THE BIG FIVE

Today, we woke up in the early morning darkness, drove a few hours north of the city, witnessed a glorious sunrise as we zoomed through mountain passes, and arrived at the Aquila Safari just a little after 8am.

After a scrumptious breakfast buffet, we boarded the big jeep (which seats about a dozen people) and off we went, in search of "The Big Five": lions, buffaloes, rhinos, elephants and leopards.

Although our guide couldn't guarantee we'd see any animals at all, luck was on our side. We even spotted giraffes, ostriches, springbok, water buffalo, and others.

Over 3 hours later, and a short stop to see some San rock art, our tour finished back at the Lodge with a very impressive lunch buffet.

I have to say the whole tour was much better than I imagined, seeing as Aquila Safari is basically a big private reserve fenced off for the sole purpose of getting tourists in to see "African game". It was very well-organized and highly informative.