When I woke up in the early morning hours at the Elephant Game lodge, it wasn’t with the peaceful serenity that I expected. Oh no, it was with the sound of an elephant trumpeting as they were coming to the nearby waterhole for their early morning drink.

Now although I should count myself lucky to experience these sights and sounds, it still doesn’t change the fact that when you are fast asleep, forgetful of your surroundings, this wake up call leaves you shaken for the most part of your day. But after my initial shock subsided, I myself was ready for a whole hearty African breakfast complete with bacon, eggs, toast and my usual caffeine fix.

The smell of fresh air…
After breakfast I was joined by a couple of German tourists and a Dutch couple on our morning game drive. It’s amazing how, even though you are in an open 4x4 vehicle, you somehow create your own illusion that you are safe sitting in the middle of a herd of elephants. As one drives past you really can’t help but to be in awe of this big creature, who at any moment could capsize the heavy vehicle which gave us some delusion of safety.

Elephants have always been my favourite animal. Not so much because of their brute strength, but more so because of their almost human intelligence.

As they strolled past us on their merry way to feed their appetite we continued through the wilderness on the look out for the savage beast, namely the lion.

More than just game…
With a slight breeze cooling us, our trusty driver took us deeper into more off-road terrain. There really is nothing more rejuvenating than being out in the wild, surrounded by predators.

Entering their territory feels forbidden, but we eventually found the pride in a lazy state, resting under their favourite tree. Our driver and guide, Philemon, informed us that this was Sabi Sand Game Reserve’s biggest and strongest pride. He said that they were in fact the true kings of the wild in this area. Sitting there watching lions sleep is not exactly the thrilling experience one would hope for, not if you could be seeing the whole pride in full force take down something big, like a buffalo, Nataional Geographic style. To my dismay it was not to be.

Moving on…
We continued our journey back to the Elephant Plains Game Lodge and on the way back were indeed very lucky to see another two of the big five, Rhino and Buffalo mostly grazing. When we arrived back at camp I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into one of Sindiwe, the cook’s, homemade game pies. She really knew how to make it just right and resisted my pleas to share her secret recipe for the perfect gravy.

After eating my fill, I too, like a typical lion, could feel how the weight of my stomach was pulling my eyes to a close, so I headed back to my room for my own lazy afternoon nap.

Messing around…
While I was still half heartedly trying to wake up, I could smell that all too familiar smell of a fresh pot of coffee brewing. Following my nose to the outside wooden deck, I happily sipped my coffee while overlooking the waterhole.

The waterhole is quite entertaining. There are always animals there quenching their thirst, but what I saw at that moment was more than amusing. It was a family of warthogs with little ones rolling around in the mud, causing more chaos than what their parents could control.

The warthog has always been a funny animal to me, even before Phumba came on the scene, so watching them messing around really made for some comical afternoon fun. When the family had eventually satisfied their desire for mud wallowing they ran off swiftly with their tails in the air, all in one straight line.

An evening well spent …
On evening game drive I got what I’d hoped for, a female leopard with a fresh catch dangling from her mouth. She was standing below a tree, baboon in mouth and ready to launch herself to the security of the branches, away from any other hungry mouths that could steal away her catch.

What a sight. As she launched herself off the ground and clutched to the tree with powerful claws, I could not help think how powerful a creature she is. The baboon was about the same size as her, yet she made it look effortless. Funny, how the size of animals is vastly different to our perceptions gathered from watching National Geographic programmes!

After spending at least 30 minutes just watching as she relaxed in the tree from the exhaustion of the kill, to watching her commence consumption, I felt satisfied. I was ready to head back to camp to enjoy my last night in the bush.

I got what I wanted from my South African safari vacation. Accommodation that was relaxing, which despite the comfort still had that rugged camp atmosphere that is a must when you go on an African safari, and of course I saw the best of our African wildlife.