Having heard about the game viewing in the Sabi Sands I had a fair idea of what to expect, but nothing could have prepared me for the fantastic game drive we had at Londolozi.
We spent the previous night at a concession in the Kruger National Park and the game viewing had not been spectacular by a far measure, therefore I knew things could only go up in the Sabi Sands.
Stepping up onto the game drive vehicle we got smart with our Ranger and named a list of the animals we wanted to see. Much to our surprise we had hardly left Pioneer Camp when we drove directly into a large herd of Elephant crossing the Sabi River. As we sat watching the elephants work their way over the dry riverbed, we noticed the one half of the herd moving down the riverbed as opposed to crossing it, so we ventured in closer to get a view of the cause of the Elephants uneasiness. Relaxing in the riverbed with the late afternoon sun baking on them, where three male lions whilst a 4th Lion was walking along the riverbank and the 5th lying in the bush finishing off the coalitions kill. If, like me, this was your first game drive in the Sabi Sands, the precedent would be set and hard to match anywhere else in the Kruger National Park.
My first game drive at Londolozi covered every one of the “Big Five” including loads of antelope and various other animals. Our ranger and tracker made a fantastic team working together to get us up as close to the animals as nature will allow.
Having been on self drive Kruger National Park trips before, I can in all honesty say that there is no comparison between an open vehicle game drive at Londolozi and driving through the Kruger National Park. The two experiences are worlds apart and never the twain shall meet!
So if you have the chance to experience the one thing that you cannot do anywhere else in the world, experience Africa’s wildlife, then do it properly, you might never get back to Africa for a second chance!