Our second destination was a traditional game lodge in Madikwe Private Game Reserve, South Africa. Having experienced the ultimate river hideaway at Ntwala Island, where we lived side by side with hippos and crocodiles, it was time to venture in land to track down some more of Africa's greatest predators. I was not to be disappointed.
Here's some extracts from my article. Enjoy.
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"...We cross the line between civilisation and wilderness where the highway ends and a dusty track begins. Surrounded on both sides by seemingly infinite bush land, we bump and rattle along a rocky road that runs straight as an arrow. Ahead, a mountainous hill looms closer and closer, dramatic and imposing against the backdrop of a sapphire sky. I scan the horizon for animals as we bounce by, but for now there is only the dense vegetation and the ochre-red earth, which is radiant in the late afternoon light.
Moments after we enter the reserve boundary a large warthog ambles across the road, tusks gleaming in the fading light. A giraffe is nonchalantly chewing leaves from the highest branches of a tree, and a wilder beast stamps nearby in the dust. Welcome to Madikwe..."
"...At one point our tracker moved back into the safety of the vehicle and that could mean only one thing. Lions. A whole pride, in fact. My heart skipped a beat and I surveyed the scene, searching for my first glimpse of a feline form. I was not disappointed. Sixteen lions, including two males, were lazily feasting on yesterday’s kill – the slightly pungent carcass of a giraffe. They appraised us as we approached and I gulped, noticing the immensely powerful muscles of one nearby female. She was huge beyond my imaginings and as soft in appearance as a puppy..."
I spent some time poking around under rocks in and around the lodge, looking for Black Mambas. I didn't find any - maybe that wasn't a bad thing! hehe...
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