Day 17

Gentlemen start your engines, originally uploaded by simongman.

It was once again an early morning for our tour party as we all met at Nico Malan High School. As the staff arrived the boys appeared from all directions with their host families. It was evident from the boy’s attire that a lot of clothes swapping had gone; they were now wearing the home side’s uniform and kit as mementos of their stay. After some firm hand shakes and big hugs our merry band of travellers were on the road again bound for Kariega Game Reserve. Some two and a half hours later we were tucking in to a buffet lunch in the reserve’s resaurant, high up in the hills looking down on a distant water hole. After filling ourselves we had an hour to acclimatize to our luxurious game reserve chalets and surroundings. Wrapped up ready for the late afternoon game drive there was an air of excitement as we dove off into the bush in our open top Toyota Land Cruisers. The five vehicles we had split up in pursuit of Elephant, driving up and down hills, stopping occasionally to watch Wilderbeest, Impamla and Nyala. An hour into the drive a small herd of elephant was spotted just off "Ambush Alley" (all dirt tracks have a name), a group comprising of three females and two males, one being a large bull. It was a fantastic sight to see these magnificent creatures in the wild. The vehicle was parked up within twenty meters of the beasts. Suddenly the engine was fired up and quickly put into reverse as the big bull, ears flapping made a move towards us. It was time to move on. We climbed to the top of the hill where we met up with the other vehicles, parked up and had a few snacks and drinks. The bright red African sun was slowly dissolving into the distant hills. It was time to move on. Travelling a short distance we came across a small herd of giraffe in a small revine, then a large bull Black Rhino and its mate. The dark of night was upon us, our imaginations only exaggerated what was beyond the reaches of our vehicles . The temperature had dropped, we definitely needed our warm clothes. We were now in pursuit of the Hippo down by the Kariega river. With the aid of our ranger’s torch light we spotted further antelope and could hear Black Backed Jackels calling to each other in the distant thicket. Above us the last remaining clouds cleared revealing the Southern African night’s stars, shinning brightly on this cold evening. A few boys caught a glimps of Hippo as they left the safety of the cool pool below and moved on land to graze. Driving in the dark with the stars shining brightly made this evening quite magical especially when we made for base camp which was directly in line with the brightest light in the sky, Venus. The evening ended with another fantastic meal accompanied by a local African “Boma” that included singers and dancers. A perfect end to a real African adventure.

This blog was uploaded with the accompaning photos at Heathrow airport in between flights prior to the Manchester flight. Click on the above photo then the South African set to reveal more photographs.