From Clarens we headed to Durban which was another 3 hours away. We had selected to stay at a self catering unit in Ballito called Dolphin Bay. It was a beautiful property, right by the beach overlooking the sea. Early the next morning we woke up to see the dolphins frolicking in the waves. They were in the distance and we could barely make them out. Unfortunately for mum and myself, we were being picked up at half past 8 for another tour, so we missed the school of dolphins having fun right in front of our apartment. As I said, nature’s way is unhurried and full of surprises.
So mum and I were picked up by Mark who was our guide for the next 3 days. He drove us to one of the oldest game reserves in South Africa called Hluhluwe Imfolozi. That night we stayed in a beautiful tree lodge.
From our verandah, we could observe impala, nyala and kudu grazing below. Such an amazing feeling. As we were walking from our lodge to the main dining area, we stumbled upon some giraffe grazing. Don’t know who was more scared – the giraffe or us?
Early the next morning we went on our game drive. This was different from the one at Mabula as Hluhluwe Imfolozi is over 96000 hectares. We saw a lot of zebras, giraffe, impala, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes and even some hyenas. But we did not see any of the big cats.
After a sumptuous breakfast we drove to the St. Lucia wetlands, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is famous for its hippos and crocodiles as well as the numerous bird species. We were lucky to see some hippos including a baby before they entered into the water. All the other hippos were lazing under water and difficult to photograph. Hippos are lazy animals and can spend hours in the water cooling themselves. They can run/walk at a speed of 25 km/hr under water. And the crocodiles are forever waiting to spot a baby hippo that they can drag away from the mother and feed on. Crocodiles are cold blooded creatures and are forever sunning themselves in the sun on the banks of the river.
We were lucky to see the fish eagle. This bird mates for life – when one bird dies, the other will starve till it dies too.
So mum and I were picked up by Mark who was our guide for the next 3 days. He drove us to one of the oldest game reserves in South Africa called Hluhluwe Imfolozi. That night we stayed in a beautiful tree lodge.
From our verandah, we could observe impala, nyala and kudu grazing below. Such an amazing feeling. As we were walking from our lodge to the main dining area, we stumbled upon some giraffe grazing. Don’t know who was more scared – the giraffe or us?
Early the next morning we went on our game drive. This was different from the one at Mabula as Hluhluwe Imfolozi is over 96000 hectares. We saw a lot of zebras, giraffe, impala, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes and even some hyenas. But we did not see any of the big cats.
After a sumptuous breakfast we drove to the St. Lucia wetlands, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is famous for its hippos and crocodiles as well as the numerous bird species. We were lucky to see some hippos including a baby before they entered into the water. All the other hippos were lazing under water and difficult to photograph. Hippos are lazy animals and can spend hours in the water cooling themselves. They can run/walk at a speed of 25 km/hr under water. And the crocodiles are forever waiting to spot a baby hippo that they can drag away from the mother and feed on. Crocodiles are cold blooded creatures and are forever sunning themselves in the sun on the banks of the river.
We were lucky to see the fish eagle. This bird mates for life – when one bird dies, the other will starve till it dies too.
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