Then came the big part of our adventure. The six of us (five family and a friend) who went to Rwanda and Zimbabwe hopped on a plane to Johannesburg, South Africa. A few hours after arriving we connected with the rest of our family plus a nanny and another friend so we were now 14!
Overnight in a local hotel and then off to our bush plane ride to the Timbavati region of South Africa, right next to Krueger National Park.
Our home for the next five nights was the Makanyi Private Game lodge. As it so happened they only have seven rooms so we filled the lodge. This proved to be a great thing as the grandkids had the run of the place and no other guests to disturb.
The highlights of this visit for me were: it is a newer lodge with the wildlife being more wild. While a bigger challenge to find it proved to be a more authentic experience. Being a private reserve the trucks can drive off the road. We spent a lot of time running through the bush as we looked for lions and Rhino.
For me, the encounters with both black and white rhinos were a highlight. We saw bulls, cows and calfs and even, briefly a very new born two week old calf.
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