๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ - ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ฟ๐ฆ
Waterfalls, bungee swings & panoramic mountain tour! ๐คฉ
We started the day heading out to the Drakensburg mountain range overlooking the 2nd biggest canyon in the world!!!
Then we chased some waterfalls, and eventually ended up at Gorge adventure centre which was where I did the crazy bungee swing ๐คฃ one of my favourite parts of the trip hands down! Would you be brave enough???
We then finished the evening with a special celebration at the camp for my dad's birthday as well the lovely Deb and Andrew who were celebrating their honeymoon ๐ฐ we had cake and prosecco and it was such a magical way to end the day ๐ฅฐ
๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ - ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ฟ๐ฆ
Evening Safari & pool day ๐ฆ
We started the day with a morning in Kruger National Park, we seen lions, elephants (baby ones ๐ฅน) and much more. Our tour guide Jo showed us the "Bush toothbrush" which was one of the branches from the trees (you'll see at some point in the photo the stick lol)
In the afternoon we had a chance to chill around the pool at our camp and soak up the south African sun โ๏ธ Our chef made us a picky lunch with pizzas and all sorts of yummy snacks! ๐
Then we set off for our Sunset/Night Safari ๐ฆ it was a completely different experience doing the Safari at night and I'd highly recommend going for this option if you have the chance! ๐โจ Then we came back to camp and had our evening meal, which as always was delicious! ๐ฅฐ
๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ - ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ฟ๐ฆ
(Elephants & Blyde River Canyon)
The morning started with a trip to the ๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐ We heard how each of the elephants had been rescued and why, before getting the opportunity to feed them ๐ hands down one of the most magical moments of my life. They were so gentle and friendly ๐ฅฐ
We then went to visit the ๐พ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐ช๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐, we watched a touching video about the work that they do at the centre then had a little tour to meet all of the animals โบ๏ธ baby rhino's and cheetahs were my favourites to see!
Then we made our way for a boat cruise at ๐ฝ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐พ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ. The views were out of this world ๐ฆโต.. We spotted hippo's and lizards before heading back to camp for another amazing evening meal ๐
๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ - ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ฟ๐ฆ
(First day on Safari ๐ฆ)
We set off early on our open Jeep to Kruger park for our full day Safari..
We spotted:
Wilderbeasts
Leopard
Elephants
Giraffes (play fighting)
Baboons (even baby ones ๐ฅน)
Lioness with her cubs
I would highly recommend doing this with a guide, they're great at spotting things and knowing the best spots. They are so knowledgeable and make the experience so enjoyable.
After a full day on the hunt for wildlife we got back to the camp where we had our evening meal together. Ostrich fillet was on the menu or chicken alternative.. We had fabulous choices with most meals, I had no idea we'd be fine dining in the middle of the African bush! Really was amazing!
๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ - ๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ ๐ฟ๐ฆ
(settling into our camp)
We left the Irene Country Lodge and embarked on our long journey to our camp just outside of Kruger National Park.
We arrived at ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐น where we'd be spending the rest of the trip together. The tents were luxurious AF and all had their own names (mine was KnobThorn which I found hilarious ๐). They had everything you could possibly need from hair dryers & coffee/tea.
Camp Bethel had its own bar which was included (only downside was you had to decide each day whether you were drinking soft drinks or alcohol you couldn't have both unless you paid extra but something they might change after getting feedback from us) ๐น we were constantly stocked with fresh water though so that was a plus!
We had a lovely clean pool and poolside towels that were available for us to use anytime. A pool in the middle of the South African bush man!! It was amazing with the wildlife being so close.
We then had our first evening meal that was cooked by our ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ณ who would cook for us the rest of the trip. He catered to everyone's needs and really was amazing!
It was a lovely way to settle into our new home for the week before our Safari started the next morning ๐ they told us not to worry about the zebras or the leopard that would sometimes roam the camp ๐ฆ
๐ฆ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ - ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ ๐ฟ๐ฆ
After a lengthy day of traveling we arrived at Johansaburg airport & met our guide. He drove us to our first stay of the trip which was ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ about 45 minutes away from the airport. The rooms were beautiful and spacious with gorgeous views of the lake.
Things to do at Irene Country Lodge:
๐ฆ Nature walk around the lake
๐ Dip in the outdoor pool
๐น Have a drink at the bar
๐๐ผโโ๏ธ Get a treatment at the spa
The rooms even had sports channels so my dad was able to watch the Newcastle vs Aston Villa football match before bed ๐
๐๐ผ Not to mention the softest bath robes I've ever seen ๐
We met for an evening meal with the rest of the people on our tour, the sky lit up during the meal as it started to thunder & lightening. Absolutely breathtaking ๐ฉ๏ธ
