Deb: We’re off to Kapama and all sitting like sardines in our ‘seven-seater’ Toyota Avenza. We’ve got luggage piled up to our ears, things stuffed under the seats, clothing, books, and beer under our legs (we’re not leaving the left-over beer behind!), apples, oranges, popcorn, a half loaf of bread and avocadoes poured into nooks and crannies. Not to mention bags of Brenda’s souvenirs. Recession in Africa? No way! Brenda is single-handedly keeping the economy going! And just so you know, for all of you getting souvenirs from Brenda (hats, earrings, scarves, etc.), she’s getting good use of them before handing them over. Charlotte, (Brenda and Di’s mom) you are going to look great in Brenda’s gift to you judging on how great Brenda looked at dinner last night wearing it! On top of this we have accumulated a library of over twenty books (we’re determined to trade them in as soon a we hit a used book store). Before we left I had one of Brendan’s toes sticking in my ear. I yelled at him to get his stinky sock out immediately but when I turned around to give him an evil glare I could see neither him nor Ryan – both are completely buried amongst backpacks, balls, and sundry clothing. By African standards, we’re driving quite comfortably. We’re all happy and merrily rolling along.to our second-last destination together. No car, and no Brenda and Di in a week’s time. We’re going to miss them!
Joe: 90 minutes later, we are pulling into Kapama Game Reserve and into their 5-star River Lodge. Wow. In the middle of nowhere, valet parking, swank accommodation, friendly service and other guests who are acting like they’ve done it all before (unlike us who were helping ourselves to the complimentary drinks, dipping ourselves into the nippy infinity pool, and generally having fun!). It was a taste of NYC in the middle of Africa. After our briefing on 5 am wake-up calls for the daily drive, breakfast at 9, lunch at 1, game drive at 3, dinner at 8, etc., we were treated to a tour of the other amenities: gym, spa, pool and internet facilities. Deb went off to speak to the manager about Brendan’s allergies and to discuss emergency procedures in that unlikely event (telephone call to doctor, directions to private hospital, contingencies and so on). Other activities were offered as well, elephant safaris (ZAR1300), cheetah breeding (ZAR300), balloon safari (ZAR2500) and tours of our bathroom (as big as our home back in Ottawa!).
Deb: Our first evening safari was incredible. Brett, our guide for our time and Kapama, and Rogers, our tracker got us comfortable and on our way for the evening. The sun was shining and kept us nice and toasty inside the vehicle. We spotted and tracked a pair of rhino (the white, non-dangerous kind) and they were awesome. One large one and a younger one. As we followed them, they took us to a watering hole that was serving a herd of Cape buffalo, one of the big five, along the edge of a watering hole. Unbelievably more and more appeared as we sat and watched them. By the time we left there were at least fifty of them drinking, wading in the water, and walking along the muddy banks. It was stunning! We enjoyed them walking around us in a very non-threatening way.
Joe: 90 minutes later, we are pulling into Kapama Game Reserve and into their 5-star River Lodge. Wow. In the middle of nowhere, valet parking, swank accommodation, friendly service and other guests who are acting like they’ve done it all before (unlike us who were helping ourselves to the complimentary drinks, dipping ourselves into the nippy infinity pool, and generally having fun!). It was a taste of NYC in the middle of Africa. After our briefing on 5 am wake-up calls for the daily drive, breakfast at 9, lunch at 1, game drive at 3, dinner at 8, etc., we were treated to a tour of the other amenities: gym, spa, pool and internet facilities. Deb went off to speak to the manager about Brendan’s allergies and to discuss emergency procedures in that unlikely event (telephone call to doctor, directions to private hospital, contingencies and so on). Other activities were offered as well, elephant safaris (ZAR1300), cheetah breeding (ZAR300), balloon safari (ZAR2500) and tours of our bathroom (as big as our home back in Ottawa!).
Deb: Our first evening safari was incredible. Brett, our guide for our time and Kapama, and Rogers, our tracker got us comfortable and on our way for the evening. The sun was shining and kept us nice and toasty inside the vehicle. We spotted and tracked a pair of rhino (the white, non-dangerous kind) and they were awesome. One large one and a younger one. As we followed them, they took us to a watering hole that was serving a herd of Cape buffalo, one of the big five, along the edge of a watering hole. Unbelievably more and more appeared as we sat and watched them. By the time we left there were at least fifty of them drinking, wading in the water, and walking along the muddy banks. It was stunning! We enjoyed them walking around us in a very non-threatening way.
As we made our way around the park, we stopped at open plain to enjoy a “sun-downer” cocktail before moving on to track any animals emerging from their daytime snoozes. Quickly we came across a chameleon in the tree. How our tacker spotted him is unbelievable. As he shone his light in a pendulum from his perch on the hood (bonnet) of the land rover, he spotted the white reflection of the animal in the tree. As the light was held onto it, our driver, Brett went into the tree to retrieve him to show us the wonderful colours of the chameleon. As it began to turn black (due to stress/anger), Brett returned it to its branch and we carried on our night drive safari, returning eventually fro our boma to enjoy dinner and tastes of civilization!
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