The Safari Begins (Part 2)

At 3:30 pm we went down to the lodge for tea and to meet the other safari participants.  There are people here from Nova Scotia, Lichtenstein, Germany, Michigan and then Gayle and I. They had a nice spread for us before we headed out. 

They sent out two Jeeps with six guests in each. Each Jeep has a ranger (who drives the vehicle) and a tracker (who looks for animals and helps the driver navigate the terrain). Our ranger is Phanuel (Phanny) and our tracker is Rifos.

Phanny went over the rules so we don't get injured or scare the animals. We left by 4 pm and returned at 7 pm. In that three hours we saw more animals than I could have dreamed. We saw kudu

Jackal

Hyenas

Zebras

Impala

Elephants

A female lion

Wildebeest

(We also saw a white rhino but they asked us not to post photos because poachers track them through the gps on tourists’ photos.). Then the sun set.

We stopped by a watering hole for what they call sundowners. Phanny and Rifos served as red wine or gin and tonics and brought out some snacks.  While we stretched our legs and talked a large elephant walked right by us to get a drink at the watering hole.

Now that it was dark Rifos sat on the front of the Jeep with a large spotlight to look for animals. We found only one small cat and a giraffe on the way back. Phanny walked us to our room to get ready for dinner and then fetched us shortly after. We sat on the deck of the main lodge for a four course gourmet meal. 

Then Phanny walked us back to our room. He saw a buffalo on the way back and he made us skirt the walkway to stay safe. He will be back at 5 am to fetch us for another game drive. In the meantime we are not to leave our hut. It isn't safe outside at night.