Southern Africa Part 2 – Our Great South Africa Safari Experience

Next up was the start of our first safari experience on this particular trip into the fabulous Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve located in the greater Sabi Sand Nature Reserve adjacent to the famous Kruger National Park. 

"Our 'gang' off on another safari with bags of popcorn to snack on "

Interestingly, an added perk to our trip was seeing Roger Federer and his family arrive at the same little airstrip as we did. Although they weren’t staying at the same property as we were, it was still really exciting to see him appreciating the same type of vacation with his family as we were experiencing yet again. Such a privilege to see the real 'GOAT' (Greatest of All Time) of the tennis world.

"Roger Federer and family ahead of us going to their lodging in South Africa"

We stayed at the amazing eco-luxury Earth Lodge property that’s been ‘described as the most environmentally friendly lodge in Southern Africa’.  Each lodge accommodation is huge with its own plunge pool, large backyard patio area, outdoor shower, massive bathroom with double sinks, tub and indoor shower, plus separate toilet area, a huge dressing room area, bedroom area, indoor living area with desk and seating plus a large entrance area with a fully stocked bar and coffee/tea station. It’s massive but very comfortable and cozy in spite of its size.

"Our main bedroom/living area at Earth Lodge"

"Our patio, plunge pool area at Earth Lodge"

"Our bathroom in our accommodation at Earth Lodge"

The food was amazing at Earth Lodge, as was the Customer Service. All of the staff seemed to be very genuine and wonderful, and we had some very special experiences there including a lovely Anniversary dinner in their wine cellar area.

"Our anniversary dinners in the wine cellar"

The wonderful thing about this part of our trip was that we were given the most outstanding Ranger Guide and Tracker Team in Warren & Trevor. They’re both incredibly well versed in the business and did such an AMAZING job for us. We were informed that since Rene and I had done so many safaris, they wanted to provide someone more knowledgeable in order to make it that much more special for us since we weren’t there to just see the Big 5 as so many people tend to be when it’s their first time.  Although we did see the Big 5, we also saw so much more, and Warren particularly really challenged us and we challenged him based on our previous experience. It was all really extra especially cool!

"Trevor and Warren, our tracker & ranger/guide, extraordinaire!"

"Our wonderful ranger/guide, Warren"

"Our fabulous tracker and bar tender, Trevor"

On our very first game drive upon arrival, we had the most phenomenal encounter with 2 male lions who were absolutely magnificent. One of the great things about our special guide/tracker combination of Warren & Trevor was that they didn’t rush things and enabled us to slow the pace and observe these 2 male lions interacting with each other.  It was such a special start to our safari experience at Sabi Sabi. These male lions were very intimate with each other and it was such a pleasure to watch them.  Following this, one of them headed off to drink water from a puddle nearby and this too was fabulous to watch. 

"Sweet friendship between 2 male lions"

"Male lion drinking"

Following this amazing experience, we had our first ‘sundowners’ in the bush with great tasting gin and tonics and yummy munchies as we watched the dramatic African sky. We then headed on home to have our first delicious meal back at the lodge but on the way, encountered elephants in the dark which is always a treat!

"Sundowners as storm approaches"

"Nightime encounter with elephants on our way back to the lodge"

The following morning, rising bright and early, we embarked on our next game drive and right off the bat, had both another elephant encounter and also got to see a lovely female rhino and her baby. Rhinos are so endangered still that park rangers actually remove their horns to save their lives. So sad that they have to do this but absolutely essential to preserve their lives. The good news too is that it’s painless for the animals just like having one's nails filed and they do grow back.

"Big elephant"

"Momma Rhino with her baby"

Of course, any time one is out on a game drive in Sabi Sabi, you’re constantly seeing animals including multiple different antelopes such as impala, kudus, and waterbucks, plus plenty of giraffe, zebra, and wildebeest, to name a few.

"Male kudu antelope"

"Giraffe and our wonderful tracker, Trevor"

"Lovely zebras"

In the morning during each of our game drives we would stop for a bush coffee, tea, or hot chocolate either plain or laced with Africa’s special Amarula or any other preferred liqueur along with various muffins and snacks. One NEVER goes hungry or thirsty on an African safari trip, that’s for sure! 😉

One other very special animal experience we had in Sabi Sabi with Warren & Trevor included a large herd of Cape Buffalo very early in the morning all huddled together and actually lying on top of each other as this is the way they stay safe overnight from predators such as the lions. And there were certainly lions in the area…

"Cape Buffalo sleeping on top of each other - early morning"

The other animal experience we had was with another large herd of elephant this time. I LOVE elephants as they are such special animals. They’re so family oriented and delightful to watch, especially the young ones. They’re so playful and adorable. I actually have been sponsoring rescued baby elephants in need in Kenya every year along with a baby rhino this past year.

Beautiful ellies at the watering hole"

"Herd of ellies"

"Baby ellie"

We also came across another family pride of lions that was also a lot of fun to watch for a longer period of time although they were pretty tired as the day was becoming warmer and they tend not to want to move too much at that time.

"Beautiful lion pride"

One other seriously cute young female leopard we came across was absolutely fascinating to watch since she had a little ‘toy’ to play with that made us all a little sad since it was a baby impala that had not quite been born.  The impala’s mom was caught by a larger male leopard so that the smaller female leopard ended up with this very tiny item to play with and she did, right in front of us. She had it in the tree, it fell out of the tree, she pounced on it and then brought it back up into the tree and continued with this game for quite some time as we watched on. She was just like a kitten with a toy. Absolutely amazing and with this you realize how much the ‘circle of life’ goes on every day in Africa.

"The playful female leopard in a tree with her 'toy'"

"The very pretty young female leopard"

On of our favorite sundowner experiences was when Warren and Trevor found us the perfect spot higher on some rocks overlooking the savannah plains. It was simply beautiful.  While our special favorite morning coffee spot was set high above the river gorge overlooking the bridge and access across to the official Kruger National Park entrance. This too was stunning.

"Our beautiful sundowner spot with a fabulous view"

"Our brave ranger/guide, Warren, checking to ensure our sundowner spot was safe"

Another completely new experience for us was the weather here including 2 crazy storms with both having some very strong wind, rain and tremendous light shows and one even included hail along with it. Fortunately, our amazing Guide & Tracker kept us safe through both storms enabling us to reach safety and actually end up dry and safe from both storms. It really was very special since Africa can produce some pretty amazing storms, by anyone’s standards.

"Yes, that's a lion by the vehicle and an approaching storm"

"Approaching storm at Earth Lodge"

"Amazing hail storm"

I almost forgot to mention our walking safari as well. Always an exhilarating experience in that you get that much closer to nature while also hoping you don’t startle a predator that may not be expecting you, nor you them. We’ve had that happen in the past with a young male leopard a number of years ago but this time we were just able to enjoy nature and had no encounters to worry us.

"Walking Safari with our faithful ranger/guide, Warren"

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed this first time ‘in the bush’ albeit in very luxurious lodging for the start of our Southern Africa adventure!  Stay tuned for part 3 of this wonderful trip next week.