April 19 Schotia Game Reserve

Deb: After lunch we went to the ‘Reptile and Raptor Centre’ in Addo. Angie, a young herpatologist was our guide. We saw several different kinds of snakes, some over four meters long! The boys and Joe were so very brave – they touched the snakes and reptiles and had them draped over their shoulders. I was happy just to watch! We saw falcons, eagles, and owls along with a myriad of other kinds of birdlife. They also had two crocodiles. Angie was a born teacher so our hour was incredibly productive and enjoyable!

Our lion safari was a huge success! Everyone in the area recommended that we do a safari with Schotia Game Reserve. We drove a half an hour out of Addo and met up with the owners. Scott, an experienced ranger would be our guide. Jenny and Peter, the owners assured us that we would be in good hands – just a few weeks ago, in fact, they had been chosen to tour Princes William and Harry around the park!

Scott was, indeed, incredible. He entertained our group (a couple from Britian and one from Australia in addition to us) for the entire afternoon and evening with stories about his adventures in the park. The evening before he, the owners, and a group of twenty-year-olds slept out in the park near a watering hole. He hadn’t slept the whole evening. The group lay underneath some trees and had lions roaring around them just a few meters away – a little too adventurous for the Kuffner Family! Plus there were two crocodiles in the watering hole!. Scott, Jenny and Mike believe that if you simply observe quietly without making any sudden moves or provoking the animals that you are perfectly safe. All I could think about it what the parents of those twenty-year-olds would have had to say about this!

We spent from three until seven driving in the park. In addition to the animals that we saw in Addo we saw rhinos, giraffes, and monkeys and a dozen other African species (Ryan has a list). The giraffes were so very elegant and it was beautiful to see them in the wild.

Dinner was incredible. We all arrived at a safari lodge in the middle of the park and were treated to drinks around a huge boma (fire). We ate kudu, chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and salad. Brendan’s meal was cooked especially for him and he dined exceptionally well (this along with the ‘emergency plan’ took a half an hour to sort out before doing the safari – Jenny and Peter were incredible!).

Before dinner we had caught up with the lion pride just in time for their pre-game nap of the dominant male (about 10 years old) and his 3 year-old son. As they were napping, we had gone for dinner. Afterwards we returned to the jeep to join the hunt (but first we went to check out the new mom and her cubs in the wilderness enclosure – a precaution to keep the cubs safe from other lions – you can see her intentiveness). When we caught up to the hunters (2 females and the dominant male) they were tracking a herd of wildebeast. With the lights dimmed, we waited for the action (we turned out the lights to avoid giving an advantage to the lions). A few minutes later, we could hear the stampede running for their lives. They must have all made it as when we turned on the lights, there were no animals – nor kills – in sight!

We finally feel like we are in Africa!