo, Brazil with 2 daughters, Sofia and Pietra, and parents, Fernando and Renata. It was a joy to see how excited they were on their first safari - nothing beats a child’s sense of awe.

At our first stop, we saw many birds and eagles, specifically spotted eagle and Wahlberg’s eagle, hovering over termite mounds trying to feed. Here, you can see Lucky and Will scouting what would be an awesome game drive:



We saw several Lilac-breasted rollers, which is unofficially Kenya’s national bird and has 11 colors. It is also Will’s sister’s favorite:



We observed a more dominant male zebra escorting a male away from their herd as there can only be one dominant male. The lesser one has a damaged tail, most likely from losing a fight. We also thought they might get aggressive because the lesser male returned, but they just sized each other up:



We spent the most time today observing a father, mother, and calf white rhinoceros! A white rhinoceros are square-lipped versus the black rhinoceros or hook-lipped. Will estimated the calf to be 3 years old and the male was waiting to mate again with the female. He would try to get closer and follow to see if there was a chance, but no luck, she was not in the mood.





You can see two oxpeckers or small birds eating ticks and insects on top and helping to clean the rhinoceros. Oxpeckers also will eat the blood from wounds and can be hurtful, but generally more helpful. Rhinos also can’t see well, but have excellent hearing and sense of smell.



You’ll also see no horns on these rhinos. As part of the anti-poaching efforts, Sabi Sands remove the horns periodically (apparently it’s like cutting your fingernails), to deter the poachers from sneaking into the reserve. In 10 years there hasn’t been an incident, but apparently it happens frequently in Kruger and because the national park has less resources than the private game reserve. The horns are apparently valuable to the Asian market due to myths about its effectiveness as an aphrodisiac and curing diseases.

We were saddened to hear about poaching, but happy to see this bronze-winged courser hopping along:



We also enjoyed the harmony and diversity of these wildebeests hanging out with the zebras and western cattle egrets who feed off the insects around the cattle. We watched wildebeests calfs who were just a month old (umbilical cords still attached) run and play and the zebras dust-bathing. But the exciting thing we saw here which was Will’s first time, was 2 zebras trying to mate. I got it on video too, but the male didn’t quite seal the deal:



At the top of this tree, were 2 brown eagles - you can see the open wings of one through the leaves:



We saw some steenboks, or very small antelopes and a huge group of baboons walking alongside the road - there were probably about 20 to 30:







We saw or heard a tawny eagle and the grey go-away bird which sounds like it’s saying “go away!” Then we saw two male African or Cape buffalos who apparently have split off from the herd. They had so much hair!



We also watched one urinate and Renata said in Portuguese, “shee-shee” to her daughters and I said that’s how you would say it to a kid in Korean and Will said the same in South Africa. Clearly, pee-pee is very international and we laughed. Our safari truck is bonding well!

Here’s a helmeted guineafowl and there were two of them as it’s breeding season, so they were running off together:



Then we saw more rhinoceros that were darker from playing in the mud!



We enjoyed drinks for our sundown and continued to have lovely conversation all around. Look how pretty it is!



Lucky then turned on the spotlight and we saw a white-tailed mongoose, but then we stumbled upon a male leopard! It was marking its territory and walking around and weaving between the safari trucks that were following him. At one point, he got too close for comfort, but Will assured us we would be safe in the truck.







Then we saw this hyena before we headed back to the lodge:



Before dinner, folks gather around for drinks and we sit in our groups with our rangers. Tonight was my first dinner, but only ate very little. It was nice to be chatting with Will face-forward as we are often talking to him while driving. We regaled about the first safari where we warned the Brazilian family it’s not always like this, but Amanda and I had a huge double game day. Will said today’s was one of the best - what a treat!