We breakfast early, as the ship slides into her berth in the harbor. Our excursion groups gather in the lounge and await the arrival of the tour busses.
Our group is headed to the Amakhala Game Reserve. Anticipation is high.
We drive along the main highway east out of the city. In less than an hour we reach the entrance to the reserve, where we transfer into the waiting Land Cruisers. A short drive brings us to a lodge for a quick photo-stop and pee break. Then back into the offroad vehicles. Let the safari begin.
Our driver, Obud, quickly sets the tone. He finds a few lions taking a morning nap. We are off to a good start for our Big 5 hunt.
Daktari! We are off. We encounter animals frequently.
Most animals, according to Obud, know him, and do not shy away. We manage to catch many on film. (Is that phrase obsolete?) We did see a couple of meerkats running past that were too quick to photograph.
“Obud, we have not seen any elephants!”, cries out one in the back. “Be patient, my friend.”, he replies. He drives into a grove of trees, stops the engine, and we see and hear an elephant family having lunch. The cracking of branches sounds just like it does in films!
The elephant completes The Big 5 of our safari tour. Hurray!
“Obud, I am hungry. When are we having lunch?” cries out another. “Be patient, my friend.” We drive a bit further, pass through a gate and stop near some dusty trees. “Follow the path.” says Obud. It leads to a clearing where a full barbecue meal has been laid out. I drink a red wine. Eve has a gin and tonic. Very civilized.
Obud has given us a day to remember.
Ps. In the evening we watch the film, “A Dry White Season”, released in 1989. It depicts a series of brutal events from 1976 that lead up to the ending of Apartheid in South Africa. One visits South Africa today in the knowledge that history is still a work in progress in this country.
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