Weekend to Mabula Game Lodge.
This was a great weekend, with plenty of fun, sun and adventure. I'm going to break it down in the days to as its easier for me to remember that way.
Friday
I took a day's leave the Friday in order to pack and leave early. This isn't quite how it worked out but hey, just roll with the punches.
I woke up at around 6 (yes, that's sleeping in for me), where I started getting ready, packing bags etc. I was probably done at around 8ish and my mom was still busy. I figured it would be a good idea to get some admin done whilst I wait and ended up having my licence disk renewed for my car. After a bit of a schlepp to get that done and a quick medical check for our medical aids, myself and my mom headed off. Mabula Lodge, here we come!
After two hours of driving we stopped off in Bela Bela at a bar/restaurant. Nguni Jacks was a great place, however that midday sun killed us. A round of cocktails and a small appetiser later and we were ready for the last leg of the trip. The last 40km went by quickly, and checking in was quite painless (despite us being early). We then went on to our chalet, 51a on Sunset Hill. A great view of the valley and a compact but well laid out chalet awaited us.
But that was not the last surprise they had in store for us. Included in our stay was one free game drive on each of our days there! So back to reception to book our three game drives, 8pm Friday, 9am Saturday, and 5:30am Sunday.
We unpacked and just relaxed until our night drive. Roll around 8pm and we are in the Land Rover with our guide Quinten, a family of 6, and a young couple. Now this game drive should have been great. Should. Unfortunately there were a few factors that made it a bit of a downer. The guy from the drive was not interested and kept nodding off, his girlfriend did not stop talking the whole way through (with the ranger, not the dozing s/o), the kids in the back were playing with their torches (not extremely helpful as they weren't the best quality) and the ranger was too busy making unfunny jokes and stroking his ego ("I can smell it's going to rain tomorrow"). Needless to say we didn't see much, just some zebra and impala. When we got back to our chalet there was a Kudu, impala and warthogs in the area.
Saturday
Once again I managed to sleep late (yes, 6am). Woke up and got ready whilst my mom made some breakfast. Nothing like good old bacon and eggs on the patio to get the right start to the day. Come around 9am and we were on the Land Rover again. This time we were taken by George and joined by a family of greeks and a middle-aged couple. This drive was also significantly longer than the night drive, with a time of two and a half hours in driving time.
This time our guide was quite sure of his facts and we also saw a multitude of animals: Kudu, Giraffe, Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala, Warthogs, Hippos and a group of barely visible Buffalo. I did get slightly annoyed at the greek family though. They had a young child with them, probably 4ish, and could not get the child to wear her hat. They kept nagging at her that she would get burnt (which is all good), but not one of them wore their own hats (not so good). I believe if you want to say something like that to a child you need to lead by example. No child will think its that bad if you aren't taking it seriously.
So after a mild amount of sun (and quite the sunburn) we got home. My mom decided to relax and read, whilst I decided to see if I can try some Archery. Now this was quite amusing. After giving me a brief rundown of how to shoot an arrow (not how to aim), I was left to shoot. Shortly after starting I was joined by a family of Indians that would make the event so much more fun. After plenty of laughter and shooting I finished off. I'd managed to hit the target a few times, and even once got a bulls-eye (no, it was more a case of luck. Or as I put it "more ass than class").
After a brief nap at the chalet, my mom and I had a braai. Add some wine, 'slet-sappies', and beer. Dinner was a success. Now I have a tendency to suffer from puppy-dog sickness (stomach full, eyes closed) and decided to call it a night. Not long after a storm hit. A major one! Outside looked almost like day with all the lightning (which hit our lightning rod a few times), our outdoor umbrella blew away and our power tripped. But eventually I managed to fall asleep.
Sunday
Cue 4:30am alarm. Groggy from the little sleep I stumble through getting ready and packed for the 5:30 game drive. This time we headed off with our short sighted ranger Johan. Once again joined by a family with several small children. The drive was great with lots of shade and a cool breeze. Much of the same animals were seen as on Saturday, except with the addition of a Rooi Hartebees and a close up Buffalo. The game ranger also told us more about the habits of the animals, and included a short lesson on the yellow beaked Hornbill. He also stopped for several of the smaller things, including bullfrogs, spiders and millipedes. The highlight though was the spotting of a tree with a carcass in it. Unfortunately the Leopard whose meal this was was nowhere to be found.
After the drive we decided to head to a craft brewery that was advertised nearby. L'Abrie Fountain Brewery was hard to find and an extremely small place. There we tasted their Stout and Lager and a Boston Brewery Lager. Their Stout and Lager tasted disturbingly like those from another brewery in Pretoria (Dreyman's). We settled for a stout and a lager with a biltong and grape foccacia bread for lunch. Their prices were great, the food good, service friendly, and the quite atmosphere went down well.
Now after all this it was time to head back home. A great relaxing weekend in the end. I look forward to having many more such weekends.
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