We woke up, ate some breakfast and departed the backpackers lodge to take in the beautiful landscape of the Garden Route and head to one of the things I wanted to do most here in South Africa…go on a SAFARI!!! We arrived at the Garden Route Game Lodge and registered for our very own personal driver to take us around on the prowl for some of the most amazing animals in the world. Abri was our personal tour guide and we all jumped in the Land Rover with cameras ready! Thanks to Casi…I looked super official in my safari hat and sat right behind the driver. He explained the rules of the park and things we could and couldn’t do and then…the safari began! The cool thing about this game lodge is that we were guaranteed to see many animals. This was a huge plus because it is currently the rainy season in the north which means that the animals do not need to travel that far for water leaving many people who go on Safari’s at this time of year disappointed because they can pay a lot of money over several days but never see anything. I was going for more of the sure thing and definitely thought this was worth it!
We were given a map of all the different types of animals and birds we could potentially see on our little jungle reserve journey! I saw lots of different types of birds in addition to elephants, white rhino, lion, impala, ostrich, giraffe, cheetah, zebra, springbok, red hartebeest and lots of other local flair. It was incredible and hopefully my pictures will show you how amazingly close I got to these wild creatures. At one point the cheetahs were less than 3ft away from me as they came close to the jeep because they were hot and wanted shade! I have lots of pictures and felt like a photographer from National Geographic! They nicknamed these cheetahs Victor and Bobby and talked about how they had to tag them because they can get out and try to kill the farmers herd in the area. If a farmer sees them they will shoot them which is why the reserve needs to know where they are at all times so that they don’t escape or get killed. This safari adventure was everything I had hoped for and more. The saddest part was that it had to come to an end. I believe I got some amazing pictures but I’ll let you be the judge! Our guide was awesome and the landscape, bumpy Land Rover ride and incredible closeness we got to the animals left you speechless…and happy they were hot and panting which meant they probably wouldn’t decide to attack you because it would take too much energy! The lions were right out of the Lion King and we saw two elephants that were considered young by elephant standards but were hardly small at all! We also saw a family of giraffe’s and it is crazy how they can wipe their necks all around. I secretly heard the Willow Smith song in my head as I saw them doing this. Crazy! We also saw a mommy and baby rhino that also got pretty close to the jeep. They actually have very poor eyesight but could use that very intimidating horn on us if they needed too. I also got an up close and personal encounter with a bunch of zebra…one of which was pregnant. I found out that zebra are actually more brown toned than black but everyone seems to think they are black. I really hope you like my pictures! I was pretty proud of myself and my camera that I got that many pictures that were decent quality and seemed to turn out. This was such a fantastic day in nature! Learning about these animals really put in perspective how amazing nature and creation is! Wow!! Here is the website if you want to check it out: http://www.grgamelodge.co.za/
Once we ate lunch we headed homeward bound towards Cape Town. We saw a brush fire on the side of the road that the fire department was trying to contain but it is difficult because of how dry it is here and the lack of rain. We got home around 7pm and settled back in with dinner, unpacking and showering. It also gave us a chance to catch up with those who didn’t go, share about our weekends and plan our free time for the week. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here 2 weeks already. It is going by so quickly!
I was lucky enough to get some updates on the Packer game via family, friends and ESPN.com! I am beyond excited that we are Superbowl bound! It’s hard to believe that I am here and won’t actually be home to have a Packer Superbowl Party but this is where all of you come in to live it up for me. I will be up at the wee hours of the night checking the score and trying to call home as it doesn’t start until 1:30am my time. Hard to find a sports bar that won’t have anything besides soccer and cricket on let alone at that time of day! Nonetheless…I am so grateful for this opportunity of a lifetime and have you all at home to keep me in the loop of the Road to the Superbowl!! Go Pack Go!!!
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