May 27th, 2025

Up early and on the road by 6:30. This am we had 5 of us and our same ranger and tracker. We had the couple that joined us yesterday and a woman from Cape Town who works for Sabi Sabi and they are opening a hotel in Cape Town so she came to experience the lodge. 

Sunrise leaving the lodge.

Today we were looking for a leopard and some zebras since that is the only thing we have not seen yet. I will combine the 2 drives like I did yesterday instead of boring you with the details of each drive. 

Turned out it was zebra day and we saw a ton all day long. At first from faraway but then later they were everywhere.

We also had our first leopard viewing. They have about 9 leopards that roam the preserve and this one is one of the smaller/older females. 

She crossed the road in front of us and then laid down in a dry river bed in the shade and did some grooming.

The baby giraffe which according to our ranger is about 3 months old. Also no matter how tall you are you are never tall enough…

At lunch time the elephants came down to the watering hole. We have seen more elephants there than out in the wild.

Who needs straws when you have a trunk?

This guy was slinging mud all over himself to keep cool but also when the mud hardens it kills any parasites that might be attached to his skin, then when the mud dries the elephants rub the mud off on tree trunks.

We also saw some wildebeest and buffalo. On the evening drive we saw a large herd of cape buffalo and we aren’t even sure how large because a bunch had already crossed the road before we got there but we saw at least 50.

Our tracker said the one on the right looks like George Washington and he actually does.

Of course we saw some more birds and this time we saw 2 different types of eagles that were huge.

African Fish Eagle which looks a lot like the American Bald Eagle. We put the original picture and the blown up picture side by side so you can see the size of the bird.

African Hawk Eagle

We also saw a ton more rhinos.

Wildebeest

We did do something different today. After the morning game drive we had breakfast and then we did a nature walk which is optional activity. We were expecting to do a walk of the property and have plants and stuff pointed out to us. Imagine our surprise when it was just me & Kathy with 2 rangers (with guns) meet us in the lobby. We got in the jeep and off we went. So technically we got 3 game drives out of the day. We saw a ton of stuff while they were looking for a place for us to take a walk. We did see a mom and baby giraffe which our jeep mates, who were not with us, were anxious to see. They did the optional trip to a village and visit a school, church and a local shaman.

When we got to the place the rangers picked we were given the rules of trekking in the wilderness. No talking, single file and the 2 rangers with guns went in front and we went behind. They actually loaded the rifles and carried them at the ready. The one ranger was very experienced and he explained about tracking and showed us all different types of prints in the sand and how to tell if new or old. He also talked about the wind and staying low, watching where you stepped and listening for sounds. Lastly, he said that most animals have trouble seeing you if you are in the shade as opposed to direct sunlight out in the open and never ever run, only prey run. We walked around for an hour and we tracked a big bull elephant but we intentionally never got too close. We learned a lot and it was a great experience. So good that we asked if we could go again tomorrow.

A few more pictures of the lodge.

The reception area looking out to the watering hole.

The bar area and Kathy sitting in our patio area with the outdoor shower to the right.

Us on the morning coffee break and then at our sunset cocktail break. I am drinking the local liquor Amarula and Kathy is drinking Woodford Reserve.

Perfect sunset.

On the evening game drive we saw a giraffe but it was from far away and no way to get close to it much to the disappointment of the couple riding with us. We are pretty sure it was the same mom & baby we saw when we drove to our walking spot before lunch. We did have a spectacular sunset and since we were up on a ridge we got a great view of it. Also on our way back to the lodge our tracker found a chameleon in the tree and the ranger went and got it and brought it to us in the jeep.

I can’t believe I am saying this but it was the cutest chameleon I have ever seen and Kathy remembered that there was a animated movie about “Leo” the chameleon several years ago.

Dinner again was the 5 of us and the game meat that was offered was zebra. Several people tried it including the French lady at our table and she said it was very tough. She ate very little of it. They do have a great salad bar every night with very fresh lettuce and also they have chicken every night with different flavorings. 

Our dinner table with our Ranger at the end.

The couple will be doing their last game drive in the morning, then checking out but still very much want to see giraffes. I want to see more lions and leopards.