All Good things Must Come to an End...

Difficult to put into words how magical this trip was! Being in the bush, completely immersed in nature and wildlife, is an experience that we will never forget and always cherish. We have a few videos to share and over a thousand pictures. Don't worry...we won't bore you with the entire slide show! If you ever have an opportunity to visit this amazing country, please go! You will love every minute! Hugs and love, Joyce & Tim

Leopards, Hyneas and Hippos

A leopard and her 2 cubs were tracked. We found the mother, lying under a tree. Close by her, was a male impala she had killed for her family. No cubs to be seen. We kept waiting...hoping to see the babies. The mother leopard kept staring in 1 direction across a shallow, empty water bed. (I didn't notice that - but, our tracker, Judas did.) Judas then declares that he has spotted the 2 cubs in a tree - exactly in the direction that the mother leopard was looking. With our new binoculars, we saw them too! Those little cuties! They were safely hiding in the top of a huge tree until their mother calls them down. That's where they go while the mother is off hunting. The babies came down after we left, but it was fantastic regardless!

Hyneas are extremely curious and interesting. Their dens are in enormous termite mounds. We watched 3 mother hyneas and their babies. The babies came right over to the vehicle. They looked right at us. My pictures are wonderful! What darling little faces! They were teething - so, kept trying to chew on the tires and even the metal of the vehicle. Richard (our guide) stopped them. He said that if they learn to do that as youngsters...they will continue the same behavior as adults, which would not be good. Hyneas are extremely strong and powerful. It is a female dominated species. Female cubs are strongly favored over males. The male babies have to fight their way to nurse. Females have such a high level of testosterone. So much testosterone, that females have a penis. Females are bigger than males. Terrific to be so close to them.

Well...who would have guessed that our morning game drive would have concluded by watching 2 hippos mating! The male hippo is on top and the female is underneath him in the water. Poor thing! It was a slow process, and the female hippo kept trying to come up from underneath the 2,000 pound male to breath. The male hippo was mostly out of the water with the female hidden...except when trying to breath.

Lions

We started tracking a band of 6 dangerous male lions. They are from the same pride and are attempting to acquire dominance in the area. To do so, only their cubs can live in the area. This is the only way they can mate with the females. They have also killed other lions who have gotten in their way. They have killed over 30 cubs at this point who were fathered by other males. They also killed a lioness who was protecting her babies. Extremely aggressive and enormous male lions!

4 of them are found together lying in a field. As the evening moved along, around dusk, they started to move and sit up. We watched from a very close distance in the Land Rover. One-by-one they came together and muzzled each other's faces. The affection and gentleness was a sight to see! They are fiercly protective of each other. One of the lions was injured and limping a bit. Appeared to be a muscle injury. Our guide said that his brothers would take care of him and bring back food if he was unable to hunt. After a short walk, he was moving better.

It was obvious they were all hungry (their stomachs were concave). Our guide, Richard, said that he was certain the 4 brothers would be heading out to make a kill. Lions hunt at night and have excellent night vision. Once again, I (Joyce) am sitting on the side of the vehicle closest to these enormous animals. They started walking in a line directly at the vehicle. I was absolutely petrified. Remember, there is no top and no sides on this vehicle. Totally open. The guide repeatedly told me to relax and enjoy the beautiful sight and not to worry. I was mortified! These lions, one by one, walked right next to where I was sitting. And I mean, right next to where I sat. They each looked at me right in the eye. I didn't want to make eye contact because I was afraid they would see it as a sign of aggression. As Richard said, they just kept walking. My heart has probably never beat faster.

We followed them for 5 more minutes thru the bush. Since the vehicles crashing thru the bush would frighten away potential prey, we drove back to camp. I was completely exhausted!

The next day, we found the lions again. They had found a big meal. I thought I would be horrified to see them eating their kill - but, I was actually glad they found something to eat and their stomachs were full. The poor, unfortunate cape buffalo, was dinner for them. Actually, will be a meal for the 4 brothers for several days. The buffalo is absolutely enormous...but, no match for 4 male lions. We have pictures that we will share with any of you who are interested. Truly fascinating and another experience that neither of us will ever forget. (At the end of the lion video, below, you will observe the camera searching a tree. Trying to get a shot of the vultures hovering while the lions ate.) The lion in the video is panting. Not because he is hot. Lions gorge themselves with food...and their diaphram becomes compressed and pushed up, causing them to pant. No room to breathe because they are so full!

We also found a pride of 13 lions. This pride is comprised of the sisters of these 6 male lions described above. We found them all piled up on top of each other and cuddling together. There were cubs approximately 1 year old, as well. Once again, we were only feet away from them. Tim sat closest to them this time. We left before the lions started to walk around...so, Tim did not get to experience them walking directly towards you! If the brothers find this pride, they will kill the cubs and potentially mate with their sisters. Rare, but it happens.

Londolozi

We are staying in the Tree Camp at the Londolozi lodge. Londolozi means "to preserve". Spectacular is the only word to use to describe this place. We flew in on a teeny-tiny airplane (seats 2 people plus the pilot). The pilot, who looked to be 15 years old (obviously not), competently flew us on this 5 minute...no kidding...flight to Londolozi. The day was gorgeous and it was awesome to see the land from a low flying plane.

After lunch and then high-tea, we headed off for our first game drive. Different than the previous camp, these Land Rovers do not have tops or sides. A male leopard was tracked. What an absolutely gorgeous animal!!! We watched it for a while until it started to move. He walked to the vehicle, and walked right up to where I (Joyce) was sitting. He couldn't have been 5 inches away from me. I nearly had a stroke! However, he didn't care about the vehicle or me. All the animals are used to the vehicles and disregard them. They see the vehicles and the people in them as uninteresting and non-threatening. Easy to say and you trust what your guide tells you - but, still scary when a wild animal is walking right toward you! Anyway - I will never forget that moment and seeing this stunning animal so close to me.

We followed this leopard for a bit, then headed off to see other animals. This leopard has reached puberty (2 yrs old) and will need to leave this area because he will be competition/threat for another male leopard who is in this area. The leopard will be forced to leave and find it's own territory.

After an early evening glass of wine/beer and snacks "in the bush"..we headed back to camp. Our guide is Richard and tracker is Judas. Truly phenomenal. In the dark, and I do mean pitch black evening, Judas spotted a scorpion on a branch and 2 different chameleons. He is a master tracker - and magical. Richard has been a guide for many, many years and has immense knowledge and insight into animal behavior.

Another amazing day in South Africa! We are having a great time! I know I keep saying that...but, it's true!

More from Tinga Narina...Game Drives

Of course, the game drives were the whole purpose for the trip. As I said before, guests are awakened at 5 am...and you head out at 5:30 am. The second one begins after high-tea at 4:30 pm. The Land Rover is driven by your guide (William, in our case) and a tracker (Emanual, for us). The tracker sits outside the front of the engine on a little chair. He watches for tracks and signs of animals - and ultimately leads you to see amazing creatures! The guide is responsible for the guests, the driving, explaining about the animals, vegetation, birds, bugs...and dung. Believe me...there is a lot of information you learn when paying attention to animal dung! Did you know there is a dung beetle that rolls dung up into big balls to plant their eggs inside?

Anyway - our tracker heard the cry of a baby impala. Knowing that this was indication of a predator in the area...we went straight for the group of impala. Sure enough! A male lion was in the area and walked right in front of our vehicle. Another day, "we" tracked a pride of lions. They were all sleeping on top of each other. Laying on their backs with their bellies in the air, we were right next to them and they never woke up. They had eaten and were pooped and full! I don't like to know what they had for dinner - but, they were obviously healthy and happy.

These game drives are an amazing experience. You experience up-close-and-personal the animals habitat. You are respectful and give them space so they aren't afraid. These animals have grown up with Land Rover vehicles. We have been assured over and over again that animals would not hop into these open vehicles. They are not threatened by them and mostly ignore them. We heard, however, of a time a younger child was in the vehicle. The child started crying uncontrollably when the lions were around. The lions started circling the vehicle because of the child's crying - so, the group had to quickly leave. Except for situations like that - we have been told to sit back and enjoy the beauty. At times, our hearts are racing and it is a major adrenelin rush - but, this has been an experience that we will never forget. Bye for now.

Tinga Narina safari camp

Upon arrival at the Kruger Airport, we were to take a tiny plane to our first safari camp, Tinga Narina. The weather was socked in...so, a driver met us and drove us to this camp. Approximately 2 hour drive.

Wow! Tinga Narina exceeded any expectation we could have dreamed of! It is comprised of a large thatched roof main property (gorgeous! Once again, I will show pictures when I figure that out.) 9 thatched houses/suites are for the guests. You walk along planked bridges to get to your suite. In the evening, a security guard escorts you because you are amongst wild animals. One day, Tim almost stepped on a snake. He hasn't moved that fast since he was a high school quarterback!

Our first animal sighting was within the first 10 seconds. There were 3 hippos in the Sabi Sands River, bordering the main property. I squealed...I was so excited!!! We arrived on Wednesday and it is now Friday. By the end of our stay here, we will have been on 6 safari drives - our final is tomorrow (Saturday) morning. We have seen all the "big 5" (lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, elephant) plus, hippos, hyneas, wildebeasts, zebras, giraffes, wart hogs, kudu, impala...it goes on and on. We have well over 400 pictures at this point.

Every safari ride is an absolute thrill for us! It got a little scary when an elephant directed a "mock charge" at our vehicle. All of our stomachs were in our throats at that moment. Our guide, William, challenged the elephant verbally and thankfully the elephant backed down. There were also a couple of potential close calls with lions. We had to quickly jump back into the Land Rover and get out in a hurry. It is so exciting! There is a family riding with us. They are quite nice and they have 2 adorable daughters. Hearing them jump and squeal every time a bug lands on them and their energy levels has made this trip extra special. Heather, the youngest (she's 15) nearly leaped over all of the seats when we had to move quick to get away from a lion. It's been great fun!

By the way- absolutely stunning birds here, as well. It is a bird watchers paradise.

Tinga Narina takes care of every detail. There is morning coffee/tea before a 5am safari drive. 3 hours later when you return, a full breakfast. Then, a 4-course lunch followed by high tea and snacks at 4:00. Then you go on the evening safari drive. Your evening ends around 8:30 when you return to a multi-course dinner.

We have had a great time. Tomorrow we leave for another safari camp. Thanks for reading our blog!

Touring the Winelands

What a terrific day we had touring the winelands outside of Cape Town. Bruce Storey with African Story Adventures was our guide. It was a private tour - and we couldn't have asked for a better day. The weather was also stunning. We had nearly 40 tastings and visited 4 wineries (Beyerskloof, Villiera, Tokara & Fairview). The last winery (Fairview) Bruce signed us up for a master tasting which paired 8 yummy cheeses with 8 wines. This winery also makes their own cheeses with goats milk. The goats were in the front of their expansive property. Even a baby goat!
South African wine is absolutely wonderful and the wineries are nothing short of spectacular. We bought a bottle of champagne for New Years Eve and a bottle of red with Tim's new favorite grape, pinotage. It's a mix between pinot noir and hermitage. A high quality, expensive bottle of wine here sells for no more than $10! Anyway - we took both bottles back to the Ezard House - and concerned we couldn't get them on the plane...we gave them both to one of the waiters in the restaurant. To say the least...he was ecstatic!