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Dear fellow Traveller,
I am often asked what I miss most about Africa, the continent from where I emigrated 2 decades ago. The short answer has always been: the African bush, its wildlife and the big African sky with the Southern Cross constellation and Milky Way.
Of course I miss my family too, and so I want to tell you the story of my latest family reunion - in the African bush.
Six of us flew from 3 continents to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday in South Africa's famous Kruger National Park. Then all 3 generations piled into a Minivan and went on a road trip. Remember those? Well, I can tell you that not much has changed in our family... who sits in front, in the back or at the window is still a topic of conversation :)
From Johannesburg we headed east, along the Panorama Route towards our safari destination - Kapama Private Game Reserve, one of the largest privately owned reserves in the Greater Kruger National Park area. With 13000 hectares of beautiful savannah woodlands, grassland and riverine bush it is home to the Big 5, as well as many different mammal and bird species and a myriad of smaller animals and insects. What a treat is was to be welcomed on arrival by our guide and tracker, cool towels and welcome drinks in hand.
We settled in to our very comfortable rooms, and after afternoon tea with freshly baked goods we were off on the much anticipated open jeep game drive. Our first encounter was with a baby giraffe and its mother. The youngster may have been 4 weeks old, but already stood 6 feet tall and was soo inquisitive.
There is nothing like driving through the bush, searching for wildlife and being rewarded with sightings of zebra, wildebeest and 'Zazu', the comical hornbill greeting us around every bend in the road. As the sun dropped to meet the horizon we paused beside a waterhole. Listening to the sounds of the bush, I felt completely at home again, drinking in the spectacular African sunset - G&T in hand!
On our afternoon game drive we were rewarded with sightings of elephant, zebra, giraffe and rhinoceros. After sunset our tracker discovered a sleeping lioness and we watched her for a while. Suddenly we noticed a male lion lying in the grass a short distance behind us. He was yawning, but then he stood up and started roaring a 'King of the Jungle' kind of roar! It was exciting and nerve-wracking and I wondered if he'd had dinner already! F.W. backed the vehicle up quickly and soon the lion settled back down for another snooze. Phew...
Later our tracker told us that there were other male lions in the area, and that this resident lion was just protecting his territory. I've never been so close to a roaring lion - it was so loud I could feel the vibration of the sound in my body.
I can honestly say that a safari is the most humbling, most energizing, most memorable way to spend a vacation. Contact me for your customized African Adventure.
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