Monday, June 17, 2013

Out in Africa - on our doorstep

A weekend away with mates to a fly-in safari destination.. this is what we planned for the long-weekend and had some fun exploring our own country and our own Province, an 80 minute flight in our plane up north to Mkuze... Africa on our doorstep.

Sitting in the back of the game drive vehicle as we scoured the landscape for the big 5

Fever trees, known as such because they are usually found near water, as were the malaria mosquitos, so the early settlers thought it was the trees that had something to do with the "fever", not realising it was in fact the mosquitos. 

 The days were roasting hot but the nights and mornings freezing, this being the heart of winter.. nothing a huge log fire and a captain and coke would not fix. The evening dinner at the Zebra Hills Game Reserve were served in the boma, open to the sky and with a central wood fire.
More game drives... we saw zebra, giraffe, Buffalo, Waterbuck, Nyala, Impala, warthog and a croc. Others saw lions, leopard and rhino as well.

The game drive made a compulsory wine stop!!







 The sights of Africa.. beautiful skies, game wondering around and on the tracks, the glimmer of the moon by night and a lodge full of stuffed animal heads. 
 
We stayed at the Zebra Hills lodge in the game reserve. Thanks Lin and Kevin, wonderful hosts who looked after us so well. We flew in with mates to the Mkuze airfield on Friday in 3 aircraft... see more about the flying on my separate blog Do Eagles Dare by clicking on the link.


Zebra Hills Game Reserve in the Mkuze area of northern KwaZulu-Natal