South Africa Travel Report by Pippa 27th of May until 1st of June.
We left germany in a fairly good summer's climat in order to get to south africa which had been hit by a cold front!
25 may 07 we touched down in JNB around 08.00hrs, got our south african simcard and the rental car and off we left towards krueger NP.
we stop over in white river (close to the numbi gate) at a wonderful country hotel: JATINGA country lodge! wonderful kap-holland style chalets (20 of them spread out within a wonderful landscaped garden). very comfortable and really good vegetarian meals! through out the day tee and coffee is available to hotel guests and 06.00hrs sharp champagne and canapees are delivered to your room! decadence in a very nice style! we could have stayed there forever.
26 may we leave after breakfast, travel through krueger towards SABI SABI - this time we stay at the new bush lodge instead of earth lodge which is out of this world - in the sabi sands reserve adjacent to krueger NP.
stunning large chalets (highly shiny tiles all over, great furniture, extremly large bathroom, large bedroom and large lounge - extremly comfortable!) and great views! we settle in, go to the lounge area where afternoon tea is served prior to game drive in the afternoon around 16.00hrs.
very good game(besides others a lioness with 2 cubs approx. 2,5 month old) are walking a lugga. the cubs were ambushing each other and playing around which we watched for more than 30 min. what a great start in to our southern african trip!
sabi sabi bush lodge has got 24 chalets and a spacy dining lounge, a boma and a swimmingpool!
next morning at 06.00hrs we meet in the lounge respectively around the fire for a light breakfast and off for the morning game drive. it's ice cold and we see frost in top of the gras! we wear everything warm which we brought with us plus we get blankets and hot water bottles in the car!
around 10.00hrs it's warming up so that we have around 25°C at noon.
very little game activities until 07.00/07.30hrs! obviously it's too cold also for the cats!
get back to the lodge around 09.30h for engl. breakfast.
01.00hrs is lunch; after lunch is siesta time!
15.30hrs teatime with cake and snacks
around 17.30hrs sundowner with G+T and snacks in the bush and night gamedrive back to the lodge.
19.00hrs back to the lodge.
dinner around 20.00hrs in the boma - extensive salad buffet, vegetables, potatoes and meat for the carnivores.
27 may the same procedure: ice cold in the morning and heating up by 10.00hrs.
we had a great stay and sabi sabi bush lodge is a great experience and affordable in south african terms
28 may we say good bye to sabi sabi bush lodge and drive to lion sands - also in the sabi sands reserve.
we were upgraded to IVORY lodge which is also one of the most luxurious lodges in south africa - comparable to earth lodge/sabi sabi and the singita lodges and mala mala but a very exquisite contemporary style.
safari routine here the same as sabi sabi.
our suite was 165 sqm and offered living room with open fireplace, dvd player, dimmed lights etc., plunge pool and bedroom, bathroom and also a second outside shower.
luxury as its best!
frequented mostly by honey mooners - which is suitable as we celebrate our silver anniversary this august
meals etc. simply wonderful.
they have an open restaurantdeck and a restaurant for rainy days. dinner can also be served in the own suite which we also tried. great experience!
game was good and also very comfortable open safri vehicles.
30 may we stopped over again at JATINGA country lodge in white river which will definately become one of our most frequented hotels when visiting krueger.
31 may we stayed at Clic-o guesthouse in johannesburg/rosebank. wonderful 7 room guesthouse in a great cap-holland building. very good dinner and cooked breakfast. honesty bar at afordable prices.
i especially loved "verve" the 3 month old kitty which they found when it was only approx. 3 weeks old.
01 june we left for zambia after we exchanged our sa-simcard and got our sat-phone in order to make sure we can reach home and can be reached!
