South Africa

Those who know me well are probably pretty aware that I’m not renowned for being a morning person. Not quite a bear with a sore head, but maybe a dog with a sore wotzit. Or something. Which made it all the more surprising that I was quite fine with the idea of waking up at 5 this morning for another game drive, to see if we could find Frodo or one of the other leopards again. But to be honest, when you get sunrises like these, it’s pretty hard to be too upset about being awake. That, and the two coffees to get the morning started…

Will the great food, great weather and great animal sightings ever end? After a fairly relaxed morning we managed to borrow a spare 4WD and headed off for another couple of game drives in the afternoon and evening. Elephants, giraffe and rhino were the order of the day, though not in the same volumes as Kruger and Ngala (Phinda is only one percent the size of Kruger, after all), and we were extremely fortunate to see both lions and cheetah, adults and cubs alike.

Finally had some time to relax over the last couple of days, which was bloody fantastic – I think half the secret of travelling for any length of time is knowing when to stop for a bit. Not that there’s been any time for sleeping in, mind you – Africa certainly seems to be one of those places that you go to bed early and get up early. Not a bad thing really, tho trying to convince my body of that fact is a different story at times. Or maybe I’m just lazy and don’t like getting out of bed. One or the other.

Stumbled out of bed at 5.30 for much needed coffee and out on the trail at 6. Pretty cold in the mornings and nights this time of year in South Africa, even when not at altitude – then again, it is winter … and given it was 4 degrees when I flew out of Christchurch, I’m really not complaining. It’s still mid-20’s during the day after all! The wind blowing through me plus the sheer variety of game certainly woke me up pretty quickly – the highlight definitely being a very large herd of elephant gathered around a waterhole, including one old bull with huge tusks. Even Vic said she’d never seen an elephant with tusks that size, and she’s been working on game parks in Africa for a few years now.

Up at 5am (see, this trip isn’t all beer and skittles you know…) to be out of the camp when the gates opened at 6. Early morning and late afternoon are the best time to see the animals in Africa – they tend to be sleeping in the shade during the heat of the day (wouldn’t you if you had the choice?).