Sabi Sands - Final Day

Having already spotted the Big 5, the last drive was for bonus points. Unlike the previous 2 drives, this one did not start slow. Right off the bat, a tower of giraffes. Shortly thereafter, a small dazzle of zebras. Then more giraffes! And not far from them, we saw four juvenile giraffes that seemed to be more aware of us than their taller family members. They stood as still as possible, mimicking the nearby trees, in an attempt to not be seen.

We drove on and found a large herd of wildebeest. The group included baby wildebeest which are a lot cuter than the adults. One female looked uncomfortably pregnant; our guide said she could give birth that day.

Not far from the wildebeest, a mama and baby rhino were feasting on grass. It was a day of babies! The baby rhino was only beginning to get one of her nose horns. We were lucky enough to hear her whine to her mom that she wanted milk. Her mom ignored her initially but eventually stopped eating and allowed the baby to get what she wanted. As put by the lady Brit, the experience was delightful.

Next up, we saw a very large dazzle of zebras which were joined by waterbucks. Waterbucks and wildebeest frequently tag along with the zebras due to their kicking prowess versus the apex predators. Then we approached a watering hole with more rhinos and some marabou stork - the ugly birds seen in the Lion King. That meant we also saw all the Ugly 5: hyena, wildebeest, warthog, hippopotamus, and marabou stork!

Finally, we reconnected with the male leopard from the previous day who was out for his morning stroll. After the customary coffee break, it was time to head back to the lodge for breakfast and packing. We thoroughly enjoyed our first safari experience at Notten's: the staff was absolutely fantastic and we saw more wildlife than we imagined.

Our safari driver Geoffrey took us to Nelspruit for a quick flight to Durban. The most exciting part was Rainer struggling with driving on the left hand side. We checked in at the Southern Sun Elengani hotel on Durban's Golden Mile directly on the Indian Ocean.Read more