Monday we got up and headed back to airport to head to take a short flight to Hoedspruit. We were picked up there and headed to our Karongwe Reserve. We traveled along the beautiful Drakensberg mountain range. Passing orchard after orchard of citrus lemon, grapefruit, orange and mango trees in bloom for November harvest. Miles and miles of rich agricultural. The fruit stands packed with bright colored bags of fruit.

Right out of the airport we see animals along the way. I notice these piles of dirt, some of them seem to have trees growing out of them.

Later I find out they are termites. They dig down as far as 15-20 feet and eat dead wood pulling the nutrient rich soil to the top. It then mixes with the top soil creating a natural mulch fertilizing the topsoil. I was fascinated by the whole thing. They are everywhere.

We arrive at the entrance of the Karwongwe Reserve. Greeted by a couple of giraffes. As we pull up to the lodge I see nyals and warthogs grazing on the grass. We were greeted with a beverage and super friendly staff. Then lead to our cabins.

Wow is all I could say. A beautiful bungalow overlooking a water hole. It was really lovely The grounds were gorgeous.

After a nice lunch we headed out on our first game drive. Five of us in an open air Land Rover. Pretty nice way to navigate through the Bush. We saw giraffes, warthogs, nyals, impalas, monkeys, wildebeest, a lion, hippos and much to our guides pleasant surprise a aardvark.

We paused to capture the sunset and drove through the Bush into the dark of night.

Back at the lodge we had a bbq dinner around a huge fire with the other lodge guests. Grilled chicken, ostrich skewers, housemade sausage A local dish that resembled grits with tomatoes and more. A delicious dessert of baked coconut pudding with custard sauce.

We were escorted to our cabins and asked not to come out unescorted as the animals are active at night.

We were to bed by 9:00. I awoke at 1:00 to the sound of a snorting warthog. I thought it was Troy at first but soon realized it was under our cabin. I did not fall back asleep.

The wake up knock on the door came at 5:00am