African Safari

Over 3 weeks Matt and I visited 3 different National Parks.  2 in South Africa, and 1 in Kenya.  Each offered different animal viewings, and very different attitudes.  Before leaving I was very nervous about traveling all the way to Africa with the goal of seeing the animals, only to see nothing.  Animals never stick to human schedules, a lesson I am reminded of every time I scuba dive. 
Our first stop was Addo Elephant Park.  Here we stayed at the beautiful Riverbend Lodge.  With only 10 cabins, it is a small lodge offering great personal service.  Our cabin was part of the all inclusive rate, so we did not have to worry about any extra fees.  Our guide here was named Darlington who was quite the character!
Our first wake up call was 4:30AM-that was very hard!  (I did not realize that would be the wake up time at each park-man that was HARD!)  After a quick coffee and muffin we were off.  2 miles from the lodge we got a first sighting.  A leopard tortuous was laying eggs deep in a hole she had dug the night before-what a wonderful beginning.  Our luck just got better from there.  A large herd of elephants were stealing water from the irrigation well. There must of been 50 elephants, including a 3 week old baby, circled around the well.  That was the highlight of the trip for me.  


From there we flew to Madikwe National Park.  We stayed at Mateya Lodge, which is even smaller than Riverbend.  This was Matt’s favorite stop. The lodge has only 5 suites and is limited to a maximum of 10 guests at a time. This week there was only one other couple here besides us and we had the place to ourselves the last day! The service was awesome! The game drives were just as good. Our guide, Vernon, & spotter, Paul, were amazing at pointing out the animals. They seemed to know everything about each animal, tree, or plant. One unique animal we saw here was African wild dog.

Our last stop of Maasai Mara National Park. Here we stayed at the Fairmont Hotel.  Neither one of us liked this place. Here we always felt rushed and every little thing turned out to be an extra charge. Although we we’d see one of the best viewings of a pride of lions eating a zebra!
Our time in Africa seemed to fly by, but the early mornings & late nights out in the bush were starting to wear on us. Exhausted, we made our way back to the ship in Mombasa. Thanks for the great time, Africa. We will be back again. Look out Seychelles!!! We’re coming for you & the Maldives after that!!!