Rhino Ridge

We were picked up at our lodge and driven to our next destination, Rhino Ridge. The first part of the drive was very quick - then we entered the park! It took another hour to reach the lodge via a succession of rutted and washed out tracks, I was certainly glad that I was not driving! Nothing less than a sturdy four wheel drive vehicle would have made it - having said that, a German couple we talked to, drove themselves there in a Toyota Yaris! Dread to think what would have happened if they had found themselves in the middle of a herd of elephants or rhinos!

The lodge is wonderful and sits on the edge of a ridge with great views looking across the park which is huge. You can see the animals moving around in the valleys below us. The rooms are all set up to make the most of the views and are extremely comfortable. Meals are all delicious, so we are continuing to work on expanding our waistlines further! All the staff are Zulus - apparently the park used to be the personal hunting reserve of Shaka the king of the Zulus. All are extremely nice, always smiling and once you have introduced yourself, they remember your name - amazing gift when you think how many people they must meet.

We have done the usual morning and evening game drives and have seen lots of rhinos ( not all of them of a friendly disposition) and many elephants. Last evening as we were returning to the lodge almost in the dark we suddenly found ourselves right behind a herd, with a number of babies. That was OK till we realised that we had passed part of the herd already who were in the bush off the road. Consequently we were between some of the elephants and the babies- not exactly position A! Anyway we had a few minutes of squeaky bum time before they all passed by after giving us some dirty looks.

The lodge does offer as an extra, a walking safari, where instead of getting up close and personal with these beasts in a nice big armoured truck, you attempt to do it without any protection on foot - needless to say the option was declined. As far as I could see, all the guides could run faster than us!Read more