We're not in Kansas anymore!

After a six hours long drive we finally arrived at the Bushwise camp about 60 km north of Hoedspruit. The first wildlife we encountered, right before driving into the camp, was giraffe and then it finally dawned on us… we’re in Africa!

Saturday 11th of July

We got up at 06.00 to get going half an hour later in two open vehicles on our first game drive in the Makalali reserve which is home to all of the Big Five.

The rhino calf is about two months old and was the highlight of the day for everyone in my car.

An elephant herd passed us quite close by and gave plenty of opportunities for some decent photos.

In Jonny’s car they also had a close encounter with giraffes.

Our camp pets are mainly skinks…

but there are also a lot of birds around the camp. This forktailed drongo is only one of the approximately 65 we need to learn to identify, not only by sight but also by sound.

In the evening (after the run, that unfortunately ruined my jogging partner’s knee for the coming month) we had a braai (barbecue) and talked around the camp fire for a while.

Sunday 12th of July
Sundays are our days off and we had planned to sleep late… but in the bush, that’s not possible. We woke up at seven and spent the day bird watching, walking, relaxing by the pool, playing miniature golf and jogging (again). In the distance we could hear a lion roaring… The day ended with a braai.

/A