Firstly, I am sorry to say that we have been unable to work out how to transfer photos from an android phone to my iPad, so I have decided to continue to write my blog without photos, and when I get home, I will finish the final blog of the trip with a selection of the best photos.
So to update.
We flew from Capetown to Hoedspruit yesterday, and arrived at our lodge ‘Naledi’ in time for lunch around 2.30pm.
Our accommodation is excellent and the attention to detail second to none. The food is good quality, but too much of it! They just don’t stop feeding us!
Fed and refreshed we set off on our first evening safari at 4.30pm.
There were 9 of us in an uncovered jeep with a driver and a ‘look out’, who sits on a single seat to the left of the bonnet. When we return it’s dark, so he has a strong search light which reflects any animal eyes that may be lurking in the bush!
Well, I have to say for our first trip we were not disappointed; in the three hours we were out, we saw a lioness, elephants, a leopard, (briefly), giraffe, impala, kudu, genet ( a wild cat), a snake (a tiny one!), hares and some amazing birds.
We weren’t expecting to see such a variety of animals or so many, so it was a real treat!
When we got back we had dinner and then went to bed, as we had to be up a 4.30 am for the early morning safari which leaves at 5.30 am sharp.
If last night was a ‘treat’, this mornings sightings were truly special.
And today we were split into two groups in two vehicles.
It started with a hyena, and then after a little while of seeing only birds, our driver spotted wild dogs. My initial thought was that they weren’t particularly important, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Apparently they are an endangered species and haven’t been spotted for 7/8 months around the park, so the drivers were very excited. There was a pack of 8 dogs, and we followed them for quite some time, before they started to chase impala, one of their sources of food. At this point the driver took off and to say it was like being on a rollercoaster would be putting it mildly! Bearing in mind the terrain is very rough anyway, he was going off- road, over rocks, tree branches, anything that was in the way, he just went straight over it. There was only four of us in our vehicle today, and trust me, we were hanging on for dear life!
We didn’t see them kill an impala, which we weren’t really ready for, especially so early in the mornng, but there was great excitement all round because we had seen them.
And as if that wasn’t enough, we saw a family of five elephants including a baby and a group of zebra with stunnng markings. Honestly, nature is just so amazing!
Out here in the Kruger Park, it is just miles and miles of bush land. This gives you some idea. 
We will be out again at 4.30 pm today, and will hopefully have lots more to tell you about in my next blog,
’Til next time,
GrannyflapjaX
GRANNY FLAPJAX 