Day 2: Setting out on Safari

We woke up Wednesday morning really well rested and at a comfortable hour and got ready and packed up. After we ate breakfast we headed out on a 4 hour drive to the game reserve. The first game drive (aka safari) was at 3:30 pm so we wanted to make sure we got there in plenty of time. Even though the drive was a little long, there was lots to look at and I even got to catch some extra zzzzz's mouth wide open and all.

A pretty awesome church on the side of the road. I love clock towers. They really stood out to me when we went to Switzerland too. I think the US should really consider building more churches with clock towers.

So it's totally kosher to drive on the shoulder if you are letting people pass. Super dangerous but way more efficient.

You can also get pulled over at random. The police officer just stands on the side of the road and waves you off to the side.

They look at your drivers license and write down some car information and then let you be on your way....so random.

You also are not allowed to pump your own gas. So some nice gentlemen do it for you. They were obviously slow when we stopped by so one of these guys cleaned our windows too. Everywhere you go people are working for and hoping for a tip. EVERYWHERE you go!

So this is a funny story. At this particular gas station it cost 2 rand (20 cents) to use the bathroom. Tim's mom Maxine put in her 2 rand and instead of pushing on the metal bars at the front of the turn style she pushed on the middle one loosing her opportunity to get in on the 2 rand she had just put in (I hope that makes sense). We got a pretty good laugh at that. Especially since once she realized what had happened her expression was priceless. The best part of the story is that Frank was still getting gas in the car and just before he went in to use the bathroom Maxine warned him about what she had done and he did the exact same thing. I was literally crying I thought it was so funny (I'm pretty easy to entertain). Tim's parents are a fun time!

There were lots of animals just moseying on the side of the road

Donkey

These funky looking cows

And Baboons!! That's right, Baboons! I about died when I saw them. 

They didn't stick around for long though. They started running away when they saw we were taking pictures of them.

And then we arrived to Midikwe Game Reserve.

And our final destination, The Bush House. I had looked online a little at where we were staying, but it was mind blowing to actually be there in person. There was a hostess waiting for us when we arrived with warm lavender scented wash cloths. She walked us up to the veranda where we looked over and saw this....

A herd of elephants taking a water break at the water hole. Enter gasping and freaking out on my part. Elephants. Right there. There are elephants right there. Tim do you see them. The elephants?!?!? I was beside myself. It really was a magical moment.

Maxine and I walked down on the lawn to get a better view of these beautiful animals. They were so fun to watch.

After signing liability papers (I could get eaten by a lion or bit by a black mamba and it was no one else's fault but my own) we made our way to go check out our rooms. There are only 6 rooms at The Bush House, making it a very quiet and quaint place to stay. It was perfect. Hung in all the rooms were photos that the owner had taken of animals out on the reserve (see the cheetah photo).

The bathroom was HUGE!! I had every intention of taking a bath in that beautiful tub, but there was just too much else to look at and watch to waste time on long baths.

The lobby/bar area had open doors all along the front that were always open during the day.

There was this nice little pond and to the back left you can see those two hanging seats.

The swimming pool, which was too cold to swim in. But seriously, how awesome to go swimming with those elephants in the background?!?

Maxine making her way down to the hide. Just to the right of the swimming pool, the hide is pretty much a cement box in the ground where you can go and watch the animals at much closer distance than anywhere else. I swear I made eye contact with a few elephants. 

Maxine and I had a great time taking pictures in the hide.

This is a great shot that Maxine got of a little warthog family. Look at all those babies!

And we both got an endless amount of pictures of the elephants.

This little guy got tired of sucking water up throw his trunk and putting it in his mouth that he just decided to go for it with his mouth. 

It was so fascinating to watch the elephants drink drink drink and then splash mud and water all over themselves.

There were these nice chairs out on the lawn that offered a great view of the waterhole. 

And I also had a great view of this handsome man (cheesy)!! But seriously Tim is hands down the worlds best travel companion. Smart, easy going, and fun!

At 3pm we met for "high tea". I can't believe I stayed somewhere that served high tea. So fancy!! It was really just a late lunch/snack. Around 3:30 we headed over to the truck. They had a pretty nice set up with the side walk. They built it up ramp like so that when we climbed on the to truck we were just walking across instead of hefting up.

Ready for our first game drive (safari)!!!! WOO HOO!!! 

Our first animal?!? A giraffe hiding in the trees.

So cool!!

The way the drive works is basically there are lots of dirt roads all over the park and the driver starts driving. He (we) are constantly looking for animals. The driver is looking out for animal tracks in the dirt and listening for sounds (and I'm sure much more). He also radios with drivers from other camps so they can tell one another if they've spotted one of the harder to find animals (basically any of the big cats) and they will share those locations with each other. And then we basically go looking for three hours.

Next we found the Cheetahs!!!

There are four cheetahs (all brothers) that currently live in the park right now. They all kind of hang out together. All four of them were sleeping underneath this tree.

These two were all cuddled up together. This one showed us his nice teeth when he yawned.

I would not want to get bit by one of them!

They have the most beautiful markings on their faces!

Rhinos!!!! These guys are getting poached like crazy in South Africa right now.  It's all for the tusk. So sad!!!

Each game drive is 3 hours long. Half way through we take a break. HOP OUT OF THE TRUCK. That's right, we expose ourselves to the animals :) I actually wasn't at all scared that something was going to get me. I really think these animals only attack when they're provoked. And we have a little snack and drink that our driver brings along.

Black-backed Jackal 

Riding along in this truck was very much like bouncing around in the jeeps on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. And that kind of bouncing always makes me laugh and giggly.

  

First game drive selfie!!

We finished the drive with zebras!! So pretty!

The hostess was waiting at the reception area again, this time with a shot of sheri (which we declined and the next time she had OJ for us). Then we got freshened up for dinner and got some drinks while we waited for dinner.

 Then we went and sat down by the water hole until dinner was ready.

Our driver had told us on the drive that that he had found part of an elephant tusk in a tree that he was allowed to keep for "educational purposes" because of his job. He let us look at it. It was SO heavy!!

Dinner was so nice! And we were all very entertained/annoyed by the other guests at the opposite end of the table. The woman got pretty sloshed and was being all sorts of loud and obnoxious. But it was still a great end to a great day!!!