Full tummies.

Our final morning drive at River Lodge was incredible. We saw all Big 5 without even trying – I think they were coming to bid us farewell. As a final bonus the herd of elephants we’ve been following around actually walked across our camp while we were having breakfast.

We had two new experiences today – seeing a Pride of Lions and their cubs with a recently killed Water Buffalo and a young Leopard (8 months?) treed by the aforementioned pack of Wild Dogs. Both were amazing and we could’ve watched for hours. The devouring of the Water Buffalo was not too pleasant to look at (so I will spare you the photos), but the cubs were darling. There were also several lionesses as well as some young males (maybe 2-3 years old) about ready to be cast out from the Pride. They were so amazing to see, we all were able to ignore the really unpleasant, putrid smell from the rotting carcass.

Now we are waiting for our plane to Ngala.

Ngala means Lion in Shangaan and this is where we learned about Glamping (super-luxurious camping).

We had some crazy confusion with our flight leaving Exeter ~ somehow, someone decided we should leave the Lodge at 9 AM. Fortunately, the manager prevailed and we were able to leave as planned at midday. Typical of bush flight schedules, they thought the incoming flight would be early and decided to race to the airstrip to be on time for the new arrivals . . . so, we had what our driver coined a “Ferrari Safari.” And it was crazy – about 100 degrees and driving as fast as humanly possible, in an open vehicle, on unpaved roads through the Sabi Sands. It might be the riskiest thing we have actually done on this trip. But we arrived in one piece and had a nice 15 minute flight with the same young pilot as our flight into Ngala.

The airstrip in Ngala in about a half hour away from the tented camp, and our Ranger Rob was at the strip to meet us. The terrain here is more open, seems flatter and is sandier in color. There also seems to be more green trees and no burned areas.

Ngala borders Kruger National Park, and our camp (with just six permanent tented rooms) is very laid back with much more flexible time schedules and is also more focused on tracking. A lot more time here is spent waiting and watching – often, we have learned, with great rewards.

Since we have seen the “Magnificent 7” (the previously mentioned “Big 5” plus Wild Dogs and Cheetah), we are also more relaxed about our game viewing.

The Ambiance

Oh yeah – let me not forget to describe the facilities here – at &Beyond’s Ngala Private Game Reserve it is very elegant/upscale, permanently tented suites with full power, A/C, no windows-just screens open to the elements and, of course incredible gourmet meals. My husband has said (and I quote) “I have nothing to complain about the food here – it is really good.”  Quite an endorsement from a very basic eater.

It still gets quite cold here at night; they put down shades, draw the drapes and provide wonderful bedding with dual control electric blankets. We also have an outdoor, secluded shower in addition to the indoor bath with freestanding tub. This is why one recent guest called it “glamping” – a term that describes it perfectly.

We haven’t seen too many Americans on this trip, Brits, Aussies, Germans, Spanish, Chileans, Irish and more. We are currently riding around with some folks from Perth who are lots of fun.

Since Ngala means Lion – we did search and find two on our first drive. We watched them sleep for a long time, wake up for 20 seconds of mating and back to sleep. . . . this male is a beautiful specimen with an incredible mane. He is so perfect because he apparently runs from most adversarial situations and is hanging around with one female instead of the usual pack of males. The staff does not know where the female has come from and are mystified by his behavior.

The hit of this drive, for us, was seeing the Hyaena den with three pups sleeping and looking around outside!

The night sounds are amazing as the temps drop into the 40s and many animals move around – we heard Lions roar, an Elephant trumpet, Monkeys play and many more sounds I am happy not to be able to ID.