I was woken up in Maduma Boma Game Reserve with a lovely birthday card which the group had secretly bought and all signed without me having the faintest idea. The two teachers and I then sat outside on our veranda and enjoyed a cup of tea in real china mugs (which was an enjoyable luxury after using metal camping cups for a week), while a kudu walked passed. We then headed up to the boys chalet, which soon became the communal area as it was the biggest, and gorged ourselves on toast as again it was a complete novelty to actually have a toaster!
Off to a private reserve
Having been very against taking phones and electronic devices on the trip, I had to eat my words as it was actually really nice to receive birthday wishes from my family and friends when we managed to get wifi for five minutes before starting the day’s activities. We first took part in a game walk around the adventure where we were lucky enough to spot zebra, warthogs and many different antelope. It was then time to load up the truck to head in to Kruger National Park for our final day on safari, but not before the struggle of squeezing the truck through the Maduma Boma narrow gates, which happened to be the exact width of the vehicle, much to the students’ amusement! Luckily we had a great driver who was able to perfectly manoeuvre the enormous 24 seater overland truck out the gates and back on to the road.
Our final day in Kruger was the perfect end to an already fantastic four day safari. We had the amazing opportunity to watch a herd of elephants splashing around in a watering hole, a pride of lions sunbathing as well as two cheetahs stalking some antelope. We stopped for lunch at the Satara rest camp, where most of the group enjoyed the pizza restaurant but I (not liking pizza) opted for a chicken and bacon roll, followed by the world’s biggest chocolate muffin which the teachers bought me. Heading back out for the afternoon, we were extremely lucky to spot a leopard (for the third time in four days), although that did mean that the group thought that it was completely normal, until we spoke to a local man who had lived there for 40 years and had only ever seen two leopards! We then pulled in to a beautiful viewing spot where we enjoyed watching hippos grazing on the grass islands, terrapins swimming in the water hole, crocodiles sunbathing on the edge of the water and antelope frolicking in the bush.
Our next accommodation
It was then time to head out of the stunning Kruger National park to make the short journey to our accommodation. After turning up at what we thought was Moholoholo Mountain View Chalets, we soon realised that this was far too luxurious for a school group and were told we had taken a turn too early at were at a 5 star resort. They directed us to the correct location, which turned out to be a touch more basic but still very lovely. We parked the truck, unloaded our kit bags and were shown to our rooms, I was completely spoilt and had my own private bush chalet. After a quick shower to freshen up, we walked down the beautifully lit path to the restaurant where we were treated to a delicious meal that tasted all the better by not having to cook it!
Our day was brought to an upbeat close with the whole restaurant singing Happy Birthday to me, a few celebratory toasts, and an early night. What a fantastic way to spend my 22nd birthday!
Find out about our exciting trips in South Africa, or contact us for more information.
