Hooked on Thanda

After 4 glorious days in Cape Town, it was time to pack up and continue our adventure. We had an early pick up (right on time AGAIN! LOVE THOMPSONS!) and boarded a quick 2 hour flight to Durban. From there we were met once again at the airport by a lovely woman named Bongi who would drive us the 3 hours to our private game reserve.

As we drove along looking out of the window, it was a stark reminder that we were indeed in a 3rd world country. I kept hearing that phrase used in Cape Town and had a hard time really grasping it. We were in a metropolitan city. With electricity, water, internet, cell phone service, etc etc but yet they still referred to it as a 3rd world country. Once we left Cape Town, it was obvious why. Whole families trying to sell pineapples along the freeway. Kids playing soccer on the grassy median on the middle of the expressway. Dangerous? Hell yes. But that's the only grass that could be seen. A herd of cows being led up an offramp, cars and trucks swerving to avoid them. All amazing and beautiful sights, but humbling.

We finally arrived at our game reserve which consisted of driving a few miles down a very rough, unpaved road and we were dropped off at the front gate. Bongi told us that she would be leaving us there with the guard because she was not permitted to drive any further into the park due to the animals. The game reserve is called Thanda which is Zulu for "Love". It's 15,000 hectacres which is the equivalent of about 58 square miles. For reference, the entire city of San Francisco is 46 square miles.

We grabbed our things and waited for a ride to come pick us up. No more than 10 minutes later, I heard the distinctive sound of a diesel truck approaching. Sure enough, an open land rover soon appeared and we scanned the occupants for any familiar faces. "Anyone we know? Anyone we know?" Sure enough, 2 of our dreaded Americans were in the truck. The driver jumped out, introduced himself as Willard, our guide, and immediately told us to grab only what we needed and in laymans terms "GET YOUR ASS IN THE TRUCK!" We did as we were told and within a minute were on our way. It turns out there were no trucks available to pick us up so he volunteered to pick us up from the front gate. That also meant we were immediately thrown into our first safari and we were on the hunt for the most elusive of the Big 5. We went from lounging in the African sun to tracking a leopard. Erika and I looked at each other, smiled in shock and awe, and soon forgot about the majestic Great White Sharks we saw just a day earlier. Here we were, rumbling along in the African bush, in pursuit of one of the most proficient killers in Africa.

There is a leopard out there somewhere

We heard just the night before that the difference between national game parks and private game parks is in national game parks, the trucks must stay to the roads. Private, not so much. We blasted and hacked our way through some serious bush. All the while ducking from having our eyes poked out by some ridiculously nasty branches. It was incredible fun. I loved every second of it. We didn't find that sneaky leopard but we came across zebras, giraffes, an elephant, wildabeasts, impalas... It was amazing. After a wine break, we headed back to the tented camp to see our accomodations for the first time. It was pitch black by the time we returned so it was hard to really see how beautiful it really was. We'd have to wait for the following morning for that. But once we saw our tent, it was apparent we weren't staying at a Motel 6.

Our "tent"

The full bathroom including outdoor shower through that door

The mini-bar

The view from the deck

With the french doors opened all the way

This trip has been a mixture of amazing and awesome and just keeps on getting better. We have 2 more days here and for a first taste of Africa, I couldn't be happier yet can't wait to return. I want more.