These shots are from the 31st in Johannesburg. They should have been last.
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| Soweto |
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| Great cloud |
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| Downtown Johannesburg |
October 29
Before I continue, I must tell you about something that I forgot to include earlier. When we were on top of a mountain near the Cape, we stopped to have lunch. I was sitting there eating my sub sandwich chatting with tour mates. About half way through my sandwich a bird literally dive-bombed straight down into my sandwich and almost knocked it out of my hand. It absolutely shocked me since I didn’t see it coming. The bird landed on the ground by my feet looking up at me with his face covered in the condiments from my sandwich. I wish I had thought to take a picture of him but everyone was laughing, and I of course decided I wasn’t hungry anymore. Any of you who know me will understand how this must have grossed me out since I can eat usually anytime. haha By the way, the bird was the same kind I took a picture of earlier in the blog. It looks like a skinny crow.
Today we leave Hermanus and drive to Cape Town Int’l to fly to Johannesburg. The flight was under 2 hours and had a very bumpy landing due to the weather. We arrived and got on our new bus with a new driver and headed to Entabeni Conservancy which is a 3 hour drive. The surroundings on the way did not have any spectacular scenery and every town we went through looked much poorer and run down than Cape Town area.
We arrived at Entabeni Conservancy and transferred from our big bus to the safari jeeps to take us to our accommodation at the Hanglip Mountain Lodge. This place is incredible being that it’s right in the middle of the wildlife surroundings. Our room was more like a little house. Beautiful grounds and very rustic. They had a small swimming pool that a hippo likes to use at night since it’s much cleaner than the water hole. The staff are annoyed by this hippo since it means they have to clean the pool water every time the Hippo takes a dip. Of course, they can tell the Diva Hippo has been there since there’s a lot of overflow of pool water all over the deck. They are thinking of putting a fence around it. Haha
You can view the watering hole right from your room. It was a true African experience. On the way to the lodge from the bus we saw Wildebeest (which are everywhere), a Giraffe and some Zebras. A storm was approaching so our game ranger drove like a maniac to get us to the lodge before the rain. There was thunder & lightning along the 15 minute drive. There were a few wildebeest on the road in our way and they got out of the way in a hurry when they saw how fast we were coming. That was exciting.
We arrived and was greeted with Lichee juice. Literally one minute after we all got into the main lobby area, the power went out. It was still light out so that was good. We got our keys and were told to get to our rooms ASAP since the rains are coming. I was about 20 feet from my door and it started to downpour. Our luggage came soon after but it was quite wet and some of the contents inside were wet too. The game rangers who delivered our luggage were soaking wet. The roofs of our little cottages are thatch and there was a bit of rain coming through but nothing serious. There was a fireplace in our room and a huge bathroom. We got organized as much as we could while there was still daylight left. Unfortunately our evening game drive had to be cancelled because of the lightning.
We made our way back to the lobby for dinner. We were the only group staying at this lodge. We all sat at a huge table by candlelight and the food was good. By this time, it was dark and still stormy and rainy. You are not allowed to walk outside in the dark by yourself so a game ranger escorts you back to your room in case there’s a lion around. We had to light our candles in our room. Thanks goodness I packed a flashlight. It had been a super long day so we were tired and went to bed early since we had to be up at 5am for our morning game drive. Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up and all the lights were on in our room so I got up and shut them all off. At least the power was back on.
October 30
At 5am the next morning the game rangers knock on your door to get you up and we had a great breakfast and off we went on our first game drive. It’s quite cold and windy in the morning and the roads can be bumpy. I used and needed my seat belt in the Land Rover. We saw lots of game. We even saw a Wildebeest carcass that had just been eaten up. Can’t get great pictures of some of the animals if they are in the bush since they camouflage so well. I don’t have a great close up camera but I did get some good shots. The game rangers talk to each other over CB radio and let each other know where they are seeing game. It’s amazing that they know their way around and how to find each other since it’s a huge park. They also teach you lots about the area and the animals.
The rest of the day until 4pm is at your leisure so I tried the internet and were able to post my shark blog and pics but it was VERY slow. My videos didn’t upload either and it may be because of the bad internet. They fed us lunch outside which was great. One of the staff stood over our buffet table waving a leafy branch to keep the bugs away. haha What a great experience this place is.
At 4pm we went on our evening game drive, it was warmer and we saw more animals. Of course, everyone is in pursuit of the Lions which there are only 3 of in the park. One male with 2 females. After seeing Elephants, Rhinos, Cheetahs, etc., we found the Lions. We arrived where the male lion was and could see him through the trees. He was about 50 yards away yawning, laying down on his side, then getting up and looking a certain direction constantly. Eventually the 2 females appeared where the male was looking and you could smell this strong stench. The game ranger told us that this is the smell of blood, they had just come back from a kill. Of course, the girls do the hunting and the male eats first. When he’s done, the girls are allowed to eat. This is why he was in the bush alone waiting for them. When they arrived they brought the stench. They both laid down beside the male and the 2 females cuddled each other, licking, butting heads, etc. It was awesome. The male was yawning. Too funny. They knew we were there but didn’t seem to care much. Except when the females one by one would get up and start coming our way. I think they were curious but it was good to know they had full tummies. They eventually would just plunk down again after walking a couple of feet. We moved our Land Rover to a different location to get a better view from another angle. Soon after that the 2 females decided to walk down in our direction from where they were laying. Of course, now they would only be about 30 feet from our vehicle. We were all excited and a little worried. They just walked by as if we weren’t even there but not before making eye contact with us. Then they walked right in front of our vehicle. This was around dusk so my pics are kind of grainy and blurry which is a little disappointing. When they were out of sight, the male decided to follow and when he came towards us my mom freaked out a bit since he was on her side of the vehicle and VERY big. I held her hand with one hand and shot pics with the other. I think I wasn’t able to hold the camera very steady with all the excitement and adrenaline. It was sooooo thrilling to see him up close. He was beautiful (so were the 2 females). He stopped and looked right at us. Then he stood there for a few seconds and opened his mouth and did that snarly thing. He wasn’t threatening us but trying to smell the urine of the females since they were out of his sight. He walked right in front of us. I’m telling you, it was quite emotional for me. I am tearing up writing this. I had to take a moment at the time. It was the most amazing experience I’ve ever had, even better than the sharks.
We headed to another location for our drinks and dinner at sunset in the bush. All 3 vehicles were able to see the lions but our vehicle was the one they walked in front of. Thank you God!!!!! Anyhow, everyone was buzzing, even the game rangers were excited. They have awesome jobs!!! I really had to go pee so the game ranger escorted me away from the group and looked out for anything dangerous while I marked my territory (he told me that’s what I was doing haha). I was the only one brave enough of the women to do this. Even our tour guide was too scared. Haha
Guess what, it started to thunder again so we had to pack everything up and go back to the lodge. On the way, one of the game rangers jumped out of the bush to scare us. It was hilarious. We made it back just before the rain and were seated outside with a great bonfire but the rain came and we had to move it all in. The power went off and on during dinner. It ended up staying on though. I was pooped so I opted out of dessert and went back to the room to pack and go to bed since we have to get up again at 5am for our last morning game drive.
October 31
Next morning, we headed out after breakfast and saw Elephants right up close eating bark from the trees. It’s amazing to watch them use their trunks. We also got up close to a White Rhino. No lions this time but I don’t think you could top last night. It was especially cold and windy this morning too. We headed back to the lodge to have breakfast and head back to our bus. The power went out right after I said, ‘at least the power didn’t go out’. I’m not kidding. Haha
I am now on the bus writing this on Word so I can paste it onto my blog when I get to our next hotel in Sandton (which is near Johannesburg). We are staying at the
The DaVinci Hotel & Suites for one night in civilization before we head to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe for more animals. By the way, they drive on the left side of the street here.
We did have a tour of Soweto which stands for South West Township. It’s where Mandela lived. It’s quite depressing since a lot of people live in poverty here. The tour guide said there's a difference between poverty and misery. We went through the museum. The history of apartheid, etc. is so complicated and sad. Hopefully the next generation can really abolish all the issues here. It is getting better they say. We finally got to our hotel and went shopping for a bit before having dinner. This hotel is BEEAUUTIFUL too. It’s in a really nice area outside of Johannesburg.
Tomorrow we fly to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Hopefully I can continue updating my blog if the internet is decent. If not, you may not hear from me for a while again. South Africa is beautiful. This has been an awesome trip.
The following pictures are not in exact order. The first bunch is the second day.
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| 6am from our room's window |
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| Lion paw prints!!! |
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| Fresh Wildebeest carcass |
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| There's the tail! |
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| This was our first sighting of the male lion |
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| Rhino poop |
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| Teaching us about Rhino poop. haha |
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| Aardvarks dig these holes to eat ants and then warthogs lay in them |
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| This flower's leaf produces eye drops |
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| That's a hippo in the water in the middle of the picture |
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| our home |
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| My Billy Ray Cyrus haircut (during his achy breaky phase) after a windy game run. |
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| Hippo bathtub |
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| view side of our place |
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| View from our room |
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| The Cheetah laying down facing the other way of course |
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| Ant hill |
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| The beginning of my lion pics. Quantity makes up for quality. The male lion on the right is yawning. |
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| The girls are cuddling |
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| They start to come near |
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| Look at that full tummy |
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| You get a strange feeling when a lion looks you in the eye |
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| The male decides to follow |
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| Trying to pick up the scent of the females' urine |
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| Are you lookin' at me? |
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| He decides we're too much effort on a full stomach |
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| Goodbye Larry! |
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| I'm happy! |
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| A bug enjoying my hot apple cider |
The first day at Entabeni
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| I love these purple trees |
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| We have arrived at Entabeni |
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| That is Entabeni Mountain (I think it's where Simba was presented to the Pride when he was born in the movie The Lion King). The game ranger's gonna start telling tourists that. haha |
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| Get outta the way Mr. Wildebeest, there's a storm a comin'. |
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| The main building reception area just before the power went out. |
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| Our room |
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| Major downpour (the view from our room) |
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| Our first driver Sonny. Goodbye! |
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| A praying mantis on my water bottle. The nerve!!! |
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| Our game rangers Sean, Trevor and Amos (Amos was mine) |
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| Eating bark |
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| He started to walk towards us so we left. |
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| A millipede on the side of the road |
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| Baby Jackals |
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| Warthogs |
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| It's very windy!! |
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That's sunscreen on my nose. I know..... I look very sexy in this shot!
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