Wayne and Jerome
Tyler and Karen
Zebra (white with black stripes)
Elegant giraffe
Jono and Thembinkosi
Greetings from Phinda – 300 kilometres north of Durban – where I am now on safari for the next few days!
It was a VERY sad start to the day as I bid farewell to my new Durban family. The Oyster Box has – collectively – some of the loveliest staff I have ever worked with. So along with the fabulous property and stunning views over The Indian Ocean, the hotel is a must see - must do on any visit to South Africa.
It took around 3 dusty hours for Clifford to drive us to Phinda. We drove past hectares of first sugar cane then eucalyptus trees … two major industries here in the Kingdom of KwaZulu-Natal.
There are quite a few lodges to the Phinda Private Game Reserve – six I believe.
I am tonight in one of the 16 private stilted suites of the Forest Lodge … before I move tomorrow to one of the six thatched suites in the Vlei Lodge.
I was met by the General Manager Jane Braak and also introduced to my guide – Jonathan Harper – who will be with me for most of my stay.
After a brief lunch, we went on the first game drive.
I had already seen zebra and giraffe on the way to the Lodge but within 5 minutes we were within 5 metres of three cheetahs … 2 brothers and sister. They were on a hunt and we tracked them for an hour or so before the light started to fail. Our tracker is chap called Thembinkosi who smiles a lot – especially when he is looking for clues to where a lion, cheetah, leopard, rhino, elephant, wildebeest, impala … (you get my drift) could be!
A good start to our filming here.
I LOVE going on safari - the smells, the sights, the warmth of the afternoon sun, the chill of the twilight air … The Royal Malewane up in Hoedspruit has always had a very soft spot in my heart … Phinda has the reputation of the best game reserve in KZN … and has won many awards! It has a lot to live up to! So far, so good!
Song of the Day: Rocket Man – Elton John
Weather: Sunny & Rainy
