Sabi Sands Safari

Having driven eight hours from Kruger to Johannesburg yesterday we had a good night in a very nice hotel before being picked up and taken to the airport to fly back again. Doh Trailfinders! When we landed at the delightful Nelspruit airport we were picked up again, just the two of us, and driven by Clint to the Idube Lodge in the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve. It was a two hour drive, the first hour of which on the road we travelled yesterday.

We reached the lodge which is just too wonderful to describe, so I won't now but I have to share what happened next. 

We had some lunch and went for our first drive with Roland (I think) our spotter - he sits perched over the bonnet of the jeep - and our ranger Brogan. We saw kudu, buffalo, Impala - they actually have three stripes on the rear forming an M so no longer are they the KFC of the jungle but the McDonalds - but they are just ten a penny when you've seen the Big Five like what we have. 

And then our spotter had, well, spotted, and Brogan proceeded to drive the jeep through, and I mean through, the brush. A hundred meters from where we were (so how in heaven's name did he see it) we got this:

This magnificent beast was just three metres from us, lying on a termite hill. We just cannot describe how amazing this was. And we just sat there for maybe fifteen minutes admiring this beautiful, beautiful creature.

On we went and word come across the radio that there was something else worth seeing and we sat, again, just three metres from this young male taking his evening meal - not a McDonalds, apparently, but a Wimpy Wilde-beast. We saw herds of those too and that was another first.

There was a massive thunder storm going on and the rain was torrential as we sat in our uncovered jeep, trying to huddle under ponchos. We got soaked and couldn't give a damn.

We learnt from Clint that in addition to the Big Five there's the Magnificant Seven for which you add black rhino and cheetah, and for the full house you add wild dog. Well, Lady Luck is stil with us it seems and if she sticks around I'll blog again tomorrow.