Rhinos, Elephants and Antelope - Oh My!

  Kariega Game Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa
December 04, 2013It's a good thing that I fell asleep early and that we woke up early, because when Bill check our flight details this morning, they were actually 2 hours earlier than we thought they were.

So, we lept out of bed, packed our bags and checked out. The staff was kind enough to fetch some hot croissants out of the oven for us to take with us because the buffet was not open yet.

The roads were busier today and we encountered many bakkies (pick-ups) and transports. There were lots of people walking and hitchhiking along the highway which makes me incredibly nervous because vehicles pull over onto the wide gavel shoulder to allow cars to pass Game Viewing from our Room. I am sure that there must be a lot of fatalities!

We made good time and dropped the car off at the Avis counter with only a minor altercation or two (like we never received all of the pieces to the GPS and now they would like to collect them from us).

It was a breeze checking in and going through security, so we had time to go to Mugg and Bean for a chai steamer and a bite to eat.

Our flight was delayed for 20 minutes and the landing was a bit rough due to the high winds, but it was overall, an uneventful flight.

Our driver, Mike, was a former QC guy for an automotive plant, so it was very interesting to learn that Port Elizabeth has a large right hand drive automotive industry. We even saw a new Chinese plant being built, a GM plant and VW cars waiting to be shipped at the port Kids at Play.

Our hour and a half ride to Kariega took us along the coast, through barren sandy areas, thick dense bush, and lots of pastures with dairy and beef cattle.

We were greeted by Taylor who drove us to the lodge and Clive gave us the tour before escorting us to our room. For the next two days we will be joined by two elderly couples who are British and American.

While checking into our room we could see a journey of giraffes (the most we have ever seen together), bush buck, warties, ostrich and impala from our patio. Wow! We don't even need to go on a drive, we can just sit right here!

We headed to the lodge, had some lunch on the deck overlooking the river and then a short time later headed out on the game drive with our guide David Fraser and our group mates - Connie, Mickey, Kate and Roger Theresa up Close and Personel.

One of the first things we saw was a new animal for us, Nyala. It is a large antelope that has chocolate brown fur (male, female are caramel colour and do not have horns) with white vertical stripes on the side. We were also able to see some brand new impala babies! They are so gangly and adorable. I had a feeling that this was going to be a great drive! Amongst the antelopes there were several white cattle egrets gobbling up the insects off the ground.

Around the first bend we saw some more giraffe, they are lighter are colour here. Some adorable warties were by the road, then they scurried away!

We wound our way around the Bushmen's River, a tidal river, and then through a stretch of freshly planted grasslands. They are slowly revitalizing land that used to be farmed and this will speed up the process Dad - Play with Me!!!.

Shortly thereafter we drove through a marshy area and saw lots of waterbirds - egret, ducks and grey heron.

We saw plenty of birds this afternoon, many of them new, African Hoopoe, Rednecked Spurfowl or Francolin, Jackal Buzzard, Cape Turtle Dove, Helmeted Guineafowl, Egyptian Goose, Yellowbilled Duck, Redbilled Teal, Glossy Starling, and Blacksmith Plover.

Euphorbia tree that grows taller than the thick shrubs and bushes. It has a light coloured bark and the "leaves" look like cactus.

It took some time, patience and maneuvering by David, but we were rewarded with seeing a herd of elephants with two babies that are two months old and another that is one and a half months old. They came out of the bushes and walked up to and around us STRETTCCHHH. They are so incredible!

After leaving the elephants we found a White Rhino and her baby grazing. So cool!

David brought us up close and personal with a massive Elephant bull. We were so close that we made eye contact and I could have almost reached out and touched him. It was thrilling! He is 46 years old and will likely live between 60 and 70 years. He is in his sexual prime now, so if you know of any single female elephants, give him a call!

Our next big thrill was seeing two female lions, three cubs (two male and one female) and a male lion. They looked full and sleepy, but the youngsters had a bit of energy and were tormenting their parents and playing with each other. The one male tackled dad's head and he did not look impressed, so he got up and moved away and laid back down. A few minutes later the young female joined dad and snuggled up with him.

The highlight of my night was meeting Emma before dinner. One of the rangers, Wayne, rescued an abandoned a baby warty a few days ago, She is less than a week old and is so adorable. I want to bring her home!
Pictures & VideosBaby EmmaOur Pad for the Rest of The Trip