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We've had a lovely 3 nights in Bushlands. We are so happy that we decided to book this package at the last minute as opposed to staying in St Lucia. When we got picked up by the Baz Bus, Jenna & Andy who we had met on the previous leg but had gotten off in St Lucia said you really needed a car to get around or pay for tours so I think we definitely got a great deal.
We left Durban about 8am on Friday morning, our first trip on the Baz Bus. There were only 5 of us on it, so plenty of space to spread out. It was awful outside, rainy, windy and cold. We could only hope the weather would get better. We arrived at Bushlands about 2pm and were shown to our room. We had booked a twin room with en-suite but they showed us to the self catering chalet which would be our home for 3 nights. Not sure how we ended up with the chalet but we weren't complaining. We each had our own room (plus there was a 3rd bedroom), a lounge, a kitchen and the bathroom was outside on the deck, surrounded by canvas with a lovely big white bathtub. We were meant to go to the Zulu village but we were told it would be better if we went Monday because it wasn't as good in the rain. That was fine with us. We cooked some 2 minute noodles for lunch, curled up on the couch under a blanket with a book and then put a movie on the laptop. An afternoon of relaxation was exactly what we needed. All our meals were included in the package so we headed to the dining area/bar for our first meal of fish and chips.
They also put a small plate of fresh fruit out for the bush babies who come down for their evening snack. These animals are part of the primate family, but they look like little possums. Very cute to watch but they can be loud, especially when they are crying out. Our guide came and told us to be in the car park for 5.30am to leave on our full day safari to Hluhluwe National Park. There were two vehicles going with 18 of us in total. Told to rug up as the vehicles were open and we could only hope the rain would stay away.
We woke to clear skies and no rain so that was a good start. We rugged up and headed out to stake our spot in the vehicle. We each had about 4 layers on including our warm hats to keep our ears warm. Glad we took them with us. Driving up the freeway at 100kms per hour, the wind can be just a tad chilly (understatement). They did have blankets for us. We had a great day of game viewing. The rain pretty much stayed away, we just got a bit of drizzle here and there but nothing that meant we had to put the canvas sides down on the car. We saw some lions snacking on a buffalo carcass (but not as close as we have seen previously) but the real stars of the day were the white rhinos. We saw so many of them and quite close. One even decided to have a mud bath by the side of the road for us. We also saw some young ones as well. The only other time we've seen a rhino on our trip was up in Kenya and they were quite a distance away. These rhinos made mum's day. We came across about 5 of them on the road, happily hanging out when a stupid car on the other side of them decided to do a u-turn which scared them and they scattered quite fast. Luckily they didn't run into any of the vehicles because they can cause some damage. They don't have very good eyesight, relying on their sense of smell and hearing. We also saw plenty of more different antelope species, buffalo and lots of giraffes & zebras. It was a good day. We had breakfast in the park and for lunch they cooked hamburgers for us.
Back to Isinkwe (our bush camp) and dinner was a Braai. Then back to our chalet to test out that great big bathtub. I would love one of them back home!!! A little bit of a sleep in on Sunday, we didn't have to meet till 7.30am. This time there was just the two of us with our guide, Pinky. She drove us back to St Lucia and we went down to the riverbank to have breakfast and watch the hippos & crocs. We then went on a boat cruise of the estuary for 2 hours where we saw more hippos, crocs but lots of bird life. I had put sunscreen on when we got on the boat but the captain told me to go and wash it off as it can attract hippo flies (which are huge) and you don't want one of them biting you.
After our boat trip we entered Isimangaliso Wetlands Park, a world heritage site which we only saw a small part of. It stretches for about 200kms and protects 5 different eco systems. We saw two of the lakes and also went down to Cape Vidal which is on the beach with beautiful white sand. We stopped at a picnic site for lunch (chicken burgers today) and we kept a close eye on the vervet monkeys who are good little thieves, especially when there is food around. Was able to get quite close to them and get some great photos, including one enjoying a monkey fruit. He was like a little kid, scooping the good stuff out with his fingers and then licking them. During our drive around the wetlands, we saw more animals, mostly the different antelopes, warthogs, rhinos & zebras. The weather was even better than the day before, we really have been lucky.
Monday morning, we were driven to a private reserve about 15mins away for a 3hr guided walk. Learnt about the different trees and bird life and watched the dung beetles hard at work. These are similar to the ones we saw in Addo, except these can fly and they look like small birds in the air as they fly past you. They dig a hole in the ground and then collect a piece of dung and roll it to their hole and down into it. They use the dung as a nest and also for food. Watching them roll the dung pellet into their hole reminded me of people trying to roll a giant beach ball that is bigger than them. We had quite a giggle watching them. Saw lots more birds; it still surprises me the knowledge of these guides. They get a glimpse of a bird or hear their call and they know exactly what it is. It was an interesting 3 hours but mum was glad when it was over.
Ivan, the owner of Isinkwe picked us up and then drove us to Dumuzulu, which is the Zulu village next to Isinkwe. They take you in and show you how they make their spears, beaded items, pottery & baskets. We met the Medicine Man & Sangoma and then they put on some traditional dancing & singing for us. When the men danced, there was a young boy who was out front and obviously learning but he was cute and concentrating so hard, with his tongue stuck out between his lips as he danced away. It was an interesting morning. Ivan then picked us up to take us back to Isinkwe so we could finish packing our bags and get ready for the Baz Bus. We were lucky that we didn't have to check out of our room before we left. Once we got our bags out (and we have too many), we ate the packed lunch they made for us and then waited for the bus to pick us up and take us to Swaziland!
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