Apr 26 Still at Nottens Bush Camp

 Apr 26 - our last full day at Nottens

This is a fantastic lodge!  It is the oldest of the lodges we have stayed in, but in every way it has exceeded our expectations in terms of meals, accommodation, staff, and the sheer number of animals we have seen!

The first night we had a wonderful meal in a different dining room on a lower level deck as a special welcome - tomato bisque, prawns with a lovely sauce, filet mignon with vegetables and mashed potatoes, and tiramisu for dessert.  It seems each day here has had a ‘ special surprise - afternoon pre dinner drinks at a bonfire set up in a clearing in the bush and catered by the kitchen staff! breakfast in the bush complete with a table set up, mimosas, full breakfast buffet once again prepared by the kitchen staff! 

It was another great day of animal sightings on two game drives.  I will post some pictures below….

Hyena

Jeff, our guide. Watching the sunrise

A herd of elephants!

A Cheetah

And water buffalo…

On our afternoon safari we came across more wild animals!

A Kudu

A giraffe

                                                                                      A Cheetah

When we see animals, Jeff goes off road so that we can get up close for photos!  Many of the animals are nonchalant - especially elephants, big cats, and giraffes and don’t run off.

More rhinos…

Dorothy and Jeff at our pre dinner drink spot

And another Kruger Sunset to top off yet another wonderful day!

Our last game drive will be tomorrow morning before we head to the Skukuza Airport for our return to Johannesburg and the long journey home.

The Down-hearted Duo

😢😢

Apr 24 -25. Kruger Park South

 Apr 24 Kruger Park South

*** don’t forget to have a look on FaceBook and Instagram at ‘Hosted Africa’ for Dee’s posts of our trip***

This morning we left Hazyview heading for Kruger National Park and our last safari. 

We took a couple of photos modeling our new tshirts  ( complete with a map of our itinerary on the back! ). 

We drove by small communities where the roads were lined with stalls selling oranges, tomatoes, and who knows what else?  There were even hand painted signs saying  ‘car wash’ tucked into structures open on four sides, supposedly where someone will wash your vehicle by hand!

Once we left the main road we travelled about 10 km on a dirt road to the park gate, and then a further 10 km to reach Nottens Bush Camp  It is a family run safari camp with views from the deck overlooking a huge grazing area and waterhole where we saw several different animals wander in and out throughout the afternoon.

Once again, we are the only group here and the huge dining table was set for lunch.  It was a light meal of salad, condiments, quiche, bread, crackers cheeses, etc on serving dishes / platters for every four or five people to share.  

After some brief announcements about our stay we we taken to our rooms.  Ours is actually a two bedroom suite, with both an indoor and outdoor shower! incredible!

I have been noticing my ankles swelling over the last few days. I think it is a combination of shoes, the heat, and more salty foods than I am used to. So I decided to take advantage of a leg and foot massage to try and get the fluid moving.  Maevis was wonderful!  She applied just the right amount of pressure and massaged my legs and feet for almost an hour!    She suggested I put my feet in cold water and sleep with my feet raised.  The swelling has not come down, of course, but I decided to forego the game drive this afternoon and lie on our porch with my feet up.  I know Mary will share her photos as she went on the safari!

Apr 25 - Day 2 at Nottens

Wake up call (knock on the door) at 5:30:AM to go out on the morning safari.   

Our guide, Jeffrey, was ready to go at 6:10 and within 10

 minutes we had had our first sighting - a leopard!  He was just sitting in the tall grass contemplating his next meal, unperturbed by a couple of jeeps full of spectators!

Then a plover…

 

And then a giraffe…. 

Impala have become so commonplace that we have almost stopped photographing them!

Next we saw a zebra that had been injured.  You can sort of make out the blood on his rump; Jeffrey suspected it was from being attacked by a lion.

The saddest sight was a young giraffe with an injured left leg perhaps from stepping in a hole. He was limping noticeably.  His future, with that injury is not very bright!😢

A pair of wildebeest crossed the road in front of us…

We also saw a cheetah, well camouflaged in the grass who finally stood up when he was alerted to a herd of wildebeest across the road…

Our last sighting was a warthog who passed by as we were getting ready to stop for coffee!  In the wild!  In AFRICA!

 Back to the lodge for breakfast after a very successful safari!!

Time to shower and relax until lunch time at 2:00!!!!! Then our afternoon game drive at 3:30!

Out again with Jeffrey!  We have seen so many animals!  

More elephants…

rhinocerus…

And a surprise for our pre dinner drinks in the wild!  H’ors d’oeuvres and drinks around a blazing fire!

And of course, another wonderful dinner at the big table!

Stay tuned for a description of our last full day!

Cheers from Notten’s Bush Camp

M & D

Apr 27 - Back to Johannesburg

 Apr 27  Back to Johannesburg

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.  We had one more game drive this morning before the usual group photo and thank you presentation to the staff at Nottens Bush Camp.  At each of our stays, Ronnie and Dee had us all gather together to thank the staff and to give them gratuities for their outstanding service. (We each paid a set amount before the trip and he handled all of that for everyone) Each of the lodges have gone above and beyond to make us comfortable and to add many little extras.  It’s a great way to handle the gratuity.

We were ready and in the jeep at 6:00 AM, wanting to take advantage of the full time on our last safari.  We weren’t disappointed when at 6:15 we spotted a leopard with his ‘prey’!  It was a young male holding and guarding a cushion!!!  LOL. Jeff said he must have ‘captured’ it at an out building!  The mother leopard helps teach her offspring to become independent by abandoning them, and then bringing food until she sees them with their first ‘kill’.  Then she never returns!  So when we saw the young one carrying off the cushion, we all hoped she wouldn’t interpret this the wrong way!!!

Jeff spotted this guy a little way off the road… guarding a cushion!

Maybe he decided to find a safer spot to protect it, so walked away carrying the cushion!  He took it quite high up into a tree… where it got stuck!

Finally he was able to wrestle it out of the branches!

And lie down to see what was inside?  He actually ate some of the stuffing!! This guy sure brought a smile to our faces!

Then , maybe he decided to find Mama Leopard and show her his prize?!?!  LOL

There weren’t too many animals out this morning. But we did see another giraffe with a wounded leg.  This guy looks like he has injured his ankle as it is definitely swollen and he is not able to put any weight on it.  How sad to see him trying to move on three legs.  

Our last encounter was at the coffee stop…

As always, Mary had her camera ready!

To catch this Hornbill…

He loved the crumbs from our biscotti!

Sadly, we had to head back to have breakfast and get ready to head to the airport.

The Skukuza Airport was such a neat little airport in Kruger Park!

We arrived into Johannesburg mid afternoon, said our goodbyes to those leaving on flights tonight and then Ronnie and Dee took us to the hotel in the airport where we are spending the time until our departure tomorrow evening!

I’ll try for another blog or two before we reach home!

M & D