Stellenbosch to Londolozi, Sunday, August 14th, 2016

We left Stellenbosch about 7:30 this morning to give us plenty of time to get to the Cape Town airport and return the rental car before our flight. When we left to was raining and about 55 degrees. When we landed at Skukuza it was clear blue skies and about 75!
The ride to Londolozi was about an hour through the bush and it was a fantastic drive. Before we had even gotten to the camp we had seen zebras, giraffes, elephants, impalas and several other types of antelopes. What an introduction!   

When we got to the camp we had a quick bite of lunch, changed clothes and headed out for our first drive. We met our Field Guide, Garrett, our Tracker, Life and a Field Guide trainee, Allister, who would be with us for the next few days. We hadn’t been out 5 minutes when we saw a lazy female leopard snoozing in the sun next to a huge termite hill. What a sight! Our guides and tracker are excellent and this is like an educational biology, geography and geology trip. They explained everything as we drove along. 
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Right before sunset we stopped for “sundowners” , drinks and snacks in the bush. I can say as bad as I felt from my cold, I couldn’t turn down my first glass of champagne in the bush!

We got back to the camp about 45 minutes after dark. Someone walked us to our room and after freshening up they came back and got us and walked us back up to the lodge for dinner. You can walk to the main bar and dining room alone during the day, but after dark you have to be accompanied for your own safety.  

Lots more to tell tomorrow, but we are exhausted and heading to bed.   
Animal count for the day: giraffes, elephants, zebras, leopard, impalas, monkeys, baboons, water bucks, hippopotamus, crocodiles, nyala, genet, herons, storks and numerous other species of birds.!