March 3rd/4th Ben, Amy, Helen and I all travelled to Lalibela, a game reserve 30 minutes drive from Grahamstown.
We arrived just before midday and were welcomed into reception with beers and gin and tonics. We were soon taken to our lodge area, a series of huts nestled into the side of a valley. The canvas huts were really nice. Ben and Amy certainly liked theirs, as did we as we got the one with the outdoor jacuzzi.
After a nice lunch with the two other couples staying in this lodge and an hour or so to settle in we were off on our first, evening game drive. We were soon observing animals of all kinds, Nyala, Impala, Hartebeest, Wildebeest, Ostriches, Warthogs, Zebra and many others. Our guide, Craig, was very knowledgeable, telling us about the animals and their different patterns of behaviour. He seemed more than willing to pick up dung when he could and show us the results of elephant, rhino and other digestion.
Soon we had the privilege of encountering a group of four rhinos, including one baby.
Our next thrill was a close encounter with a small herd / family unit of elephants. Craig was able to anticipate where they were heading and a couple of times placed us so they walked right past. It was a real close encounter.
Towards the end of the encounter the big bull (male) appeared towering over the rest of the elephants. This was his family and it was obvious.
Next we were treated to sundowners. At sea sunsets are very spiritual. This one was to be very emotional too.
As the sun set and drinks were poured I noticed that somewhere along the way my Nexus 4 had fallen out of my pocket. I was gutted. We had a quick look around the vehicle but it was obvious it had fallen out somewhere along the way. A quick check on Helen’s phone revealed my location services were switched off so there was no way to get nearby, call it and find it. Thinking John may have some ideas I tried to call my family but Helen still hadn’t set the numbers up on her phone.
During all this distraction, making the best of the privacy it gave them, Ben proposed to Amy. Sod the phone. Knowing this could be happening tonight (this is after all the second of the three announcements I’ve had stacked up) we had some bubbly lined up and we all celebrated. Even Craig joined in though he normally shouldn’t.
With the stars coming out (now unidentifiable as all my star identification apps were on my phone) we set off for the night section of our game drive.
And boy were we in for another treat. In the spotlight our guide discovered a lone, young lioness separated from her pride. She was sitting in the grass to the side of the track. We stopped to watch her sit there and take photos. Craig was certain the rest of the pride could be nearby but it wasn’t apparent where.
After a while our lost lioness got up and apparently started looking for her lost family. We followed at a distance. She clearly looked a little uncomfortable with her situation, stopping from time to time, looking around, listening, smelling. Craig expertly followed the lioness over rough ground.
Finally, we could hear her calling and shortly after her sister and mother came bounding over to greet her like long lost friends. The cats showed such apparent affection for each other, rubbing against each other, bonding again. It was quite a joy to behold.
Soon, all three were up with the male lion fawning over each other. Sheer delight.
By now it was getting quite cold and we were glad to be heading back to the lodge where a wood fire was burning and waiting for us in the common area. Soon we were having a delicious meal and abundant drinks, all free except for the big up front bill.
Earlier in the day we’d offered Ben and Amy the use of our jacuzzi. I had suggested they use it on their own and Helen had suggested we all use it together. Now that we were one family (in the making) I was more than happy to further cement the growing bonds between ourselves in this manner.
It took until after midnight before we were all in bed. This was quite all right except for the fact we had a 5am wake up call for the beginning of the next days activities.
By 5:30am (this morning) we were eating our first breakfast in readiness for our next jaunt into the reserve.
Wrapped in layers of warm clothes and blankets we were off shortly after 6am. We had some more thrills not experienced the previous day. We encountered quite a few giraffe which Amy was particularly hoping to see. We encountered the same elephants as the previous evening in a different area of the park. The highlight was an encounter with a rare to be seen cheetah. All in the pictures to follow. The last of the big animals we encountered were a group if hippos wallowing in the water of a dam. Our final treat on the way back to the lodge was a quick tasting session. Termites. They tasted minty.
Back at the lodge we had a very tasty second, cooked breakfast of which I think we all had two helpings.
After dinner we a short time to relax before packing our bags and leaving. The ride back to the game reserve entrance was in of itself a thrill as we were blasted by the warming air taking the last chill from our bones from the morning excursion.
We’ve been to game drives before and seen a lot less, been a lot wetter and a lot colder out of the sun. This last 24 hour experience will stay firm in our memories. The experience with the animals was beyond any expectation. Acquiring a new daughter-in-law-to-be simply out of this world. Helen and I are both very fond of Amy, she appears very much to be Ben’s soul mate with many common interests. They are both after are own hearts with a love of travel and adventure – roughing when they have to or perhaps simply can.
Then there was the little matter with my phone. It’s a lesson learned for sure. Helen’s phone, used largely to play cards and obviously not to call anyone, has now been reprofiled to me and all by web data resynchronised. She’ll get our cheapo phone for until we return to the UK a month from now. She’s not too miffed. I didn’t let the experience get in the way of the bigger events of last night. It simply wasn’t that important.