Safari 101

We flew to Port Elizabeth where we were picked up and driven to Shamwari Private Game Reserve. There we were shown our room and told that we would be paired with a ranger and a group of people for our entire stay.

Meals were included so our expectations were low. Our first lunch was inedible so we decided to just order simple food from then on.

Safari Day 1:

We met our new British family and our ranger JJ at 5 pm and set off for our first game drive. We saw Elephants, Rhinos, Hippos, Zebras, Kudus, Warthogs, heard lots of mummy this and mummy that. Got back to the lodge with enough time to change and meet mummy and daddy for dinner.

Lucky for us, dinner was a traditional Braai (South African BBQ) so it was a simple affair with grilled meats. Except that the grilled meats came from some of the animals that we saw on our drive! We sampled Kudu, Warthog and Antelope. Kudu won hands down!

Safari Day 2:

Up at the crack of dawn for a 5 am drive. Now this time, we got to see a pride of Lionesses with their cubs. A Cheetah get chased down the valley by a Lion because he tried to steal the Lion's half eaten prey. We greeted Giraffes and revisited some of the old chaps we had previously seen. All in all this was the best drive we had. 

That afternoon, we were separated from our British family and paired with 2 new couples, one South African and the other Irish. That evening's drive was a dud and dinner was formal but fortunately Kudu was on the menu!

Safari Day 3:

On our last drive, we got to see our Lion once again. This time, he was extremely frustrated because his mate was ignoring his calls. At one point, he just got up and sprayed the tree he was lying next to and walked away. 

It was now time to pack up and head back to the airport. We were scheduled to connect in Cape Town to a Lufthansa flight heading to Frankfurt. From Frankfurt, we would connect to an Air Berlin flight to Berlin where we would spend New Year's Eve with friends.

Once again, we checked our bags all the way and were convinced that we would never see them again. Our fear was confirmed by the agent who checked us in at Port Elizabeth. She tried to discourage us from sending our luggage all the way through as we were traveling on 3 different airlines and through 3 different airports. We ignored her plea and decided to take our chances and got our flight to Cape Town.

In Cape Town, we boarded our Lufthansa flight, were greeted by our prison matrons and settled into our business class torture chambers. We were given stale bread and water and told that we would be beaten if we refused it. I am slightly exaggerating. We were thrilled to arrive in Frankfurt and connect to our flight to Berlin. Much to our surprise, we were once again reunited with our bags in Berlin!