Internet is a nightmare, so I am going to include the last few days into one blog.
Our last evening game drive at King’s camp was Friday night and it was an adventurous one. There was rumor that lions were in the area, so we spent the first hour and a half trying to find them. It was amazing to watch the trackers
work. At one point, our tracker and guide parked the vehicle, grabbed the
riffle and went out to track on foot. We were left in the vehicle and told to just stay still if anything approaches. While they were gone, we could hear chatter over the area radio about a Leopard in the area who was playing with a brand new baby impala. This is common for leopards to do before they kill. Finally, our guide came back and left two trackers to track on foot and we were going to look more in the vehicle. As we were driving, the temperature dropped and the wind really picked up. We could see that the sky was getting pretty dark and we felt a few drops. 20 minutes later, Colbert (our guide) got word over the radio that Sam (our tracker) had found the lions. So, we hauled ass over to the area,
Sam jumped back onto the front of the truck and we drove deep into the bush. We got in and there they were-lying on the ground, resting up for their evening of hunting. It is remarkable how close you get to these massive animals. They give you at look at first and then they act as if you are not even there. Being around them was such a powerful experience. The three lions
that were there were part of a pride of four. They are all pretty young. The sad part is that their pride was 9 strong, but the rest have been killed by other lion. Their Dad got old and lost his territory and their Mom was killed by 2 other lioness.
We watched them for a while. They didn’t do much…mostly, they slept.
We left them and decided to race over to the leopard that was playing with the impala. After 1.5 hours, she had finally put that poor baby impala out of it’s misery and was feasting on it. We raced over and by the time we got there, it was dark and starting to rain. The guide put the spotlight on the leopard and what a site. She had the baby impala up on a large branch and she could care less that she had an audience while she ate. The impala was small enough to only be a snack for the leopard.
We were able to take a few pictures before the rain picked up. We were handed some rain ponchos and it took us about 10 minutes to get out of the tough spot we were lodged into. By the time we got onto the road, it was pouring! The winds were strong and we were surrounded by lightening and thunder. The rain was coming down so hard that it felt like hail. It took us about 15 minutes to get back to the lodge and it was not a fun ride.
The next morning was our last drive at King’s camp. It wasn’t too exciting. However, we did finally see buffalo, which completed the “big 5” for us!
We got back to the lodge, had some breakfast and then headed off to the airstrip for our next bush plane adventure.
Our little plane appeared from the clouds and made a quick landing. When the pilot stepped out, I asked him how the flight over was
(so I could determine if I was to get on the plane or not), and here is what he said:
“It was pretty tricky with this weather. We should be in a bigger plane, but THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS LEFT. It’s harder to fly in the clouds, because THERE IS NO RADAR UP THERE.” When I told him that he said all of that to the worse person he could say it to, he then told us that we would by flying below the clouds because it is a requirement when there are passengers in the plane. When we got on, he proceeded to write out our tickets for us!
The flight over wasn’t that bad at all. About 20 minutes and we landed in Sabi Sands on an airstrip that actually had a building near it. Apparently, this is Richard Bransen’s airstrip and he lets our lodge us it.
We were collected and drove 5 minutes to our new lodge: Leopard Hills. This place is gorgeous!! We somehow ended up in the honeymoon suite. From what I understand, the only difference is the view. The lodge itself is settled into a hilltop. We have an amazing, panoramic view of the bush and a beautiful clearing with a waterhole. We have our own, private plunge pool and an outdoor shower.
We had some lunch where we met the other guests: A couple from the UK, a couple from New York and a couple from Dallas! We chatted for a bit and when in to get ready for our first, Leopard Hills, game drive.
Our last evening game drive at King’s camp was Friday night and it was an adventurous one. There was rumor that lions were in the area, so we spent the first hour and a half trying to find them. It was amazing to watch the trackers
work. At one point, our tracker and guide parked the vehicle, grabbed theriffle and went out to track on foot. We were left in the vehicle and told to just stay still if anything approaches. While they were gone, we could hear chatter over the area radio about a Leopard in the area who was playing with a brand new baby impala. This is common for leopards to do before they kill. Finally, our guide came back and left two trackers to track on foot and we were going to look more in the vehicle. As we were driving, the temperature dropped and the wind really picked up. We could see that the sky was getting pretty dark and we felt a few drops. 20 minutes later, Colbert (our guide) got word over the radio that Sam (our tracker) had found the lions. So, we hauled ass over to the area,
Sam jumped back onto the front of the truck and we drove deep into the bush. We got in and there they were-lying on the ground, resting up for their evening of hunting. It is remarkable how close you get to these massive animals. They give you at look at first and then they act as if you are not even there. Being around them was such a powerful experience. The three lions
that were there were part of a pride of four. They are all pretty young. The sad part is that their pride was 9 strong, but the rest have been killed by other lion. Their Dad got old and lost his territory and their Mom was killed by 2 other lioness.We watched them for a while. They didn’t do much…mostly, they slept.
We left them and decided to race over to the leopard that was playing with the impala. After 1.5 hours, she had finally put that poor baby impala out of it’s misery and was feasting on it. We raced over and by the time we got there, it was dark and starting to rain. The guide put the spotlight on the leopard and what a site. She had the baby impala up on a large branch and she could care less that she had an audience while she ate. The impala was small enough to only be a snack for the leopard.
We were able to take a few pictures before the rain picked up. We were handed some rain ponchos and it took us about 10 minutes to get out of the tough spot we were lodged into. By the time we got onto the road, it was pouring! The winds were strong and we were surrounded by lightening and thunder. The rain was coming down so hard that it felt like hail. It took us about 15 minutes to get back to the lodge and it was not a fun ride.
The next morning was our last drive at King’s camp. It wasn’t too exciting. However, we did finally see buffalo, which completed the “big 5” for us!
We got back to the lodge, had some breakfast and then headed off to the airstrip for our next bush plane adventure.
Our little plane appeared from the clouds and made a quick landing. When the pilot stepped out, I asked him how the flight over was
(so I could determine if I was to get on the plane or not), and here is what he said:“It was pretty tricky with this weather. We should be in a bigger plane, but THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS LEFT. It’s harder to fly in the clouds, because THERE IS NO RADAR UP THERE.” When I told him that he said all of that to the worse person he could say it to, he then told us that we would by flying below the clouds because it is a requirement when there are passengers in the plane. When we got on, he proceeded to write out our tickets for us!
The flight over wasn’t that bad at all. About 20 minutes and we landed in Sabi Sands on an airstrip that actually had a building near it. Apparently, this is Richard Bransen’s airstrip and he lets our lodge us it.
We were collected and drove 5 minutes to our new lodge: Leopard Hills. This place is gorgeous!! We somehow ended up in the honeymoon suite. From what I understand, the only difference is the view. The lodge itself is settled into a hilltop. We have an amazing, panoramic view of the bush and a beautiful clearing with a waterhole. We have our own, private plunge pool and an outdoor shower.
We had some lunch where we met the other guests: A couple from the UK, a couple from New York and a couple from Dallas! We chatted for a bit and when in to get ready for our first, Leopard Hills, game drive.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment