When I was planning my trip to South Africa, I was mainly interested in visiting Cape Town and traveling along the beautiful coast with its breath taking beaches. I was less interested in going on a safari (or game drive, as they call it in South Africa). How could I ever be that wrong? After attending four game drives in the Amakhala Game Reserve I have to say this is one of the best experiences ever. I am fascinated by all these wild animals that I saw that close.
Start your drive as early in the morning as possible, and continue until approximately 10 am. Resume in mid-afternoon and stay out until sunset. The early morning and late afternoon trigger all kinds of activities in the African bush. This is when many animals are most active.
In Africa, a few of the most formidable and fiercest have entrenched their place in the psyche of man – the lion with its awe-inspiring power and hunting skills; the mysterious and elusive leopard with its stunning coat; the unpredictable buffalo with its ebony flanks and horns of steel; the temperamental rhino with its insatiable appetite; and the charismatic elephant, the largest animal on land.
Although these five species are not the only ones that are rare, interesting, large, powerful or dangerous, they have captured man’s imagination and both trophy hunters and nature lovers refer to them as the Big Five.
In Amakhale Game Reserve we have seen four of the Big Five. We did not see a leopard, since there is none in that Reserve. Leopards can easily jump a two meter fence and are therefore hard to keep. Instead we saw a whole cheetah family, which was much more interesting to me, since I love cheetahs.
Have a look yourself:
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- Water Buffalo
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- Cheetah – my favorite!
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- Elephant
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- Male and female lion
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- Rhino
