Well done Adrian!
On todays game drive he spotted the first Lion, and before the game ranger!
That never happens!!
Be proud 
Tag Archive for south africa
Well done Adrian!
Elephants and Kitties to play with!
Today was a busy day!
The morning was spent tickling and feeding elephants…
Steph was so determined not to leave South Africa, she climbed in!
Unable to handle the extra wife, Adrian tries to convince Rambo (the elephant) to go to the pub for some male bonding
The afternoon was spent having a spot of lunch at Ilala Weavers (and shopping) and then a tour around a local township.
And then the last item on the days agenda is a bit of a hardship….
cuddling cheetah!!
Not quite sure what Kitten and co, will make of Stephanie and Adrians new pet...
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- Not quite sure what Kitten and co, will make of Stephanie and Adrians new pet...
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- Steph was so determined not to leave South Africa, she climbed in!
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- Unable to handle the extra wife, Adrian tries to convince Rambo (the elephant) to go to the pub for some male bonding
Category: Activities, Devost2012, Extreme Nature Tour /
Tags: african elephant, african safari, animals, big cats, cheetah rehabilitation, cuddle elephant, Elephant, elephant sanctuary, hluhluwe, KwaZulu Natal, nature tour, safari holiday, south africa, south african accommodation, south african cats
Walking with Rhino-saurs
It started off as just a normal drive...
Spot the rhino, its there in the background
...closer....
....closer....
...then the rhinos came closer...
...surely they won't get much closer....
...oh, ok then...
Steph and Adrian peek through the bushes at the Rhino mother (and large) Calf
Swaziland here we come!
We had a feast last night, everything must go! Due to laws in Swaziland you are not allowed to take any food products into the country so we ate and drank until we were fit to burst!
Armed with coffee fresh from the percolator (Antons travel companion who was greatly admired by Adrian) we woke ourselves from sleep and Stephanie ate Stephanies concuction of Pineapple and fruit Yoghurt
We all crossed the border without a hitch and proceeded to our breakfast stop in Swaziland overlooking a small lake. Little crocodile and BIG fish! Not to mention a teeny tiny water monitor who was basking on the frame work below the veranda.
It's a hard life for a little monitor
This redbishop was building a nest nearby to the restaurant.
Category: Devost2012, Extreme Nature Tour /
Tags: Africa conservation, african safari, animal conservation, Conservation, Hlane Royal national Park, hluhluwe, holiday safari, KwaZulu Natal, nature tour, Royal game reserve, safari holiday, south africa, south african accommodation, Swaziland, wildlife conservation
Big Cat and Fish
Leopard! On the night drive last night Stephanie and Adrian saw a Leopard! They saw lots of animals, but I can’t tell you what they were as all they kept saying was “Leopard!!”.
Breakfast this morning brought us a handful of guests to the table, namely the Warthog family.
The baby warthogs are cheeky as their mum tries to steal our food
Mmmmmmm foooooood....
Mummy warthog eyes our lunch hungrily
Out on the boat again today, but disaster stuck. No sooner had we pulled away from the dock than one of the valves snapped on the steering system causing a fountain of pink fluid.
We were covered in hydraulic fluid, but Adrian and Anton were in
heaven as they tried to fix the boat!
After borrowing some tools from a nearby work crew the boys battled with the boat.
Stephanie and I decided that it would be unfair if we let the boys do all the hard work, so we hooked the bait on the lines and opened a couple of beers to keep us hydrated as we fished.
We were going for big catches, namely Hippo and Crocodile (or at least that is what Stephanie and I told anyone that asked)!
After a while the boys decided that the boat could wait as they could see Tigerfish from the boat where it was moored.
Adrian Catches a Tigerfish on his second Cast!
Steph plays with Antons little Catfish
No Hippos, but we did catch our Crocodile!
Another s*#t day in Africa....
Dragon fly radio
Category: Activities, African Safari, Devost2012, Extreme Nature Tour /
Tags: african elephant, african safari, animals, big cats, boat trip, catch tigerfish, Elephant, fishing, hluhluwe, KwaZulu Natal, Leopard, nature tour, safari holiday, south africa, south african accommodation, south african cats, tigerfish, tigerfishing
Stephanie and Adrian Arrive
So, after an extremely long flight from Toronto to Vancouver, to Johannesburg, to Durban and then a 3 hour drive to Umkhumbi Lodge, Stephanie and Adrian were finally with us (and I thought my 18 hour flights were bad)!
After a shower and a quick nap for Stephanie (she made the mistake of lying down – ‘for just a second’) it was dinner and then straight to bed!
Today the tour began with a short commute to Amangwane Kosi Bay, an interpretive walk with Tommy around the area of Kosi Bay including a stop at the viewpoint.
This little agama was waiting outside Steph and Adrians reed chalet at Kosi bay
Viewpoint over Kosi Estuary and Mouth
"Want to try the custard apple...?"
....nope, doesn't look that appetising!
Then back to camp to refuel our tired, hot bodies.
Nothing recharges the weary traveller like an African sunset
Except may be a glass of wine as you relax…
Glass of wine, but still no relaxing for Stephanie, not just yet anyway!
But there is no time for relaxing as Stephanie swaps camera tips with Meera, another guest we have staying with us as Adrian wanders around camp to find a different sunset view from the rest of us.
Finally! Time to relax over Tommys awesome cooking!
Did You Know – Flat Lizard
Category: Albizia camp, Did you know?, Environmental Awareness Course /
Tags: accommodation near game reserve, Albizia camp, animal factsheet, educational, Environmental awareness course, Flat Lizard, flat lizard factsheet, hluhl, hluhluwe-imfolozi, hluhluwe-umfolozi, holiday accommodation, learn about lebombo flat lizard, learn about lizards, lizard, lizard factsheet, platysaurus lebomboensis, school trips, south africa, south african accommodation, south african animals, south african lizards, umkhumbi lodge
Bye bye Kiboko!
As always we had lots of fun with our group of 11 Kiboko guests. There wasn’t a quiet moment!
Roars of laughter are frequent from the Kiboko table
Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip everyone!
Category: New friends /
Tags: african group holiday, african safari, guest, hluhluwe accommodation, New friends, south africa, south africa tour, tour bus, tour group
Vervet Monkey
The Vervet Monkeys are running wild today at Umkhumbi Lodge!!
There is always one shy little monkey
Playful as always they are running up and down the branches, munching on monkey apples and mangos and anything else they can find to sink their little teeth into.
*yoink* my fruit
Fruit please!!!?
But then one lazy monkey, stole a baby monkey!!! He wanted the fruit that the mother was eating, so he stole the baby and held it hostage until she gave the fruit to him. Nasty monkey!
She checks that the kidnapper has gone....
... before she cuddles her baby and makes sure it is alright
Did You Know – Narina Trogon
Narina Trogon factsheet is this weeks factsheet, see below
Category: Albizia camp, Birding, Did you know?, Environmental Awareness Course /
Tags: accommodation near game reserve, Albizia camp, animal factsheet, apaloderma narina, birdwatching, educational, Environmental awareness course, hluhl, hluhluwe-imfolozi, hluhluwe-umfolozi, holiday accommodation, learn about narina trogon, Narina Trogon, narina trogon factsheet, school trips, south africa, south african accommodation, south african animals, south african birds, umkhumbi lodge
