Super Safari

    On our last morning at the Bayete hotel, we woke up and had breakfast. I got a small fruit platter and an omelette, and so did Acadian. Mommy and Daddy got a pancake and Mommy also got a crustless quiche. Daddy got an omelette. After breakfast we got into the car and drove to a place called Ivory Lodge. The road to get there had lots of sand and our car wasn’t doing so well. A few times we had to back up to get enough momentum to get over the big piles of sand. Daddy had to do some very quick turns and we were all relieved when we got there safe. Someone named Joel greeted us and told us that he was the manager. He then introduced us to our guide for our stay. His name was Brightwell, but his nickname was Dr.Bones. Dr.Bones might sound like a scary name, but he was actually really nice. As we got out of the car, some people took our bags to put them in our room. They welcomed us to a table and a couch and gave us some fizzy drinks. They have a big waterhole right outside the lodge, and we got to watch multiple big packs of elephants drinking and putting mud on their backs. Bones then led us down a path to a place they called The Hide, which was an open, house like structure with several chairs and couches. They had sprinkled salt right in front of The Hide before, and the elephants there were digging it up so that they could eat it for nutrients. We watched them for a while, but we had to be very careful not to make much noise so that we wouldn’t scare the elephants away. We then went to lunch. It was very good. It was a salad with beef and avocados and carrots other stuff. I also got some “lemonade”. I had just started to eat it when Daddy told me to put some hot sauce on it. So that’s what I did. But it turned out it wasn’t just regular hot sauce, it was super duper hot! I only put a few drops on, mixed it around and tried it, but it was way hotter than I expected. It was so spicy, it was hard to enjoy my meal. After lunch, they gave us dessert. The dessert was a bunch of different kinds of fruit in a glass with some of the juices from the fruit too. It was very good. We then finished and went to check out our room. The room was elevated so that leopards and other animals couldn’t just crawl in. It was very small, and there were lots and lots of holes where a bug could crawl through. Mommy and Daddy’s bed had an electric blanket, but Acadian and mine did not. They had folded the towels and washcloths into a origami elephant, and I thought that that was very cool. Next, we put down our bags that we had carried, and got some jackets to go on the afternoon safari (the “game drives” or safari tours were included with the stay as well as breakfast, lunch, and dinner). In the safari tour we saw birds, impalas, wildebeests, baboons, buffalos, kudu, termite mounds, elephants, and even a crocodile! As the sun started to set, it got a little cold, so Bones gave us some big, warm ponchos to wear. We found a good place to stop, and got out of the truck. Then Bones got out an unfoldable table, and put some snacks on it like popcorn, cheddar cheese and olive kebabs, and “biltong”. It was all very yummy, except that the “biltong” was super hard. He also put a cooler with drinks in it down, and Acadian and I got some fruit juice. We then headed back, and by then it was all dark. It was very cold, and dark, and I was a little scared that some sort of leopard or lion pack might sneak up and attack the safari truck (Bones had told us that the big cats are nocturnal, and hunted in the night). We got back safe and sound though, and had dinner at the lodge. For dinner we were served brai. It was pretty good. When we got back to the room, I took a relaxing bath, brushed my teeth and went to bed. The bed had only a few thin sheets, and was super cold. It didn’t help that the room was very open, and had a grass roof. There were no heaters in the room (unless you count Mommy and Daddy’s electric blanket), but I soon fell asleep.