Beach and more game drives

The next morning we decided to go and walk on the nearby beach and spent some time there. The weather was perfect, sunny with a light breeze. 
 

Cintsa Bay

Then we went back to the lapa to have lunch and I saw a few nyalas roaming freely around the building. I was just 2 meters away from them and managed to make a picture of the youngest one. 

Young nyala

After lunch we went on a game drive and stopped to say hi to one of the reserve ostriches. This one is a female and apparently kinda crazy because she sits down for mating anytime anyone approaches her. So here she sat and moved her wings as if she wanted to dance and we could come close and touch her!!! I touched her soft neck and it felt like a soft toy!! 

A very submissive ostrich!!

Greg was trying to find one of the rhinos and found some tracks he was able to follow until we came up to less than 10 meters away from an adult rhino with its horns shaven off to prevent poachers from killing it. He was busy grazing and did not pay much attention to us. It is a very muscular animal and you would not want to be on its path!

Just after leaving the rhino we saw several giraffes far way and stopped to take a better look at them. We did get some nice shots of them. 

As we walked back to the Land Rover we passed by 2 ostriches who were picking food from the ground. Apparently we were too close because one of them lifted up her head and opened her mouth before hissing at us like in some crazy vampire movies!!! So, of course, we backed down and left her alone!  A little later we had a sundowner with an incredible reddish sunset over the ocean. 

White and tawny lions and elephants

Sunday morning we went on a game drive around 9:30 and drove as far as where the white lions are kept. Several white and brown lions and lionesses live there within a very large enclosure. Since they have been hand-reared they cannot hunt and get fed local farm animals. I was not really nervous getting in there but as I saw how close Greg drove up with his Land Rover I did wonder whether it was such a smart thing to do!!! Basically we were 4-5 meters away from a resting white lion! His beautiful mane looked very clean to me. Whether he gets it shampooed every day?? Hahaha! Of course not, but he looked really stunning. See the pictures for yourself. 

Suddenly another lion called him and the two of them starting roaring at each other. The roaring was so deep that I felt the vibrations through the car door. Absolutely crazy! Then a white lioness came by and lied behind the lion for a bit before she went further. 

Another white lioness nearby was just rolling on its side to take a nap. 

To be so close to such majestic animals is really powerful. Of course real wild lions would not let us come that close. They would eat us first for sure!

Later we went to see the 3 elephants they have there for some “interaction”. There were 2 young males and 1 young female. We were only allowed to interact with the female elephant that day.

Carole feeding pellets to the elephant

A little cutie!

The elephants looked very beautiful. At first they had only brought in the youngest male and female. As we were listening to what the guide was saying we heard some loud trumpeting. The older bull had joined us and was a little upset at having been left behind while the others were getting fed yummy pellets. They trumpeted like crazy at each other and for one moment I wondered whether it was going to end well but soon enough they relaxed again. And we all were able to breathe again!

After the elephants we first went back to our tents to chill out a little.

My bedroom

My bathroom

Around 4:30 we went on another game drive. We saw impalas, wildebeests, blesboks, water bucks and nyalas. There were also some elands, the largest sub-Saharan antelope. 

Eland

Hungry lions

In the evening we went to see the lions again. This time the big male was having dinner and was surrounded by its pride, which means there were about 8 or 9 lions facing us and having a bite. 

Curious young lions

Some young males were curious about the Land Rover and were coming closer but Greg, our fearless guide, was really relaxed about it. We got to make great pictures but it was a very strange feeling to see all these pairs of eyes watching the car. 









 
Then the big male decided it was time for a big roar and he started roaring and several lions joined in. That was blood churning! 
I will try to upload the video when back in Germany.

 

Lion resting after its roaring

 
Thankfully enough we left soon after that because that early evening roar means “it is hunting time, guys!”. Although they do not hunt at all it is the time of the day they start being more active. So it was high time to go!

We went to the lapa where the restaurant is located. The German couple sat together and I sat with the two guides and we had a lot of fun chatting that evening. The other evenings we decided to all sit together because we all got on so well. It really felt good!

Bush Camp, Inkwenkwezi

So now I am sitting on the wooden terrace in front of my tent and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. 

Entrance to the tent

View from the wooden terrace

I knew that the tents were somewhere inside the reserve but we are really cut off from it all here. My nearest neighbour’s tent is not visible from my terrace but it is still possible to hear them if they are talking on their terrace. 

View of the Bush Camp

I was pretty tired the first night so I slept like a log. Around 6 I started hearing the birds but it was 6:30 by the time they really woke me up because they were so loud. The nastiest one I heard was the trumpeter hornbill. Actually a beautiful bird but for its cry which sounds like a crying baby!

Summary of the flight to SA and the arrival at Inkwenkwezi

Dear Friends!

Sorry for making you all wait so long but I had no WIFI in the bush!!!

You can now sit back and enjoy!

Here is the summary of the flight to SA and the arrival at Inkwenkwezi.

============================

Friday, Sept. 12^th I left Zurich in the evening to Johannesburg. The plane was pretty full again. I sat next to a SA business man who sells German medical equipment in SA. We had a nice chat all along. 

For the first time I got proper food on a Swiss flight. Usually they would give me some vegan stuff but this time I got a lovely dinner (gnocchi with various veggies) and a nice breakfast. Well done, Swiss!

As I arrived in Jo’burg the first thing I did was to re-check my luggage on the national flight to East London and then I went to Vodacom to get a SIM card and a pre-paid card. Then I went through passport control to terminal E and had a light lunch while waiting for my connection. As I sat there the Springboks lost 10 to 14 to the All Blacks. Sad!!!
 

The plane to East London was small enough - probably less than 70 seats. I sat next to German woman who has been living the past 2 years in East London because her husband works for Daimler. It was interesting for me to hear what it is like for Europeans to live in SA. She was actually quite happy about it and enjoyed going to national parks and game reserves a lot.

As I arrived in East London, my taxi driver was waiting for me. We had a long enough drive to Inkwenkwezi and he was a nice guy to chat with. So we could also exchange jokes about SA politicians. After 45 minutes we arrived at Inkwenkwezi. 

View of the gate from inside the reserve

He drove me up the reception and there was my guide already waiting for me!!!! 

My guide is called Branden. He is an Afrikaans-speaking guy from East London. Although he is very young, 21, I felt at ease right away. The other guide I met is called Greg and he has been looking after a German couple from Hamburg and has also taken care of me at times. The advantage of us being so few means we get to go exactly where we want. Both guides are super friendly and relaxed and also knowledgeable about the wildlife.