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!
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