Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Once again, im very behind on blogging. Internet has been hit or miss. I actually, so have a lot of blogs on our laptop, but the only internet access we have now, is the one computer at our lodge. As we expected, because we are in the bush!!!
We left Cape Town today feeling like we could use one more day there. What a fantastic city! We flew 2.5 hours to Nelspruit where we were to meet our bush plane that would take us deep into Kruger National Park. So, our bush pilot met us after we collected our bags and he honestly did not look like he was old enough to have a driver's license. I have not been a good flyer on this trip and it's gotten worse. My first question to him was if this would be a smooth flight and his (laughing) response was "no, it will be quite bumpy." First time in my life that the pilot of a plane Im flying on carries my bags for me, onto the tarmac, loads them in the back seat and proceeds to help us step onto the planes tire and into the plane. They say this plane was a 6 passenger plane. The two of us and the pilot barely fit. We climbed into our seats and the pilot gave us the same "safety" message you normally get from a flight attendant while taxying. He started up the plane, waited for his cue that we were good to go and then turned around to give us a thumbs up to let us know we were good to go. Terrifying take-off!! Not only was it bumpy, but the wind was blowing us all over the place! Luckily, our cruising altitude was only 3500 feet. This made for a beautiful flight. Thank God Eddie had the camera to take some pics because I was white knuckling the two handles on the side of my seat. 35 minutes later, we landed on an airstrip out in the middle of nowhere. When he helped us back out of the plane, I asked him how old he was. 22, flipping, years old! Honestly, think about what you were doing at 22! We were picked up in a game vehicle for a 10 minute, dirt road, drive to King's Camp. Gorgeous lodge! We were greeted with a cold wet towel and a cold drink. As soon as we signed our lives away, we were taken to our stunning "hut". Only
the pictures will do this place justice. Very safari themed with elegant accents. The best part is the double, outdoor shower. We had some lunch and at 4:00, we headed out for our first game drive. This is an open vehicle, with 6 guests, the guide who was driving, and the tracker that sat on the front of the Land Rover. The first hour was full of kodoo and spring bock (small deer like animals). ABout an hour in, we located a rhino and her baby. It was unreal to see these massive, beautiful animals in their natural environment. We ended
up chasing them, which was quite an adventure. An hour after that, we came across our first leopard. They suspect that she just gave birth. She was absolutely beautiful and we were so close that we could hear her panting. We watched her for a while and then drove down the road where we stopped for a "sundowner" which is basically a cocktail at sunset. We drove back to the lodge to get ready for dinner. When we walked into our room, they lit a bunch of candles in the bathroom and had drawn a hot bubble bath. We had our Thanksgiving dinner, which for us was grilled ostrich, sweet potatoes and chocolate mousse.
This is a brief and probably horribly mispelled update. I will post pics tomorrow, but for now we have to hit the sack as we have a 5:00 a.m. wake up call for our a.m. safari.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Much love!
Once again, im very behind on blogging. Internet has been hit or miss. I actually, so have a lot of blogs on our laptop, but the only internet access we have now, is the one computer at our lodge. As we expected, because we are in the bush!!!
We left Cape Town today feeling like we could use one more day there. What a fantastic city! We flew 2.5 hours to Nelspruit where we were to meet our bush plane that would take us deep into Kruger National Park. So, our bush pilot met us after we collected our bags and he honestly did not look like he was old enough to have a driver's license. I have not been a good flyer on this trip and it's gotten worse. My first question to him was if this would be a smooth flight and his (laughing) response was "no, it will be quite bumpy." First time in my life that the pilot of a plane Im flying on carries my bags for me, onto the tarmac, loads them in the back seat and proceeds to help us step onto the planes tire and into the plane. They say this plane was a 6 passenger plane. The two of us and the pilot barely fit. We climbed into our seats and the pilot gave us the same "safety" message you normally get from a flight attendant while taxying. He started up the plane, waited for his cue that we were good to go and then turned around to give us a thumbs up to let us know we were good to go. Terrifying take-off!! Not only was it bumpy, but the wind was blowing us all over the place! Luckily, our cruising altitude was only 3500 feet. This made for a beautiful flight. Thank God Eddie had the camera to take some pics because I was white knuckling the two handles on the side of my seat. 35 minutes later, we landed on an airstrip out in the middle of nowhere. When he helped us back out of the plane, I asked him how old he was. 22, flipping, years old! Honestly, think about what you were doing at 22! We were picked up in a game vehicle for a 10 minute, dirt road, drive to King's Camp. Gorgeous lodge! We were greeted with a cold wet towel and a cold drink. As soon as we signed our lives away, we were taken to our stunning "hut". Only
the pictures will do this place justice. Very safari themed with elegant accents. The best part is the double, outdoor shower. We had some lunch and at 4:00, we headed out for our first game drive. This is an open vehicle, with 6 guests, the guide who was driving, and the tracker that sat on the front of the Land Rover. The first hour was full of kodoo and spring bock (small deer like animals). ABout an hour in, we located a rhino and her baby. It was unreal to see these massive, beautiful animals in their natural environment. We ended up chasing them, which was quite an adventure. An hour after that, we came across our first leopard. They suspect that she just gave birth. She was absolutely beautiful and we were so close that we could hear her panting. We watched her for a while and then drove down the road where we stopped for a "sundowner" which is basically a cocktail at sunset. We drove back to the lodge to get ready for dinner. When we walked into our room, they lit a bunch of candles in the bathroom and had drawn a hot bubble bath. We had our Thanksgiving dinner, which for us was grilled ostrich, sweet potatoes and chocolate mousse.This is a brief and probably horribly mispelled update. I will post pics tomorrow, but for now we have to hit the sack as we have a 5:00 a.m. wake up call for our a.m. safari.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Much love!
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