Monday, August 20, 2007

Hwange National Park

It was an absolute treat to take mum and dad to Hwange National Park. For those who followed us on our adventure last year you may remember Jodi being absolutely terrified by the sounds of lion roaring a few 100 metres away as we camped inside the game reserve (what a woos). This year after many objections from Jodi in regards to the thought of taking mum and dad to camp in the reserve, Jodi got her wish and instead of camping, we all stayed in the Hwange Safari Lodged. I have to admit, I did enjoy sleeping in the nice king size bed and indulging in 5 course dinners and scrumptious buffet breakfasts, but it wasn’t the same as sleeping in the middle of the reserve, seeing all the stars in the sky and hearing all the wild life right near you as you sat around the fire enjoying a good piece of meat cooked on the braai (bbq).

Once again we were able to take our local expert with us so that he could explain all the flora and fauna within the park. We ventured into the park twice, once on the first afternoon and again the following morning. I have never seen so many elephant in my life; they were gathered in the watering hole on the first evening having a bath and a play around. On the second morning I finally got to see lion in the wild; as we were on our drive out of the park mum spotted 4 lionesses with about 4 or 5 cubs … it was awesome to see them so close (they were about 15 metres away).

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