The private game park was called Mkhaya and had all but the carnivorous predators. But since it wasn't as large as the Kruger National Park, we were pretty much guaranteed to see lots of animals up close and personal - which was really cool. Our guide, Patrick, was the oldest (meaning he had been there the longest) of all the guides and very knowledgeable. He took us out on 3 game drives while we were there - one the 1st afternoon we arrived, one very early the next morning as the sun was coming up and the last one around noon before we left. This was our safari-mobile.
And here is just a sampling of what we saw while on safari.
The camp we stayed at was supposed to be a luxury camp since it did have running water, but to me it was VERY rustic as it had no electricity. Here is our little open air hut we stayed in for the night, the bed we slept in, and some other areas of the camp.
I think that the stay would have been made more pleasant had it not been over 100 degrees F. Honestly, I have never been so hot in my life, and I have been in some really hot places before. But, literally, it was so hot that I couldn't wear make up because it would just drip off my face, and the only way to stay cool was to take a shower, but as soon as we got out and the water dried, we'd start sweating again. I don't think we slept too well either because under the mosquito net it was VERY hot and also just being out in the wild with HUGE bugs and hearing animals, knowing all we had to keep them out was a little gate.
It would really be impossible to recount our entire time on safari, so I will just hit the highlights.
After arriving at our little hut, we showered (to cool off again) and joined a few of the other groups for a gourmet dinner by candlelight (because of no electricity). We had first class service and a 4 course meal, with kudu (a type of antelope) stew as the main course. It was delicious. After dinner we all sat around the campfire to watch the native Swazis perform authentic African dances and songs.
By the time we were ready to go to bed, we had to take another shower, but this time we discovered that we weren't alone in the shower. A little black scorpion had decided to take up residence in our shower for the night. David refused to shower while the scorpion was in there, but I was just too hot not to. So I had David shine a flashlight on it to make sure it didn't move while I showered, then he was brave enough to have me do the same while he showered. Luckily it didn't move. When we were finally ready for bed, we discovered that instead of keeping bugs out, our mosquito net had trapped some in! We must have looked like such silly city-folk trying to get the bugs out, because neither of us were going to sleep with them inside. Finally we devised a plan that consisted of me lifting up the net for David to crawl under with a glass and a piece of paper to trap the HUGE moth. After he got the biggest one out, I had him go back in and get the other couple of little ones as well. After slathering ourselves with insect repellent, we did our best to get some rest before rising early for our game drive and then breakfast.By this time we had already seen rhino, hippo, elephants, giraffe, zebra, warthogs, water buffalo, wildebeest, and various types of antelope. We even got out of the jeep and walked up to (several yards away) a mother rhino and her calf!
We had seen practically everything there was to see except a crocodile. Before our last game drive, I had seen a girl from another group in the bathroom who told me that their guide had taken them right up to a crocodile. As we were embarking on our last drive, I asked our guide if he thought we would see one, and he said, "maybe, uh, probably not." Then I mentioned to him that the other group's guide had taken them right up to one, and that did it. Our guide would not be outdone. Without saying a word, he took us off the beaten path and all of a sudden just stopped the jeep and told us to wait there as he disappeared down a hill into the woods. About 5 minutes later he returned saying he had found one and to follow him. We still weren't sure what we were going to see this time, but he led us right up to this!
Yes, that is a huge crocodile, and that is the guide's shirt on the left, so you can see how close we were to it. Well, since the huge reptile wasn't doing anything, our guide proceeded to throw rocks at it to get it to move. About this time, we were all contemplating how quickly we could get back to the vehicle and if we would be able to find our way back to camp if our guide was eaten by the crocodile. Luckily, we didn't have to act on any of those mental plans since it never even flinched with the rocks pelting it. So we just turned around and headed back to the jeep. But although we didn't see it, we HAD disturbed the crocodile, and from the safety of the jeep, this is what we saw coming up the hill in right in front of us!
He HAD been following us! Wow! What a close call! After that, we were ready to be done with the safari and pack up for the 45 minute jeep ride back to our car. Again I will mention that on that jeep ride, I have NEVER been SO HOT in my life! I could literally feel the sun burning and blistering my skin. But even with the tremendous heat, huge bugs, and close call with animals, I can still honestly say that it was worth every minute of it for the experience, and I'm so glad we did it.
No comments:
Post a Comment