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.