African Safari

One of the pitfalls of traveling on a RTW (‘round the world) airline ticket is that you must fly on one airline only or one of its alliance partners. Thus, chances are that you may not be able to fly direct to your next stop. Sadly, we were forced to fly from Sao Paolo through Paris, France before connecting to Johannesburg, South Africa. We had a 5-hour layover in Paris and a very long flight back down to the southern hemisphere.

We took a small plane from J-burg to our lodge near Kruger National Park, where we were greeted on the landing strip with fresh juice and ice cold washcloths. Another hour and we were in the middle of The Bush.

We decided to spoil ourselves on safari and stayed at the Singita Private Game Reserve - Lobombo lodge. Words cannot describe the warmth and attentiveness of the staff. On safari, you develop close relationships with your Ranger and Tracker. They are charged with taking you through the park in a open air vehicle, and locating all the animals you wish to see. The Big 5-- safari speak for Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Elephant, Buffalo – was a tall order but our team’s intuition and experience led us to all 5 and more.

On our first morning drive, we discovered the Lion’s Pride- 21 LIONS! This was a jackpot indeed. It was remarkable (albeit scary!) to see them so close to our vehicle. We were surrounded by unbelievable beauty and wildlife. The rangers and trackers have grown up in the Bush and we were fascinated by how they were able to scoop up a handful of dirt, determine the direction of the wind, and lead us straight to the elephants. Shepard (our trusted ranger) and Johnson (senior tracker) were brilliant. Leopards are extremely difficult to spot but after offroading up to the tops of the rocky mountain sides, we found our magnificent leopard. The jungle around him was all but silent, as birds and neighboring prey warned one another of his presence. He was beautiful, graceful, and quite frightening to watch from a near distance.

Every morning, we awoke at 5 a.m. with the sunrise, drove for several hours, and did it all over again at 4 p.m. Everyone in the Bush is just as excited to see wild game as the first-timers. They never tire of the chase or the observance of game life. It was fantastic to talk with Shepard, and learn about his personal history and path. He is someone we will remember and talk about for a long time.

On one of our final days, we stumbled upon three ‘preoccupied’ lions – one male and two females. We were fortunate enough to witness the mating rituals of these lions, as well as a complicated dance of seduction between the younger female and older female lions who were vying for the king’s attention. We got it on video! At first, it felt intrusive but they really didn’t seem me to mind our presence.

After our 4 days, I’m sad to leave the Bush. I never thought of myself as a diehard animal lover, but you just can’t help but get caught up in all the glory and mystique. The animals bear so much resemblance to humans. Besides the aforementioned mating episode, we saw baboons peeling and eating exotic fruits in the same manner as we do. The elephants walk together, protecting the youngest of the group by placing her in the middle – just as we do.

I probably sound like a broken record, but we must return here as well. It was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life and I enjoyed every second of it. The photos fill in the blanks…