The Morning Walk

Day 8 – November 26/Wednesday

We slept in until 8am this morning. Wow! That's a lot of sleep. The french doors in our room were open all night, the sound of the ocean right below no doubt lulling us into prolonged rest.

We headed downstairs for coffee and breakfast.

I have to say the food in South Africa is amazing. There's always a buffet with homemade granola and muesli, fresh bakery, tons of fresh fruits, interesting juices, yogurts and more. And then you order breakfast! We enjoyed ours on the back patio, listening to the waves and taking in the morning.

After breakfast, we hooked up with Matt and Marty for the walk into town. There's a pathway that winds its way among the cliffs of Hermanus and extends for some 15km. We only did a portion of it but it was a gorgeous way to take in the views of the bay, interesting flora and fauna (yes, I did just say that) and more.

The scenery often was so ridiculous that it almost appeared fake, like in this picture where it looks like Mike and I are standing against a backdrop in a studio.

One of the things we came upon was this sign, a memorial undoubtedly for a right whale who either washed onshore or beached itself. Cute, interesting and an homage to the animals that make this bay their home for birthing and raising their young (and one of the main reasons people flock to the area -- it's a huge source of tourism dollars for the area).

Mandatory flora and fauna shot since I mentioned it. Actually, there were little pockets of this kind of thing throughout the cliffsides. I love the play of the hard rock off the soft, lightness of the flowers that seemingly grow out of the rock.

We finally made it to town, a small quaint place that was a collection of restaurants and shops like you'd find in many small tourist towns - a mix of a few interesting things with ticky tacky tourist shops selling shot glasses and t-shirts -- everything with whales and great white sharks (the other big tourist draw) on them.

I hit a bathroom at a little shopping "center" and inside was a box with free condoms. As you know AIDS and HIV is a huge issue across Africa. Rather than taking an approach preaching abstention as our government does, Africa hits it head on, offering ways to prevent the spread of the disease. I like that!

We called the car from the hotel to come and fetch us and we headed back to enjoy the rest of our day.

Onward to Hermanus

We hopped on a our little puddle jumper and took a 20 minute hop over to Ulusaba, Richard Branson’s private game reserve. After picking up a British couple, we took another 20 minute flight over to Nelspruit, the main airport that serves Kruger National Park. This was a bit more of a real airport experience and from here, we would fly 2.5 hours over to Cape Town where we would pick up a rental car and drive 100km east over the Hermanus, a great little beach town.

To say that the Cape Town area is mountainous would be an understatement. Ridges of mountains, rings of mountains, they were everywhere. Flat plains gave way to huge rock formations, thrust up thousands of feet toward the sky to create a dramatic juxtaposition of earth.

Immediately upon leaving the airport, we passed by shanty towns once again, just as in JoBurg. But the shanty towns quickly gave way to gorgeous scenery.

A mountain pass takes you up over a huge ridge, revealing an almost alp-like setting, lush with fir trees and rolling hills set in a bowl. After traversing this area, we headed down the other side of the ridge toward Hermanus.



Another inn set in a residential neighborhood, this place was beyond gorgeous - a quaint series of small buildings with 14 rooms in all up above and little courtyards in between that contained everything from a pool area to tranquil places to sit and read.

The gem however was the back patio that was situated right on a small cliff overlooking the pounding surf of the oceans - the place where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.

A small infinity pool seemingly dropped off the cliffs and into the ocean. We decided to hang out on the back patio and have a glass of champagne and enjoy the ocean air. What a change after being in the heat of the bush just a few hours earlier.

A picture perfect sunset followed -- I don't think I'll ever get over the sunsets and sunrises. No matter whether we were in Joburg, in the bush at Singita and now at the beach, the sunsets and sunrises were something to be cherished every day.

This place has all meals included as there isn't much going on beyond the small town of Hermanus. So we went to our rooms, changed and went down to a quaint dining room for dinner.

Upon retiring to our rooms after dinner, we found that turndown service should have been called artful turndown. A beautiful display of flowers had been created on the bed using fresh lavender and rose petals. A card on the bed read: "A happy couple share a certain smile that no one else quite understands." Nice touch. Needless to say, after a long day that started at 5:00 in the bush and involved three flights, sleep came easily.

Saying Goodbye to Singita

Upon our return to the lodge, we had a quick breakfast, then headed down to the village, a place with a number of small boutiques selling African goods as well as the spa and gym were located there. I guess village is a bit of an oxymoron.

We picked up a very cool Africa mask and a couple of other things. We then took the short five minute walk over to Sweni, Singita’s other lodge that was built right on the river. Only six rooms, this little gem had a feeling that was altogether different than Lebombo but so unique in its own right.

From there we walked back up the hill to our room to pack and get going. As we walked the plankway to our room, I was blessed (and I don’t get blessed very often) with a shot that was so typical of our visions of Africa. Updated for the times, it still represented one of those magical moments that you think of when you think of this country.

As we met Themba at the door who carried our luggage back to the lodge and we headed down the plank one last time, we savored the sights of Singita and of Kruger.

As we said our goodbyes, the entire team was lined up again, like a receiving line at a wedding. From the GM of the property who we met earlier, to the three Kates, to Themba and Edward our waiter, they were all there. Somehow, like everything else it wasn’t trite. This wasn’t like disembarking from the Love Boat. This was saying goodbye to people we had come to know, and who had come to know us in the short 4 days we were there. It was more like saying goodbye to friends.

We piled into an air conditioned van, with Dierdre driving us back to the airstrip. We talked about our experiences and Dierdre continued to educate us, right up until the end.

As we were driving, we came upon a bridge where a car was stopped. Obviously they were looking at something. And there it was, like an unexpected gift on Christmas morning, one that couldn’t possibly be true but indeed it was, a gift to us – an elephant.

A huge male simply hanging out, eating grass, allowing us to behold the sight (not to mention take pictures of it).

Some 45 minutes later, we were at the airstrip, our plane awaiting to take the four of us back to civilization.

Saying goodbye to Dierdre was like saying goodbye to a camp counselor. Bizarre? Yes, in a way. Here was someone that had taken care of us, that watched over us, that protected us and educated us, just like that camp counselor you had as a kid.


As we flew away, I realized in looking down at the vastness of nothing except the bush, that, in a lot of ways we all walked away with a new outlook. How can you not? What really matters anymore once you've had the chance to have this experience? Nothing really. All the trials and tribulations of our jobs, our hectic lives and world go away when you're at a place like this. No email, no phone, no messages, no real connection to the outside world unless you chose to have one. I didn't. Except to share these experiences. And that's what I'm left with. An amazing experience where nothing mattered except the experience I was having. Every minute. Every hour. Every day. And how often do we have a chance in our lives to say that.

The Last Morning Game Drive - Elephants!

Day 7 – November 25/Tuesday
Marty and Matt decided not to join us this morning so it was Mike and I and Kit and Erica along with Dierdre and Themba. The goal was to find the elusive elephant this morning. We had seen a herd at one point a couple days back across a river. But the minute we pulled up and shut the truck off, they had turned and beat a quick retreat into the safety of the tress. Dierdre explained that they had a large number of young and so it was to protect them.


As we headed down the road again this morning (we had to head north again to elephant land), that meant we had a roof over our heads. Not more than a couple minutes down the road, another lion sighting. They were just settling down for their daytime snooze. A beautiful lioness lay resting in the low light sun, filtered all around her except that a small sliver of light that sliced through, perfectly illuminating her in a soft early morning glow. You couldn’t plan this type of perfection. It just happens.

We encountered the entire pride of lion a bit further down the road, cubs and all. Just an amazing sight.

As we continued to drive, I snapped a photo of the truck as we were driving. Just the shadow of it along the grasses of the roadside, the image turned out to be much more like a twisted version of the Flintstones car than it did our truck. How apropos though given my constant feelings and writings of feeling at times as if we were back in the dinosaur age.

As I mentioned earlier, babies abounded everywhere. Here we ran into a junior giraffe. The mom wasn't close enough to grab a shot which would have helped you understand the scale, but this little guy was probably only 8-9 feet tall, half the size of a grown adult.

We happened upon a strange trail at some point a little later on. It was fairly wide but wasn't at all something that we've ever come across in our travels. I asked Diedre about it and so she stopped and backed up a bit. That was the great thing about her. If you wanted a closer look, to ask a question, to understand and to learn, all you had to do is ask. The trail it seems is an animal trail. Duh. But the interesting fact about it is that it serves as an animal superhighway. These trails typically lead to water and many animals come out of the bush wherever they may be and get onto the trail, like surface streets that feed to the interstate (which ultimately leads to water). So many animals use it on a daily, or nightly basis, from hippos to lion, a lot of animals have worn this wandering path from the bush to the river's edge.

Onward to small monkeys hanging out in the trees, their 4 foot prehensile tails sticking straight behind them for balance as they navigated a tree limb, or hanging downward, or gripping. And then baboons in numbers we hadn't seen. We saw a big male, and then a female with him, and then a baby nearby. And soon, everywhere we looked were baboon. Under the trees, near the bushes, in the trees. Themba estimated there were more than 75 in the troop, scattered about.


We had an early return to camp that morning as Kit and Erica had to catch their plane and we had to clean up and pack, ready for our next adventure. We never did encounter the elephants, but that was for another trip I guess and we certainly couldn't argue with everything we did get to see and experience.

Upon our return to the lodge, we took one last picture with Dierdre and Themba (and her rifle), a keepsake that will remind me everytime I see it of so many things about Singita. All it takes is that image to conjure up animals, and animal walks, African Rusk, a warm people, amazing sunsets, the hot sun, dung beetles and so much more. It truly was an experience of a lifetime.

I'm On The Top Of The World.

Mike's birthday events kicked off as sunset neared and Dierdre took us up, and up and up the side of a mountain. The steepest incline we had driven the entire safari was falling behind us, the tire kicking up rocks and even boulders in some cases, hurling them down the red earthed “road” behind us. As we approached the top, we rounded a bend and saw a fence stretching as far as the eye could see. On the other side of the fence lay Mozambique. We continued driving along the fence for a couple minutes and came to a point. Sunset point. Cocktail hour. And a special celebration of Mike’s birthday.

This setting was unlike an of the other sunset points we had seen. Stretched far below was the N’wanetsi gorge, carved out of the earth and we were on the precipice. I had arranged to have special cocktails made (usually it’s just the basic cocktails, beer and wine). I also had arranged for special snacks to truly make this birthday meaningful. So, out came two menu cards with “Mike’s birthday cocktails” proudly displayed on the table and the ingredients for Pimm’s Rangoon, a favorite drink of his and Cosmopolitans, a nod to Matt and Marty. Out came a mixed nut tray full of different types of African nuts as that’s a staple of cocktail hour for us. And then came the additional snacks the chef had prepared.

We sat at the edge of the gorge, enjoying the sunset and the forthcoming stars, feeling like we were on top of the world, and able to see the beauty of the earth below and the stars above. A place where the earth meets the sky.

After savoring our cocktails and snacks and the views, we packed up the truck and began the long trek home. Gone was the pride of lions we encountered, no doubt they had moved on to their evening hunt. But the big injured guy lay exactly where we had left him. Dierdre explained that he would be fine. That animals adapted. And then she recounted the story of a lion that had it’s front shoulder broken, most likely from the kick of a giraffe. The lion struggled to keep up with the pride for six months, but eventually redeveloped a whole new way of walking which countered the poorly healed shoulder. We still felt bad for the guy, watching him limp severely.

We arrived back at the lodge at around 8pm as there was a special dinner planned. Greeting us as we entered were the wonderful cool towels and then we met Christophe who explained that we would like us to join him to celebrate Mike’s birthday with a glass of champagne. Dierdre joined us as well.

The bucket of ice with the champagne in it and the glasses were on a table poolside as was a giant gleaming steel saber. Huh? Christophe asked Mike to help him open the champagne and was going to do so through a technique called Sobrage. So Christophe grabbed the saber and asked for Mike’s hands on the saber as well. With a one, two, three count, the saber popped the cork off the champagne bottle in one swoop.

But it didn’t just pop the cork off, Sobrage means you actually cut through the bottle. So he hit the bottle right on the bottle seam at the neck and sliced through the bottle right below the cork. The cork stays embedded in the glass and goes flying. The break is so clean that you pour the champagne right from the bottle into glasses. Pretty Amazing.

So we headed from there up to the Boma for dinner. The Boma is a livestock corral, made of rock or branches or other materials, it's built in a circle.

We headed into the Boma where all the other guests also joined in for a traditional African style dinner. We sat an individual little tables (almost like a TV tray but bigger) that had a white tablecloth and cintronella oil lantern on each table. Against the backdrop of the light colored Boma wall, and the large trees overhead, the entire Boma had a wonderful yellow glow about it.

We feasted on leg of impala, springbok, beef as well as traditional side dishes -- everything from corn to lentils and more. The dinner was delicious, especially when paired with South African wine, which we had grown quite fond of.

And then we heard music in the distance. Voices. African voices singing a beautiful song. Growing louder, a group of about 25 people came into the Boma, singing their lilting traditional village music. We learned from Dierdre that these were all members of the Shangaan tribe that also worked at Singita as housekeepers, as bartenders, as cooks and dishwashers and waiters and spa attendants. They voluntarily participated in singing to guests every three nights or so. And they didn't practice. These songs and dances they performed were part of their upbringing. Part of their culture. And it was something that was so ingrained that they just followed their rituals.

And then the group came out with a cake, and pulled Mike to the center of the Boma, to celebrate and dance. So here's Mike, cake in hand, dancing with the Shangaan village people (not to be confused with those other village people). We then feasted on the cake and other traditional south african (and American desserts) as the night wound down.

This could have been trite, like going to a luau in Hawaii, everyone in the their Hawaiian shirts and wearing leis. But somehow it came across as authentic. These weren't people putting on a show. These were real people, expressing who they are. Promoting their culture, their language, their heritage. These were people who worked here for six weeks, and then went back to their villages - the place they call home.

It's amazing that we had been in the bush only 48 hours, yet it felt like a lifetime given how much we had done and seen. Tomorrow would be our last foray into the bush.

Check out new videos just added

I just added more videos into older posts now that I'm a video pro.

Check them out.

Dung Beetle video

Airplane troubles - watch as we take off on our little plane to Lebombo

More to come...

Afternoon Game Drive – Lion Redux

Continuing on the game drive, Themba happened to spy a huge male lion right off the road. Since the afternoon sun was still out but it was waning, lions tend to sleep well into the coolness of the evening, stirring only after it’s cool enough to begin their evening hunt.

This male was content to just lay there. However, he did get up and move and was walking with a huge limp. Dierdre surmised that he got injured in a hunt and it could have been from just about anything. You felt so bad for the guy as he was the king fo the pride and lions, especially kings, have to keep up with the pride as it moves to retain their status. The other big issue is that another male could fight him for dominance given his injured state. We let the guy rest and moved on.

As we headed out further into the bush, Themba spied a couple of female lions and three of their offspring, all about 8-10months old.. Seems we hit the lion mother lode today. Dierdre knew something we didn’t and headed off road. The lioness’ were beginning to stir which means the rest of the pride would begin to wake up as well. As she pointed up the hillside toward another lioness making her way down, Dierdre told us to keep our eyes our for what was trailing her.

Trailing the female were three small cubs, no more than 3 months old Dierdre told us. So we had three females and five cubs. And then came a male. A huge male. This was the pride that the wounded lion belonged to as well.

As the cubs played and nuzzled with the other cubs and moms, we had a front row seat to seeing the pride come alive.

The male lion was less enthused, laying down. And then getting up. And then walking right toward us. Diredre told us to stop moving all together. No movement. If cameras were up, they stayed up. He stopped to mark his scent on a bush, no more than 10 feet away, looking right at us. This guy was just huge. And in one short movement, you knew he could spring right into the truck. He began walking on and we were given the all clear sign, able to raise our cameras again (and take a deep breath).

This guy was too close for comfort and it was another one of those moments of feeling alive. Of feeling one with Africa. Of feeling lucky to be able to have the experience of being on safari in this truly amazing place.