Safari in South Africa

Well over the passed two years Shane and I have travelled to some pretty amazing places, we have had the opportunity to see things we never even dreamed of and you know what the opportunities keep coming and I am fortunate enough to be able to make the most of them! I am in South Africa at the moment (Shane has had to stay in London... someone has to hold the fort) and have just returned from a weekend safari. Yep, I have been bought down to Johannesburg for work for two weeks and since we had to stay over the weekend the client I am visiting organised for my colleagues and I to go on safari at Madikwe Game Reserve. Pretty hard to complain about this job when you have opportunities like this!

Now when I say safari I am not talking about roughing it camping in the bush or anything like that... no no no... we are talking full 5 star luxury! We stayed at a game lodge called Impodimo (http://www.impodimo.com/) which is on the western side of the game reserve near the Botswanan border. We had a 5 hour drive from Johannesburg on the Friday afternoon to get there and arrived at a lodge that was absolutely stunning - I do believe my travel expectations could be runined for life after this! Upon arrival we were greated by the staff and provided drinks on the deck over looking the game reserve while we waited for the night safari's to return.

We were taken to our rooms before dinner to freshen up and were absolutely blown away by the sheer luxury of our accommodation. The rooms had giant king size beds with flowing white mosquito netting (Madikwe is Malaria free however), fireplaces, large bathrooms with indoor and outdoor shower, private balconies and claw foot bath tubs each surrounded by glass that over looked the reserve - the rooms connected to a central lounge which had another large deck, our own private swimming pool, BBQ, and fire pit and this is all overlooking a waterhole that attracted a number of different animals from the reserve. We had literally been in our room for five mins when the ranger raced in to draw our attention to the waterhole. There was a big daddy leopard having a drink at the waterhole under the lights welcoming us to Madikwe. What a start to the weekend.... only a few minutes in and we had already seen the first of the 'Big Five'. We did however prove from the outset that we were never going to sneak up on anything... one by one on our way out to the deck we each fell over the coffee table.... it is a wonder the leopard didnt bolt with the noise we made!

Now the 'Big Five' are the animals that people go in search of and are hopefully lucky enough to see during their stay. These include Lions, Elephants, Buffalo, Leopards and Rhino. We had one down and a couple of days to hopefully see the rest. After a glorious dinner with our ranger we retired to get some sleep before our 5:30am wake up the next morning. Going to bed required an escort - the lodge is open to the reserve so it is not uncommon for aminals to wander into the camp, this meant when walking anywhere at night you must be accompanied by a ranger with a rifle! Apparently there had been confrontations with leopards and elephants before.... I was more than happy to have the escort!

5:30am on Saturday rocked around really quickly. We had a quick cup of tea before jumping in the wagon and heading out into the reserve. The cars are totally open so the golden rule is not to stand up - if you do then you stop being a 'vehicle' in the animals eyes and quickly become food - needless to say I had no issues keeping my butt firmly planted on the seat! We had an absolutely cranking morning and quickly saw springbok, impala, zebra, steenbok, a warthog, and elephants.... lots of elephants! Apparently the elephant population is so strong in Madikwe there is consideration for a cull at the moment to keep the numbers controlled. I was absolutely astounded by how well these guys could hide in the thicket, they literally would disappear into the bush... after having a few photos taken of course!

We then headed to a waterhole and found two young lions chilling on the dam wall, they were covered in blood and appeared to be relaxing after a satisfying meal. This was pretty surreal - we were only a few metres away from them and they couldnt have been less interested in us! While at the same spot we also saw a herd of over 100 buffalo - they had come to drink at the watering hole but then obviously thought better of it with the lions laying in wait there! We had one moment when an impala (kind of like a springbok) decided to pop down for a drink and got very close to being lunch! The lioness began to stalk it but before she got close enough the impala caught the scent and took off very quickly!

I couldnt believe it we had been out for about 3.5 hours and I had seen another three of the big five already. We returned to the lodge for a cooked breakfast and some chill out time before heading out again at 4pm that afternoon. I made the most of this time enjoying the amenitites and having a little snooze - the life I tell you!

That afternoon we headed out and were hoping to find some Rhino, this was not to be... however we did see Giraffe, more buffalo, more impala and springbok before coming across two male lions. Now these guys were incredible, they were about 6 years old, so had the thick manes and were probably as high as the vehicle. Our ranger knew his stuff and he and the tracker took us cross country four wheel driving to get to where these guys were relaxing - it was a pretty rough ride and full on but lots of fun and all of a sudden we were within metres of these two gigantic males.

Now generally these guys are pretty lazy by all accounts when it comes to playing for the crowd from what I am told but not today! The boys were up and took us on a walk through the resrve to another waterhole. They were busy marking territory and prancing around making for great photo ops all the way! One then sat regally on the dam wall while the other went for a drink. When we had finished he obviously had picked up the scent of a female as he slowly started to call to her. This began rather quietly and soon became a very loud belly roar! I can tell you that this is one of the most awe inspiring sounds I have ever heard! It gives you tingles and makes the hairs on your neck stand up. After spending more time with these guys we headed off in search of some more animals... we found lots more elephants before heading back to the lodge. What a brilliant day!

After a gourmet brai (south african word for BBQ) we headed back to our rooms as we had another 5:30am wake up call coming. But before hitting the hay we had a night cap on the deck and watched the waterhole for some action. We didnt see anything although we could smell and hear an elephant just below the deck - we think he was probably trying to drink out of our swimming pool.... and we could also hear some of the lions roaring - apparently they were pretty close to the lodge last night! Again loving having the escort!!!

So this morning bought our final game drive before having to head back to Jo'burg. I was on cloud nine and wanted to see a rhino but wouldn't have been devastated if we missed it... our first sighting was another huge herd of over 150 buffalo... seeing them enmasse like this is pretty impressive. And our tracker and ranger were on the money in the rhino department! We saw over 10 rhino... unreal! Mostly white rhino in mum/baby sets but also a big daddy black rhino. The black rhino are a little more elusive and very agressive, so before we got too close we were briefed on what to do if he charged the vehicle... basically hang on and stay in the vehicle at all costs - that gets the adrenaline pumping I tell you! Not to worry though mum, no charging occurred and the rhino vogued a couple of poses for us before heading back into the thicket!

After our rhino sighting we stopped for some morning tea and I was busting for a pee.... now in NZ, I wouldnt think twice about finding the nearest bush ... nothing wants to eat you! Here I was a little more hesitant, but after being given some safety directions from the ranger I headed behind a bush to be at one with nature... talk about a nervous pee - I was waiting for an elephant or rhino or anything to come racing through the thicket at me. Definitely wished I could do this standing today.. hehe! Anyway I came away unscathed and nothing tried to take a bite out of my bare backside! Luckily they saved the discussion on black mamba snakes till after I had finished (one bite and you have 12mins before you are toast...nice!)

Anyway the morning just kept getting better with more giraffe, zebras, jackels, elephants, impala, kudu, eagles... you name it! Then finally we came upon one of the male lions from yesterday again and his girlfriend. Now these two were chilling out under a tree and together they were some of the finest looking animals that I have ever seen - you can understand why they are called king of the beasts! It might sound funny but I kept looking at them and thinking of the Lion King.... they were absolutely stunning! Today though they werent as active but happy for us to take a few photos all the same before heading off.

We got back to the lodge and were fed, watered, showered etc before being sent on our way back to Jo'burg. I have to say that this was one of the most incredible and surreal experiences of my life. The animals are soooo amazing and you are totally in their environment! Impodimo was a fantastic lodge and I hope you take the time to have a look at their website and possibly go there. The staff were great, the rangers and trackers were on the money with the sightings and everyone couldnt do enough to make this an experience never to forget... and I never will!

One final note... I have 'borrowed' some of the photos you are seeing from Steve (Thanks Steve!!) as he has some fantastic shots and I was relying on older technology.... I still have films to get developed!!! There will be plenty of pictures on facebook when I get back to London.