September 4, 2016

Today was the first of our morning game drives. We got a wake up call at 5:30. We were to meet at the lodge at 5:50 where coffee was served. We left for the drive at 6:00 am. It was still dark outside. It was misty and cold but not as bad as the previous day. I dressed in layers since I didn't bring many warm clothes. i wore a t-shirt, sweatshirt, hoodie jacket and a light weight jacket. The ranger gave us rain ponchos to wear which helped keep us warm as well.

This morning we saw zebra, giraffes, buffalo, wart hogs, and elephants. We stopped after about 3 hours for coffee. The vehicle was really high off the ground and I didn't feel comfortable getting out because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back in without a loading platform. However, I was quite happy staying in the vehicle.

By the time we made it back to the lodge it was 10:00 and they were waiting on us with warm towels and warm drinks. We then went for breakfast where they had both a continental breakfast as well as a cooked to order breakfast. It was good.

After breakfast I was worn out so went back to the tent and took a nap which helped me feel revitalized.

We were leaving on our afternoon drive at 3:00. Since we ate breakfast so late I wasn't hungry for lunch so I just ate peanut butter crackers to hold me over till dinner.

When we got to our safari vehicle this evening, it was a different vehicle than we had previously. On this one someone had to sit in the front with the driver. I called that seat because I was able to get in and out of it without a loading platform.

This evening we saw white rhino, elephants and cheetahs. It is amazing how close we are to the animals and they don't seem to be afraid of the vehicles. We park right next to them and sit and watch them. The elephants are pretty amazing animals.

We were back to the lodge at 6:30 where they said they had a special surprise for us. It was making sandwiches and grilling them. They also served champagne but by the time I went to get a glass, they were all gone. I guess somebody had more than their share which was ok by me.

We had just enough time to go clean up before we had to be at dinner at 7:30. Dinner was good and we all had a good visit. It was after 10:00 pm before we got to bed and the next day was going to be a 5:30 wake up call again.