The Big 5

Our excursion to Sibuya Game Reserve got off to a dubious start. Not only did our bus smell so strongly of urine that it made my eyes water, but instead of a guide, we were mistakenly given a Spanish translator and she was not happy about this mistake.

So rather than hear info about South Africa, we spent an hour and a half listening to her loudly complain about this error on her cell phone.

At least it gave me a chance to practice my Spanish comprehension. I now know all about her and her two kids. (They’re doing fine, in case you wondered.)

It was a pretty drive, although I was surprised how deserted the roads were. We only saw, maybe, six other vehicles during our hour and a half drive.

Much to my surprise, the terrain reminded me a lot of Texas as we passed through rolling hills, windmills, and ranchers in cowboy hats driving herds of cattle.

Once we reached Sibuya Game Reserve, everything improved greatly. Our “photo safari” driver, Nick, was friendly and knowledgeable about all aspects of local flora and fauna.

He didn’t just point out mammals, but also birds, bird calls, insects, reptiles, and wildflowers along the way. I had fun checking off as many species as I could on the handy list they gave us.

We also managed to see four of the “Big 5” on our game drive: Elephants, Cape Buffalo, Rhinos, and Lions.

I was amazed at the terrain those land rovers could handle. At times the roads were so steep and bumpy that I was surprised we didn’t tip over!

I write more about our game drive in some other posts, but just so you know, we took a different bus on the drive back to the ship!Read more