Yesterday was pretty uneventful. We ate and then drove to Boulders Beach to see African penguins which was cool. We then continued around to Cape Point, the tip of South Africa where the Indian and Atlantic oceans come together. We continued along the coast (stopping for lunch at a completely random place, which had won a ton of awards and also Oprah had been there a few months before) and stopped at some places to take pictures. We ended the night having tapas at another award winning restaurant that was fancy schmancy. They were so delicious.
Today was amazing. Except for the long travel. We woke up at 6:15 and headed to the airport for our 8:50 flight back to Johannesburg. We drove (following extremely hard to read directions) for about 4 hours until we reached the Madikwe Game Reserve: Home of the Big 5. I've been told the list so many times but can never get it right. Haha. We drove a bit further until we found our final residence: Jamala Madikwe "Royal Safaris". Guys. This place is the nicest I've ever been. We arrived and literally the whole staff came out to greet us. The whole place can only hold 10 people, we're 8 so we're the only ones here. There is a main lodge (with a view to a watering hole frequented by wildlife) and then 5 smaller lodges. We were greeted with towels and champagne, and they took our luggage to our respectable lodges.
Then it was time for our first game drive!!! We got in an open jeep type thing with Lucky and JR our guides. And man were we lucky. We drove around and they talked about the reserve and about how much of a poaching problem there is here. There are electric fences all around the reserve to keep the animals in and hopefully safe.
First we came upon 2 rhinos that literally walked 15 feet from the car. Then we went to another watering hole and there came a whole other group of rhinos including a baby! Oh and before this we saw a few monkeys with a baby! Then a HUGE group of probably 10 elephants walked by. Like 30 feet from our car. No kidding. There were a few babies too and I was melting. We watched them for a good 30 minutes and then started back because it was dark. JR and Lucky shined lights looking for wildlife, and suddenly JR told Lucky to reverse. He saw two leopards and we got a glimpse of one!! Then we kept on back.
We arrived greeted again with hot towels and a "Springbok Shooter": mint liquor with cream to help warm us up! (Oh and also there were blankets on the jeep). We walked inside and sat down for dinner: spinach and feta soup followed by elond (a type of animal) on truffle mashed potatoes and chili broccoli followed by a dried cranberry enhanced brownie with homemade vanilla ice cream. One of the best meals of my life. The staff is so nice and they ask you by name if you want a drink or anything.
We came back to our lodge to see our beds turned down, netting around it, and a hot soapy bath in the bathroom. Oh and there were truffles and a note on our pillows, stating the weather and sunrise/sunset times for the next day.
I feel like a celebrity. This place is unimaginable. Tomorrow they're waking us up at 6 to go on another game drive. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow holds! I wanna see more elephants!! :))
Anna
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