A "Safari"

No visit to South Africa is complete without a safari. I was visiting Cape Town, which does not have much wildlife other than zebras, baboons, and some antelope. The best known game parks, such as Kruger, were far from Cape Town, more than day's drive. I did not want to drive because of the violence and carjackings, so I opted for a "safari" nearby at Aquila Game Reserve. I place quotation marks around "safari" because this 4,500 hectare reserve did not have indigenous animals other than zebras and antelopes. The big five --elephant, lion, rhinoceros, giraffe, and hippo -- had been brought from elsewhere and allowed to roam in the reserve.

I stayed overnight and the chalets were lovely and very comfortable and the food (two breakfasts, two lunches, and a dinner) were tastefully prepared. I also went on two safaris, one in the afternoon and the other the next morning, before breakfast. I got to see all animals up-close. The guide was a Black South African who had grown-up in a village nearby.



The dining room at Aquila


The lovely, comfortable chalets for overnight stay. The roof is made of reeds.

The view from the chalet

Zebras

The low vegetation. Aquila lacks tall trees, although there was a lake with hippos and birds.

Rhinoceros

Ostrich

A lioness in the shadow of the jeep in which I traveled. The jeep had three rows of seats. When I looked back to take this photo, I found a passenger in the last row hiding under the seat, terrified by the lioness!

A lioness at dusk

Another lioness

Up close and personal!

African buffalo. Unlike the Asian Water Buffaloes, the African Buffalo is unpredictable and dangerous, and could attack without provocation. Early morning, two buffaloes came into the area where the chalets were and we were warned not to come out till the buffaloes had been chased away.

Breakfast on "safari"

We also saw two elephants, one lonely giraffe(!), many antelope, and wildebeest, and lots of birds.

Aquila provides jobs to about 150 Black Africans in an area where the employment rate is only 10%. However, some of these people did not seem to be appreciative of their jobs. It was hard to get good service from them, not even a smile at times.