Going on a safari drive begins very early in the morning. We had to be ready to go by 6:00am. It was very cold and the jeep had no top. We wrapped ourselves up in big blankets to keep warm.

For our safari drives we had a ranger and driver named Jabulani. There was also a tracker named Jubulani who sat in a special seat at the front of the jeep. This is called the jump seat.

The job of the tracker is to help spot the animals. The first animal that I saw was an nyala darting behind a tree. A nyala is part of the antelope family. Our first morning was very exciting. We spotted a cheetah laying in the grass and posing for our cameras.

Every morning on safari, after the sun comes up, there was tea and coffee and snacks for breakfast. On our first morning, we stopped to have tea at a watering hole. At the watering hole we watched a herd of elephants drink. One young elephant was very curious about our tea party and came over to get a better look. When the elephant got too close for comfort, Jabalani said ‘get in’ so that we would be safe in our jeep.

There is also an afternoon drive that begins around 4:00pm and ends after sunset. In all we had 8 game drives during our stay, two on each day we were there. We saw all but one of the Big Five. While we saw elephants, rhinos, lions, and buffalo, we did not see a leopard. Some of my favorite sightings during our safari drives were:

• Seeing ostriches in the wild. They are very large, strange looking birds.
• Watching little warthogs run away as our jeep approached. They are everywhere and seemed to be easily frightened.
• Three male lions that walked in front of our jeep before laying down. After first they were frightening and ferocious! Once they sat they just looked lazy.
• Zebra and giraffes. Jabulani told us that they are often found together because they get along. They both have beautiful skin.
• Finally, watching several hippopotamus floating in the water. Every so often they opened their mouths wide for a big yawn.

Part I: Meet our Ranger	Part II: See the animals on a game drive

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