Another early morning – and they’re only getting earlier from here. Up at 6:15 am so we can grab an early breakfast and pack up in time for our 10:30 am flight.
The Radisson’s concierge claims we only need to arrive at Cape Town International Airport 90 minutes in advance of a domestic departure, but we’re better-safe-than-sorry types who book a car to leave at 8 am. This should give us ample time even if the traffic turns out worse than expected.
Breakfast is slower this morning – perhaps because we arrived right at open? – but we’re still in and out in less than 30 minutes.
Back to our rooms to finish packing. Usually we divide everything up based on who is going to be in which room, but on flight days everything gets jumbled as we struggle in vain to meet our weight maximums. Today is no exception.
Eventually our mighty little hand scale tells us that the books all balance (with less than 200 g to spare for most of our checked bags and we are double the carry-on weight limit but hopefully that won’t actually be measured), so it’s down to the lobby to wait for our driver – who is thankfully early, another perk of having booked with the Radisson.
There’s some load mastering as he arranges the bags so that they fit – and aren’t at risk of sliding forward and bonking our children on the head – but we’re soon on our way.
Our lucky streak continues – no real traffic today, and so we arrive at the airport shortly after 8 am. Off to the Airlink counter, where they weigh our checked bags – and we’re over our weight allowance. But thankfully they only weigh the checked bags.
We’ve sadly neglected to read the fine print – the weight maximum on Airlink is 20 kg (44 pounds) as opposed to the more-generous 23 kg (50 pounds) on Air Canada. The overage cost is blessedly minimal – perhaps US$15 – and so we pay it and move on.
Not much of a line for security, either. We seem to be just ahead of the rush of people. Small hiccup when one of us forgets to zip up the bag after removing a laptop and another attempts to roll said bag away without zipping it, but otherwise everything is as smooth as glass. Down to our gate, where we’re pleased to find larger-than-average leather seats and plenty of room in which to sprawl out.
I go for a forage to see what’s available food-wise – our options are coffee-shop fare or Wimpy’s burgers. Given that it’s still several hours til lunch time, we opt for chocolate chip muffins as our emergency backup lunch. (We should be fed both on the plane and when we arrive at Dulini Moya, but it never hurts to have extra food for kids.)
Even the view from the Cape Town International Airport is striking:
Back to the gate again, where I blog for about an hour before it’s time to board. Boarding starts – there’s a quick bus ride from the plane to the terminal, followed by an extended wait as the crew finishes up whatever it is that crews finish up.
We board the plane, and we’re off.
Farewell, Cape Town!
As far as flights go, this is definitely one of them. It’s not particularly anything – though they do serve a decent “chicken loaf” (read: deli chicken) sandwich. I also have a coffee. There is some turbulence. I read a book. We are in economy this time, so there isn’t enough room for me to have my laptop out.
Two and half hours pass, and we land.
Hello, Skukuza!
The Skukuza airport is very small, and lacks modern amenities such as “baggage carousels” and “walls”. Plus, our arrival is further complicated by the simultaneous arrival of a second plane:
How will the airport staff possibly handle the stress-test posted by two such planes?
But Colin from Sable Tours is waiting for us right in the arrivals area, and continues to wait patiently as our bags are gradually wheeled out to a central raised dias to be collected by various passengers. It’s hot and painfully slow, but eventually we collect our fourth checked bag and are on our way.
We drive through Kruger National Park to get to Sabi Sands and spot wildlife almost immediately, starting with some kudu:
And continuing with some zebra:
These are using each other’s tails to keep the flies down.
While this youngster is still nursing.
There are others, too – warthogs, giraffe, crocodiles, wildebeast and impala. But I’m not always quick enough to get a shot.
After an hour and a half in the vehicle – about half of which was spent receiving a mild ‘African massage’ over rutted roads – we arrive at Dulini. And it is stunning.
Apart from spa services, the gift shop, and a few select wines, everything is covered here – even our dreaded arch-nemesis, laundry.
We’re shown to our rooms, which are every bit as beautiful as the resort itself:
We’d initially hoped to have a quick lunch, but we’re late to arrive so we settle instead for a quick bite of cake before we hop in the safari vehicle with our guide, Scott, and tracker, Clifford, for our first evening game drive.
We drive for perhaps thirty metres before we spot bushbuck:
Shortly thereafter, a baby elephant comes into view:
It starts eating:
While it’s adolescent sibling heads down to the watering hole to drink and play:
Soon their Mom arrives – she’s missing a tusk, which is relatively rare among females – less so among males, who are more prone to fighting:
And they all head down to the water for a drink together:
The baby goes in to nurse:
Though the mom gives a start when she notices a nearby crocodile:
It’s not a serious threat, though – the elephants could easily stomp it into pieces.
The elephants then move on to a mud hole, which will help protect them from the heat and sun:
Interestingly, the adolescent begins to push out the wee one in the hopes of gaining some of mother’s milk. At perhaps 8 years old, it’s the oldest elephant that our guide Scott has ever seen trying to nurse.
A brief interlude as a kievit bird flies into view:
And then the elephants depart for the evening:
We carry on down the road, and spot some nyala – the Zulu word for onion. Easy to remember, as they have stripes similar to the way onions have layers.
As the males grow older, they develop a significantly darker colour scheme:
We turn the corner and come face-to-face with another elephant:
No zooming needed – this one is so close that I cannot fit it into frame.
Next up, impala:
These can be recognized by the distinctive M pattern on their bottoms.
This, combined with their omnipresence in the area, are why they are often referred to as the McDonalds of the bush.
We then come across the proverbial (and literal) motherload:
A mother lion and her cubs.
Kudos to my son for getting this fantastic photo!
I know, I know – this is baby lion photo overload. But how do you choose which adorable lion cub photos to include?
The short answer: You don’t. You try to winnow it down, and then you give up and post too many.
Don’t blame me. I don’t make the rules.
After overheating our cameras, we then head up the road a bit further so we could see the male lions doing what lions do best:
This one was particularly active! He shifted positions:
We then go on a night drive through the bush, looking for creatures. Not too much this time – mostly chameleons. But still fun to look! And the air smells incredible, the stars are beautiful, and it’s blissfully cool.
Back to Dulini for dinner. A tasting menu tonight!
I completely forgot to get a picture of the Arancini, but they were delicious. Little cheesey nuggests of ricey goodness.
It’s followed by the salmon:
And the kudu loin:
There is admittedly something a bit strange about eating a creature you just admired a few hours earlier. Counterpoint – kudu is delicious.
As is the lemon mousse dessert, which is like a deconstructed lemon meringue pie:
We are beyond tired by the time this all wraps up, so it’s time to head for bed – up at 5:10 am tomorrow so we can make our first morning game drive!