Throwback Thursday - Made In The 80's

There is not much to dislike about growing up in the late 80's and early 90's. Neon wind suits, New Kids On The Block, slap bracelets, stirrup pants, trapper keepers, caboodles, pogs, Lisa Frank... The list goes on.

Being the innovator that I am, I have to assume I chose to combine a number of these iconic 80's and 90's staples on more than one occasion.

For example: stirrup pants paired with a neon wind suit jacket, while wearing a NKOTB slap bracelet and carrying a trapper keeper filled with Lisa Frank folders at school... MIND. BLOWN.

The late 80's and early 90's were pretty incredible by way of trends - some even making a comeback now (I'm talking to you, neon accent pieces and flannel shirts!). With such fashion forward thinking, along with necessary sass for days, I apparently felt that modeling was a realistic career choice as is evident by this week's Throwback.

Thank God I was made in the 80's, am I right?! Without my beautiful mind thriving during these specific decades, the world would have been deprived of such genius....

#ThrowBackThursday

Travel Tales - Day 17

Day 17 - The final hurrah. With heavy hearts, we all stayed out a little later last night knowing the end was very much just hours away. While we didn't want to go to sleep, because that makes it real, we eventually did make our way back to our rooms to get some rest before the very last drive this morning.

To have spent 6 full days in this place has been surreal - a total dream come true for me. I really think I could spend 60 more and never get bored. I went into this thinking it is a once and a lifetime experience, something you only do once. I could not have been more inaccurate. If life will allow (and my husband will agree), I will without question find my way back to this paradise.

The mood was quite somber as we piled onto the game vehicle. I found myself looking at things a little bit closer on this last run. Taking deeper breaths of the cool, crisp air. Closing my eyes and letting my face bask one last time in the African sun. It was truly the perfect end to our journey - not a cloud in the sky as we watched the sunrise over Sabi Sands. That alone is a sight worth seeing - African sunrises and sunsets put all others to shame. Filled with vibrant orange and red hues, they are unlike any sunrise or sunset I have ever seen...

We were given our final game plan - find the elusive cheetah one last time. She had been taunting us yesterday, we knew we were so close and no new tracks had been found overnight. This meant she would still be in the same area of the reserve, so we knew exactly where we had to look. We also knew time would not be on our side this time, with the older couple who were not as keen on the whole tracking process as we were, so we tried to give it a go early in the drive.

We did come up empty handed, but it made our original sighting that much more meaningful. We think of these creatures with the most beautiful, precise markings. How could they be so difficult to find with such an elaborate pattern?! But their camouflage is unbelievable. I would argue that it rivals that of the lioness, which is nearly impossible to see! Combine this with their impressive speed, and the fact that they are solitary animals, it is impressive that we even found one at all!

Along the way we did get a glimpse of various other animals, which kept the older couple at bay, and we ended our safari with one final amazing sighting - the lioness and her two youngsters that we had seen just a few days ago. This time they were lounging in the bush, not on the move at all. We got to see the youngsters interact with their mother, who is clearly still protecting them from the coalition of males as long as she possibly can. A very good send off indeed!


Overall snapshot of our final drive:

Animal Sightings: Giraffe, Lioness and 2 youngsters, Elephants, Wildebeests, Warthogs, Birds (African Eagles, Egyptian Geese, Black Chested Bustards), Steenbok, Impala, Kudu.

Interesting Interactions:

1. The quantity of Impala, Kudu and other antelopes across the reserve seemed to be quite scarce this morning. A possible result of the 4 male lions and pride of lioness with her youngsters who had been hunting the night before.

2. The sighting of the Egyptian Geese came during our coffee break - the geese wanted to land in a nearby watering hole and felt that we were too close! They circled multiple times, calling out in warning before feeling comfortable enough to come into our area.


I think it is safe to say that our entire South African adventure will forever hold a special place in our hearts. Now about the travel back to the States though.... Unsubscribe!

Travel Tales - Day 16

Day 16 - Our last full day. I feel like it slowly started to set in that we were ultimately going to be leaving this little piece of paradise very soon. We were getting ready to make our way out to the vehicle when Claire called to inform us that we were going to need to be escorted through camp - this on account of the male leopard who just walked by their window. Pretty intense start to the day!

This was the same male leopard who was mating with the female earlier in the week. Because we knew he was nearby, and likely hunting, we made him our first priority for the day. We quickly found him walking along the river, and followed him for awhile to see if he was up to anything interesting. While our hopes of seeing a live kill never came to fruition, it was still enjoyable to observe the same leopard we had been seeing previously in a much different environment. We watched him drink from the river, lay down and roll around like a house cat - again, so easy to forget how dangerous these animals can be when you see them in their own element like this. And their fur....simply stunning. So bright and detailed, they are truly one of the most beautiful animals we have ever seen. For me, a close second behind my cheetah friend, of course!

Speaking of, tracks from a female cheetah were spotted this morning! We have had such an incredible journey up until this point, having the opportunity to see everything we could have hoped for and more, so at this point Mac was interested in the hunt - and we were more than happy to oblige...

We searched high and low, near and far. At some points, Mac and Prince leaving the vehicle to walk deep into thicket, just as they had done when we were searching for the mama leopard and her cubs. The 4 of us kept watch from the vehicle - mostly silent, focused on the task at hand. We had become quite the little rangers in training, if I do say so myself!

After awhile, I grabbed Mac's binoculars and kept scanning our surroundings. I think on some level I may have been searching for Mac and Prince as well - they had been gone for quite some time! After seeing the cheetah in plain sight previously, and knowing how camouflaged he was just sitting on a rock for all to see, I was not too hopeful that I would be the one to spot our female - even with the help of the binoculars!

This particular hunt went on for quite awhile, but we were ultimately not rewarded with the sight of our female cheetah. Such a bummer, but we did see some warthogs, elephants and various antelopes along the way. Even with the slight let down, I do still feel like the hunt itself can be as fun as the sightings - especially when everyone is working together, knowing just how difficult it truly is to track and find these animals as we have seen first hand.

We were en route back to camp, when we noticed Mac was starting to slow down. As he pulled off to the side of the road, we saw that off to our left was a pop up "breakfast in the bush" set up - complete with propane tank and grill. As Mac and Prince like to tell us, the "Bush Ferries" must have been hard at work this morning. Because we were so committed to the cheetah hunt, we were unable to make our usual pit stop for coffee. This more than made up for it - especially since it was just the 4 of us again. We are so lucky to have fallen into these private drive situations!

Mac and Prince quickly whipped us up some scrambled eggs and taught us how to make the most intense breakfast sandwich you have ever seen. Claire and I were literally squatting on the ground as to not get it all over our faces and clothing. It was definitely another perfect one-on-one type of experience with Mac and Prince before the new couple joins us on the afternoon drive.

Once we were all finished up, we headed back to camp. Prince offered to take Claire and I to the gift shop at our old lodge that afternoon prior to the next drive. So after lunch, we got all ready to go spend some money!

It has been so difficult to travel around the country with gifts for our loved ones, given the luggage restrictions we have had to comply with. We have definitely done our best to collect some items here and there, but any of the larger pieces we have had to plan ahead for, saving them for the end of the entire trip. We had previously seen some cute jewelry and little trinkets for all of our nieces and nephews and godchildren in the gift shop however, so that was our main focus for today's shopping spree.

As we were shopping around, we heard Prince outside. We came to see what he was doing and there was a spitting cobra! We did not get to see it raised up, ready to spit at Prince, but he said it had just gone back to the ground and was scurrying off. Neither Claire nor myself are fans of snakes, so we were glad to have only caught the tail end of that encounter - quite literally!

We made our way back to camp with enough time for afternoon tea and dessert, naturally timing it perfect. We also met our new vehicle-mates, a couple from Australia once again! We were hopeful they would be better sports about all-things safari than our other Australian friends, and so far they were proving to be pretty low maintenance. Shortly after introductions, we set off for our very last afternoon drive.

Mac had gotten wind of a male and female lion sighting, so we were all in agreement that this is a must see! We were even more impressed when we arrived to the location and there were 4 total male lions with one lioness. These were the members of the new male coalition that had taken over the pride, all together!

The largest of the males was laying next to the female, while two other males were laying nearby. There was another male who was relatively far away from the others, almost as if he were and outcast. We actually didn't even see the 4th of the males until we were making our way out of the area to allow other vehicles in - no one had spotted him yet as he was so far from the others!

Prior to sighting the last of the males, we got to witness yet another mating session! It was so much different than with the leopards. The male leopard was aggressive with the female, biting her neck and holding her down. The lions were much more intimate in a way, laying together after the fact and what not. Because this was a hot commodity sighting, we decided we would allow others to take a look while the sun was still up, and agreed that we would come back towards the end of the night.

As we were driving out of the bush, we noticed the lone male. No one had seen him yet, so we made our way towards him. As we got closer, we realized his face had some fresh wounds, evidence of a recent quarrel - perhaps with the dominant male! This could also have been reason for his distance - poor guy...

As we had previously agreed to spend time with the lions after sunset, we did not spend too much time with the loner - only enough to frighten our new female Australian friend that is. When the lion started walking close to our vehicle, she made it VERY clear that she was uncomfortable. Live a little, lady, you are on safari! Nonetheless, we left shortly thereafter and made our way to a large crash of rhinos instead.

Overall, the drive was not filled with a ton of sightings, but rather a couple of good ones. We did also get to enjoy one last cocktail hour where Mac and Prince encouraged us to have a photo shoot with the game vehicle. We took turns sitting in Prince's tracker seat and playing with the radio, rifle and what not. We forced our new friends to take photos of the 4 of us with Mac and Prince while we were at it as well. Success!

After cocktail hour wrapped, the sun had more or less set and we quickly made our way back to the lions. The male, female and two other males were all sleeping, nothing too exciting. But our loner friend was still on the outskirts of their area and was now on the move. We followed him for a short time, when what we had been hoping for since our very first male lion sighting finally happened. We were literally in the face of a lion roaring! Not too shabby for our last afternoon drive, am I right?!

On the way home, we learned that our last dinner would be another African braai. A perfect way to conclude our final night on safari. Because we were well versed in what the braai entails, we were so looking forward to participating in the dancing portion of the evening. Especially since we had gotten to know the staff so much better from that first night's braai. I think we all sang a little louder, danced a little harder and definitely appreciated the experience even more this second time around.

What an incredible group of people we were fortunate enough to meet. From the butlers, the chef, the security guards and, of course, our guides and trackers, I could not imagine this journey without each and every one of them. They are all such unique individuals in each and every way, and have left everlasting impressions on all of us. I am so grateful to have spent the last 6 days with such wonderful humans.

As if the night were not successful enough, we had a nocturnal visit from a large spotted Genet who found its way onto our deck in search of some food! I would say there is a definite toss up as to the most impressive portion of the braai - Brandon's dance moves (the staff had quite the affinity for them!), or the fact that this tiny wild animal came out of nowhere to join us. Either way, a memorable way to spend our last night at the lodge!

Animal Sightings: Male Leopard, Warthogs, Giraffes, Elephants, Zebra, African Inter-migrating Eagles, Wildebeests, Impala, Kudu, Inyala, Bushbok, Dika, Male Lions, Female Lioness, Crash of Rhinos, Buffalo, Spitting Cobra, Large Spotted Genet.

Travel Tales - Day 15

Day 15 - We were on such a high this morning, coming off of yesterday's successes; however, the best part of the start to Day 15 was knowing we only had one more remaining drive with Trip & Fall.

They were their normal, pleasant selves when we met them at the vehicle. Insisting that Mac and Prince take us back to the mama leopard and her cubs first thing, because they expected better photos, we quickly learned our plan of attack for our morning drive. And despite Mac's best efforts to educate them on the wild dogs and where they can be found in South Africa - as in, NOT where we are currently located, they went ahead and added that mandate to their list as well. One. More. Drive...

We just could not come to grips with the fact that anyone could possibly be disappointed while on such an incredible journey. It was almost as if they were missing the beauty in everything we encountered, because they were so focused on checking off the boxes in their safari booklet to say they saw as many animals as possible (true story, they had actual booklets and pens on every drive...). I digress...

I'm not sure how Mac pulled it off, but we very quickly stumbled upon not a wild dog, but the next best thing (and something Trip & Fall had not yet seen - thank God!): a hyena. So that set the tone for the remainder of the drive and we were certainly off to a great start....on to the leopards!

When we pulled into the area where the mama and her cubs were last seen, we discovered that they had relocated. What we also soon realized was that there was yet another hyena scoping out the cubs and also the mama leopard’s impala kill. We ended up spotting the mama leopard perched on the branch of a tree, where she had also hung the impala carcass as to ensure it was out of the hyenas reach. Such an amazing sight – a leopard, with a kill, in a tree.  The cubs were nearby and the mama leopard was watching that hyena like a hawk, making absolute sure it got nowhere near them. One of the coolest things was to hear her calling to her cubs. It was almost like a bird call, really unique and you could tell by the sound of it that she meant business. The cubs, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around them, were being so playful – climbing trees and pouncing on one another. We got to spend a lot of time with them and the stars definitely aligned for Trip & Fall to get their perfect angle for a shot. Victory!

The drive was by no means cut short, but we definitely got back to camp a little earlier than we had been in past days. I think we were all really excited with the possibility of having a relaxing afternoon to ourselves, with no requirements until lunch. With Trip & Fall gone, we were very much looking forward to our private afternoon drive with just the 4 of us. We knew the vibe would be totally different – way more relaxed and enjoying the company of the animals and one on one with Mac & Price. We were so excited!

When we met prior to our afternoon drive, Mac asked us what was left on our “wish list” of sightings before the end of the trip. The 4 of us had spoken about it earlier in the day, and were all aligned, we absolutely would love to see a lioness – and if we are getting greedy, a pride of lions would be incredible (if the Gods would allow such a sighting…). That being said, we fully understood how fortunate we are to have had the safari experiences we have had thus far. Every drive is a new adventure, and every encounter is different – even with the same animals. We truly appreciated every single one of them, which I think is the best attitude to have in a safari setting.

Nonetheless, Mac seemed eager to find us a lioness and off we went. We drove in a direction that took us across the river from Exeter River Lodge (the first lodge we stayed in). It was kind of cool to get the reverse view from our rooms! As we proceeded to drive off of the trail and into the bush, we made a stop at an enormous Hippo skull. It was fully intact and quite impressive. Brandon, of course, made the request to take it home with him if he was able to figure out the shipping options. Sadly, it was a no go…  We were making our way out of the thicket when Prince pointed off to the right of the incline we were about to drive up. We all looked, but saw nothing; however, Mac turned the vehicle around and there they were – a pride of lioness and 2 youngsters.

While it was not as intimidating as a male lion per se, their presence was definitely known. I spoke previously about the sense of respect demanded by a male lion’s existence, but a female lion has the exact same in her own right. I cannot express to you how close they got to us. When the largest of the females got up to walk, she looked us directly in the eyes and proceeded to walk on by.  Such a humbling encounter, knowing she could have easily had her way with our entire vehicle if she so desired. While they were laying, the lions were seemingly invisible – their fur matching the dried grass of the bush exactly. We nearly drove over them and they didn’t even flinch! Such a cool animal to see in the wild, a predator at the top of the food chain like they are. They were on the move though and we were lucky enough to be the only game vehicle to spend a short time with them before they crossed over into another reserve’s territory.

 The other highlight of the afternoon drive was a vulture sighting. There were two of them, atop a very tall tree and in a giant nest. We did not get to see them fly, but man they were enormous! This particular encounter was one that we hadn’t even thought about, but was so cool to see in person! You kind of got the same eerie feeling in their presence as with the hyenas – they are symbolic of death in so many ways.

Aside from the animals, the mid-drive happy hour was probably the best of the entire safari. We parked in an area overlooking the river and acted like children, competing with Mac and Prince to see who could throw a rock across the river first. It was definitely a great bonding experience and so refreshing to see Mac and Prince in a more relaxed environment – ya know, sans Trip & Fall! 

We got to learn a little more about Mac personally and how he become a guide as well. Turns out, he has a pretty ridiculous story – he was a marine scientist, working for the government and getting death threats regularly, who ultimately had his brother talk him into becoming a safari guide to not only get out of the corrupt government system, but because his true passion was always wildlife. This is exactly why I enjoy the mid-drive coffee breaks and happy hours – it makes the overall experience that much more personal.

Towards the end of the evening, we learned that a new couple would be joining us the following afternoon. So we had one last private game drive with just of the 4 of us tomorrow morning. We had such a great time today with Mac and Prince, we could not wait to learn what the following morning would hold for us!

Animal Sightings: Hyenas, Rhinos, Zebra, Impala, Inyala, Dika, Leopard (mother and cubs, female hunting outside the camp), Bushbok, Kudu, Water Buck, Elephants, Buffalo, Giraffe, Vulture, Lioness and youngster lions (two females and a male), Warthogs, Mongoose, African Spotted Owl and various birds!

Interesting Interactions:

1, The female leopard was on such high alert, never losing sight of the hyena that was nearby. I found myself so concerned for the cubs, because the hyena was closing in on their location, but I think he was actually more interested in the impala carcass than anything else. Still, the thought of witnessing a hyena kill and eat one or two baby leopards was not something I wanted to see play out in front of us.

2. On the contrary, seeing the cubs play in the manner in which they were almost allowed us to forget that they were not domestic cats. They seem so innocent, until you focus in through the camera lens and come to the realization that they have ever so slightly blood stained fur around their mouths – a reminder of the predators they will soon become.

3. Finally, the sight of a female lioness was truly amazing. Sure, the male lion reigns “king,” but the females do everything – they hunt, provide and make the success of a pride possible. We learned that the coalition of male lions we had been seeing throughout our trip were actually one that ran out the previous dominant male to this particular pride. As such, the youngsters that are not offspring of the newly dominant male are often run off and, in many cases, even killed by the males taking over a pride. In this particular scenario, the female mother was with her older female offspring (very close to being a viable mating option for the new males) and the other two were younger siblings – a male and female. The sad reality is that the male youngster does not have a great chance of survival under the reign of the new coalition; however, the elder lioness was doing everything in her power to make sure that does not happen.

Travel Tales - Day 14

Day 14 - Our first full day with Mac and Prince. We were all ready early, so we headed out about 10-15 minutes earlier than usual. Fine by all of us - more time with the animals!

On our way out of the property - not 5 seconds into the drive - we spotted 2 very large male buffaloes. Finally, we had seen all of the Big 5! Because they were sleeping and essentially on our property, we agreed to come back to them on our return from the morning drive.

Not 10 seconds later - spotted. Literally - our spotted male and female leopard friends were still going at it, more or less right outside of our lodge property. We stayed with them as they continued along mating, then walking, mating, then walking. As we were following them through the thicket, Prince calmly turns to us and says, "There's a male lion."

WHE...?! We couldn't even get the words out, because the second we all turned our heads, we realized a lion was standing directly behind the vehicle. We were so enamored with the leopards, we didn't even realize this guy was trailing us. In reality, he was likely interested in the leopards as well - which also explains their "break" and more hustle in walking. We still cannot believe it, even talking about it now... Within minutes of leaving the lodge, we had seen 3 of the 5 Big 5.

With that kind of luck, we decided to go cheetah tracking. On our way, we spotted elephants from afar - that's 4 out of 5! We also heard a familiar voice on the radio calling for Mac. It was Justin, and they were speaking in ranger tongue, but when I heard, "Tell Ali this could be her day," I knew someone had spotted some fresh cheetah tracks. We were crushing this morning so far, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I had learned very quickly just how difficult the cheetah sightings can be!

We had some unexpected sightings along the way, but the one that was most memorable was a baby giraffe and its mother. This thing was adorable. Mac said he had never seen a baby so young before - it even had the umbilical chord still attached! The little thing looked so tiny standing next to its mother - not even the height of her legs!

We were searching the clearings high and low.... Two other rangers had been in the area previously trying their luck with our cheetah friend as well, but both came up empty handed. I had come to terms with the fact that it may be a lost cause when Claire pointed and said, "Is that a lion?" I looked to what she was pointing at and I responded, "Oh it IS a lioness!" We were both wrong, so Brandon spoke up - with his 20/20 vision and all - and said, "you guys are idiots, that's a cheetah!" I was beside myself...

No exaggeration, I was shaking with excitement. I could not believe we not only found a cheetah, but that it was sitting on a rock by the fence of the entire Sabi Sabi game reserve. It was as if it were there watching us all along, knowing this is as far as it could go. It took 4 days, but it was well worth the wait. For me, hands down THE most incredible sighting of the entire safari.

After such an amazing morning, we decided a nature walk was definitely in order. Especially since we had our new guide, we were interested to see if the walk differed from what we had with Justin. It definitely did as we went very far into the bush on this walk. I was so stressed out, looking over my back for lions the entire time, it was difficult to enjoy it. Claire and I did manage to ace all of the dung test questions though - turns out we are incredibly full of shit knowledge. Naturally... The most amazing part about this walk, however, was watching Jeanette face plant it as she tripped over some dung. Everyone was very PC, with the exception of Jason and myself. We immediately turned around and started laughing... No one saw us, but these two women from Australia were proving to be two giant pains in the ass. Karma works in funny ways, doesn't it?! May they forever live in infamy as Trip & Fall.

The afternoon drive was a good one as well - mostly because we spent the first 5 minutes of the drive looking for the sunglasses Brandon lost on the morning drive. I spotted them in the middle of the trail right before we were about to run over them... Dodged a bullet there!

While we did not necessarily see a lot on the afternoon/evening drive - and trust that Trip & Fall would go on to remind us of this until their departure - I personally think the time was well spent, showcasing just how well the guides and trackers across all of the different game reserve lodges work together. The mother leopard and her cubs had not been seen for a few days now, but someone had spotted their tracks earlier in the day. No one had been successful in finding them yet, so the rangers and trackers all worked together - often times on foot, leaving all of us in the vehicles - to go and find the animals. It was so much fun!

This went on for quite some time, so we took this opportunity to stretch our legs and hop out of the vehicle. We were unsupervised, so we did not go far, but I did finally get a chance to sit in the tracker seat. Something I had been dying to do... I just wanted to get a feel for what the trackers POV may be. Can you imagine how terrifying it would be to ride on the very front of a safari vehicle, exposed to all of the animals with no protection at all?! Pretty cool....

While we were waiting, the sun began to set. Before it went down entirely, we see Mac and a handful of other guides running towards the vehicles. Prince was nowhere to be found, but we could tell by the pep in their steps that they had located our cubs and mama leopard. Prince eventually got back to us, having been picked up by another vehicle, and off to the races we went. The teamwork was amazing, but now it was a mad dash to secure the best view of the animals before nightfall.

We got there around the same time as another &Beyond vehicle, but the cubs were on the move. Luckily, we ended up in the perfect location for photos. Well...Claire and I did anyway. Trip & Fall would once again remind us just how terrible they are, complaining the entire time that they couldn't get a picture as opposed to living in the moment... But what they failed to understand was that the light wasn't great, which was almost better - it allowed us to really enjoy the experience in real time as opposed to behind a camera. We were not with them long as the other vehicles needed an opportunity to view them too, so we made our way back to the lodge shortly thereafter.

What an exciting day! We had seen so much and been rewarded on two relatively intense tracking experiences with both the cheetah and leopards. To top off the day, we spotted two hyenas patrolling their territory on the way home. Mac was driving so fast, I swear I thought I was going to fly out of the car every time we floored it over a hill or bump in the trail.

As we pulled onto the lodge property, we noticed one of the trees at the entrance had a lot of light surrounding it. As we got closer, we realized that the lodge staff had put together a bottle of champagne and glasses, hanging everything from the tree for easy access. Because the day was such a success, they decided it was reason to celebrate - such a great end to one of the most exciting days of our entire trip.

At dinner, we couldn't stop talking about the series of events. We had no idea what tomorrow had in store, but we knew it was going to be very difficult to top what had taken place since 5:30am this morning.

Animal Sightings: Buffalo, Leopards (male and female mating & mother and cubs at night), Male Lion, Elephants, Giraffe (mother and baby), Male Cheetah, Dwarf Mongoose, Warthogs, Black Stork, Hornbill, &Beyond Logo Bird (cannot remember the name!), Hyenas, Hippos, Crocodile, Impala, Kudu, Zebra, Wildebeest.


Interesting Interactions: 

1. The mama leopard was guarding an Impala carcass when we found her and the cubs. We got to watch as she plucked the fur from the body and prepped everything for her little cubs to eat. Pretty cool to see that happen!

2. To see hyenas on the hunt at night was such an eery feeling. The sight of a hyena alone feels like death, knowing they are pretty much the clean up crew of Africa, but to see them actually running and in the process of finding their next meal at night was kind of creepy. In a good way!

3. Did I mention we saw a cheetah? SO incredible. It really gave us a show too, at one point even climbing into a dead tree - uncharacteristic for a cheetah! I must have taken 1,000 pictures of this animal alone. Love!

Travel Tales - Day 13

Day 13 - Our last drive with Justin & Chris. I had woken up around 4:30am to some sort of loud animal sound, so I was geared up and ready to go. I also jumped on the opportunity to ride shot gun once more and the rest of the group piled in. We learned in our brief pow wow over coffee that two leopards were seen nearby mating, so that was high on our list of things to do. But we also learned that a lion was heard roaring near camp earlier in the morning, so we decided to check that out first.

The reports were that the roaring was heard coming from the north, but our tracker insisted it was coming from the south, so we headed that way. Sure enough, it was nearby camp and sitting under a tree. This was a different lion than we saw the first day, but a similar set up - minus the Nyala carcass. It doesn't matter how many times I see any of these animals, they are all still so incredible in their own, unique way. This guy was on the verge of a major cat nap... He could barely hold his head up when we found him! He shortly fell to the side and began to drift off, but those ears.....still perked up and aware of everything going on around him. Such a majestic animal, the lion. Their presence is intimidating, but when you see them in such a relaxed setting, it's easy to forget just how dangerous they can be.

The next encounter was something we never could have expected to see - a male and female leopard mating. It felt more like watching a porno, it was CRAZY! The female essentially uses the male for a good 2-3 day run, mating like every 5 minutes throughout. It is a very quick process, but is painful for the female as the male bites the back of her neck to hold her down. It's hard to believe that she was actually the one initiating every session when we see the blood on her coat. It was a pretty amazing sight, sometimes taking place directly at our feet!

We had a few other encounters along our last drive with Justin & Chris, making the most of it by seeing 4 of the 5 Big 5. Pretty impressive! After our drive, we said our good-byes, packed up our things, and relocated to Leadwood Lodge. It is on the same property, just 5 minutes or so away, tucked away for a more intimate experience with only 3 rooms available. With our crew occupying 2 of the 3, we liked our odds.

We never expected the trip accommodations to get much better than Exeter River Lodge, so we were completely taken aback when we were given the tour of Leadwood. It is hands down the nicest place any of us had ever stayed - Four Seasons, Maui and Four Seasons, Bora Bora included (our respective honeymoon destinations). WOW!

Once the initial shock of our new environment wore off, we sat in a tree and had lunch. You read that correctly, we ate lunch in a tree. This was our favorite dining location, overlooking an robust area of the reserve, booming with Impala, Kudu, Bushbok and other unseen creatures, I'm sure!

At 3:30, we met our new guide and tracker (Mac and Prince) along with the two women who would be joining us on Safari. Sue and Jeanette from Australia, but we would later refer to them, lovingly, as Trip & Fall. More on that later... Justin had already informed Mac of my love for the Cheetah, so he knew this was high on my list (should one find its way into the area). Turns out, the other ladies had not seen a Cheetah either and were up for some tracking. Perfect!

While the evening drive is not an ideal time for a Cheetah sighting, we decided to try our luck in scoping out the clearings for the following morning. As suspected, we didn't find a Cheetah, but we DID locate tracks. Mac and Prince said they looked to be a day old, but I was holding out hope!

We were able to see 4 of the 5 Big 5 on our night drive too! So despite the lack of Cheetah presence, we were not lacking by way of photo opportunities for other animals in the surroundings areas of the reserve. We learned quickly that Mac is a big bird guy, pointing out a number of little flying friends that would have otherwise gone undetected.

Another exciting day, filled with new encounters! As we wrapped our drive the for the evening, we were informed that we would all be participating in a traditional African braai that night for dinner. This is essentially a BBQ where they cook meats, pap, sauces with spices and salads. It's a giant social gathering filled with South African culture.

As we were winding down dinner, we heard singing coming from the kitchen, making its way towards us. Next thing we know, we are all standing in a circle, clapping and dancing along to about 5 different songs. They had the African drums and maracas in full effect, so it was another fun African dance session for us. Towards the end, they took us each to the center of the circle for our solo performances. Claire and I went together, and I think Jason and Brandon did too, though this was the point of the performance when B decided to go rouge and freestyle his way into some accolades for his moves. He had everyone bent over and laughing, but also impressed.

Such a great end to our first day at Leadwood. We all made the very scary walk back to our lodges, escorted by our security guard, but made it safely and ended the day on a high.

Animal Sightings: Male lion, Male & Female Leopards mating, Male Leopard hunting at night, Rhinos (both a crash and bull alone on separate drives), Elephants (a herd and bull alone on separate drives), Impala, Nyala, Kudu, Bushbok, Duiker, Warthog, Baboons, Black Snake Hawk, Small Spotted Genet, Dwarf Mongoose, African Hare,

Interesting Interactions: 

1. Leopards mating was amazing. I know I touched on it above, but it is well worth the second mention. The female was a petite leopard - one of the smallest the guides had seen. We learned that she is known around the camp for being a feisty, fearless feline. She holds her own among larger animals when threatened and all of the guides said she is full of personality. The male was huge - easily double in size. The roaring/gurgling sound he makes while mating will forever live in my head, mostly because Brandon and Jason took to replicating it throughout the remainder of the trip.

2. We spotted a male leopard (a different male than the one mating) hunting at night. We were so close to seeing a kill, but the Bushbok spotted him and the element of surprise was lost. Because leopards are not large cats, if they are spotted and unable to attack without surprise, they will walk away. He did, and we stuck with him a little while longer, but ultimately never found another opportunity for a kill. Still so cool to see him on the prowl for a short time!

3. Remember the animal noise I mentioned hearing overnight? I heard it again during the braai and asked Mac what it was.... A lion roaring. How cool is that?! This one was further away than the noise I had heard earlier in the morning, but how surreal it was to learn that I was unknowingly listening to the same lion roaring before finding him a few hours later on the game drive.

Travel Tales - Day 12

Day 12 - Our first full day of Safari. I could barely sleep the night before. I'm not sure if it was the animals around us keeping me up, or pure excitement from the first drive. Either way, I felt rested and giddy. Ready to rock n' roll...

The daily schedule is as follows:

• 5:30am wake up call. You don't have to set this up with anyone, this is what it is. They call you daily at 5:30am to make sure you're on track to meet by 6am. 
• 6am. Meet in the common area for coffee and to discuss the day's plan. 
• 6:15am. Pile onto the Safari vehicle and get the show on the road. 
• 9:30am. Back to the lodge for breakfast. 
• Afternoon is free until lunchtime or you can participate in an optional nature walk. This is something you coordinate directly with your ranger, not something that happens daily unless people want it to. 
• 1:30pm. Lunch begins being served. 
• 3:30pm. Meet in the common area for mid-day coffee/tea and to discuss the afternoon drive plan of attack. 
• 3:45pm. Pile onto the Safari vehicle and head out for drive #2. 
• 7pm. Return to camp and head to dinner at your leisure. 

It's definitely a long day, but one that is filled with amazing sights. It's 100% worth it. One of the best parts about the drives is that you take a break out in the middle of the reserve. The rangers and trackers have pop up bars with coffee, tea, booze and little snacks that they bust out in the middle of nature. It's so cool to feel so small, simply enjoying the reserve in all if its glory (and the human company too, I suppose). We found this to be an awesome way to get to know our ranger, and he us. It totally paid off too, because we established a great relationship with him very quickly and he had our sight requests at the top of his list. It was evident that he wanted to make sure we all got what we wanted, which was difficult in some cases, but the effort sure was appreciated by all.

The temperatures fluctuate so much throughout a single day here. It is quite cold in the mornings and at night, but very hot in the African sun in mid-afternoon. Learning the ins and outs of the weather patterns was something that made packing tricky, but we all layered up and ended up being fine. Once the first morning was under our belts, we knew we were good to go for the rest of the week.


Here is a snapshot of our day as a whole:

Animal sightings: Giraffe, Clan of Hyenas, African Stork couple (they essentially "marry" and partner for life), Crocodile, Impala, Kudu, Crash of White Rhinos, Male Lion, Female Water Buck, Warthog (at our lodge), Herds of Elephants (2), Pond of Hippos, Monkeys, Bushbok, African Hare.

I forgot to highlight the sightings from the first drive, so I will add those here too: Impala, Male Water Buck, Warthogs, Crocodile, Bull Elephant, Dazzle of Zebra, Giraffe, Pond of Hippos, Leopards (mother & cubs and a female - 2 separate sightings), Monkeys, Bushbok.

Interesting interactions:

1. Brandon had an encounter with a warthog at the River Lodge. He was watching him prior to Claire, Jason and I walking to meet him, when he wanted us to take a picture of he and Pumba. We warned him, saying they were mean and he was probably too close, but B insisted he was "nice," seeing as he had been hanging out with him for awhile now. Fair enough.... I got the camera out as Brandon bent down to pose, but the warthog freaked out and panicked before we could snap the shot. He ended up running away, but we only realized that after WE all ran first.

2. We found ourselves in the middle of a giant herd of about 20 elephants, most of which were mothers with babies. Justin informed us while we were in the thick of it that there are few things he is more afraid of than an angry mama elephant. We had about 10 minutes with them, getting wonderful shots of the herd as they ate, before the matriarch female had had enough. The babies were beginning to come out from the bush and she was doing what she had to in order to protect them. She slowly began making her way closer to the vehicle. She got within just a few feet of us before she started becoming irritated. Justin and Chris read the situation, moving us out of the area upon the animals taking negative interest in us. She trumpeted her trunk and began to charge the vehicle. She chased us down a hill, where we stopped at the bottom. She ignored us for a bit longer before she started coming at us again. This time from the top of a hill with us at the bottom. We got a very clear sight of just how powerfully large elephants can truly be. And as she was coming at us, we realized we were somewhat trapped between the herd behind us and another ahead, blocking the road. We slowly made our way up and they parted for us to pass through. Phew! It was super intense...

3. After our elephant chase, we took our pit stop at a watering hole filled with about 15 hippos. They all swam over to the edge where we were parked and watched us the entire time. We are referring to this as our "Hippos & Whiskey" outing. It was a perfect spot to watch the sun begin to set and spend some time with so many hippos at once.

4. After we left the watering hole to start making our way back to camp, we learned the only way out was to make our way through the elephant herd once more. Things had settled down by this time and they had moved to a different location - one with the babies a bit more off the road where they are less threatened. Except for one. It was the tiniest baby elephant even Justin and Chris had ever seen. They though it was maybe 1 month old tops, sporting a tiny little trunk that looked more like a string of spaghetti. It was TINY and belonged to a very young female elephant. We spent some time watching them before the matriarch set her sights on us again. She was a very old elephant and Justin and Chris thought there was even a chance that she was the mother to the baby's mother, making her the grandma.

The family of three moved away from our location and made their way down the path in front of us. While this was happening, one of the baby bull elephants built up the courage to charge our vehicle. It was in no way scary, as he was so small. It was more adorable than anything... But then from the left, one of the females ripped a branch from the tree and proceeded to throw it at us. It dropped just short of the vehicle and we all got a good laugh. Such personality! We took the hint and decided it was a good time to make our way back to camp.


Aside from the obvious events that took place, one thing I found to be really cool was the hunt. We had been tracking rhino since the day before and finally found them! It was a cool and exciting process - following the tracks, working with other rangers on the radio to see what they were finding. It was a blast.

It was such an amazing first full day! We got to know Justin even better throughout the day and felt like we established a pretty good relationship with the other couple we were with as well. We were sad to only have one more drive left with Justin & Chris before we relocated to the Leadwood Lodge, but knew we were going to make the most of it come morning!

Travel Tales - Day 11

Day 11 - Early to bed, early to rise. A process we would soon realize we would be growing accustomed to for the remainder of our trip. Our driver picked us up in Simon's Town around 7am and off went to Cape Town airport. We were all definitely sick of packing and unpacking and packing again at this point, but we also know that it has been totally worth it.

Our flight was not scheduled to depart until 10am, so when we arrived to the airport and found ourselves through security just a little bit after 8am, we made a pit stop for some coffee. In an effort to kill even more time, we convinced Jason that he was in desperate need of a sunglasses upgrade. Claire had already laid the groundwork, but B and I provided that extra nudge to push him over the edge. He admitted that the Blue-Blockers were ready to be exchanged, and so he made the jump onto the Ray-Ban bandwagon with the rest of us.

We boarded our little regional jet without too many issues. Aside from the fact that the wings hung down from the top of the airplane, something I'd never seen before and set me into a brief state of panic.. But the flight could not have been better - smooth take off, no turbulence, easy landing and amazing views of the mountain ranges along the way. It's like Africa knew it needed to relax me to prepare for what was coming next - the whole prop plane flight to the game reserve airstrip thing...

My doctor prescribed me some Xanax, which I had forgotten to take. By the time I remembered, it was too late to do anything for me. So I decided to wing it. Warren was our pilot and he was nice, but joked around about the bumps a little too much for my liking. There was no stowing of the luggage or safety instructions delivered. Just get in, pick a seat, buckle your automobile-like seat belt and hope for the best.

We were off the ground within 5 minutes of boarding. The total flight time was 12 minutes in length and it was without a doubt the longest 12 minutes of my life. Nothing about this was smooth and I pretty much came to terms with the fact that if we went down, it was not going to be a surprise. While everyone likes to poke fun at this fear of mine, trust that every single person aboard was white knuckling it with me - whether they will admit it or not!

Within seconds of landing, we were being transported to the lodge. On the way in, the animal sightings began - warthogs, impala, water buck and various birds. It did not take us long to understand that we were truly staying in the middle of the game reserve. As we pulled up to the lodge, we were greeted with warm towels and freshly squeezed lemonade. We were completely in awe of not only the surroundings, but the hospitality.

We were guided around the lodge, familiarizing ourselves with our new environment and getting a crash course in protocol. We learned of such things as baboons breaking into rooms (keep doors and windows locked at all times), leopards devouring a kill in an outdoor shower (this literally happened in our room just 2 days prior), etc. Because we are quite literally staying in the wild, we must be escorted to and from our rooms after sundown. Oh and when the sun is up? Be sure and keep your head on a swivel...

It was so much information to process at once, but they really push you into the deep end and force you to swim in their extremely regimented sea of practices. They advised that we had just a little bit of time left to grab lunch and get dressed for the afternoon game drive. We were to meet our ranger (Justin) and tracker (Chris) by 3:30pm, and we would head out shortly thereafter.

We made our way down to the dining area where we were met with our "at your service" tenant, Ronnie-Ronnie (I refuse to call him a butler, but that was how he introduced himself....), along with ample bushbok and monkeys. As in they were pretty much eating with us. In fact, we sat there and watched a monkey swing down from a tree and steal a piece of bread from the people sitting next to us. Pretty funny, those little creatures. They are so mischievous!

Back to Ronnie-Ronnie. This guy repeats everything twice. Thank you, thank you. Same, same. Pleasure, pleasure. He was the best.... He did everything to ensure our stay at the River Lodge was the absolute most enjoyable as possible.

3:30pm rolled around and we made our way to the meeting area. We had met the other two couples paired with us during lunch, so no formal introductions were needed beyond that of our guide and tracker. Justin was a younger guy, maybe mid-30s, but has been with &Beyond since 2009. And Chris was a 20-year vet, but looked about 35. You know what they say...Black don't crack!

They got to know us quickly and asked what we were most interested in seeing. Claire - baby elephant, Brandon - a little bit of everything, Jason - same same, Ali - a little bit of everything, but dying to see a cheetah. A devastating blow for me to hear the cheetah are a bit scarce in this area and thus difficult to find because the pool is so small. An even bigger blow to have learned they saw one on the morning drive with a kill. Insert dagger through heart here... I'm a team player though, fully understanding that you cannot cater to only one person on a truck full of 8. Be patient was the mantra, and I fully intended to follow it.

Now for the awkward part... Where to sit when the seats are 3 rows and only 3 seats per row. Both couples had staked claims on the top two rows, leaving only the bottom row of 3 available and the middle seats in the other two rows. Hmm... I had no hesitations asking if I could ride up front with the ranger. I figured that was likely the best seat in the house and would allow B, Claire and Jason to all sit together. I'm so glad I asked, because this was the absolute best first game drive experience I think anyone could ever have. I was right next to the guide, within an ear shot of the radio so I could hear all of the rangers from nearby reserves working together to track various animals and call in sightings, and I saw the amazing rapport between Chris and Justin.

A tracker is one of the most interesting jobs in the world. They sit on a chair, strapped to the front of the vehicles and are somewhat suspended in air. As we drive into the most dangerous areas with male lions, leopards, elephants, you name it, they don't even flinch. It's so extraordinary to see. We got so close to the animals that I often found myself watching to see if Chris reacted to any strange movements, but he never did. Simply amazing.

Our first drive was filled with many sightings, a phenomenal start to our 6-day Safari. We roamed the reserve until after sundown - around 7pm, then made our way back to the lodge for dinner. We went straight there, wanting to eat and then head back to the room early to shower and get ready for bed. The first night's meal? Impala. It was so delicious, but I did feel guilty eating it after seeing them in person. They are very much like deer for us in the States - EVERYWHERE. When they spring away from anything that spooks them, they are quite graceful and they do have beautiful markings.

All in all a successful first drive on Safari, and we could barely contain ourselves for the first full day ahead of us. We wrapped up dinner and parted ways to our respective lodges. After all.... Early to bed, early to rise. And 5:30am was just around the corner!

Travel Tales - Day 10

Day 10 - 4am. That was our wake up call. Under any other vacation circumstances, I would have been furious. Hell, under any normal vacation circumstances, I probably would have taken physical action against my alarm clock.... But this was no ordinary day. Today, it was Christmas in August - or so we believed... We jumped through hoops, seemingly moved mountains, to even make this day possible. Today, we encounter the great white shark!

The drive was easy as there were so little people on the road at this time of day. The darkness allowed everyone to rest their eyes, but not me. I was way too giddy, excited about the journey we were about to embark on. I love animals, so the safari portion of our trip is going to be a total dream come true. That being said, I am obsessed with sharks. THIS was the part of our travels that I was most looking forward to....

We pulled up to the shark shop early, around 5:45am. We were the first ones there, but no one seemed to mind. By 6am, the store opened and we proceeded to sign our lives away...quite literally. Everyone is always so nice in these situations - oh, you might die? In that case, my good deed for the day is making sure your morning doesn't suck... I will take all of the positive energy coming our way today. 

We made our way to the dock where we were to depart. Claire and Jason were transferred separately, so they had secured us all seats atop of the boat. Brandon and I climbed our way down to the boat from the dock, and then back up to our seats. No one sat with us, so the four of us had the whole area to ourselves. Sweet!

Remember how the sea was angry in Cape Town aboard the large navy vessel? Well, she was fucking pissed at 6am in Simon's Town and decided to bully the little catamaran that could. If I'm being honest, I was having a blast for the first 15 minutes of the 25 minute ride. Sure, it was cold, I was getting splashed by the waves and we didn't have seat belts...but the adrenaline was rushing and it was like the craziest roller coaster I've ever been on. Then we hit a big wave, my foot slipped and I almost slid under the railing. I quickly understood why everyone else was freaking out around me. I've never held onto something as tightly as I did the middle bar of our seats for those last 10 minutes to Seal Island....

But we made it! Brandon and Claire were completely soaked, they definitely got the worst of it. No one seemed to care at first - we were at Seal Island! The most shark infested waters in the world... But that seal stench? MY GOD... 

We began circling the island, looking for seals coming and going from their hunts - prime great white shark breaching conditions. We did this for a bit, but activity was quite low. And by quite low, I mean non-existent... Strike 1. 

After our first failed attempt for a breach, B was becoming increasingly closer to puking. His motion sickness combined with the smell was not boding well. Meanwhile, the crew began prepping the decoy - an effort to create better chance for breach. We got Frank into the water and were praying for some action. ANY action...

This went on for quite some time. The entire boat sitting in silence. About 20 minutes in, it happened. So quickly that if you weren't paying attention you would have missed it. Guess who wasn't watching due to motion sickness??? Poor Brandon... I think he does feel better knowing it wasn't that great of a breach though. It was a smaller great white, and he came from the side. So we did not get the amazing vertical jump that these flying sharks are known for, unfortunately. I still thought it was awesome...

We pulled the decoy a bit longer, but nothing happened. Strike 2. Onto the cage diving portion of the excursion we went. By this time, Brandon was not in great shape. He was drenched, freezing and also on the verge of providing the chum himself. Both B and Jason stayed up top while Claire and I climbed down to check out the situation. A group of 5 had already committed to going in the first group, so we had to wait. They all changed and put their wet suits on, while the rest of the boat waited patiently...

....Still waiting.... No sharks.

Waiting some more.... No sharks. 

I wish I were watching the clock, but I unfortunately was not. It seemed like eternity though, that much I can say. FINALLY! A sighting. Claire and I were both still on deck level, and I literally ran to the edge of the boat to get a better look. I didn't realize it, but Claire climbed back to the top level. The crew was rushing around, trying to get the first group of divers into the cage to get up close and personal. Still waiting my turn for the cage, I climbed back up to see if the view was better. It certainly was. The size of this thing....it was nuts. Pictures don't do it justice, but we had between a 12-14 footer they said and it was wide as ever. Amazing...

Sadly, it happened so quickly and the shark had very little interest in the chum - the boat's, Brandon decided to refrain from providing his own... It took a tiny nibble of a fish head and just as quickly as we saw it, it disappeared into the deep. I didn't even have an opportunity to reach for my good camera - only iPhone shots, which oddly enough came out better than Claire's camera shots. It just happened so quickly...

Man was it amazing though. A great white shark sighting at Seal Island, still pretty incredible. We were all on an adrenaline high, ready to rock for group 2. That didn't quite happen since Jason, Claire and I wanted to go together. Fine, we will wait until group 3... So group 2 changed and we waited.... 

And waited......

And waited..... Until the crew asked us if we wanted to stick it out for the remaining 30 minutes of the excursion or head back in. I was so pissed they even asked. We are literally paying you assholes for your time, so deal with it and keep chumming! I was not alone in feeling this way, so they stuck it out....

....and we saw nothing. Strike 3.

I was so upset that I didn't even have the opportunity to get into the cage. I realize why people opt to dive for more than one day - you simply cannot guarantee anything. Now we know, I guess.... Regardless, we did have one sighting and it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I think everyone shared these feelings. Except for Brandon, though even he perked up and was giddy when we spotted the shark. 

The boat ride back was much better and saw smoother waters. We were having a great time, but were all a bit bummed that we didn't get group 1. We kept telling ourselves we probably got the better view of the shark, since it didn't go in front of the cage and visibility probably wasn't great for those on the left and in the middle, but we are still jealous...

We docked and made a lunch stop at the Salty Sea Dog for some fish & chips. We were challenged by our driver from the Cape Tour (same one we had on this morning and scheduled for our transfer the following morning to the airport) to compare Sea Dog's to Kalky's, which was our lunch stop during the Cape Tour. The verdict was unanimous, Sea Dog's trumps Kalky's. 

We walked what we are lovingly referring to as the trail of tears, up high into the mountain side to get to our B&B. It was worth it - the views were incredible. We all went to our rooms for much needed showers and met back in the main living area for some wine. We chose to skip dinner, hang out and get a good night's sleep. The next day was to bring another early wake up call and travel to Safari, so we welcomed the rest. 

While it was not what we were expecting, the shark encounter experience itself was worth it for me personally. Who knows when I may have another opportunity to even see a great white in the wild, under somewhat controlled conditions. It was extraordinary...