It hasn’t been All work and no play !!
Patricia and I managed to take a few days off and spend them at a private game reserve in the north eastern part of South Africa, on the border of Botswana. Our days here were spent taking early morning and late afternoon game drives to view the animals in this 75 000 hectare reserve; lounging around the pool with a full view of the waterhole only a few metres away; and enjoying home cooked meals prepared for us by the camp staff.
After weeks of non stop work back at the Tulisa Park facility where the relocating of two large furniture factories was taking place, this was a welcome break for me, and allowed Patricia to see more of a region of South Africa that she not not visited before.
I have included a batch of photos taken while we were there…
The “Old Boys Club” held regular meetings at the waterhole…
No shortage of Rhino at our waterhole either…
We were usually woken at 5.30am for a quick cup of coffee, before leaving the lodge to do an early morning game drive.
Elephants have the right of way…
Patricia chats with the elephants…
With few trees in Madikwe, Giraffe have to feed off low bushes…
Impressive horns on this male Kudu.
Young Ellie giving us a rev… There are almost a 1000 elephant in this reserve and we spent hours watching the complex interaction that takes place between various members of the herds we encountered…
We followed a pack of Wild Dogs through the bush… There are only two packs in the entire reserve, a total of 23 dogs in all. We were very lucky to see this, the smaller of the two groups.
Old Buffalo bull gives us the hairy eyeball… He was part of a massive herd of over 200 animals that crossed the road in front of us.
Back at the lodge, we took our meals either under or in what is known as the Treehouse. A great dining experience, complete wit roaring fireplace…
Patricia on our patio.
…and showering with an Ellie in the background…as one does in Africa !!
Ellies in our front garden…
“Is the fence strong enough, Honey…!!”
Pajama party at the waterhole.
A huge troop of Baboons drank and then explored the camp.
Brothers on patrol….
Black-maned Lions of Madikwe put in an appearance…
Normal feeding position for a Giraffe.
Rhinos squaring off in our front garden.
This old boy came out top of the pile, and then came over to where we were sitting to accept his applause…
Chilly dinners in the boma around a blazing fire. Madikwe was freezing cold…!!
Patti and Miss Piggy…
- Elephants came down to drink every few hours… A few lone bulls with decent size tusks, as well as large breeding herds with protective mothers and their calves…
This particular Lion walked a few metres past our room and woke us at 3.00am with his roaring !! I had taken this photo the afternoon before and at the time he was heading directly for our camp. He kept us awake right until it was time for our morning coffee, walking around in the camp and calling for his pride of three lionesses, who were playing hide and seek with their lord and master…
One of the few larger waterholes in the park. Madikwe is situated on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, that extends into Botswana, and rainfall here is not as high as in other parts of the country.
Giraffe at our waterhole.
Female Kudu…
Patricia says farewell to the warthogs that frequented the garden.
The four days we spent in Madikwe came as a welcome break for both of us and was something of an “appetiser” for the days we would spend at Lion Sands just a few weeks later, before our return to the USA…
Hi great blog keep up the good work and dont stop blogging try to blog daily if u can and when u stop traveling, if u do, keep blogging and post like recipes or something like that
Thanks Simone. Great visiting with you guys and look forward to meeting you all again. The new computer is a challenge and now that the Big Fella is down, I have many decisions to make. Posting recipes would go something like this : Breakfast = Coffee ; Lunch = Gatorade and Snickers Bars : Dinner = Pasta, Coffee, Snickers and assorted Chocolates. That’s about as complicated a recipe I could work on !! Cheers, R.