We got the following message from Jackie and the group..... (20/06/03)

"Here at the Savanna Lodge, it’s Friday and I am experiencing more emotions than I can write about.

Think African sunrise! Just to imagine the sun appearing over the savanna, as you travel in open safari vehicle surrounded by hidden wildlife. And did we see it!

Giraffe just cruising in front of our Landrover; impala peering at us from the sidelines, baboons running away from us as we speed through their ‘camps’. The zebra allowed us to photograph them but the cheetah, a rare species, really performed for us!

We watched lions and cubs feasting on a rhino, that had been dead for a while – too long a while! All this before breakfast!

I must mention the night before! Dinner outdoors by hurricane light – you’d have to have been here! We’d just coming in from a game drive – there were LEOPARDS. These nocturnal creatures, a rare sight, greeted us on our very first night, as did the rhinos! So the ‘Big Five’ were making their appearances.

This is far too exciting to write about! I’ve assigned tasks for everyone in the group. Just to mention a few – I am seated, at breakfast beside Gracie, who as our weather person, is bragging about the wonderful weather we are having. (it’s winter) Jean, our food critic, is still worried whether we have eaten ‘Bambi’ for dinner. Bertha, our fashion critic, has just appeared for breakfast – ‘fashionably-late’ with the emphasis here on fashion. I hope Bernard Luc, our photographer, gets a good shot of her. I think, I just overheard Janice our ‘tracker’ bragging about all the ‘game’ she spotted for us. (I think her real game is trying to hold on to her hat in the Landrover). Sylvia, our culture consultant, is going to report on tomorrow’s impromptu visit to the nearby village. While Keri, our fun monitor, has made certain that we are all smiling (she has an easy job). Almost as easy as mine – well, breakfast is over! I’ll drop a line later from the savanna!"

Jackie

Postcard from South Africa - Part 2