South Africa: Day 7

So we are going to have 10 million pictures of animals.  I will post as few as possible to give you an idea of what we saw during our game drives.

Before you look at the pictures though, I think it would be beneficial to read about the history of Shamwari:

History of Shamwari Game Reserve

Today was our first foray into the game reserve.  We boarded a 10 passenger ATV vehicle (based off a Toyota Land Cruiser) with our guide J.J. and another family with two boys about James' age.  (The husband is from England, the wife is Indian and they are currently living in Switzerland.) The weather was cold but clear so we bundled up in our jackets, gloves and hats and tucked into our seats with heavy blankets on our laps.  As we drove about, J.J. told us about the animals we saw and stopped the truck to let us take pictures when we wanted.  He has a field guide book with him so he can show us a picture of an animal or bird in case we did not get a good view of it before it scampered or flew away.  We ended the morning game drive with a stop at the Born Free Foundation Animal Rescue Center where we saw lions and leopards that have been rescued but cannot be released back into the wild for one reason or another.

After our lunch and a short break, we returned to the trucks for another game drive.  The weather turned rainy and even colder on us, but before it got too bad we were able to see a male lion up close and a adolescent male elephant.  After the rains subsided, we got word of two cheetahs hanging out together and headed over to see them.

A view of part of the reserve with a red dirt game path

Impalas

Fording the river

Giraffes

Blesbok

Female kudu

Warthogs in the foreground, springbok in the background

The black bumps in the water at the top of the picutre just to the right of the tree that is surrounded by water are hippopotamuses

With our game truck

White rhino

Back over the river

Zebra

Leopard at the Born Free Animal Center

Male lion 

Adolescent elephant

Male giraffe

Red hartebeest

Cheetahs

South Africa: Day 6

After another delicious breakfast at the Conrad Pezula hotel, we headed out again on the N2 eastward toward Port Elizabeth.  Along the way we saw a magnificent coastline on the right and great green rolling mountains on the left.  We took a short detour on a winding, wooded road through a dense forest on the side of a mountain and added sheep with black faces, monkeys and donkeys to the list of animals we've seen while driving.

We arrived at the Shamwari Riverdene Lodge around 4pm.  Our tour operator did not give us directions to the lodge and we weren't sure the gps had the right place since the lodge does not have an actual address. We were especially worried when we drove over 5 miles on a very bumpy dirt road. However, we finally did end up in the right place. The kids headed immediately for the playground and expended some of the energy they had been storing up while riding in the car all day. Dinner at the lodge was a barbecue buffet - we had steak, cape salmon, kudu, chicken and beef sausage to choose from.  The kids all tried the kudu and beef sausage, but I'm pretty sure the chicken was their favorite.

The schedule for the day while we are on the game reserve is:

6:30am - wake up call
7:00am - breakfast
7:45am - game drive departs
10:30am - game drive returns
12:00pm - lunch
2:30pm - afternoon tea
3:00pm - game drive departs
6:00pm - game drive returns
7:00pm - dinner

We shall see what animals we can find!

Mountains on our left

River on our scenic detour

The very narrow two lane road

Mountains in the distance

The Indian Ocean to our right

Windmill farm

Windmill farm near the coast 

Storing up energy for later

Huge sand dunes 

Playing catch on the playground at Shamwari Riverdene Lodge

I'm not sure they've ever been on a see-saw before - they thought it was such fun!

Charlotte in the Shamwari hat the kids received along with backpacks for their safari adventures

Madeleine found the craft supplies in the kids playroom and was in heaven

South Africa: Day 5

Today we visited the Knysna Elephant Park and Noetzie Beach.

The Knysna Elephant Park (est. 1994) was the first facility in South Africa to house and care for orphaned African elephants. Over the last twenty years, the park has cared for and raised more than forty elephants. These animals include relocated animals, orphaned calves, elephants rescued from culls and ex-circus animals. The present herd numbers nine – the largest domesticated matriarchal herd in the country.  Responsible and educational interactions allow guests to appreciate the awe-inspiring presence of these animals, but still give the elephants the space and freedom to choose where they want to move, what they want to eat and who they want to interact with. There are no fences to spoil the close encounter and their environment encourages elephants to exhibit natural behaviours.

We fed the elephants pieces of apples, oranges, butternut squash and carrots by holding the food out to them in the flat palm of our hand.  We then got to touch their skin and walk alongside them as a guide told us about the elephants and how they eat, interact within the herd, and how their lives are different at the park than in the wild.  It was a really unique experience!

When we returned to the hotel, we ordered a picnic lunch and took a shuttle to Noetzie Beach. Known as one of the best beaches in South Africa, Noetzie Beach is very secluded with only six residences on the beach and surrounded by rocks on either side.  We had the whole beach to ourselves - most people would assume it is too cold to go to the beach, but our kids happily played in the freezing water and cold sand for two hours.  The girls and I headed back to the hotel for a warm bath after two hours, but James and Brannon stayed out for another hour.  They ended up being invited in to one of the "castles" on the beach where Nelson Mandela stayed in 2008.  Since James has read about Nelson Mandela and was able to relate what he knew about Mr. Mandela to the workers there, he was invited to sit in a chair that Mr. Mandela had sat in when he was there.  James thought it was a very special experience (i.e. he was sure to brag about it to his sisters when he returned to the hotel).  

Another animal to add to our list of animals see while driving: baboons.  Apparently they roam the forests here and can be quite aggressive, especially if they think you have chocolate.  We have been warned not to feed them and be sure to keep the doors to our bungalow locked as they will try to enter to find any food they can.  As we were driving back from the elephant park, we saw several of them on the side of the road.  Unfortunately we were traveling too fast to get a picture.

We leave tomorrow for another 5.5 hour drive eastward.

Pictures from the Elephant Park:

Pictures from the beach: