Surprised that our guides, Daryl and Lucky, hadn’t fled during the night we tumbled in to the open topped 4×4 vehicles before sunrise for an early morning game drive. Grateful for the warm blankets in the mist and brisk morning cold we came across a procession of white rhino, spotted a lesser banded snake eagle and stopped to photograph some photogenic zebra. Driving through Phinda Private Game Reserve<\/a> you will be fortunate enough to see seven different habitats, from riverine bush to the sand forest we found ourselves in this morning. Here ancient trees host a variety of orchids including the world’s smallest flowering orchid.<\/p>\n

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We stopped in a clearing somewhere in the middle of the sand forest and our ever friendly and knowledgeable guides cooked up a tasty breakfast, served up amarula infused coffee to banish any lingering sleep and informed us about the fauna and flora endemic to this forested habitat. Properly awake we moved on through the sand forest to find Phinda Forest Lodge<\/a>. The 16 rooms built amongst the trees of this unique habitat feature a unique design, sometimes called ‘African-Zen’. A fusion of eastern and African elements the rooms and communal areas with their glass and wood walls have panoramic views of the surrounding forest are spaced widely apart for maximum privacy, peace and quiet. Surrounded by the beautiful sand forest setting and in these lovely interiors you could find yourself doing some tai-chi with the ‘gym-in-a-bag’ you will find next to your slippers, gown and gumboots (a nice touch in the sand<\/span><\/em>). But if even that sounds like too much work the pool with its commanding view of the open vlei and waterhole is the perfect place to relax and the main dining area which features the same view is the perfect place to feed! Of all the Lodges we looked at in Phinda, Forest Lodge<\/strong> was my personal favourite.<\/p>\n

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A short drive away from Forest Lodge but a completely separate entity in design is the lovely Phinda Vlei Lodge<\/a>. With only 6 rooms Vlei Lodge<\/strong> is very exclusive and is in the midst of major refurbishment. When completed the updated rooms feature a sophisticated d\u00e9cor, blending teak and timber finishing, eastern influences and hallmark African thatch and safari touches. The best feature of the new rooms is their private plunge pools although they are so large as to justify removing the ‘plunge’ from their name. With a sunny position on the edge of the grassy vlei, I could easily see myself lazing in the pool and watching the various antelope, birds and warthog go by.<\/p>\n

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Daryl took us back to base camp, Phinda Mountain Lodge<\/a>, rather faster than we where used too, the reason for haste became obvious when the meeting room with satellite feed and large flat screen tv and complete with beer and snacks was shown to those Rugby fans in our crew. The rest of the group retired to their rooms for an afternoon nap, something the rugby watchers should have done considering the Springboks poor performance. Later after another delicious lunch we headed out on our afternoon game drive. We were thrilled to get the chance to see a large family of 6 cheetah resting and playing in the grass. From there we moved on, if a little reluctantly, down to the river past ‘impala ravaged fever trees’ (Funny sense of humour our man Daryl<\/em>) and onboard a well outfitted boat for a sunset cruise upriver. Crocodile, an abundance of birdlife, g & t’s all round, beautiful sunset and Romy and Gareth’s ‘Titanic’ impersonation all made for a very memorable evening on the river.<\/p>\n

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We returned to Mountain Lodge<\/strong> for yet another unbelievable meal, some more drinks and a thrilling and very very competitive game of 30 Seconds where we discovered that Romy knows all the planets and can do a very accurate ‘popeye’ impression!<\/p>\n

If you haven’t done so already read about Day 1<\/a> and Day 2<\/a> of our July educational in my previous blogposts. Or have a look at Phinda Forest Lodge<\/a> and Phinda Vlei Lodge<\/a> on our website as well as our Phinda Private Game Reserve<\/a> page. You can also contact one of our friendly consultants<\/a> who will be able to help you plan the perfect safari to Phinda and Kwa-zulu Natal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Surprised that our guides, Daryl and Lucky, hadn’t fled during the night we tumbled in to the open topped 4×4 vehicles before sunrise for an early morning game drive. Grateful for the warm blankets in the mist and brisk morning cold we came across a procession of white rhino, spotted a lesser banded snake eagle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kwa-zulu-natal","category-travellers-tales","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\n