All good things must come to an end – well, till next time anyway!

Time to pack the cars

Even the littlest hands were helping

This isn’t the end of the drive, just the end of the stay with Umkhumbi Lodge.
Next stop is a game drive!!

Excited about their game drive

See you soon!

Arranging the next drive :)

And they're off!

Off to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi

Thank you for sharing your family weekend with us. It was awesome to meet all of you, hope to see you again soon!

Come back soon!

It is a scorcher of a day (thank God for air-con!), so we are doing a 4X4 water expedition, in short, any water we see, we go swimming!

Chilling at two baboon junction

The road goes through the water...

...the perfect excuse to get your wheels wet

Running from the 'shark' :)

The water scorpion keeps running away :(

But as fun as that was, more roads await!

Why should the Zebras have all the fun

It's playtime!

So, we were crusing along quite happily after splashing around at ‘Two Baboon junction’ (the two baboons presumably being Anton and Solly – sorry guys!) when, all of a sudden, we needed to use the winch of one of the VW Amaroks!

The sandy road was soft and the load heavy, it was embarassing….

Stuck

…But not for us – we were the rescuers. A local comapny had lost its trailer in the sand, even the large army vehicle towing it could not get it to move one more cm up the road.

VW Amarok 4×4 to the rescue! Derryck had been waiting for a chance to test out his winch, and here it was! So with Derryck manning the controls, Solly guiding the trailer and Anton stopping the car from sliding down the road with the trailer we spent around an hour and a half, heaving and reversing and (for some of us) watching at the sidelines.

Derryck the winchmaster

Solly pitching in to lift and steer the trailer

With the road now clear, we were off!

Kosi Bay here we come!

Sadly though, testing Derrycks winch did mean that we got to Kosi Bay mouth later than we wanted to – that and getting lost on the way there anyway.

The sat nav says the road is around here somewhere!

Ah ha, the road!

Last obstacle (other than the holes in the roads) – the bridge…

Starting Kosi Bridge

Woo hoo, the bridge didn't collapse!

But there was still plenty of time to swim and splash around in the warm waters of the Kosi Mouth estuary. There were sleepy heads already bobbing in the car before we’d even started to move out of the car park!

Bucket, spade, fishing net - all set!

It is hard to resist the water on a day like this

Warm sun, warm waters - perfect end to a day

Breakfast – full English, cereals, yoghurts, toast, melon, muffins… what else could you want?

A fort apparently…

Eager to be off and driving, the kids were all playing cars in the fort constructed to keep us pesky adults away.

playing the guess-the-weather game

Last minute itinerary changes due to the weather – it’s a scorcher of a day! – and then we were off!
Let’s go find the water :)

With such a lovely warm day we couldn’t resist getting bob and fluffy out of their cages for a little exercise.

And of course, no one could resist giving them a stroke and a little cuddle, not even little Keagyn!

Dan wanted to hold Bob like Daddy did

Ethyn wanted to hold Bob - honest!

Family fun!

Ethyn and Daddy play with Bob

"can I keep him"

Keagyn is now the youngest friend of Fluffy (and Bob)!

The perfect way to end the day – sundowners… well, stormdowners at any rate. The lappa appeared to be at the centre of a lightning storm, so what else to do but sip at our drinks whilst enjoying the view as lightning breaks across the valley.

No one can resist the bar ;)

Dinnertime for the kids is early enough that adults can relax.

Hungry tummies no more!

Can't go wrong with sausage, mash and peas!

And whilst they are eating there is time to try one of the best hot weather drinks (for the rum lovers out there at any rate) – the ‘Dark and Stormy’!

The Captains favourite mix - The Dark and Stormy

Friday the 18th November brings two families or our Amarok family weekend.

We have 4 adults, and 4 kids – it’s going to be fun!

Copper the Dog excitedly waits to make some new friends

Our adults are Solly, Lindy, Derryck and Charlene and are accompanied by Daniel, Trystan, Ethyn and Keagyn.

Entering Umkhumbi Lodge

Driving up the windy track to reception

The temperature is sweltering today here in Hluhluwe, with no sign of the rain that others on the East Coast are bragging about – stop hogging the rain guys, share!!

So, what else to do but have a couple of beers in the reception car park.

Putting the kids to good use

But enough relaxing, time to unpack the cars. Remember to watch out for the Nyala as you walk up the path.

It is hard not to smile as you walk down a fairylight path

One of the family units with interleading door between rooms.

After being shown to your light, airy and most importantly airconditioned room the only hard thing to decide is what to do next – a refreshing dip in the pool or a refreshing drink at the lappa.

After a few moments standing in the sun… Pool!