Saturday and Sunday - MalaMala

After a short 2 1/2 hour plane trip we loaded into the van for a 3 hour trip to the MalaMala safari lodge. We never thought to ask how long it would be. The last hour of the ride was over some pretty rough roads. On arrival at this beautiful place we were greeted with wet cloths to wash our faces and pitchers of cold drinks - most welcome after the long trip. Our room is fabulous with a thatched roof and the best part -his and her bathrooms. Stephen and Lynn have the honeymoon suite which is larger than my first house. Next we were treated to afternoon tea with sandwiches and cookies. Then off to our first safari drive with our guide Lucky. What a treat! We saw a mother lion and her 4 cubs. We were able to watch them up close as they played with each other and jumped all over mom. Later we saw another lion couple who were resting after a mating session which we missed. Apparently they go at it for 4 days. The male lifted his head to look at us and he was magnificent. Pix to follow. Lucky got word that there was a leopard so we went in search of it. That's when Lynn revealed a special talent -animal spotter. She was always the first to spot him. We now call her Lynn sharp eyes Forte. The leopard was beautiful. Lynn later admitted that sheer terror produces her special talent. After our return to the lodge we had dinner in the boma, which is an outdoor area with a fire. It is surrounded by a tall reed fence. The food was delicious and I even tried eland which tastes like fillet mignon. There is a beautiful bar in the lodge which we also made use of. Lynn has discovered a new drink called Amarula. Since we have been on safari she has taken to ordering the American size- you can guess what that is. Again it's her response to terror. We were up at 5:30 today and after coffee and a biscuit we were off on another safari drive. This time we were lucky enough to see a large herd of elephants crossing the river. It was quite an amazing site. Also got to see zebras, giraffes and 2 male lions resting on the road. Got close to some rhinos and other animals as well. it started to rain very heavily so we came back to the lodge for breakfast. Now it's time for lunch. Then a few hours later time for tea and another game drive then dinner. Good thing I bought big pants for this trip! We will be leaving here tomorrow. Would love to stay longer. Put this place on your bucket list- it's well worth it.