Friday the 13th, a bad day for the superstitious, but seeing that we are not superstitious, it never bothered us. We left for a game reserve for an all expenses paid weekend for two at a lodge called
Hopewell Private Game Reserve, (please visit their website) about 70 km from our home in the Eastern Cape.
In our wildest dreams, we were not prepared for what awaited us. We had to leave our own vehicle at the main entrance and were transported by Land Rover to the lodges. As we went over a little hill, it felt like we were entering paradise. It was so beautiful and green, thick bushed and lovely.
The main lodge where we were treated to the best cuisine imaginable in the bush, or anywhere else for that matter.
This was the view from our private lodge!
No corners were cut by the staff. As we arrived, our luggage was carried into our lodge and we were taken on our first game drive, no time wasted.
This giraffe was in the mood for meeting friendly folks, and no, the pic was not zoomed in, he was very close.
This elephant bull had lost his one tusk somewhere, maybe in a fight. He was on his way to water, and no one was gonna stop him. We came very close, but he wasn't interested in small talk. Apparently he'd been a mite ornery a few times in the past.
At the watering hole. He allowed us to come quite close, but we stayed on the Land Rover, just in case he lost his temper. At one stage he actually got a mite irritated, so we moved away a bit, but just to another spot on the other side of the water, that way it would have given us a little more time to get away.
I apologize for the bad quality of the video, but I just have to share this with you. (It was some kind of insect that walked across the lens at one stage.) On the Land Rover were the tracker, Pauly, sitting on the nose of the Land Rover, he is amazing, he looks at a track and he can tell exactly which animal and how fresh it is.
Driving is our guide, Bruce Little, (almost 7 ft tall, so nothing little about him) one of the share holders in the reserve, and then Yolande and me. What was great about this weekend, we were the only guests, so we got all the attention. The Lodge only allow 6 guests at a time, and then they must be of the same group. It makes it easier to give their undivided attention and deliver a service out of this world. And when I say out of this world, I mean just that, we were treated like royalty.
How does this sound for royalty, when we come back after a game drive, it is cold, dark already, and we kinda tired. As we come up to the main lodge you see in the lights of the Land Rover two ladies waiting, one holding a tray with hot cloths to wipe our hands and face, and the other with a tray with hot chocolate or Irish coffee. Then we could freshen up at our lodge, then back to the main lodge for supper.
The view from the pool area, obviously being winter we never used the pool, but it would have been great to be able to.
The highlight of the weekend, the Cheetah, Thabo, he was hand raised by Bruce after his mom was killed by a snake. However, he runs wild and has to hunt his own food and this morning his tummy was full. He'd had something to eat the night before. Now I am sure you've heard a cat purr, well a cheetah purrs like that too, but just quite a bit louder. Here we were with him after Bruce tracked him down for us. He came closer when Bruce called him, and they met out there in the field like old friends.
We were welcomed as friends too, now keep in mind that Thabo is capable of catching wild life up to a young kudu cow size, so a human will be easy prey for him. However, cheetah will never attack humans, and they also become perfectly tame pets.
Scratching him under his chin actually got him so relaxed that he was flat on his tummy at one stage, while purring away.
Unfortunately this is the only photo we have of our hostess, Roxanne. She arranged everything, bubbly personality, and a lovely, capable, friendly person.
One last video, this is what it was like at the lodge we stayed in and the view from there.
I guess that is enough for today, please, if ever you need a weekend or week away from the rush of everyday life, drop in to Hopewell and enjoy a weekend of pure bliss and relaxation. We would like to thank the staff at Hopewell for having us, and for treating us like royalty, we had the best time ever!!
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
