Moditlo Private Game Lodge –
“Set within the Blue
Canyon Conservancy at the foot of the famous Drakensberg mountain range,
Moditlo is in close proximity to the Greater Kruger National Park. Pronounced
'mo-di-tlo', this popular retreat and bush-getaway takes its name from the
herds of majestic elephants that roam the whopping 36,000 acres of African
bushveld that make up the reserve. “
Because of our late arrival yesterday, our evening safari was
cut short somewhat, so great expectations for today’s foray out into Kruger
National Park for our full day safari!
After a delicious meal and wine, of course, we all retired
relatively early on September 8th once we heard our wake up call in
the morning would be 4:30 am!
Let me tell you a bit about Moditlo. This private game lodge is very nicely
appointed with natural elements and modern conveniences. It’s also wide open to the bush. Not fenced.
Wild animals roam freely. It’s not uncommon to see beautiful brown eyed
antelope quietly grazing out your window or on your porch.
It’s also been reported that a pride of lions
was relaxing next to one of the guest rooms one evening. There is a strict rule that guests are not to
leave their rooms or the lodge after dark without being accompanied by a staff
member. So, when you get a wake up call
for 4:30 am, you get washed and dressed and wait until you are met by a staff
member to walk you to the lodge for coffee and rusks at 5:00 am before
departing on safari.
A brisk knock on the door wakes us out of a dead sleep. It’s 4:30 am. I had set an alarm on my cell phone too,
just in case. I leapt out of bed, and
went to turn off the alarm. My phone
indicated it was 3:30 am. Weird, I thought,
maybe it’s wrong? Grant and I got
washed and dressed and awaited our 5 am pick up.
My cell phone says now it’s 4:00 am. We are really confused. Did we get an earlier wake up call? Did
everyone in the group? I would have
called to check at the reception desk, if there had been a phone in the
room. Safari lodges often don’t have
phones, TV’s etc. which is generally nice as you feel really “in the bush”. However,
at 4:00 am confused over a departure time for a safari, it would have been nice
to clarify things with someone at the lodge.
Oh well, it’s Africa I reminded myself again, and we both lay down on
our beds dressed in full safari gear, boots and all. Grant managed a “oh by the way, happy
Birthday” before closing his eyes.
We must have dozed, because at the real 5:00 am, another
brisk knock on the door told us our escort was here to take us in the dark to
the lodge for coffee. Sure enough,
everyone in our group had been wakened up an hour earlier than was
scheduled! No one was too amused. We drank our coffees in silence.
A driver and vehicle was coming to pick us up at 5:30 am to
take us to Orpen Gate entrance to Kruger.
When no one showed up by 5:40 am, it was discovered by our guide that the
driver had gone to the wrong lodge! I can’t believe it! A quick scramble and discussion ensued and we
managed to secure a ride from one of the staff at the lodge to take us to the
gate. Another late safari. Several grumbles. How could this happen?
By now, the sun has risen, our driver sped us to the gate
where we transferred to two open safari vehicles. We were only a mere 20 minutes late from our
original departure time, although we’d been up for hours by now!
Our luck began to change for the better rapidly.
One of the “goals” of many people who go on game drives is to
see all of “The Big Five”. These are the
traditionally hunted big game of Africa;
Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhinoceros and Buffalo. Now, of course, people are encouraged to “hunt
them” with cameras. There is never a
guarantee you will see all of them, sometimes you don’t see any of them, but
there’s so much more to see in the bush, and timing has to be right as animals do roam
miles and miles in a day I keep reminding people.
Within 10 minutes of being in the park and in spite of
obvious extensive drought, we spotted a small herd of Cape Buffalo! We saw giraffes loping across the road, herds
of impala, vultures at the remains of a kudu that had likely died of starvation
from the drought, more kudus, some cheeky baboons, wildebeest, zebras and then…..a pride of
lions. We sat and watched in quiet
amazement as they languished under a tree in the shade, obviously satiated from
an overnight kill.
By the time we stopped for a bite of breakfast, we’d seen two
of the Big Five and plenty more! Smiles
on everyone’s faces now!
Our guide and driver was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable
with eyes like a hawk. We also
discovered that Donna, on our vehicle was also a great animal spotter! Driving past a small thicket, she suddenly screamed
“Leopard!” She had spotted a tail wagging….and it was attached to something spotted.
Probably one of the most elusive animals to find, this leopard was sleeping
lazily in amongst some thorn bushes and scrubby trees, barely visible. Her camouflage of spotted fur kept her
carefully hidden as the sun dappled on the leaves and branches. We stopped and aimed our telephoto lenses on
her, hoping for a sudden rise of the head, or better, her getting up all
together. Alas, in the 38 C heat, likely
feeling safely concealed, she occasionally flicked her tail and remained
stationary. We got some shots of her to
prove our siting which was enough to satisfy the group.
By now, with the sun high in the sky and the heat rising from
the dusty plain, many animals had sought whatever shade they could find, which,
believe me, wasn’t much. We saw a few
elephants tearing out trees and roots in attempt to find something tasty to
eat. A large Secretary bird strutted by
as if off to a meeting in her high heels.
Zebras grazed with their pals the wildebeest in the background.
We stopped at a rest camp for a bite of lunch and a cold beer
and got out of the heat for a bit before heading out for the afternoon. And then we hit the jackpot! Donna had eyed a solitary lion standing under a tree off in the distance. We got the binoculars out and to our amazement and that of our driver guide, it was a White Lion! In 18 years of doing safaris in Kruger, our guide Louis had never even seen this. We were awestruck.
We were also lucky enough to see a herd of
elephants who had found a rare watering hole and were enjoying throwing mud on each
other’s backs, a crocodile being watched carefully by some tortoises, a
solitary female lion, more kudu, impala and lots of pretty birds. It had been a great safari, only missing one
of the Big Five, the rhinoceros. But, there’s still tomorrow………….
Our fabulous day on safari was topped off by a fun evening in
the bar at Moditlo enjoying birthday drinks before being treated to a delicious
barbeque (braii) dinner in the Boma at the lodge. We sat
at our tables in the reed enclosure with an open fire in the middle of it
enjoying our meal and wine when all the staff suddenly came in singing and
dancing as only the Africans know how to do.
I was presented with a huge chocolate cake for my birthday and we shared
it with everyone that night. A great time,
a memorable birthday.
I can’t help but wonder if we’d been on time in the morning,
would we have seen the animals we saw? Guess we’ll never know…………….
A happy group. Don't ask about my shorts......that's another story!
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