Safari Send-Off

On our last morning safari, it was definitely hotter than earlier days. But we enjoyed our time together as we saw more animals! We saw this Speke’s hinged tortoise on the road:



And several elephants - this elephant was resting its leg on the log!



A pretty flower:



And enjoyed the landscape:



Awed at this very large kudu male:



Braked for the mongoose on the road:



But we got to observe a pack of baboons for awhile. One of the large males was scratched and Will thinks it’s because he may have been fighting with another male to fight for the alpha male position:



We saw several baby baboons being carried by their mamas and were jumping around:





There was another large baboon sitting on the hill - we joked he must be meditating!



But then he started mating with a baboon nearby…so definitely not meditating:



Will got excited to see a Verreaux's eagle-owl flying and then saw another as they nest in pairs. We tried to look for them in the tall tree and when Will couldn’t find them, I thought I’d got it. I showed him this picture and he told me it’s just a branch…I tried:



We saw more helmeted guineafowl:



A baby impala:



A large, but aged African Cape buffalo:



But the highlight of the morning is when the Brazilian girls presented their thank you notes to Lucky and Will. I had seen a draft last night and it just makes your heart explode. On Lucky’s note was a drawing of a fish and Will’s had a leopard face.





We learned so much on our 8 safaris. I learned the difference between the cheetah and leopard and that the honey badger is the toughest animal. Will said he really loved our group and Renata declared us the best group of the year! I joked it’s still the first week and we all laughed. But it was such a wonderful experience! I had remarked to Amanda if we should have opted for an adults-only lodge earlier in the week, but we really enjoyed our safari time with the family. Also, as Amanda aptly pointed out, we would have been miserable with all honeymooners.

As we packed up and checked out, some final photos of the interior design at the lodge - a rhino, zebra, and giraffe - oh my!







As we waited for our transfers, we sat with Fernando and Renata in the lobby and then took this ladies only selfie:



Will saw us off and he had his books in tow as he is studying for his level 2 ranger exam. He has to learn so many species! It was impressive how he could navigate the roads, while helping Lucky with the tracks, keeping an eye out for wildlife, and identifying small animals with one glance or one call. This is on top of all our questions! The sensory overload to perform the ranger duties is quite impressive and exceptional. We are so grateful for such an amazing experience. Here’s a view of the empty truck bays with our truck prepared to take us to the airport:



Gladstone was our transit guide and on the way we saw this lion couple by the road! I remarked to Amanda that we’ve seen a bachelor, a pride, and now a mating couple! They were digesting from having eaten and might have just mated, per Gladstone, before the male rolled over (like a dog):







As we approached the airport that was protected by a fence, we saw our last kudu - look at the cool ears!



We returned to Skukuza airport which was super busy with recent arrivals and as mentioned, we had gotten a preview on Wednesday. In front was this rhino statue and the terminal feels glampy (best public WiFi yet though):





We briefly saw the Brazilian family and confirmed they saw the lion couple too! So glad that they got to see a male lion.

We took our 1 hour flight to Johannesburg with a 1 hour transfer to a 2 hour flight to Port Elizabeth on the southern coast. Here’s a picture of me before we enjoyed “the freedom of the South African skies”!



At Port Elizabeth, we successfully picked up our rental car which is a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and drove west 2 hours to Stormsrivier. I booked us at “At the Woods” Guesthouse. There are only independent hotels in the area and many lovely things to see on our next part of our South African adventure!

Big Five

Many at the lodge this morning talked about the loud noises from last night - there was a definite ruckus which was from baboons hanging nearby. Indeed, there is wildlife everywhere and no boundaries!

This morning’s safari was amazing as we completed the Big Five for the Brazilian family. Pietra’s crossed fingers and Will dreaming of lions made it come true! Amanda and I had completed the Big Five once we saw the African Buffalo on our 3rd game drive. Everything since then has been pure gravy!

In Africa, the Big Five is considered lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African Buffalo. This list stems from big-game hunters as these were the hardest to hunt in foot. Now it’s a viewing checklist for those going on safari. Also, top animals are cheetah, hippo, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, hyena, and Cape wild dog. We technically saw a wild dog scurry, but briefly in the night. The only animal Amanda and I haven’t seen is the rare cheetah.

This morning Amanda was successful in finding me a roobois chamomile tea as the junior rangers have said they were out of them. Thank goodness for Innocent, our server who has been taking care of us and saying, there are some but the rangers don’t know where to look! Also I have struggled to pronounce it, but per Wikipedia it’s “roy-boss”. Amanda gets a good chuckle when I try to pronounce it like a South African. Here’s me on safari with my tea:



Early, we saw a Swenson spur fowl with its red face:



And found a baby turtle in a pool of water on the road - here’s Sofia holding it:



But to Pietra (and Will and Lucky’s) relief, we found the longest known pride in Sabi Sands, the Styx Pride! They were all napping together and here’s a lioness:



Then the only surviving brother:



They are all napping together and so many!



The mom eventually came over and one lioness rolled onto its back (kind of like a dog):



Here’s a photo of Lucky and Will relieved and relaxing, as we saw the tracks from the road and followed to this shady area:



The mom acting like little spoon with the son rubbing his head:



Apparently, this Pride has had a hard time surviving as it’s not the largest or strongest. Furthermore, they have gotten separated. But Will was relieved they have reunited and seem to be doing well, relatively. He said the lone brother will eventually have to leave, but relies on his sisters and mom as female lions are better hunters. When his sisters start mating, he will have to go out on his own.

After spending a lot of time with the family of lions, we found this family of elephants! We could hear the male when we were with the lions. Will explained the large male was looking to mate. The photos don’t do it justice and you could only tell how large the herd was by video. But as we creeped on the road, we were surrounded and there were so many little ones. They also walked by very close to us!













Here’s one shedding a tear - apparently they tear when excited, not just sad!



We then returned for breakfast. Amanda took a photo of the egg station with the different types of eggs!



We rested in between our safaris per usual and then we were off for our last afternoon safari. We saw a warthog with her piglets and impalas right away:



Then we found the mama leopard with her two cubs we saw the other day. Here, she’s digesting her food as one of her cubs was eating leftovers of a baby impala in the tree:



The cub eventually drops the impala and the mama eats from it a little and eventually gives it back:





Then together with her two cubs, they migrated to another tree with the impala carcass:





After taking lots of video, we left and saw this leopard tortoise:



Dung beetle:



I joked that I didn’t know what animal this was - Will paused and after several days on safari, knew I was kidding, wildebeest!



And then we had our last sundown drinks!





We took our obligatory jumping photo, the first we did in Patagonia (throwback below from 2012):





The group even got into it - even with drinks in hand!



We opened a South African Brut to toast our last night together:





The girls enjoyed taking sunset photos:





And then we were off!



But on our way home, we saw a herd of zebra running and then we found this lioness! She was hunting and on the prowl! She’s part of a more dominant pride than the Styx Pride we saw earlier today. She was muscular and very beautiful!



We tracked her as the sun was setting and other trucks joined us (Will’s bestie ranger friends to be exact):





On the way to dinner as I was escorted by a ranger, we encountered a baby black mamba snake! It was slithering into the dining area. My escorting ranger, Imelda, was on it right away and they captured it and released away from the lodge. Black mambas are very poisonous! 

We enjoyed our last dinner together and impala and ostrich meat were on the menu. But again, with my uneasy stomach, wasn’t willing to try something new. However, we were taken care of by Innocent as we chatted away. 

What an amazing full day of safari! I also remarked it’s been really captivating to see different interactions and moments even when repeating animals. I know that it stresses out the rangers to complete the Big Five, but I continue to learn and be more in awe about the Circle of Life!