Day 12: Singita Sweni (Kruger National Park)

Day 12:  Singita Sweni (Kruger National Park)

We woke up at 5:30 AM, got dressed and they escorted us over to the main area at 6 AM.  For breakfast, I had some juice and a muffin.  We loaded up into the jeep at 6:30 AM and began a daily adventure.  Our goal was to find a Cape Buffalo (the last remaining animal of the "Big 5").  The morning was very overcast and there was a little mist in the air.  We ventured out of the Singita Concession into the Public part of the Kruger National Park.  Since we were on the public roads we had to put the top and sides up on the jeep.  While looking for the Buffalo, we did find three Ostriches and a Porcupine in the mist.  No Buffalo's, but we saw Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras, Kudos, Water Boks and lots of Impalas.  We stopped for our morning snack and I had hot chocolate with Amarula, biltong, dried fruit and biscotti.  No luck finding the Buffalo in the morning so we headed back to the Lodge around 11 AM.  We put our orders in for lunch and watched our South Pacific animal show on Netflix.  When lunch was ready we sat down at our outside table and I had a Seafood dish that was very good.  Around 12 PM, we headed back to the room, took our malaria pills and then napped for a solid hour.  I woke up at 2 PM, splashed some water on my face and we headed to the main area at 2:15 PM.  We loaded up the jeep with a mission to find the Buffalo.  Again, we saw many Elephants, Giraffes, Impalas, Monkeys, Kudos and Zebras.  We continued our search for the Buffalo's for almost 2 hours with no luck.  We were about to call it quits and Exon (our tracker) saw some Buffalo tracks.

Day 11: Singita Sweni (Kruger National Park)

Day 11:  Singita Sweni (Kruger National Park)

I woke up at 2:30 AM and went to the bathroom but had a tough time going back to bed.  At 5:30 AM, we received our wake up call and we got dressed in our safari gear and then were escorted to the main area at 6 AM.  I wasn't very hungry so I only had some juice for breakfast.  We loaded up and started our jeep ride at 6:30 AM.  Our goal was to find the elusive Cape Buffalo which was the last of the big five that we had not seen yet  (Big Five: Lion, Rhinoceros, Elephant, Leopard and Cape Buffalo).  We came across some Giraffes, Elephants, Kudos and Impalas but we couldn't find any Buffalo.  Exon (our tracker) actually went out and starting looking for the Buffalo's on foot, but no luck.  Around 10 AM we stopped to have our morning snack.  I had a hot chocolate with Amarula, dried fruit, biscotti and biltong.  We had arranged to do some archery and pellet gun shooting out in the bush.  Zack was into the pellet gun and did a good job hitting the can we setup as a target.  We then headed back to camp and along the way we saw a Hyena, Leopard Turtle, Wildebeest and a bunch of other animals.  We got back to the Lodge around 11:30AM and they met us with a nice wet towel and cold drink.  We ordered lunch and watched an animal show on Netflix while they cooked the food.  For lunch, I had BBQ ribs, Peri/Peri wings and coleslaw.  Everything was very tasty.  We then headed back to the room around 1:15 PM and I took a 45 minute nap.  At 2 PM, we headed back to the main area and I had a coke to wake up before we loaded up again for our 2:15 PM trek.  The afternoon safari was our best so far.  We saw a ton of Elephants, Giraffes, Impalas, Kudos, Zebras, Wildebeest, Hyena, Lions, Rhinos and a bunch of birds.  While we were driving around we noticed a bunch of Vultures circling around an area ahead of us so we drove over to investigate.  It ended up being a dead Impala lying in the grass.  Although we still couldn't find a Buffalo, it was pretty much non-stop action all day.  Even when we were heading home in the dark (sunset is 5 PM), we saw a couple of Hyena's hanging out and we were lucky enough to find a Leopard on the road that was stalking some Impalas. We followed the Leopard for awhile thru the grass but it was getting too dark so we headed back to the Lodge around 6:15 PM.  We ordered dinner right away because we knew it would take awhile for them to cook it.  In the meantime, we hung out in the TV room and I enjoyed a couple of new beers and watched another episode of the South Pacific animal show we had previously watched on Netflix the day before.  Dinner was ready so we shifted to our table outside.  I had a similar meal as the previous night with a slight change.  It was Prawns, Calamari, Mussels and Soft Shell crabs but with a nice and spicy tomato broth.  For dessert, I had my 3 scoops of Sorbet (Pineapple, Coconut and Berry).  Excellent meal.  Zack tried Kudo Meat for dinner.  We were all tired and we went back to the room at 8 PM.  We showered up and got into bed around 9:30 PM.  

Day 10: Singata Sweni (Kruger National Park)

Day 10:  Singata Sweni (Kruger National Park)

I actually woke up a couple of minutes before our wake up call at 5:30 AM.  I got dressed in my safari clothes and we waited for the hotel escort to walk us over to the main area for a light snack of OJ, tea and muffins.  While we were eating he heard a bunch of strange noises.  It ended up being a  bunch of Hippos hanging out in the water.  We loaded up the jeep around 6:15 AM.  They had the nice hot water bottles and blankets to keep us warm in the morning.  It was not long before we saw some Elephants, Zebras, Wildebeasts, Mongooses a Crocodile floating down a river and a bunch of Turtles hanging on the river bank.  We then started tracking a Rhino.  Exon (Our Tracker) got off the jeep with his machete and started tracking the Rhino on foot.  30 minutes later we saw Exon running across the bush and we picked him up.  We then headed north and saw the Rhino and 3 other Rhinos in one place (They are very skiddish and you can't get very close to them).  Around 10 AM we stopped for a 15 minute snack consisting of dried fruit, granola, muffins and drinks.  One of the unique drinks we tried was Amarula (a cream liqueur from South Africa).  I mixed it with Hot Chocolate and it was very tasty.  Solomon (The Driver) offered me the opportunity to sit in the tracker seat upfront.  It was a cool experience trying to spot for animals and point them out to everybody.  We got back to camp around 11 AM and they greeted us with cool, wet towels to clean our hands/faces from the bush along with a cold drink.  We went back to the room to change out of our safari clothes and put on shorts and a t-shirt before heading over to the main area to grab a snack.  I had some nice cured meats and a sparkling water.  We then walked over to a separate area where they had some shops where they sold mostly African wares/crafts.  There was also a spa/fitness area near the shops.  After we checked out the shops, we walked back to the main area of our Lodge and relaxed on the lounge chairs by the pool with Zack swam some laps.  It was a beautiful setting right along the river with Hippos hanging out in the water.  We were all comfortable so we decided to eat lunch by the pool.  I had some soft shell crabs and Omphsumpa??? (South African dish with beans, corn and spices that was very good).  We relaxed by the pool for awhile and then decided to go back to our room around 1:30 PM.  I laid down and took an hour nap before our afternoon adventure.  Woke up around 2:30 PM and suited back up in my safari clothes before heading over to the main area for High Tea.  I had some Biltong, Coke and a red velvet cupcake.  While Zack and I were waiting there before the afternoon safari, a bird flew over and pooped on me.  Zack watched the whole thing happen and laughed at me.  At 3:30 PM we loaded up the jeep for our afternoon safari. We saw Elephants, Rhinos, Impalas, Zebras, Wildebeests, Water Bucks, African Rabbit, Honey Badge, Civet and all sorts of Birds.  We stopped for our afternoon snack and had nuts, Biltong, potato chips and an alcoholic Apple Cider.  Solomon had a cool carrying case that he broke out with many little bottles of alcohol (like hotel frig sized ones).  We got back on the road and saw a Leopard laying in the bush within a few feet of us that had just eaten an Impala.  We watched the beautiful sunset and then it got dark out.  Exon was tracking using a flash light and somehow spotted a Chameleon up in a tree in the dark!  The stars in the sky were incredible and we could see the Southern Cross, Scorpion, Venus, Jupiter and the Milky way.  We got back to camp around 6:15 PM.  Since it was too early for dinner we went to the TV room and watched an animal show about the South Pacific while I enjoyed a nice cold beer.  For dinner, I had ordered a special meal so the Chef came out to discuss what I wanted in more detail.  I ended up ordering a Mussel, Calamari and Prawn seafood stew for dinner.  Since we still had time before dinner was ready, I ended up having another beer while we watched TV.  Once dinner was ready, we went inside and sat down to a great meal the Chef had prepared for me.  For dessert, I had three different scoops of sorbet (Berry, Mixed Fruit and Apple).  After dinner we were escorted back to the room around 9 PM.  When we got back, we showered up, got organized and laid down for bed around 10 PM and actually fell asleep around 10:30 PM. 

Day 9: Johannesburg to Kruger National Park (Singita Sweni)

Day 9:  Johannesburg to Kruger National Park (Singita Sweni)

I woke up at 7:30 AM, showered up and packed up my stuff.  We went downstairs for breakfast at 8:30 AM.  It was a nice buffet.  I had pancakes (more like crepes), fruit, danishes, biltong, mango and OJ.  At 9:30 AM, we met our van out front of the hotel to take us to a smaller private airport for our next adventure.  We were on the road 5 minutes and Hannah realized she forgot her earrings so we had to turn around and go back to the hotel.  Zack ran up to the room and got them for Hannah.  We loaded back up and drove off to the private airport to take our Federal Air flight to our next safari in the Kruger National Park.  We hung out in the lounge for about 30 minutes and had a Sparberry drink and gummies.  We then got on our 9 seat propeller flight which was a private charter so we were the only ones on the plane.  We took off around 11 AM and landed at 12:15 PM on a "Dirt Road" runway in the middle of nowhere.  A jeep met us at the runway and we took at 45 minute drive to our Singita Sweni Lodge hotel.  Along the way we saw Zebra, wildebeast, Antelope and even a parade of African Hissing Ants on the side of the road before arriving at 1 PM at our hotel.  They took us to our "rooms" which were very nice.  Each room had glass doors that opened to the river and had beautiful amenities.  We relaxed in the room until 2:30 PM and then went to the main area where we had lunch.  I had a corn and coconut soup, a shrimp/salmon and potato dish and chicken skewers.  High tea started at 3 PM and I had a few pieces of Biltong but was stuffed from lunch.  Around 3:30 PM we loaded up our jeep with Solomon, our guide and a tracker who sat on a jump seat in the front of the jeep.  Along the way we saw some birds, Kudos, impalas, zebras and crocodiles.  We then tried to track a Cheetah but we couldn't find it.  The terrain was much more rocky then in Botswana, especially when we went off road.  We came across two different sets of Elephants blocking the road.  One group was kicking the dirt to loosen it up and then using their trunks to spread it on them to help keep the bugs off.  The second group didn't seem pleased that we were there and we had to go around them.  They actually followed us for a little bit.  We saw a beautiful sunset and then continued on our safari in the dark with the tracker using a spot light to point things out.  The tracker was amazing and was able to spot a small jackal in the dark and two lions hanging out in the tall grass.  After that we continued to search in the dark but couldn't find anything else.  Once the sun went down it definitely cooled off a lot.  We stopped at one point and looked up at the sky that had more stars than I have ever seen at night (Southern Cross) and listened to the various sounds of frogs, bugs, etc...  We got back to the hotel around 6:30 PM and hung out around the fire pit in the main area for awhile.  I had a Gypsy Mask beer (craft beer from Capetown) and then we sat by the pool while Zack swam for 30 minutes.  Around 7 PM we sat down for dinner.  I had an Asian broth, soft shell crabs and a red wine/apple/coconut sorbet along with a couple of more beers (Drifter and a Punk Rocker; both craft beers from Cape Town).  We were all very tired so we headed back to our room around 9 PM and got ready for bed.

Day 8: Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) to Johannesburg

Day 8:  Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) to Johannesburg

We woke up at 7:15 AM, showered and finished up packing our stuff.  We went down to the buffet breakfast at 8 AM.  I had an omelette with tomato, mushroom and cheese, fruit, yogurt, danishes and juice.  At 9 AM, I went and had a 50 minute body massage and Allison had a 30 minute foot massage.  The massage was fine and I went back to the room at 10 AM to meet Allison.  We hung out in the room until 10:30 AM and then went to the main lobby to check out and grab our van to the airport at 11 AM.  At the airport, we checked in and went thru passport control, but still had an hour before boarding began so I went to check out the shops in the terminal.  They all sold the same crap, i.e. animal sculptures, old Zimbabwe money, etc...  After walking around for a little bit, I reconnected with the group who was already hanging out in the Business Lounge.  I had a couple of snacks and odd fruit drinks, i.e. sweet plum drink and a lychee drink.  We then went to the gate to start boarding and got on the plane at 12:45 PM.  The flight to Johannesburg was 1 hour and 45 minutes.  They served a meal on the plane and I had a Hasda? beer, beef, spinach, pasta dish and a lemon cake for dessert.  We landed at 3 PM and went thru passport control, then walked across the street and checked back into the Intercontinental Hotel.  We dropped off our bags and then went to the 8th floor where they have an indoor pool and fitness room.  I relaxed on a lounge chair by the pool and took a nap.  I relaxed there until 6 PM and went back to the room.  I showered up and then went downstairs for dinner at 6:30 PM in the hotel restaurant called Quills.  For dinner I had a hot seafood pot as a starter and a cauliflower, potato and pea curry for an entree along with a passion fruit sorbet for dessert.  While we were eating dinner, some random woman started walking around and playing the Saxophone.  Dinner took awhile and we went back to the room at 9 PM.  We hung out in the room and I watched a TV documentary show about Serpico.  I ended up going to bed around 10:30 PM.

Day 7: Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)

Day 7:  Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)

We woke up around 7 AM and hung out in bed until 8 AM.  Showered up and then walked over to the buffet breakfast.  They had a very nice assortment of different items and I ended up having:  Fruit, bacon, mango juice, eggs, chocolate croissant, and other miscellaneous items.  The sitting area had a roof, but no windows, so it was an open aired area.  While we were sitting there we saw a Monkey come into the area and steal butter off the table.  We also saw Warthogs cruising around on the grounds of the hotel.  I even saw a Mongoose running thru the grass.  When we finished breakfast we walked to the front of the hotel and met our personal van who drove us over to our helicopter ride over Victoria Falls.  Once there, they gave us a quick orientation of what we need to do on the helicopter then weighed each of us so they had determine the proper seating assignment on the helicopter.  We waited 15 mins until it was our turn to load up on the helicopter.  Hannah sat up front with the pilot and Gail, Zack, Allison and I were in the back.  It was my first time on a helicopter and we had beautiful weather.  They did a couple of "Figure 8's" over the Falls and you get an amazing view from many different angles.  Since this was the end of the rainy season, there was much more water flow and mist at the Falls then usual.  The total process took about 15 minutes from boarding to exit.  It was a great experience and very cool ride.  When we finished up we met our van and drove back to the hotel, arriving back around 11 AM.  We went back to our room and got ready for our trek to the Falls.  We headed out around 12 PM and walked thru the path behind the hotel.  Gail had a wheelchair and Zack tried pushing her on the path but it was difficult due to the terrain.  Gail and Allison ended up taking a cab to the main entrance of the Falls while Zack, Hannah and I walked the rest of the distance to the entrance.  There was a $30 entrance fee per person to enter the Victoria Falls National Park walking trail which spans 1.7 Kilometres and runs parallel to the Falls which is the largest in the world.

Zimbabwe entrance to Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

There are actually two entrances to the Falls, one on the Zimbabwe side and one on the Zambia side which is connected by the Victoria Falls Bridge.  Along the trail there were 16 observation stops to see various angles of the Falls.  Since there was so much water flow, it caused an excessive amount of mist and wind to come up and we got SOAKED.  Walking on the trail was like walking thru a Rain Forest.  Even though we were so wet, we didn't care and had spectacular views of the Falls.  We ended up walking from the entrance on the Zimbabwe side to the Bridge since we didn't want to go into Zambia.  At the bridge, you could pay to "hang" off the edge but we decided that we didn't want to do it since the safety protocols were a little "sketchy".  Allison and Gail grabbed a taxi back to the hotel while Zack, Hannah and I walked back.  Along the path we ran into some Warthogs that were hanging out and we saw a couple of Elelphants also.  We finally made it back to the hotel at 2:30 PM and went to our rooms to change out of our wet clothes.  Since we had not eaten in awhile, we decided to grab lunch at the hotel.  I had a lamb swarma wrapped in a tortilla.  We hung out there for awhile and I had a Singapore Sling drink which was nice while Hannah and Zack had massages.  At 5 PM we went back to the room to get ready for dinner.  We met our Van at the front of the hotel at 5:30 PM for the 10 minute drive to the Lookout Cafe.  The restaurant overlooked the river that was fed by the Falls and since it was a Full Moon it was a very nice setting.  They offered a special "Full Moon" dinner but there was nothing special about it.  You ordered off the same menu as normal (very strange).  I had the calamari appetizer and the Thai green curry chicken with rice along with a couple of Zembez beers.  For dessert, I had a date pudding cake which was ok.  The full moon was very cool and Hannah took many pictures of the moon as it kept getting "brighter".  We finished dinner at 8 PM and met our van to drive us back to the hotel.  We had a couple of drink coupons so Zack and I went down to the bar and had a few drinks.  I had a David Livingstone (very good) and Zack had a Ciapiati and a Devil's Cataract (Rough! It had spicy chili in it).  We had a cool time hanging out and talking.  We finished up and headed back to the room at 9:45 PM and went to bed @ 10:30 PM.

Day 6: Kings Pool (Bostwana) to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)

Day 6:  Kings Pool (Bostwana) to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe):

Even though we didn't have a wake up call until 7 AM, I still woke up at 5:30 AM.  I went to the bathroom and then got back into bed and fell asleep for about an hour more.  When I finally got out of bed to start the day, I heard strange noises coming from under our cabin.  I walked out to the back deck and all of sudden I saw a big Warthog come running out from under the deck.  It was quite startlingly.  I then took a nice hot shower and then went back to the deck and saw another Warthog come running out from under the deck.  I assume there was a family sleeping there and for all I know they come there every night.  We then finished packing and went over to the main area for breakfast.  I had fruit, yogurt, OJ, tea, scrambled eggs with cheese and tomato.  We said our goodbyes and loaded up onto the jeep to our drive to Chobe airport.  Along the way we saw a bunch of Elephants cross the road and other animals in the bush.  We arrived at the air field around 9 AM and waited about 15 minutes for our 12 seat propeller to arrive.  We said goodbye to Bobby (our driver) and loaded up for our 1 hour flight to Kasane International Airport (Bostwana).  When we landed at 10:15 AM we had to go thru passport control before we crossed the border to Zimbabwe.  We waited about 15 minutes before our next flight in another small propeller plan.  The flight to Zimbabwe was about 30 minutes.  The Captain flew us right over Victoria Falls and provided us great views of the Falls.  We landed at the Victoria Falls Airport around 12 PM and took a 20 min private van ride to the Victoria Falls Hotel which was built in 1904.  We checked in and got to our room around 1 PM.  We dropped off our things in the room and went downstairs for lunch on the terrace.  For lunch I had a cheeseburger with fries.  We finished up lunch and went back to the room around 2 PM.  I laid down and took a little nap for an hour and got up at 3 PM.  We all met in the lobby at 3:30 PM to take a shuttle bus for our sunset cruise on the Zambezi river.  It was a very nice mellow ride with an open bar and passed our Hor D'eours.  Since the drinks were included, I decided to try some drinks.  I ended up having an Old Fashion (OK) and a Pimms One (very good).  While we were hanging out on the top deck we started talking to four guys who ended up being from LA.  One of the guys actually worked with Lee (my brother in law) at William Morris Agency (such a small world).  Along the cruise we saw a bunch of Hippos hanging out in the river and some elephants on the shore line.  There was a beautiful sunset as we neared the end of our 2 hour cruise.  When we docked, we walked up to the parking lot and our Van was waiting for us and drove us back to the hotel.  We got back to the room around 6:30 PM and changed for dinner before heading back out at 7 PM to meet at the restaurant in the hotel (Stanley's Room).  A jacket was required and Zack had to borrow one from the restaurant since they were adamant about wearing one.  For dinner, I had Ostrich carpaccio as an appetizer and I split a Tilapia and butternut ravioli with Hannah.  Near the end of the meal, the four guys we met on the cruise from LA ended up sitting right next to us.  We finished dinner and went to the reception desk to find out more about getting to Victoria Falls tomorrow.  We then face-timed with Grandpa Stu and then went to the room around 9:45 PM to get ready for bed.