Anne, it is great to see you reporting from Africa; brings back memories of ROAR. Have a wonderful time.

Marc

😎 thanks Marc. ROAR was the start of a lifelong love affair with Africa. Please give my best to Arlene and Chuck. When can we go on safari together again? Cheers, Anne

Such fabulous sightings, love those baby cubs so much, GREAT photos.

Anne, it sure sounds like you and Gail have had a great time. I agree, it's impossible not to have a lifelong love affair with Africa.

Have a great time, Group 2! We will be with you in spirit! Cheers to all!

We left Makanyi yesterday afternoon and flew back to Johannesburg. Sad goodbyes as 1/2 the group headed on home. We are now 6 who will head on to the Kalahari and Tswalo later this morning. Looking forward to seeing the wild dog pups that Anne has reported! Fingers are crossed for the pangolin, Kalahari lions and meerkats as reported by the others. As Ngaire is fond of saying “life is good”!
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Helen

Our first game drive in Tswalu. So many animals we have never seen before: sable, hartebeest, oryx, aardvark! After it got really dark, the Land Rover broke down (dead battery) and we were treated to the most amazing skies while we awaited rescue. So many more stars than we are accustomed to seeing. It was just beautiful. Dinner was a choice of springbok, trout or tofu. Springbok is a bit gamey but a bit of vodka and it was just fine. We are in room 5 and Julie and Marvin are next door in 4, they have a sweet little Nyala who lives outside their door. She is the last Nyala in the Kalahari reserve and stays close to the lodge. Not afraid of us and totally adorable. Hoping for lions tomorrow?
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Helen

Alice and I made it to LAX. Great flights! Just one more to go. Helen, those stars are amazing!! It made the long time we stood in the dark hoping the pangolin would start moving much more pleasant.

A great morning here in Tswalu! We watched the meerkats get out and about which was great fun. They run right past you with nary a second glance. So,I thought that was the cutest thing evah but NO! We drove to the wild dogs’ den but no one was around. We decided to sit for a bit and see if the adults would return. They did within 15 minutes and then 13 squealing puppies came tumbling out of the the den. It was utter pandemonium and we were thrilled! On the way back to camp,we got a flat tire and had some trouble getting the spare out. This is the same vehicle in which we had a dead battery yesterday. (Coincidentally we also suffered a flat tire while we in Mala Mala.) Beginning to think it might be me. Tomorrow we expect to track the lions.
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Helen

Sounds like more great sightings. I'm glad Connor got his phone back, David's too! Between lost phones and flat tires you've had quite an adventure. Love that you've seen so many leopards.

Helen, the stars sound outstanding. We've never been to Tswalu but it sounds very special.Hope your range rover hangs on for a few more days for you. . Keep having fun ! Meerkats are very cute the way they sit up looking so curious. I hope we get to see wild dog pups too. BTW, looks like we won't need to borrow a duffle bag after all so you have lots of time to unpack.

Last night was cheetah. Two brothers were grooming each other. That was really special to see. They were quite big compared to cheetahs we have seen in the past. This morning we set out to the other side of the preserve to search for the big Kalahari lions. First we found a lone male and he was spectacular. These lions are way bigger than the usual ones and they have big black manes. He was searching for his brother. He called to him but no reply. Then we heard someone had found the brother and a female with 2 cubs so off we went. We sat with them awhile even though they were hard to see inside a bunch of bushes but our patience paid off when the female and her cubs emerged from the thicket. The whole family, mom, dad and 2 kids took off walking and we followed. Mom got tired of how slow the kids were so she picked one up by the nape of his neck carried him to their new spot. A pretty amazing sight.
We then had lunch in a place overlooking the preserve. It used to be a hunting lodge but has been converted and is now used by Tswalu as a beautiful place for lunch and restroom stop. From there we headed back to the main lodge and along the way saw another colony of meerkats with quite a few tiny little babies. Each day has been better than the last!
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Helen

Tswalu is really delivering great sightings this year. It is more expensive particularly because of the flight but well worth it as it is so different. Glad you are having such a great time. Looking forward to our four nights next year.

Loving it here! I am skipping the afternoon game drive because I need to make a business phone call at 7 and don’t want others to have to rush back. But I am having a blast here on my back deck. First a big ‘ ol sable went walking on by and shortly after that excitement, 3 warthogs rambled on through and now I am watching 3 yellow mongoose play hide and seek with each other! Wait here comes an oryx! Don’t think I am missing a thing.
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Helen

In the BA lounge at JNB, unhappily waiting to go home. On the drive out to the airstrip we went to say goodbye to the wild dogs and their 13 babies. We happened to find the big ones chasing an Oryx. Very exciting but to everyone’s but mine disappointment they failed to catch him. Our ranger Laura thought it was nice that someone was on Team Oryx! So then we followed the dogs back to their den and as expected the pups all came tumbling out with such joy and exuberance you had to laugh. We also encountered 2 different very large baboon troops, at least 30 each from big guys to tiny little ones all running and jumping up the rocky terrain. This was my best trip ever. Each day we saw something we had never seen before and we were thrilled. Richard and Lori even had a close encounter with a leopard in the night on their way to their room. Hopefully Lori will post those details.
We flew from Tswalu on Fireblade Aviation. Very special experience at the end of that. Jerry and I and Julie and Marvin had hours to kill before our flights home and Richard and Lori would not be able to check into their hotel for a few hours. We were invited to stay at Fireblades facility for as long as we wanted and they would provide us a shuttle when we were ready. In addition to the usual fare, coffee tea wine soft drinks, they have a cooked to order menu, huge shower rooms, a gym and day rooms with beds. All gratis. Best layover ever.
Can’t wait to return next year! Thanks Ngaire!
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Helen

Helen,
Alice and I had room 5 also. I loved that back deck and can just see it all as you described it! Tswalu certainly did not disappoint! I was kind of concerned about building it up too much since we did pre- and yours was post-. Thank you for reporting on your experiences! I did see Lori's FB post about the Leo-Pard.

Kim, your jacket was just what I needed. I can’t thank you enough. - Lori 🐾🐆🦓🦏🐘🐾

I am so happy everyone loved tswalu as much as we did. It is expensive but memories like this are priceless. We spend four nights there next year in group one and two couples from group two are joining us so we will have the whole camp. I wish I had gone there this year also.

YAY! That jacket has seen a lot of Africa. It went on NILE 2, ZEBRA, and with it's extended stay on HIPPO, it's been there longer than me!