Memories of Amakhala

Hi everyone!
I was so happy to be able to upload some pics for you yesterday that I did not take the time to write anything down.
But I am sure you are all interested in hearing about the game drives I did at Amakhala.

So let us start from the beginning.

First I had to get a cab from Port Elizabeth to Amakhala which is about 1 hour away by car. The scenery to get there is tremendous. I do love the Western Cape but the Eastern Cape has great vegetation and so much wildlife to offer!!!
As I had written before I was supposed to stay at the Woodbury Tented Camp but since I would have been the only tourist there, I was "upgraded" to the Woodbury Lodge, and I can only say, it was a blessing. First of all, nights and mornings were super cold, around 5 degrees, so staying in a tent might have felt much too cold.
As I arrived at the Woodbury Lodge around 1 o'clock, an American couple with their daughter was checking in and we got on well from the beginning. We were greeted with a sweet drink which I could not identify. Maybe a Rooibos with fizzy lemonade?
I was brought up to my lodge which was at the top of the site. The wooden stairs to get up there were wide and lit up at night.
As you could see from the pics, the lodge was really comfortable and the best was the electric blanket for the cold nights.
Just after 2 p.m., we got our lunch and left off on our first game drive around 3 o'clock. My greatest worry, "where to go to the toilet while in the bush???" was soon relieved thanks to Marylise, a Canadian traveller, who told me, that is possible to go behind a bush. With that piece of information, I was able to relax a little already. ;o)
So off we went and we froze!!! You will not believe it, but there was such a strong wind and although I was wearing a fleece jacket and a rain jacket, I turned into an icicle within minutes. In the LandRover there were ponchos and blankets but nothing helped. It just felt awfully cold.

The first animals we got to see were the black wildebeests or gnus. Those guys have a long white tail and jump up and down like crazy creating large dust clouds over the plains. Here they call them the bush clowns because of their behaviour. Some zebras were also grazing nearby so we could look at two groups of animals next to each other which was great because it felt so harmonious.
We also got to see impalas and different types of bucks or antelopes.
Kyle, our guide, who is a true "bush man", in his heart at least, was telling us about all the different mammals and birds we were looking out. At the beginning of the drive, he had found some rhino dung and showed it to us and a couple of hours later he stopped the truck and there they were. Four beautiful rhinos, grazing away and not a bit interested in us, humans. To see these endangered animals, roaming freely in this beautiful scenery was a very special moment. Anyone who knows me, knows how upset I get when I hear of people killing rhinos, elephants, whales, or any other kind of endangered species or even common animals. So you can imagine, how much it meant to me to see them so free, unhurt and relaxed. We stayed there for almost a half hour. Then as we drove off, the sun was starting to set. A little further away, Kyle stopped the truck and we got off to have a glass of wine, some crackers with cheese in the middle of the bush. He also checked the bushes around to find suitable ones for our "personal" needs. The women got a "ladies' bush" and the men got another type of bush. :o)
When we finally left, we still had to drive 20 minutes to reach the lodges where we got greeted with a hot chocolate with Amarula which we could enjoy by the fire. Around 7, we got a candlelit dinner. We all sat around a long table and we could get to know each other a little better and talk about the animals we had seen. As I headed off for my lodge, I was really frozen and it is an even greater surprise to find out the lodge lit up, and the electrical blanket was on, so my bed was just perfectly warm!

The next morning I got up just before 6, since we were to meet around 6:30 for a muffin and a cup of tea or coffee in the dining room. At 7 we headed off for the bush. With a temperature of 5 or 6 degrees, you can imagine how we felt!!! But luckily, we were greeted by Timmy, the male giraffe, right after the entrance of the lodge and you get so mesmerized by the bush and the wildlife that you end up thinking less about the cold, This time I wore a poncho and used another one as a blanket and felt a little better but my hands were still cold. We went further in the plain and we saw one female ostrich. Kyle decided to stop there so we could have a good look at her while she was picking at stuff from the ground, then he tried to start the engine, again and again, and it just did not function!

I was so happy we had not broken down the day before where we had seen the rhinos because I would have definitely felt really anxious. While waiting for anther truck, we got out the car and moved around to warm up our feet since it was still cold outside, Then we got to see a male ostrich who decided, he was gonna chase that female. So there he went, running, running behind her, I tape the whole thing. It was quite hilarious to watch because the male was throwing his head back and forth and he did not get her in the end!!! :o) Finally another ranger arrived, and we could use his truck to carry on our game drive. We got to see a big elephant bull hiding in the bushes and lots of antelopes and zebras towards the end of the plains. Then we headed back to the lodge to have breakfast after 10. I was able to get myself some warm clothing and bough a scarf, a beanie and a fleece jumper to survive the cold temperatures during the drives. Until 2 we could relax, then we had lunch and at 3 we went on our third drive.

Timmy, the giraffe, was still hiding behind some bushes and it took us a good while to manage to take a shot of him. A little later, we found an elephant family with one or two bachelor bulls. It was good to see them so relaxed. Unfortunately, a ranger from another accommodation parked his vehicle in a way which created tension among the ellies, and there was a lot of trumpeting and we worried that the other truck might be attacked by the ellies. Finally the ellies, after venting their anger, walked past that other vehicle and went to another part of the bush. We all felt annoyed at that ranger, for his lack of respect towards the animals. Maybe he wanted to give his guests a thrill but at what costs? It was a real stress for the animals. You could hear it in their trumpeting and see it in their behaviour. After that incident, we went higher up in the reserve so we could have a good view of the terrain. I know, it is not the largest reserve in South Africa but still anywhere I looked, it was still part of Amakhala!!!

As we went back into the valley, we saw a jackal busy hunting some small rodent and trying to kill it by jumping on it many times!!! We were lucky to see two female rhinos, mother and daughter, who did not even look at us for a second! Kyle drove us further and further in the bush and we went to the other side of the reserve which they are using at the moment for a lion couple among other things. The sun was setting down and there they were, the lion laid in the open and the lioness was lying close to the bush. We remained silent and were taking pictures when suddenly the lioness started roaring and the lion joined in and then we had this incredible duet in the bush. I was not as scared as I might have thought I would be and it was just an awesome moment! On our way back, as Kyle was opening a gate to reach the other side of the reserve, he realized that his car had a flat tyre! You will not believe how fast he managed to change the wheel of that truck in the dark. I can only say, if Kyle is your guide, you are a 100% safe! By the way, they do not carry rifles at Amakhala. The guides only use wooden sticks.
As we reached the lodges, it was around 7 and it was cold and dark. We were really happy to have made it since it had been such an eventful day.

The next morning, I was dreading the cold, even though I wore 2 fleece jackets, my rain jacket, a scarf and a beanie and had a poncho and a blanket to cover me!!! If you believe, I was the only one like this then you are wrong. We all looked like Eskimos! And finally, the wind stopped and we had a nice drive in the sun and we could start peeling off the extra clothing little by little. Kyle drove us to another part of the reserve and we saw a large group of water buffalos, among other things. While crisscrossing Amakhala we had seen warthogs quite a few times, but these guys are such chickens, they would run away before we got a chance to make of picture of them. I found them really cute because of the way they trot on their thin legs. We also saw some vervet monkeys basking in the sun. Some of them gave us a look but they did not seem to care much about us. Luckily enough, Kyle was able to bring us to a part of the reserve where a female cheetah was relaxing in the bush. Something I must say about the bush, is that all these animals could make themselves disappear behind bushes and you would believe you were alone there. Amazing! Of course, the guides can read tracks and such but still it is a real talent to read the bush!

We observed an elephant bull for a while who was busy eating cactus fruits. Now, you hear cactus, so you think thorns! So how should an elephant want to eat such a nasty fruit? Well, believe it or not, he uses his feet to flatten the thorns and then he picks up the fruit to eat it! Closed to where the bull was, we discovered an ostrich couple minding their egg and digging around it. Then we found some Oryx antelopes which are my favourite antelopes. I call them "gangsters" because of the white and black mask they wear. We also saw many more antelopes such as red hartebeests and kudus. As we headed back to the lodge the sun was setting and we could enjoy a starry sky.

On my last drive at Amakhala, we were booked on a river cruise so we had to leave earlier than usual. We boarded the boat and went up the Bushman's river which is not a river actually but more like a rain basin. We could observe lots of birds along the shores. At Amakhala, there are between 200-300 types of birds and if I have not mentioned them earlier is because I found it so difficult to remember their names. Kyle is like a walking encyclopaedia and he could name us all the birds and explain to us the characteristics of each of them. As we were observing the shore, we heard some branches breaking and it was clear that only an elephant could do that. We could observe him through the branches as he was busy munching away. Kyle brought us later to a part of the reserve where the elephant family was enjoying some munching too. We got close enough but not too close so as not stress the animals and they completely ignored us. What a way to finish my stay at Amakhala!
At 10 we were back and after finishing packing and having breakfast, I got my taxi to the Dungbeetle River Lodge.

If any of you shall consider going to a private game reserve, I would like to most warmly recommend you Amakhala. The staff at the Woodbury Lodge was fantastic and the accommodation was great. So, I hope, I made you want to go there too!