South Africa: Safari

On Safari. Going on a safari drive begins very early in the morning. We had to be ready to go by 6:00am. It was very cold and the jeep had no top. We wrapped ourselves up in big blankets to keep warm.

For our safari drives we had a ranger named Jabulani. There was also a tracker named Jubulani who sat in a special seat at the front of the jeep. This is called the jump seat.

The job of the tracker is to help spot the animals. The first animal that I saw was an nyala darting behind a tree. A nyala is part of the antelope family. Our first morning was very exciting. We spotted a cheetah laying in the grass and posing for our cameras.

Every morning on safari, after the sun comes up, there was tea and coffee and snacks for breakfast. On our first morning, we stopped to have tea at a watering hole. At the watering hole we watched a herd of elephants drink. One young elephant was very curious about our tea party and came over to get a better look. When the elephant got too close for comfort, Jabalani said ‘get in’ so that we would be safe in our jeep.

There is also an afternoon drive that begins around 4:00pm and ends after sunset. We had 8 game drives in total during our stay. We saw all but one of the Big Five. While we saw elephants, rhinos, lions, and buffalo, we did not see a leopard. Some of my favorite sightings during our safari drives were:

Seeing ostriches in the wild.
Watching little warthogs run away as our jeep approached. They are easily frightened.
Three male lions that walked in front of our jeep before laying down. At first they were frightening and ferocious! Once they sat they just looked lazy.
Zebra and giraffes. They are often found together because they get along.
Watching several hippopotamus floating in the water. They would open their mouths wide for a big yawn.

Camping on Safari. Our rooms were giant tents with balconies looking over the Pongola River. There are only 5 tents in this part of the reserve. In my tent there were 2 twin beds with white mosquito netting. There was a full bathroom including a bathtub, shower, 2 sinks, and toilet. This was the fanciest tent I had ever seen and not what I had imagined safari would be like. We stayed in the tents for 2 nights.

After our nights in the tents we moved to the main lodge. At the main lodge, there were several huts for guests, a pool, and a club room. My room had a little desk for writing postcards and a balcony that overlooked a large canyon. There was even an outdoor shower and a private plunge pool. It can get very hot on safari. Cooling off in the outdoor shower or your own small pool is refreshing. There is also an indoor bath tub to use in colder weather.

There are no televisions or radios in the rooms at Mkuze Falls. There is always plenty to do since most of your time is spent in the African bush looking for animals.