Safari, safari, safari!

September 2012 & November 2012

6am alarm - up & off, kids in tow - sleepy eyed & just (for once) doing what they are told! In car, Sat Nav set, off we go - our first family safari! How excited…. am I?!?!?

Head up towards Pretoria, past the horrid mines, then once past Dullstroom the real Africa started to present itself to us. Kruger here we come! 

These are trips we did a couple of months ago - have no idea why I haven't posted these (see Time Flies!)! I am now a safari addict & my not so long suffering family come along for the ride - though I do think they enjoy it really! We have been wanting to do a safari with the children for just years - I think initially we spotted that Kuoni did "Kiddie Safaris" and thought 5 & 7 years might be a good age! Money & life got in the way so now we are here we are up & at 'em! Sheer coincidence that Squeeze is 12 & many of the Lodges & Bushcamps only take children from the age of 12 - funny that! 

Naledi was incredible - found it on good old trip advisor! Over a 2 night, 4 game drive stay we saw a lot - Big 3.5 (2 sightings of leopard, one with a kill up a tree!) . I only gave the rhino a 0.5 as it was dusk & we didn't catch it on film & we missed those hard to spot ELEPHANTS!! 

First safari was at a Bushcamp in northern Kruger, near the Olifants river. I'm very sorry but I'm not going to tell you where because it was so fabulous that I want to keep it a secret! Oh OK - Naledi & Enkoveni Lodges in the Balule region of Kruger. It is actually a private reserve just on the outskirts but as it is an open system you are likely to see any of the Kruger game. We loved it - even the 5 am knock on the door. 

The scenery at Kruger is also stunning - even if you don't see game, which is wildly disappointing, but try to enjoy the air, views & just being in the Great Outdoors!

Safari 2 didn't really set out to be a major safari - but oh boy was it! 3 of us set out to Hazyview (Long Boy was in Argentina for a Spanish school trip) - same direction past mines etc. We were meant to be sightseeing - God's Window, Panoramic Route etc, which indeed we did, but upon discovering we were just 10 minutes drive from Phabeni Gate into Kruger we were off. Having arrived at The Rissington Inn, we turned the car around ( with a lovely packed lunch quickly produced by Chris) & headed off. Just in that afternoon (2-6pm), we saw loads! 

Self drive is a little tougher, but perhaps a little more exciting. Left or right! It's a gamble….. Big 5 all the way & elephants like you wouldn't believe! Sitting in our white Fortuner with ellies fore & aft - about 70 of them…… incredible. Diving yourself allows you the freedom to take your time, make your own choices but of course you are without the guide & knowledge of the drivers & trackers. 

I think we were spoilt on this trip - we have sonce been to Madikwe (near Botswana) and I must admit - the self drive beats it all. Yet to see a kill & mating but we have more time yet! Poor kids…….!!

And of course, don't forget that scenery!

Christmas in the sunshine!

A long time ago - well April 18th to be exact - I booked some flights to somewhere hot & exotic sounding in the hope that going away from Jozi would make us less homesick at that happy/sad time of Christmas. Being Welsh we usually go a little OTT at Christmas - the most memorable was a Caswell Bay break with 22 of us & a lot of booze, dancing around the house to "Is This The Way To Amarillo?" with my sister on the spoons!! You get the picture! 

So - would Zanzibar deliver? Oh yes indeedy - almost! After a rather stressy mix up over flights with Precision Air (far too long & boring to go into here!), we arrived on December 14th in time for cocktails in the pool. As we had not really looked at where Zanzibar is, it was HOT!! Very hot - Day 2 was spent in the shade, asleep or drinking water - after Eloise had fainted (heatstroke) & I looked as if my botox implants in my eyes & lips had gone very. very wrong! 

We soon got into the swing of things - easy really because there was no swing. There was nothing to do! Just nothing - other than play cards, swim, sleep & read! We became experts at doing nothing - even lifting the Kindle was far too much at times! The beach was working community & also an informal road - with Vespas & bikes up & down. The women farmed seaweed & men fished. Just wonderful to watch them use the local produce - perhaps Victoria Beckham's face cream started off here!

The first week we just all chilled, watched films, siestad, chatted & recharged those batteries that desperately needed recharging! The second week we were a bit more lively & visited Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is charming & smelly in equal parts! 

One of our highlights (in fact one of the highlights of certainly my life) was swimming with dolphins - wild, free & please themselves dolphins who could have swum away merrily at first site of me in a swimming costume. But no, the 6 of them stayed around, playing & mating, whilst we snorkelled above them - at times they were as close as 2 metres. Not at all bothered. Amazing! 

We saw the dolphins on Christmas Eve & then returned to a beautifully decorated restaurant & a splendid 4 course meal.

We managed to Skype the Welshies (screams & tears all round) & in fact the homesickness wasn't too bad - we certainly didn't want to be in rainy Britain, I think we would have liked to bring some of the rellies over to us! But it was definitely better than I had expected. Stockings in our bed (the norm) on Christmas morning, then pancakes for brekkie - made by someone else & then chilling again! FC had bought Ollie the complete set of Fawlty Towers, which proved a huge success with everyone! 

 Christmas evening was spent on a sunset cruise which was stunning - followed up by supper on the beach! Just perfect! 

Definitely one to remember & sheer luxury - none of the stress of Christmas other than my dream that I had forgotten to book my Tesco delivery slot!!