Honeymoon - Welcome to Tolly.ws

South African Honeymoon
Dates: 29 May – 8 June 2006
Currency: Rand (RND)
Exchange Rate: ~6.3 RND to 1 USD
First Night
SUN Intercontinental Hotel – JHB Airport
Early start! We were up by 7 AM to get ourselves back to the JHB airport to meet our
shuttle bus for a ride to Federal Air for our flight to
Leopard Hills. We started in a pressurized air craft, seating
a maximum of about 35 passengers. We landed at Skakuza (a
much larger airport in Hazyview) to be transferred to a
much smaller 4 seater plane for our final destination,
Leopard Hills. As we circled for our landing in Skakuza,
Deirdre saw a giraffe and an elephant… . Just a glimpse of
what was to come! As we touched down, the runway was
littered with baboons, hanging to the side of the runway. Once we passed and circled in to
our ‘parking spot’ looking back at the runway, it was covered with probably 50 or so
baboons! The woman at Federal Air warned us of delays due to animals on the run way! J
As we and another couple board the 4 seater for Leopard
Hills, the pilot, Warren, offers someone to sit up front with
him. I missed the other guy to the punch… .. oh well, maybe
next time! I have to say, sitting in row two, I could still tap
Warren on the shoulder if I needed to!
As we take off, Warren informs us that our flight time will
be about 10 minutes and we will be cruising at a 1,000 feet!
Perfect for spotting large game like Elephants and Giraffes!
He was right! I saw a heard of maybe 20 elephants our the
left side of the plane and Deirdre saw some out the right
side as well! Good thing there is little traffic in the air around here, Warren spent more
time looking out the window to the left and DOWN looking for game than he did watching
where the heck he was flying! J
Landing at Leopard Hills was a bit different this time… . They actually have a small, poorly
paved runway! Too bad, the grass air strip sure was a treat! As the plane taxied to a stop,
we were met by Rudi, our ranger and guide for the next 4 days!
NO T !
Leopard Hills
Rudi greeted us, took our bags, helped us in the awesome r u d i
looking custom range rover and informed us it was a 5
minute ride back to camp. As we pulled up to the lodge, we
r u d i
were met with a couple of drinks, a warm towel, and a
bunch of smiling faces. Betsi, our guest services
coordinator, Duncan and his wife (the camps director).
After signing our life (and rights) away, we were handed our key to the honeymoon suite,
suite 8! As we entered our room, the calming smell of lilac filled the room. The room was
just as I had remembered it, though this time a little more magical!
As we looked around the room, we stepped out on the deck. It was about 69 degrees,
though a little cool in the shade. The views were breath taking.
Looking down, just beneath our deck, we saw about 4 Bushbucks.
Deirdre decided she wanted to freshen up and take a shower. As she was showering I was
looking around the room, fascinated by the construction. As I peered into the area above
the bath area, that is when I noticed our first visitor. Without trying to call any attention to
what my eyes had just affixed on, I gingerly usher Deirdre along with her shower and
getting ready. I tell her I am anxious to take a walk around the camp, maybe head down to
the library, then grab a bite to eat. She is up for anything, as soon as she is done getting
ready. She sees me looking up again at the ceiling, and asks, what am I looking at. I tell her
that I am just looking at the construction of the place, as my eyes walk all around the hut.
After another 10 minutes, she tells me she is ready to go. I say great! Then I spin her
around, and tell her now that she is ready to go, I can point out to her what I was
looking at the entire time. I draw her attention to the ceiling in the bathroom and point out
to her the our first visitor… . A free tailed BAT!
Day 1 – afternoon drive
Those on the drive:
Rudi, our ranger
June, our tracker
Carmen, who used to work at Leopard Hills
Another ranger on holiday from the sister lodge to the west, Medekwe Hills
Sightings:
•
Blue Wildebeest (this is a rarity! Rudi says that the last time I was there I probably
did not see any as they just recently started a program trying to re-introduce them
into the area!)
•
Warthog (an even toed ungulates)
•
Black Backed Jackal (London’s calling!!! – Ok, nature is calling!)
•
Leopards (notice the beautiful rosette markings)
•
Lions (female and male)
The male lions were on the move, marking their territory… . one was so close, that he
marked June’s shoe!!!! Yuck!
•
Impala (When EF Hutton speaks… they listen!!)
•
Vervet monkeys
Bushbuck
Day 2 – morning drive
Those on the drive:
Rudi, our ranger
June, our tracker
Carmen, who used to work at Leopard Hills
Another ranger on holiday from the sister lodge to the west, Medekwe Hills
Much to Deirdre’s unhappiness, the knock on the door from security came at 5:30 AM, just as
promised! The mornings were, as promised, cold! It is hard to imagine that Africa gets cold,
but I think it was about 1 degree Celsius at the start of the morning drive each morning!
Good thing we had our thermals with us! What was also nice was the lodge provides warm
blankets, hot water bottles and fleece lined ponchos!
As we were having our morning coffee and biscuits before heading out on the drive, you
could hear the calls of the lions and leopards. This would top Rudi’s list of things to look
for on our drive!
•
Houston, we have a leopard sighting!!! (And it looks like someone got out of the
wrong side of the bed this morning!
Are we seeing double???
… .Wait… ..
Triple???? What’s going on here?!?!?!
•
White Rhinos
Hey guys!!!
Where are you going?
Was it something we said?!
Don’t leave us here!!!!
•
Crocodile
Muffins? Did someone say muffins?
Wait, muffins
AND
Now this is living!!!
•
Nayla
hot chocolate???
•
Dwarf mongoose
•
Buffalo (one with one eye!)
Sitting on our deck, looking down at the watering hole we see probably 30 or so impalas
and 2 Bushbucks. (There tell tale marking is the
toilet seat around their butts!)
While taking a shower in our out door shower, we
see in the tree maybe 10 yards away, a vervet
monkey. He is quite interested in us (not just ‘cause
we are naked I am sure!).
I sit in one of our lounge chairs and I look over
and there in the tree AT our shower, is the monkey
looking at me! I call Deirdre outside and she heads
back in to get the video camera, he loses interest in us and is on our roof and over… . And
then gone!
Deirdre waiting for a little lunch… …
Day 2 – evening drive
Those on the drive:
Rudi, our ranger
June, our tracker
Paul and Jane, Owner of a Pound shop chain in the UK and his wife
Terry and Jane, He is in real estate and his wife
Before the drive from the deck we saw buffalo and a lone rhino
• Elephants
They come in all sizes!!! Small, Medium, Large and JUMBO!!!
•
Lions
•
Giraffes
•
Hyena / Blue Wildebeest / Hippopotamus
•
Impala
•
Termite mounds
Little know fact… . The grass and vegetation right
around the termite mounds are rich in nutrients and
are favorite grazing grounds! It was a common site
to see the areas on and around the termite mounds
void of grass. It almost looked liked the aliens
had landed and made crop circles in the bush!
Dinner in the Boma
Deirdre says, “You drag me 10,000 miles to have a picnic
in the middle of the winter?? I like it!”
It was actually a nice setting! Deirdre got to try (and
like) crocodile and ostrich! They even had a local choir
come in and provide some entertainment for the
honeymooner couples!
A little stargazing… . The milkyway galaxy is visible with the naked eye! We also got to see
southern cross!
Day 3 – morning drive
Those on the drive:
Rudi, our ranger
June, our tracker
Paul and Jane
Terry and Jane
• Lions
Two of the mufazi – (females) and 5 2 year olds were on the hunt for something… .they heard
other lions in their pride that were eating, and were looking to join. We did quite a chase to
keep up with them. We left June in the bush to listen for what we thought was leopards
mating, however, it appears that it was the other lions eating. We raced back to get June
since the lions were on the move!
We came across a Dominant male lion in the south (notice his beautiful mane) – he is the father
of the 2 year olds we saw. He just finished an impala (the other Land Rover was fortunate
enough to watch him devour the Impala!!! We soooo wanted carnage!! Sick we know! Anyway,
here is a picture of him, very fat and lazy, periodically cleaning himself after a nice meal!
•
Elephants
•
Zebra
•
Warthog
• White Rhino
black rhinos are rare… . There have Only been 2 sightings in 46 years according to Rudi. One
last year. The Black rhino is smaller, and has either 2 equal sized horns or the back is
larger. The black rhino has its head up as it eats leaves. The white rhino is always looking
down, as it grazes on the grass.
It was cold, and it was morning… despite
getting up at 5:30 AM for a morning drive,
Deirdre did indeed enjoy herself! (don’t let
the face fool ya!)
(Can you tell I like this picture???)
Deirdre taking some time out for a nice little relaxing swing before
the afternoon drive!
Day 3 – evening drive
Those on the drive:
Rudi, our ranger
June, our tracker
Paul and Jane
Terry and Jane
• Kudu
(looks like the nyala, except the coloring is a little different – Kudu’s are brown and the
Nyala’s are more of a grey!)
• Leopard
This is a ‘special’ leopard! She has only one eye! She is rather old, 12 or so. The good news
is the loss of sight in the one eye has obviously not negatively effected her ability to hunt
and survive!
How is this for a sunset???
•
Elephant (one HAPPY one… . Look real close at the picture!)
• Lions
Take note that these lions are lying around a termite mine. Notice how there is virtually no
grass, almost in a perfect circle, around the termite mine??? Interesting huh? Another
reason why many animals like hanging out by the termite mounds is that they are warmer!
Ok, now this is what a honeymoon is all about! We got home from our drive and walked into
this!!!
Starting at the front door, leading to the bath, they had a steaming hot bubble bath drawn
and a bottle of champagne iced down sitting there waiting for us!!! Not to mention they
covered the bed in rose pedals!
So of course, we couldn’t resist sharing this with everyone!!! (Close your eyes if you blush
easily!!!!)
Day 4 – morning drive (our final drive L)
Those on the drive:
Rudi, our ranger
June, our tracker
Paul and Jane
Terry and Jane
What a beautiful sunrise… .
• Lions
(5 of 7) from previous day’s viewing… . Big bellies, looks like they had a meal last night.
• Hippos
We believe that they were mating. There were 2 when we got to the water hole and then for
a long time, all we saw was the larger hippo, probably the male, as he was ridding her!
Giddy up!!!
How peaceful huh? Notice the bubbles in the foreground? This is from the hippos walking on
the bottom of the watering hole! Hippos can stay underwater for up to 12 minutes. They can
actually sleep in the water. Their coming up for air is so natural to them, they can do this in
their sleep! Now if I could find a way to do a few things in my sleep! J
•
White rhinos
Rudy and June were tracking 2 lions in another part of the park on foot. They lost sighting
on these 2 lions as they were part of 12 that were hunted and shot 2 months ago as they
got into the local village during the floods and were eating the towns cattle. Rudi said that
because of what happened 2 months ago, the tracking on foot really startled them. Had he
been in the Jeep, there would have been less of an issue as they were used the jeep. We did
a little off roading to try to track them, however the foot noise scared them pretty good
as this is the way they were hunted when the other 10 were shot and killed.
Stealing June’s seat… …
One thing we were not fortunate enough to see were the Cheetahs. I know they are in the
park as the last time I was at Leopard Hills, there were lots of sightings of them. Cheetahs
have the distinctive marking of the tear mark that runs from eye to mouth. Also, unlike the
Leopard, their spots are solid!!!
Standing at Skakuza airport, waiting for our transfer back to Joberg airport for our
flight to Capetown.