Well! We’ve been here for about a day and, so far, only to a remote safari location, so I am obviously not able to make any meaningful declarations about the country, or even the limited experience we’ve had… but “so far” the contrasts with India and other parts of Asia couldn’t be more dramatic: calm vs. chaos, temperate winter (here) vs. hell-like summer temperatures (in India)… plus, not having to avoid tap water, vegetables, and anything uncooked is nice.
Hodespruit Airport: We flew from Johannesburg to Hodespruit airport this morning. The pilot parked the plane in a lot the size of a middle-school parking lot, and the airport was the size of one of Indiana’s highway rest-stops. (Pics below):
Plane parking 
The Airport 
Literally ALL arrivals and departures today
Thornybush Waterside Lodge (aka, a slice of heaven): The lodge where we are staying is, umm, very nice… it really doesn’t compare to anywhere we’ve been or stayed so far. The creature comforts are a welcome break from some of the places we’ve stayed along the way. (pics below)
our room 
Thornybush watering hole
Thornybush gets its name, I assume, from the multiplicity of these nasty bushes throughout the game preserve:
Safari: There is a pattern to the days when on safari (at least where we are). It begins pretty early each day, with a 5:30 AM wake up call so we can have a civilized coffee/tea/biscuit and then head out while its still dark for safari (when you are more likely to see active hunting/feeding by the animals). After returning to camp, breakfast and a rest for later in the day, when there is an afternoon safari… complete with a picnic stop on the savannah for a drink and snacks. Each safari is 3 hrs, give or take, followed in the evening by a fantastic dinner of local cuisine. Today was our first safari, and it was memorable, to say the least. Below are a handful of pics and videos of just a few of the more remarkable wildlife we saw — VERY up close — including 5 lions, a leopard near its kill, an elephant digging a water hole, water buffalo, giraffe, and more:
Feast to end the evening! At the end of each day, following the afternoon safari and rest, the camp gathers for a feast – each night in a different part of the camp!
Not a bad first day in the bush!
Oh what great memories! It is quite an experience to be so close to the wildlife. I am so happy all of you are able to be on safari. It’s incredible and something Gran and I never got enough of hence continuing to return! Love you all.
These pictures are remarkable. Looks like this will be a memorable stop!
Thanks Jeff! (Didn’t recall whether I sent you the blog address, so I’m glad you got to see it.). It is pretty incredible out here. If you haven’t done a safari – you should! Love to you, Heather, Sammie, and everyone back home!
Beautiful! Can’t believe how close you are to the animals! Amazing!
Kelly – it is beautiful, and thrilling, to be so close to the animals… when they stop and look you right in the eye, it’s a little startling even. We are loving this!
You had a great day! Are you all exhausted? How long are you staying there? It really looks fantastic. I’d love to the impressions from the kids. Those were great pictures
Thanks Bob! We were SO lucky on our first outing to see so many of the Big 5 up close! It is just astounding to see and experience this close! We are going out again now (it’s 5:45 AM here), and will have more pics to share later, I hope.
Forgot to add – we are here for 4 nights 4.5 days, then on to Victoria Falls, Zambia-side (though we’ll get to Zimbabwe side as well). We aren’t exhausted because there is so much “down time” built into the schedule, and even the “exciting” parts — driving around the park seeing wildlife – isn’t all that taxing. I’ll ask the kids to follow up with their own impressions, but I doubt they’ll ‘blog’ about it.
Incredible. Max and Zoe, I hope you recognize how privileged you are to be “up and personal” with these magnificent animals.
The lodge looks wonderful, too….
Mom, I think from the looks on their faces (if not the things they are saying) that they are loving this experience!