This is my first ever safari and it was part of my friend’s birthday celebration trip. We spent a wonderful 4 days at Singita in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa which is a 65,000 hectare reserve that shares a border with the world renowned Kruger National Park. We have been told that Sabi Sands has one of the highest density of big game in South Africa.
We all flew into Johannesburg from different parts of the world and stayed one night before catching our chartered flight to Sabi Sands the following day.
View from my room at the Westcliff Hotel Johannesburg.
My room at the Westcliff Hotel Johannesburg.
Our 1-hour flight to Singita Sabi Sands from Johannesburg.
Singita has 3 properties in Sabi Sands and we stayed at the Castleton Lodge which is formerly the family home of Singita founder’s grandfather. It is a private safari lodge with communal living spaces in the main house and 6 separate cottages for accommodation. It is the perfect setup for family vacations and the 7 of us took over the entire lodge for the next 4 days.
Castleton Camp at Singita Sabi Sands.
The pool at Castleton Camp.
Living area on the deck where we usually hung out.
My cottage at Castleton Camp.
Indoor living area at the Castleton Camp.
Today lunch was outside in the garden. Photo courtesy of my friend while I was already busy eating :)
Nice alfresco dinner out by the pool one evening.
Here at Singita, I felt like we were either going on a game drive or eating. They seem to feed you constantly… morning tea before the game drive, snacks during the drive, then breakfast, then lunch, then afternoon tea, then snacks during the drive, then dinner, then snacks again… :) And they try to be creative and vary the cuisine and where each meal was served. Sometimes it is in the proper dining room, other times it is on the verandah or in the garden. They did a lunch picnic for us on the lawn under a tree with blankets and cushions and the whole nine yards.
There are normally 2 game drives each day, one in the morning and another in the late afternoon. Sometimes we do a night drive as well.
Our first game drive at sunrise.
Baby zebra foal
Leopard spotting on the first day!
Sunsets here are beautiful!
Weird grumpy looking reptile.
Impala
Impalas
Buffalo
Kudu
Hippo at the watering hole.
Stopping for some coffee and snacks on our game drive.
Another beautiful sunset.
Waterbucks
Waterbuck
On the foreground is our guide’s hand…that is how close we are to the lion!
A whole bunch of lions resting. The guide told us that the animals see the range rover and us inside as one being and since they are used to seeing the jeeps around, they supposedly don’t pounce or attack. But it is still scary to be this close to a wild animal in a completely open vehicle!
Rhino
Elephants – completing our list of the Big 5
Spotted Hyaena
Cheetah
Another Leopard
The leopard walked right up to our jeep and I could literally stick my hand out and pat its head. Scary but such a beautiful creature.
Another beautiful sunset concludes our stay in Sabi Sands… everyone was sad to leave and can’t wait to come back again!
