17th – Kitties!

As planned we were woken up at 0500 for a quick snack and tea/coffee/juice before departing on our morning drive half an hour later, slightly delayed. When waking up I thought I heard if still raining like last night but luckily most of the noise turned out to be coming from the ceiling fan. We were still suffering from a slight drizzle, though, but despite it at times turned into real rain it was nothing compared to what we had last night.

Wrapped up in our ponchos and trying to shield my camera equipment by covering it by a corner of the poncho (without being as panicky as yesterday) we were off to find more animals to spot.

Unfortunately, there was not much spectacular to see until we raced along – and kept racing – until we stopped and were told to dismount the car and follow the guide in a single file. After a short 100m walk we – 1 carload at a time – were standing not 5 meters from Kwesi, a cheetah female, with her three cubs. Our presence did not bother them, mainly because we did not smell like feline and we were too big to be edible. She had also been in contact with humans when a cub as part of the cheetah preservation we had been told about yesterday, so that probably also helped on their relaxed state. The purring that was going on in the small group was nothing short of impressive.

Jackal.

Grey go-away-bird.

Lappet-faced vulture.

Cheetah.

When returning to the lodge around 0900 we had breakfast and nothing planned until lunch at 1300 and high tea at 1530 followed by our afternoon/evening drive. Some people just relaxed, some booked spots at the spa and I and a few others spent time in the bird hide overlooking a nearby river. There was only a limited amount of birds (primarily small) and not much else. One could have hoped for hippos or crocodiles (or cats!) but that was not to be. We were graced by the short visit of two female waterbucks, though, but the impressiveness of that was pretty limited.

No luxury at all. Where is the AC??

Wire-tailed swallows.

Blacksmith plover.

Dung beetle.

The afternoon drive was done in dry weather; the rain had stopped and even the blue sky popped its head out occasionally among the otherwise still quite dense clouds. Once again there wasn’t much until we raced across the reserve to see a mal rhine (with an attitude) and having our snack break at a small lake where we saw a group of hippos interacting with each other and some even (play-) fighting. That brought me great joy as I haven’t really seen any of that before.

Adolf showing how big a termite mound can get.

Grumpy rhino.

Black-chested snake eagle.

Rhinos.

Lesser masked weaver.

Darkness came quickly and around 1900 we returned to the lodge where we had dinner half an hour later. Another group arrived; until now we have been the only 15 people here which has been feeling a bit weird considering the fairly large capacity of the lodge.

Sunset.

Tomorrow we will have one last drive in the morning like today but trying to focus more on the southern end of the reserve. The goal is to find elephants but all I can say is “what about the leopards??”.

16th – Wet cats

Today we were relocated from Muluwa to Chisomo Safari Lodge at Karongwe Private Game Reserve. As we weren’t supposed to be there until lunch and the drive was only 3-ish hours it gave us a late start in the morning. Our bags were picked up from our tents at 0800 and after breakfast we left, slightly delayed.

The drive was uneventful and arriving at our new lodge we were welcomed with a small drink and a moist hot towel before being handed our keys. It must be coincidence but the lodge in Johannesburg gave me room 6, Muluwa lodge had me in tent 6 and here I have tent C… 6.

Uuhmm... Excuse me? I believe there is an elephant in my tent...

Lunch was had and at 1445 we had tea and biscuits with a presentation of a wildlife preservation group with a focus on what they did for the cheetah population in sub-Saharan Africa.

An hour later we were off on the first of our 4 game drives here. We had a driver/guide (obviously…) and a tracker sitting on a small seat on the front of the bonnet. I have no idea how he managed to hold onto that small seat when driving, but my guess is dark magic. It was raining and being in a completely open vehicle (i.e. like the ones in Kruger, but without a roof) we were completely exposed so ponchos were handed out. While driving around we had an amazing view of constant lightning but despite struggling with the increasing amounts of rain we still got to see a group of female lions drinking at a small lake and a male hiding underneath a bush, not handling the thunder and lightning very well. At this point the weather had gotten so bad that our driver raced us to cover – the drive took 10-15 minutes and it was a struggle holding on, shielding the cameras from the rain and still seeing anything at all with the rain pounding into our faces.

Lionesses.

Male lion not too happy about the current weather situation.

Being in cover we had a short break with drinks and snacks that had been brought along and soon after the rain stopped, we wrapped everything up and got our fully soaked selves back up onto the fully soaked seats and continued on.

Unfortunately we didn’t really see anything on second leg of this drive and around 1900 we returned to our lodge. We got ourselves into dry clothes (and most of us had a nice hot shower) before coming back for dinner.

Sunset on the drive.

Tomorrow we’ll get up at 0500 and leave on a morning drive half an hour later for app. 3 hours before returning for breakfast. After that we’ll have relaxation time before tea at 1500 and an afternoon drive like today until around 1900. While some seem to be planning on spending time in the pool or spa (!) during the downtime I expect to sit in the bird blind by the nearby lake and see if anything interesting will come by.

15th – Kruger

The alarm went off at 0415 and half an hour later people were gathering in the common area for a quick morning drink before heading to Kruger where we arrived a bit past 0600. Here we split the group into two separate vehicles in which we drove around in the park until we were picked up at around 1600 to return to the lodge. The vehicles were open in the sides, i.e. apart from a room there were nothing shielding us from the outside. Apart from breakfast around 0930-1000 and lunch around 1300-1400 we drove around and looked for wildlife without stopping for breaks.

Zebras.

European roller securing its breakfast.

Saddle-billed stork.

Impalas having a drink.

Southern yellow-billed hornbill.

Lilac-breasted roller.

African grey hornbill.

There was a lot more thick growth than what I am used to from Maasai Mara and Serengeti (they did recently have a very wet week, though) so the visibility was low and therefore chances for seeing wildlife even at great distances were pretty much non-existent.

Blue-cheeked bee-eater.

Buffalo.

African fish-eagle.

Rhino!

Giraffe. Notice its one broken horn and the ox-peckers on its front right leg.

Southern ground-hornbill.

Red-backed shrike.

But one animal did make the experience fairly mindblowing; we saw 2 rhinos at two separate occasions (the other car apparently saw 4-5!) – already more sightings than I usually get on safaris, and this was just the first day! We also saw lions (though from a distance partly hidden). Buffalo, several elephants, a lot of birds that at times did get quite close, baboons, giraffe, a snake, monitor lizard, crocodiles, hippos and obviously multiple antelopes of different species. We did not get to see a leopard, but neither did anyone else; we were told by the day’s guide when saying goodbye that no such sightings had been announced over the radio. No cheetahs, either, but that didn’t surprise me due to the lack of open areas.

Small elephant.

Fork-tailed drongo.

Woodland kingfisher.

Tawny eagle.

Egyptian geese.

Another rhino.

As predicted it did get quite hot today – up to mid-40s. But because the vehicle was covered and open on all sides it meant that we were getting a constant breeze when driving which made the weather very tolerable. But when stopping for meals and stepping out it was obvious how hot it actually was.

Not so small elephant.

South African tree squirrel.

Baboon.

Coming back to the lodge a bit past 1700 we had time off before dinner a few hours later; BBQ with chicken and wildebeest. The latter was just like beef that wasn’t quite as tender as one might have liked, but otherwise very tender.

Sunset at the lodge.

We have a late start tomorrow – breakfast at 0800, departure at 0900. Lunch will be had at the next lodge we’re staying at, followed by a conservatory lecture (primarily on cheetahs) around 1500 before an afternoon drive in open vehicles. If the success rate is as high as today it will be very promising. Let’s see.

14th – Horny fellas

We departed as planned at 0630 to go to the lodge near Kruger. Instead of taking the direct route there we did a few detours on the way to see a few points of interest.

After two hours of driving (sleeping) we had our first pit stop with an added bonus. We had been given breakfast packs back at the place we stayed at so this first break was mainly a snack/pee break. Our guide pointed out that if we were lucky we would have a chance of seeing rhinos during the break. Pff – yeah right. But the view made run back to the bus and grab my camera; in the distance there were 5-7 rhinos and one of them being very young. It felt a bit like cheating; they were fenced in and actively protected by the people running the café/shop there. And their horns had also been removed to make them less desirable to poachers. But rhinos, the least common of the Big 5, had been bagged. On the first day – even before reaching any NP. That must be a first.

Rhinos!

From there we continued, stopping by the 3 sisters and Blyde River canyon on the panorama route for some nice views before lunch at around 1430 and reaching Muluwa Lodge at 1730-ish. Reaching the area at the lodge we quickly spotted impalas, zebras (one adult with its young and a young giraffe roaming the premises so quite a few sights were had when arriving and while having a walk around before dinner.

The 3 sisters.

Sekukhune flat lizard.

Blyde River Canyon.

We are staying in tents (and I am still by myself – yay!) but I don’t think we agree on the definition of “tent”; a locked door to get in, a beautiful bathroom (“no bathtub, unfortunately just a shower” we were warned on arrival), minibar, safe, amazing bed and AC! This is not a tent – this is a hotel room with a bit of tarp showing.

This doesn't feel like a normal tent.

THIS IS NOT A TENT!

Tomorrow we will be doing a full day of game driving in Kruger. This is what I came here for and I’m excited but with the rhinos already sighted the bar has been set very high from the beginning. We will be leaving early at 0500, an hour’s drive to the park where we will be split into 2 separate vehicles which we will roam the park in. The plan is to return to the lodge late afternoon.

We have also been informed of the weather forecast; up to 41°C in the park. In open vehicles shaded from the sun this will be great. It will be hard to return home to the Danish spring weather.

12th – 13th of March – Departure and arrival

A quick note; when touring Johannesburg I didn't bring my camera bag so I only had my phone camera. I apologize for the serious lack of quality/clarity in the photos.

My flight out of Copenhagen was at 1420 and as usual I arrive in good time. That turned out not being necessary, though, as there was barely any wait to turn in my bags (I had already checked in) and no wait at security. Bought some currency, had lunch and departed on time.

Boarding the top floor of an A380 in Copenhagen!

The A380 taking us to Dubai is special as half of the upper floor has been filled with economy seats (as opposed to probably any other A380 that fills the upper floor with business and first class). Though pre-booking one of the seats on the upper floor was more expensive than those below the cabin was smaller (2-4-2 as opposed to the below 3-4-3), not so long and barely half filled which made it a nice and quiet ride. I even had 2 seats by myself!

I had 4 hours in Dubai which I spent on walking around and having a very disappointing tapas dinner (though the dessert was great!) before boarding the next leg of the trip. What is it with people and their unwillingness to think? They announced first/business class to be first to board. They then called group D & E and 4/5ths of those queuing were turned away as they were group A/B/C. Listen to instructions. Read your boarding card. You are not a special snowflake. Rules also apply to you. Are you ignorant or just don’t care? I don’t know what would be worse. I lined up when group B & C was called and still people were turned away.

I boarded, found my seat and found that there was a free spot between me and my neighbour. Nice! We departed and arrived on time and despite watching a few movies I managed to get a bit of sleep. This plane was obviously much older than the A380 so I never felt as comfortable as on the first part of the trip.

I was picked up and checked in at the lodge at around 1130. Here I was given the offer to, together with an Irish couple that had arrived shortly before me, meet up with the rest of the arrive group and do a tour of Soweto. We all accepted and returned to the airport, met up with 5 others and our guide and spent the afternoon touring Soweto and various interesting spots in Johannesburg until returning to the lodge at around 1700.

I’ll be honest and admit that I always thought that Soweto (“South West [of Johannesburg] Township”) was primarily poor/slum area but what we saw indicated that it was just a suburb like any other with an estimated population of app. 3-4 million. While there are poor parts with squatters the middle class is by far the most represented there. Crossing through the centre of Johannesburg on the way to Soweto it at times looked more run down than what we saw in Soweto.

We saw the freedom charter with the 10 chapters, a memorial for Hector Peterson, the boy who was the first casualty during the unrest (and it wasn’t even intentional but a stray bullet) and “the world’s most famous street” where both Mandela and Desmond Tutu had lived at the same time (and the only street in the world with 2 recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize). All the time our guide was talking about anything we were passing by barely taking a break and I don’t think I remember but a fraction of it all. It was a bit heavy after 6 & 8 hours sitting on a plane.

Statues representing the 10 chapters (one behind me); The People Shall Govern!; All National Groups Shall Have Equal Rights!; The People Shall Share In The Country's Wealth!; The Land Shall Be Shared Among Those Who Work It!; All Shall Be Equal Before The Law!; All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights!; There Shall Be Work And Security!; The Doors Of Learning And Of Culture Shall Be Opened!; There Shall Be Houses, Security And Comfort!; There Shall Be Peace And Friendship!

Memorial for Hector Peterson (the year is 1992). The photo in the background is a photo of his mother carrying his body after being shot.

Nelson Mandela's house.

Plaque on Tutu's former house.

Apparently the most famous street in the world.

At 1800 we met for the usual introductory meeting where we all got to meet and introduce ourselves to the rest of the group and get info on the following days’ plans. The dinner was delicious South African BBQ and soon thereafter people left and went back to their rooms to be ready for tomorrow’s early departure at around 0630.

We are 15 in the group and I am lucky enough to have my own room. There is a daughter/teenager, an Irish couple a bit younger than me and the rest seem to be or be close to retiring. The average age of the group is much higher than I have expected. Also, 10 people are from the US which is surprisingly more people than I am used to, too. I guess that happens when you go on a National Geographic tour with a high level of comfort compared to the average tour. Also, 2 from Ireland, 2 from the Canada and me from Denmark.

A potentially glowing trip

While my main goal for my trips have been to either climb, trek or go on safaris I have had a few other things in mind that differed from the norm in one way or another. This upcoming trip is one of those out-of-the-ordinary trips which I have been considering for a few years and which I have now booked. Fortunately I have 5 days off in a row around Easter and as the goal of the trip is only days long the timing is perfect.

29^th of March

Flight from Copenhagen (via Riga) in the morning and arriving mid-afternoon in Kiev, Ukraine.

30^th – 31^st

Getting picked up early in the morning at the central railroad station, luckily close to the hotel. From there, we (the group) go on a 2-day tour in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. I’m really excited about getting to see the large area and how nature has taken over the towns and the weird feel there is in the desolate area. It is definitely going to be a unique experience.

1^st of April

I have a few hours in Kiev before I have to get myself back to the airport and fly home – again over Riga.

Anyways, not a normal trip for me but very interesting. And worst case, if the tour ends up being disappointing, I am crossing my fingers that I at least will return home glowing so I can have that as a souvenir. 

Surprise weekend trip

Towards the end of January I received a mail from SAS informing me that my bonus points would expire March the 31st if I didn't spend them before then. I didn't think much of it, mostly because I didn’t really have enough for me to worry about that. Until I remembered that I a few days earlier had received another mail from them informing me that they had lowered the prices on certain destinations and travel dates. 

So I had a look – because why not?

I ended up finding two destinations, and I hadn't visited any of them before, either. And while I hadn't really considered visiting with free flight tickets that could easily change. I first looked into going to Helsinki but realized that staying at a hotel remotely close to the center got really pricey. So I chose option two instead. Long live Danish holidays in the spring letting you go for three days without having to take extra time off...

27^th – 29^th of April

Visiting Tallinn, capital of Estonia. Nothing much else to say. I found a nice-looking hotel in the old part of town for very little so that’s a plus. And then I’ll just spend the extended weekend on walking around and enjoying the beautiful old city.

And as a bonus I even had enough bonus points with SAS that I was able to fly economy plus instead of just economy. I’m not complaining.