More Game

We spent the first three days of our cruise going from game reserve to game reserve. Starting in Port Elizabeth at Inkwehkwezi, a private reserve, we boarded open sided vehicles that carry over a dozen people. Just getting into them is a trick of giant steps, leg swinging, and hand gripping. Once settled inside, we tucked blankets around our laps and set off on a cool (temp) ride. This reserve is still growing (after twenty years) and keeps most of the predators separate from prey. Our best sightings were of both impala and nylla with young. Tawny and white lions docilely relaxed behind a gated fence.

Our next drive, in Tala near Durban, was disappointing in both animal sightings and human guides. At Richard’s Bay, our cold rainy trip in Hlulhuwe (pronounces shushlulu), the oldest park in South Africa, was much better. We had chances to see wart hogs, giraffe, zebras and more. Vultures spread their wings to dry out in nearby trees and hidida (sp) ibis called raucously overhead. We dried off over a tapa-style lunch and then continued our search for big game culminating with a very large elephant crossing the road right behind us and then disappearing in the trees.

These drives probably represent the future of animals in South Africa and gave us more chances to see game up close but do not come close to the “real thing” of the Kalahari.

After wearing jackets and keeping warm on the eastern coast of South Africa, the blast of heat and humidity in Maputo, Mozambique, was a shock. We took a morning walk to the railroad station designed by Eiffel of tower fame and then to the market filled with produce, hair products, household goods, and hundreds of hawkers vying for our attention. After a couple of hours, the heat drove us back to the comfort of the ship where lunch, books and naps waited.