Our 6th trip to Africa will see several new countries for us (Mozambique, Egypt and Morocco, plus Jordan – in Asia, not in Africa) but we started with a trip to Cape Town to visit our godson, Rhys. Oh, and his parents – Will and Brandy Taylor too, haha. Of course no trip to Africa with Will and Brandy would be complete without a bush experience … it is so special to experience Africa with the experts #khashanatravel!!
Pungwe Safari Camp in Manyeleti Game Reserve
Our stay at Pungwe Safari Camp was really quite cool. Pungwe is a throw-back to more rustic safari camps of old – but not tooooo rustic. I mean, check out our tent! (ok, we were very lame and didn’t get good pics of the camp, but you can see for yourself on their website). Our tents were lit by only kerosene lamps at night, with warm showers by wood burning fires. But that didn’t impede the chef – our meals were outstanding, or the game viewing. Just getting to the camp provides a game drive, as you traverse all the way through the 22,000 hectare Big 5 Manyeleti Reserve, to the southern border where Pungwe shares unfenced boundaries with two world renowned reserves: Sabi Sand Reserve to the south and Kruger National Park to the east. This location provided for fantastic game viewing: we saw lions, leopard, wild dogs, rhinos, hippos, hyenas, giraffe, zebras, warthogs, elephants, EIGHTY varieties of birds (ok Will saw 80… we saw what we could once he pointed them out 🙂 and more. We had an elephant meander through camp the first night, and could have sworn a hyena was going to join us for a slumber party … oh how we have missed the sounds of the African nights in the bush.
As we got into the bush, we ran across a pride of seven lions. This mama looks angry, but she is actually yawning….. 
….before she gets up and stretches….. 
…..and goes to the fridge to get something to eat. 
Oops…out of luck. So, she and the pride’s male look for something to eat. 
They settled in for an alert look-see at a waterbuck way in the distance. We watched for about 30 minutes and gave up … lions have such patience! 
Safari buddies. 
It had rained A LOT in Manyeleti just before we arrived, so many of the animals took to the dryer roads. Five age groups represented in this small herd of elephants we followed. 
We found a very relaxed wild dog. 
And then we found another wild thing – learning new tricks from his godfather. 
Such a typical African sunset. Just gorgeous. 
It is about 5:30am of our last day. We are off early because of a leopard sighting. Of course…..Will is in the Land Rover waiting on all of the rest of us. The bush is in this man’s blood. Such a privilege to benefit from his expertise and passion. 
On our way to see the leopard, we didn’t even stop for the lions. “Ain’t nobody got time for that”. 
We caught up with a rather nervous female leopard just as she was going into the tall grass. It was a good thing we sped past the lions (and several other animals)… one more minute and we’d have missed her. 
Moving down the road at about 50kph, we surprised this Wild Dog. 
On our way back to camp, we interrupted a contingent of 4 male lions This fella couldn’t decide if he was going to yield. 
In the end, he did yield….but definitely on his own terms and at his own pace. 
Somebody wasn’t happy that we were encroaching on his territory. 
Shauna and Rhysie having some fun in the hammock. 
All in all, a TERRIFIC couple of days with Will, Brandy & Rhys, and our new friends, Brenda and Brendan Langford.
Nyaleti Lodge
We then moved on to Nyaleti Lodge, a Bed & Breakfast in the Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate owned and operated by Ann & Marlon Lewinsky. Ann is a native Dallasite married to South African Marlon. They moved to South Africa 2 years ago to enjoy a laid-back lifestyle among the wildlife of Africa (as much as running a B&B can be laid-back!). Ann’s gorgeous wildlife and landscape photography adorns the property, which she and Marlon have beautifully renovated and expanded.
The Hoespruit area offers so much – game drives in Kruger National Park, Manyeleti Game Reserve, hikes or scenic drives in Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve – and Nyaleti is the perfect base for exploring.
Ann & Marlon have created a lush, peaceful and modernly stylish six-room B&B with a backyard that opened onto a game reserve. 
Walking along the reserve trails, we saw giraffe…. 
… zerba and warthogs… 
…and more warthogs. 
Nyaleti had a boma as well as a viewing platform that looked out on the reserve. 
The viewing platform was a great place to watch the sunset across the reserve.
We were impressed with Hoedspruit (love the Thirsty Giraffe!) and Nyaleti Lodge. Thank you for the warm African hospitality Ann and Marlon!
Awesome pics!
Thanks Jake! ❤️
Yay!! Two and Fro are back!!!. We miss you guys sooo much.
Miss you too!!!