Balloon flight and final Safari game drive

 At 5.45 am, we were picked up by an Airtracker balloon company. The day was cold, with hardly any wind and clear skies, perfect for flying. With it being dark, our driver had to be careful of wild animals, and wow, what luck when a sleeping lion was seen at the side of the road.

And then 10 minutes later a pride of lions lay right across the road stopping our progress. 

 

 

 We eventually reached the launch site by a lake with open ground. The balloon was nearly ready, and we all waited in anticipation for it to lift. Once the basket was upright, we all clambered in. Well, I tried to anyway. The task was difficult for the likes of me. Unless you are supple and your legs can reach almost above your head, being the geriatric I am, that was not possible.  It must have looked hilarious to those watching as the ground crew tried to get me in, there was no finesse about any of it.

 

Once everyone was in, our pilot, Te, gave a briefing on how to position ourselves for the landing, and before we knew it, the balloon took off into the air. Wow, how incredibly amazing was the feeling of slowly lifting off and watching the ground get smaller. Te was a superb pilot who took us high then low to see the animals and even had me wondering if the hill we were flying towards would be our undoing, so close did she take us. It was an incredible experience, and when finally the call came to get into landing position, Te brought the balloon down with the basket just dragging slightly and without it tipping. What a pilot.

Afterwards, we had champagne, as is the tradition all over the world. It was started in the 1780's to appease the farmers whose fields they landed in. To read the history, click HERE

Te, our pilot

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The ground crew on the now stored-away balloon. Chap with the gun was there in case of a wild animal attack

Included in the experience was breakfast at a very posh lodge. Full English with as much as you wanted to eat. On the way, elephants and an amorous wart hog were seen. 

The driver decided not to try to pass; lone bull elephants can be unpredictable. Instead, he stopped the vehicle and waited for it to pass.

By the time we arrived back at the site, 5 hours had passed, and as we had a permit to enter the park, having changed from cold weather gear to warm again, we set off on our own to explore. No track was inaccessible, but boy, did we go through some horrors! 

 

We found several dams with hippos and nearly got taken out by a rhino as it emerged from the scrub! Ian rapidly reversed, and we had to wait to see if it disappeared so we could pass. Luckily, it took no further notice and wandered off. 

Getting back to camp, a message came through from our WhatsApp group to say Annette and Malcolm were stuck in soft mud.  Our leader, Kobus, was on a game drive, and Ryan was in the shower, but Colin and Ann were close to reception at the time, got hold of a ranger who raced to their destination, attached a tow rope and dragged them out. 

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Photos courtesy of Annette

It had been a fabulous day, another to add to our memories of this holiday. With only two days left, nothing now can beat this experience for tomorrow we head to Gauteng and the Cradle of Humankind.

More photos from our self-drive.

The elephants playtime

 

Made good use of brooms

 May 14th

 Before we left this morning, a family of Wart Hogs came for a visit. A muddy hollow was found, and the youngsters had great fun wallowing in the mud.

A short drive to our next campsite meant we didn't have to leave too early. One thing we had to do was find a shop that sold gloves! Winter is fast approaching in South Africa, and the mornings are really cold. Why the gloves now, I hear you ask. Well, on the 15th, we take to the air in a hot air balloon! Originally, the pick up time was for 4 am, but as the mornings are so cold, we will now be collected at 5.45am, a much more acceptable time!

Gloves for me and a beanie hat purchased for Ian, we set off to do the 105km drive to Pilanesburg National Park. This is another site in the middle of the park, so animals will be present, and as we entered the park, plenty of mongoose and impala were seen.

 We found a spot and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Slowly, the site filled until just Kobus and Deidri were left. We saw them coming in, found a place to stop and within minutes watched them drive off again. Turns out Kobus had an altercation with a short post and cracked the back bumper. He was not best pleased! 

For our leader to do that gave us all a good laugh. I think he may have lost his deposit as well!

The afternoon was spent cleaning the outside of the motorhome. Not everyone decided to give it a wash, but we had read that we would be charged if the van came back in anything other than normal road dirt. I don't think the dirt roads were in that assumption! Anyway, the van was almost as good as when we collected her 5 weeks ago. We did find scratches on the paintwork that, had we not cleaned her, would be hidden. Oh well, it is what it is.

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Jill and George

Helen, Simon at the swimming pool!

George and Maureen

Dinner was at the restaurant, wow, the food was good. Hake for Ian, Chicken schnitzel for me and 4 glasses of wine came to the grand total of £19! 

 Early to bed tonight, as tomorrow we are taking to the skies 

 A few more photos of the South African roads!

15km of speed bumps every half a kilometre!