Kapama Lodge Kapama Private Game Reserve

... and Cyprus. <br><br>This is our second night at a camp in a private nature reserve just outside of Kruger National Park. We'll go into Kruger for game drives tomorrow, including a night drive. Yesterday was a long day of driving to get here, but we made several stops at lookout points along a gorgeous scenic route across the mountains.<br><br>

... upon a group of hyenas. They may have been the scariest of the animals that we saw &#8211; not because of their ferocity, but rather because of their curiosity. They got right up next to our truck and were peering over the edges, seemingly about to hop up and join us.<br><br>A short time after the hyenas, we came upon a male and female leopard who appeared to have found their siesta spot for the day under some trees (leopards are nocturnal). All of these cats are ...

... game about, even though the weather was cooler and cloudy. Of course we did see the ever-present impala. Even at the water's edge there was very little to see, although at one point we did get some nice photos and video of waterbuck.<br><br>Olifants Restcamp is still under re-construction and pretty much looked like it did last year &#8211; a complete building site and as if a bomb has descended on it. Still the view from the ...

... everyone nerves, he would say "Just an impala." But he dragged out the word impala as if it were 5 syllables long, or like he was from Charleston, SC. For the first 2 hours we see pretty much nothing. Impalas are cool and all, but we had seen about 500 of them in Thornybush. These people get excited when we see 3 of them. It really got out of hand when the ranger stopped the car because he spotted a bird, in which he took out his ...

... in (except the entrance) so that animals can not wonder onto the property. Colleen and Tom (the managers of the property, who happen to be married to each other) along with Crystal are there to greet us with some freshly squozen apple juice. They take us over to the chairs to fill out paperwork (name, address, favorite alcoholic beverage, and signature in case we are eaten by a lion). They also explain the shedule (I did ...

... the most hilarious photo of everyone waiting patiently for it to come out. It's a classic! How can I forget to tell you about the most intense thunderstorm on Monday the 19th!?!? The skies literally opened at 10pm and the lightning was constant. The thunder wasn't far behind and in one case, I was plugging my ears waiting for the clap. It sounded like it was in bed with me. The storm went on heavily until 2am but the rain poured down until about 4am. It was the first ...

... to Patson) stayed all night (although, they did move away from our tent eventually). About 1am, we were woken by the call of lions and hyenas... then the baboons joined them at about 4am. So we're pretty tired this morning! We have so many other stories... we've been horse riding in another game reserve (and got so close to the giraffe you could almost touch them), have had 4x4 training, had talks on approaching dangerous game (although most of the ...

... it meant we saw almost everything you could other than a cheetah. Next morning our wish came true and we saw a cheetah, sleek and agile, a magnificent creature. If you do a safari in South Africa we highly recommend arranging a safari on a private reserve, as you really get to see the animals such as lions and leopards close up, and it is a great experience even if you are slighly worried they may decide you are their next meal. Dom and Jonna

... a flippin house spider! But it was great. Finally that day we had the special privledge to go in with the caracals. They're beautiful cats with long tufted black ears and egyptian like eyes. They curled around our legs and licked our hands - just like a little domestic cat - but you should see these guys at feeding time, they rip apart a large steak in a few minutes! Other news - Cubs are fine and doing well. My favourite is Norman, we often purr to ...

... We rest at the rock pools, dipping our feet in cool water. Our next stop is Blyde River Canyon, part of a large reserve. The canyon is 30km long, and we sit on the edge staring at the rock formations, three red rondavela rocks covered in rich green vegetation, the river snaking through the huge canyon below and we can't help but marvel at this spectacular view, nature's creation leaves us speechless just soaking in the sight. When we can finally peel ourselves away from ...