The most anticipated portion of this cruise for me was our Safari in Kruger National Park.
"Singita" means place of miracles. If you are looking for pure luxury, in a world-class ecological environment where the lodge philosophy is ' to be one with nature, to learn, and to touch the earth lightly' here is where it is found.
When we docked in Durban, South Africa we were immediately whisked to the airport. We flew to Johannesburg, were then bussed to a private airport where we boarded a beach craft 9000 twin turbo, made two stops, transferred (2 hours) to a pilatus single engine prop jet (50 minutes) and within 15 minutes landed at our final destination, Singita Lebombo Lodge located in the N'wanetsi concession in the far eastern reaches of Kruger National Park. This area borders Mozambique. This is a private area on loan for the use of our lodge only. Here you find the "Big 5" which includes a unique group of lions known as ' mountain pride'. Talk about 'special'. We were greeted by our rangers with snacks and fresh squeezed juice and a an open top customized safari land rover. If you think you have to wait to go on a drive to see amazing animals in the 'wild' banish that thought immediately. On the way to our lodge we encountered zebras, elephants, giraffes, impalas and water buffalo .... The ride to the lodge took longer then expected because we had to keep stopping to take pictures or wait for a herd of animals to cross the road. Upon arriving at the lodge we felt we saw everything and going on a 'real' safari was no longer necessary !
Our rooms were modern with floor to ceiling glass walls overlooking a river in the South African bush veld (I learned a new word!) We had an indoor shower, and outdoor shower, a bathtub, a bed inside and a bed outside on the balcony so we could sleep under the stars. All turn downs included mosquito netting. When you sat on the john, you looked into both glass showers (the indoor and the outdoor) then out to the vast expanse of the wilderness with a glass wall to your right. No books in the bathroom needed here! ..:) The frig was filled with complimentary drinks and snacks. Not a thing was overlooked or forgotten. We arrived too late for lunch so after some prepared 'snacks' we all hurried to to meet up with our rangers and trackers for our first safari in the wild. Although it should be noted we already were 'in the wild' as there are no fences here. We were told to always ask for a guide while walking to our rooms, as you just never know what might greet you as you walked the pathway back to your room.
The safari's were wonderful. All expectations were met and exceeded. Every time we got into the land rovers, I never wanted the experience to end. It was cooler then I expected and with an open air vehicle there was always a breeze. Animals were easily sited along the pathways. There was a tracker perched in front of the driver watching the road and looking at the grass to see who was around. Rangers in the parks talked to each other on radios as sightings were discovered. Tracking on the path was called "reading The Newspaper" and I mistakenly thought it was printed daily in the paper ....that got a laugh.... Actually I knew that animals moved and by the time you read it in the morning they would have moved on. I am not that dumb. On the last day, I am getting ahead here, but it is my blog, we got a radio call and the tracker got off the front of the land rover, put the sides up on the vehicle, and the ranger put his loaded gun on his lap as the tracker came inside to sit next to me. I figured something was up. Much like I knew about the Newspaper ... The ranger would not tell me anything. We went off the road, tracking as we went, over some rough area and patches, through the branches and bush and came upon 5 male lions..... three asleep. Their bellies were full from a kill. The biggest lion just looked at us for a while then kerplunk ..... his head fell fully down with a thud ....sprawled flat - and he went to sleep. So cute. I was happy they had full bellies. The rangers explained that in the vehicle we were not a threat because they saw us as something foreign, non threatening and as one unit. If we were walking, outside of the land rover, that would be another story.
We were able to go on 4 safaris in total, both early morning at dawn and at night before and after sundown. The safaris lasted 3-4 hours with comfortable seating for all, in rows of 2. We traveled with another couple and our guide and tracker. It was bumby and exhilarating. The sunsets and sunrises were stunning. It was like every picture you have seen. We saw rhinos, elephants, giraffes, hyena (spotted at night), impalas, African buffalo, wildebeest, warthog, crocks, all kinds of birds, an Eagle owl (largest owl in the world), antelopes, a black sable antelope (very rare), genet ( spotted at night) , lions, hippos ... "oh my!" is how you end this sentence. http://www.krugerpark.com/allanimals.aspx Singita at Lebombo is part of Relais & Chateaux so you know the food was excellent. They were always feeding us and drinks were handed out freely. On the second night I slept outside on the balcony under the stars. I learned birds never slept...... yapping and squaking all night long and the hippos loved to grunt way before dawn. Some birds are nocternal, I was told. Magical. Memorable. Exciting. Not just a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I hope.
http://simonandbaker.com/singita_lebombo.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmPssbrhMSA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9734Uy5Xnpo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35-MOoByAbg&feature=related
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