The Exodus African Safari Diary Part 2

A crocodile in (surprise, surprise!) Crocodile River

Exodus trip: day 4 part 2

Down to Wimpy to post the blog, and yes, it is Wimpy as we know it, though possibly with a bigger menu as I haven’t been in a Wimpy for a very long time. We were staying at the cheaper end of the park and apparently it had been decided that cheapskates like fast food... Anyway, they were lovely about us coming in with the laptop and providing mains and WiFi, as long as we kept out of the way of the buffet they were setting up for the 20 odd armed police that came in! With 10 minutes to spare and for the price of a milkshake we got done.

An owl caught in the searchlight on our night drive

We were just out with Steven, Chantel was doing dinner. I was running on sugar from the milkshake so was a bit hyper, but sadly the animals were all hiding, but that’s the thing with real live animals!

Straight to dinner, 19.00 which was great, she’d braaid (barbecued) boerewors, steak and chicken, salad and veggies and garlic bread. 19.45 onto a big open bus for the night drive. All bar 2 of our group and a couple of others, no spotter, one driver, lights out to the sides on both sides but only one working spotlight, which for some reason I, of all people, having been up since 03.03, ended up

Picnic lunch on the way

operating! Early on I saw a bushbaby, they have such big eyes they gave a really bright reflection, but after that I didn’t pick up on anything else, obviously I could highlight the various owls, birds, elephants and mongooses we saw, but I didn’t pick up on anything else. Sadly not even the leopard that had been reported by the front gate and chased away by the animal police! They said it was in the brush, but we couldn’t see it. After a very long day, went to bed a bit dejected.

So here's our team. LtoR: Jackie, Esther, Alison, Ali, Andy, Keith, Lorraine, Peter, Tony and Ann

Exodus trip: day 5

The thatched cottage in Hlane with no electric

Another early start, no one was expecting it, but we had to leave at 05.30 to exit the park, 2 hours, but the animals were still on holiday! Breakfast at a picnic area, stop for some bread and drive to Swaziland, which is now called Eswatini! It’s quite a lot poorer, the roads are not as good and there isn’t electricity throughout! We had been warned, to charge cameras, though there are USB charging points on the bus, so we are ok.

Day 2 at Hlane and its our game drive in two vehicles

Our destination was Hlane (pronounced Schlane?) nature reserve. First impressions weren’t good, no electricity, though there was some at reception, but their ‘system ‘ was down so we couldn’t pay for our activities. It was pouring with rain, which wasn’t their fault, but does affect how you see a place, there were lots of shared toilet blocks.....

Chantel prepared lunch in a communal kitchen as we all huddled in the shop out of the rain, the lure of the viewing area for the water hole not being strong enough to brave the rain... Perhaps it’s as well the system is down, we can all still pull out of the

And this chap appeared in front of us - we reversed, they have priority!

afternoons activity of a game walk, but just after lunch, it stopped, the ‘system’ was back up, and we were shown our rooms. All beautiful little huts, no shared bathrooms for us, and there will be paraffin lamps lit for you during dinner. With 45 minutes before the walk B took the opportunity to wash some socks so we couldn’t immediately jump to when Chantel came round telling us all there were rhino at the water hole. We got there as quickly as we could but sadly they’d gone. The hippo were still there so all was not lost. We thoroughly enjoyed the walk through sadly didn’t see any rhino which was very sad, though could have been a bit scary! Do have a new ‘deery thing’ to add to the collection though,

Two 'brother' lions grooming each other

Nyala...... Managed to NOT get back to the room before it started raining as B was gassing, however there was time enough for a shower and a glass of wine on the veranda, where we saw the most amazing long tailed orange bird. A paradise flycatcher apparently, but for the first time we have a name and no picture!

Dinner was a buffet in an open sided round building, pointy thatched ceiling, which we suddenly realised we were sharing with two barn owls who would occasionally pop out for a snack, or circle the room after a moth. It wasn’t only them, the odd bat flew through too, not quite as big as the owls but not far off! Another

Family photo, mum and two sons

early night was called for, so back to the room which was lit with a paraffin lamp on the veranda, one on the side in the bathroom, and one in the room, very romantic but also like a furnace! We’ll read by head torch then, and sleep with the screened windows, and curtains open then, but it was a warm one! All the better to hear the chuntering of the lions ..... We have had no fans so far on this trip, though there was aircon at Kruger it was so old and rattly there was no chance of sleeping with it on, this was the most uncomfortable night so far! At least the mosquito net came round both beds rather than at Mtomeni where they were individual, and

And there they go, walking off into the morning mist

close fitting and kept blowing open! This is the last place in a malaria zone, shame one got B in the night....just as well we are on the anti-malarials...!

Exodus trip: day 6

Meeting at 05.15. just for a change, for our last game drive of this trip! They split the 10 of us, plus two others into 2 vehicles so we could spread out. “Which bit of the park do you want to go to first?” “Lions” obviously. Two brothers and sister and mum, or mum and grandma depending on whether you listen to our guide, or the other, but either way, two male, two female, all being very affectionate to each other, one male

A saddle billed stork

grooming the others mane and lots of gentle head rubbing going on all round, lovely to watch. The only disappointment? The fence, so making this feel a bit like a U.K. safari park... I guess Kruger has spoilt us, the oldest and biggest (it’s almost twice the size of Wales and is bigger than Eswatini!) makes it a challenge for any other to match up! In theory two opportunities for rhino, white and black, though kept separate, sadly we saw neither, elephant and a 3m python were new, and we saw our first mum and two baby warthogs since Victoria Falls.

I sit corrected, we have just left Eswatini and re-entered SA, and stopped for lunch at the Pongola Game reserve. The oldest, by two years!

I must put this one in, its a bit out of order and when we were still in Kruger National Park and it shows three species together, Wildebeest, Zebra and Impala and shows how they co-exist with one another

And here's one Wildebeest that was much closer

Only another 2, 2 1/2 hours to go, so we should hopefully arrive in St Lucia about 16.15. There trip did say there would be long drives, but they do seem longer than predicted!

Exodus trip: day 6 part 2

We arrived a little later than expected, thrilled at the idea of two nights in a place. It’s a nice room, but like a sauna, and you can’t leave the balcony doors, or windows open if you are not present, as the sign says in reception, “when you go out to play, we come in to play” beneath a picture of some vervet monkeys! Have to say haven’t seen any just here, but have seen the cutest

A dung beetle hard at work today

cat instead, she’s very sweet, far to young to be the mother her physique says she is, but hey. I’ll go and find her again when I finish writing, see if she wants some cheese sandwich or biltong from our packed lunch today!
We have a pool at this place, and WiFi, but only by reception, so we can write while trying to cool the room, but to post, we’ll have to shut everything up!

It was a lovely place to sit with a glass of wine from the bottle shop opposite though.

Exodus trip: day 7

Our boat trip this morning in St Lucia

We only met up at 06.55 hurrah! Round to the sister hotel for breakfast, before down to the lagoon for a boat trip. Lots of hippo, one crocodile and some new birds, very pleasant couple of hours.

Back in the bus and up to Cape Vidal, through the Isimangaliso wetlands reserve. Kudu, duiker, zebra, till we got to the sea, well, the Indian Ocean. We were wearing our cossies but the warning of rip tides, and really not being beach babes, or wanting to be in the sun and high humidity

A yellow weaver bird in the reeds at St Lucia (all identified by Peter)

we had a quick paddle before retreating to the dunes along with Keith and Lorraine, and Anne and Tony, to eat our packed lunch. We surrounded some poor bloke trying to read his book, but he seemed to find our antics with the monkeys quite amusing! Don’t feed the animals, it says, what about if they help themselves? I’d opened one packet of sandwiches, taken one out, the packet in my left hand, when suddenly there was a little hand in there making a grab for it! I’ve got the mark on my leg where it stood and slithered to prove it! You’d think we’d have learnt really having been and retrieved the empty packet of cheesy biscuits, that wasn’t empty, or even open, when they stole it from Lorraine! B opened the cheese with a monkey on the back of the chair eyeing it up, when waved at it

How many hippos!

hissed, but didn’t back down! Fortunately Chantel came by then and waved a big stick about which seemed to do the trick! She is not to be messed with, we’ve all learnt that!

Back at the hotel for 13.30, and a whole afternoon to ourselves, so quick dip in the pool which was warmer than the shower I had yesterday, and here I am, up to date!

An African fish eagle

A European bee eater

And finally to the beach! That's the Indian Ocean there

Thats Ali and Andy in the surf

At the beach. LtoR: Andy, Ali, Chantel (our guide), Peter and Esther

And 'Mr Cool' Stephen, our driver

Look at this baby vervet monkey

And this is its mum, the fastest thief on the planet! She had half my sandwich and Lorraines packet of cheese biscuits in a flash!

Taken through the windscreen of the van. They were in no particular hurry and not keen on going off road

But they did eventually and this little baby went running off

Here's a wildebeest and Impala in the same photo, but a long way away