My Safari trips in South Africa
We were so excited to arrive at the Bukela Lodge for our first Safari trip as its been on my bucket list for a long time.
We had lunch and then were shown to our room and at 3 pm met for our first game drive.
Game drives last for about 3-4 hours and you stop half way through to watch the sunset and have some snacks and drinks. On one of the stops we were so up close and personal with a Giraffe it was amazing. We got to see Lions, Cheetah, Buffalo, Monkeys, Giraffes, Herds of Elephant along with some cute baby ones. Impala, Hippos, Rhinos just incredible.
There is a nice small rock Pool for those hot days but it was quite cool when we went.
The food at the lodge was very good and all drinks were included too which was a nice bonus we weren't expecting. We saw monkeys outside our room (be careful they will steal anything left lying around as they are very cheeky).
There is a waterhole near the main communal areas where some days you see animals up close and it has a great viewing platform. The Staff are ll very friendly and I have gone on to recommend this lodge to good clients of mine.
We then flew from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg about 1.5 hours and then 3 hours by road to Pilansberg National Park.
We stayed at Black Rhino Lodge which again was amazing. Outside our lodge there was a mini pool shared with 2 other rooms which was nice after a hot day in the sun.
Dinner was buffet style here and there was a nice bar area for snacks and drinks throughout the day. They also had a great local young dance group perform one night which was great to see.
There is a watering hole where Giraffe's came up to one day which was great to watch. They have become my favourite animal.
We spent 2 nights at the lodge and did 2 game drives each day. It is an early start at 5.30 am but worth it. Very different from the first safari as it was more open and dry land rather than greenery but parts of it we drove to were very green too. We stopped at the mountain top and took in some great views of herds of elephants below us and then we got to drive down and they passed in front of us, including a baby one which was only about a week old. A special moment to treasure.
Some of the sunset views from this safari were amazing.
We got to see a pride of lions that were looking to prey on Zebra's and it was exciting to see how they plan their catch but I was happy that we didn't actually see the kill as the Zebra's outsmarted them.
We got to see Rhinos' having a proper stand off fight as they were fighting over the female. We see Cheetah up close, Impala, Giraffes, Zebra, Buffalo and each drive was incredible as you just don't know what you are going to come across next. Its so exciting.
Safari definitely exceeded my expectations and it was the most amazing trip I have ever done. It has to be on your bucket list to do safari.
Both lodges were very friendly and knowledgeable about the animals and environment I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either.
Nice spacious rooms with outdoor showers and big hot tubs should you want to relax. Morning drives start at about 5.30 am and afternoon about 2.30 pm and they are for 3 - 4 hours each time. Its exhausting and you are ready for bed after dinner but SO worth it.