SAFARI BOUND
A family wedding in Cape Town set adventurous plans in motion
My trip to Africa started when my niece Melissa decided to get married just outside Cape Town, South Africa, in February of this year. I never in my life thought that I would go to such an exotic and exciting place.
The magic started when some of my family and I made it to our lodge outside Victoria Falls. It was rustic and made you really feel like you were in Africa. Our rooms overlooked a nearby watering hole, and there was not another building in sight as far as the eye could see.
Within a few minutes of us standing on our deck, we saw our first elephant. It seemed like when one animal would appear, drink and then move on, something else would show up. We were so awestruck! You could see the giraes coming from
a long way o; their heads were usually above the trees in this area. Water bualo, elephants, baboons, impalas, kudus, zebras and just about every other animal you could think of came by at some point during our four-day stay here. The only animals not in the immediate area were the big cats.
I feel lucky to have walked along the edge of Victoria Falls, which is so amazingly beautiful. There was so much spray coming from the falls that we got pretty soaked, even with rain gear on. It was extremely hot, however, so it was all good.
Our next stop was Cape Town, which is a stunning city on the ocean with Table Mountain as a backdrop. We toured the area and overlooked it from the mountain top. We also spent a few days in the vineyards of South Africa, meeting new people
from around the world who attended my niece’s wedding.
Our final destination was going on safari in Kruger National Park. We were in for a serious family-bonding experience. Flying in to a small airport near the park, we were surprised to see baboons and warthogs on the runway. After a successful landing, we were picked up and driven about an hour to our destination. We saw a few elephants and zebras along the way, and were greeted by smiling sta when we disembarked from the safari vehicle. Our first animal encounter in the park was a herd of elephants walking toward our camp, making their way along the dry riverbank in which our lodge was situated. They came by on a few occasions, and sometimes stopped by for a drink right out of our pool. One time, my brotherin-law Fred had to make a quick exit from the pool when the elephants arrived!
We went out on safari for a few hours every evening at around 4:00 p.m. , and every morning at 5:30 a.m. or so. It was usually around 35°C and neither the animals nor we moved around very much during the full heat of the day. During our first evening safari, we encountered a lion roaring loudly at the side of the road and we were told by our guide that he was most likely calling to his brother and sister—i could feel the vibrations of his roar in my chest.
Our next three days were filled with thrilling encounters with leopards, several dierent lion prides with plenty of cubs, water bualo, rhinos, giraes, hippos and a variety of other species. One particularly exciting sighting was a white lion cub; according to our guides, this cub was one of only two known to have been born in the wild anywhere in the world.
Every night we were escorted to our tent by an armed guard for our safety, but I only felt afraid on a couple of occasions. One was when we were on the Chobe River in Botswana and we had a very close encounter with a hippo—even our boat’s captain looked a little freaked out. Another time, while on safari, we were charged by two elephants and later witnessed a dead bualo being ravaged by numerous hyenas.
All things considered, I would go back in a heartbeat! n