Our last morning in Nambiti before moving to Durban for one night. Another 5am wake up call for our last drive out in the reserve. After coffee to help us wake up, we set off at 05:30 as the sun was rising. There are a number of private lodges across Nambiti, which means there are many vehicles out at this time. All the guides know each other and stay in contact to share sightings. Just as we set off the news came of a pride of lions close to our lodge. We drove close and parked up. We could see them looking down on us from a distance and then they started to move one at a time, walking towards the road and our vehicle. The guides we unnerved. The lions had no interest in us and more interested in heading to another part of the reserve. They followed a path directly across the road in front of us, walking slowly, but with purpose. They are the king of this reserve and clearly not afraid of humans. Looking at the size of their paws, you could see why they fancy themselves against most things around them.
It started to get busy, so we decided to leave everyone to watch the lions and headed off to a more remote part of the reserve, stopping to see various sights along the way until we found a large waterfall in the centre of park. Its summer and there has been a lot of rain, so the waterfall was running fast. We pour coffee and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
On our way back we came across four Giraffes grazing on the hillside, which was unusual as up-to this point we had only seen them on their own. They are one of our favourite animals from the safari and we loved this particular one.
On our way back we ventured close to where the lions had been earlier in the morning. We found them asleep, recovering from their night hunting. Nine in total, including a number of cubs. They slept as we took photos. I 'm sure they knew exactly where we were and comforted knowing that the onlookers stood no chance if they came too close.
Our time in Nambiti had come to an end. We orgnaised a car to take us to Durban, which was a three hour drive. Nambiti is around 1000 metre in altitude, so it can be wet and cold in the summer. The journey took us lower to the warmer coastal area. Our hotel is north of Durban in the holiday town uMhalanga. A hot beach area where the local businesses pay to keep the area safe. Looking out to sea, there are many ships waiting to port. This is where my grand father was torpedoed in WWII and swam to his safety, It did make me think about the fun he would have had after going through a life / death experience, it must have been surreal going from nearly dying to landing in this amazing country.
Tomorrow we head to Cape Town. We have a later alarm than the previous two days as as our flight is midday. I go to bed a little frustrated that England lost to Scotland in the Rugby, but appeased that West Ham came away with a deserved draw against Newcastle. Janice is celebrating Ireland convincingly beating Wales in the Rugby. Next stop Cape Town. We are thousands of miles away from the UK, but sport is global.
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