Time spent at the game reserve by Harry Fryer Rugby Academy member
We started off the day with breakfast, full English as is the norm for a Brit on holiday; however this was at the Cape Suites Hotel. This meant that we had to make our way to our overnight destination and the most anticipated part of the trip for the majority including myself.
Early in the morning with many still half asleep we set out on our 3 hour trip to Aquila Game Reserve, the trip was relatively standard as we were all well acquainted with the coach by now. Getting close to the reserve we appeared from out of a tunnel into what seemed to be game country, however it was shrouded in cloud compared to the clear skies pre-tunnel. The fog faded quickly as we continued with the trip. There was suddenly a large amount of commotion on the coach as a family of baboons were spotted by the roadside. Within an hour of this encounter we were at the gates of the game reserve and the excitement had built up to this moment.
After a complementary glass of sparkling grape juice we were all told to go through and wait by the pool, the bone chillingly cold pool. On our way the first animal of the game reserve was noticed right in front of us, a peacock. After a short wait we moved into the dining room for some lunch, not as good as other days in my opinion. But who cared we were on safari!
This was shortly followed by the giving out of the keys which lead to clapping (for no reason whatsoever). After the keys were dispersed most thought it wise to take a dip considering the beautiful weather conditions. These conditions in no way affected the warmth of the pool and there were many breathless faces in the pool. All except for the beast that became known as “Cotton Eye” James Pickervance who insisted on doing multiple lengths.
We were then told to make our way to the safari vehicles; this was when the excitement reached its peak. The girls embarked in one vehicle, the footballers and a few rugby lads in another and the remaining rugby boys in the final jeep. The drivers hopped in and we kicked off the drive. We were only out in the reserve for a matter of minutes when we drove past a huge group of huge hippos; we were mere meters away from the most dangerous animal in Africa. Shortly after the hippos we saw what seemed to be the most common animal on the reserve, which should probably be expected since the country’s rugby team is named after them. There were springboks everywhere! The guide on our jeep then said that he could see the rhinos. The anticipation to see the first of the big five animals was unbelievable. The rhinos were ridiculously placid and the guide was able to jump out and grab some of their dung which a few of us had the pleasure of holding. There were also plentiful zebra, ostrich and a few black wildebeest (the smaller subspecies of wildebeest). The next thing we saw was the largest land mammal in the world, the African Elephant. They seemed to be at play and this allowed us to get very close to them without them being startled. They really put on a show. This meant both elephant and rhino were off the big five checklist. The next animal we saw completed the vegetarian portion of the big five, the African Buffalo. We were told by the guide that there wasn’t a single vehicle that hadn’t been damaged by these ill tempered powerhouses. Shortly after this the whole group congregated in the middle of the reserve for a few more drinks of sparkling grape juice and sparkling wine, for anyone old enough to partake, and more photo taking opportunities.
When we finished with this we moved on to see the lions, which were situated in a separate and fenced off part of the reserve. The guide opened the gate to the lion enclosure and exclaimed “Welcome to Jurassic Park!”
After another quick trip to see all the herbivores the afternoon game drive was called to an end and we were all told to dress up in our finest and be ready for the awards. The awards were a great success with the safari themed prizes flying out right, left and centre. The night was finished with a disco.
The second day of the safari started unnaturally early with a trip to see the giraffes, the two of them were just grazing when we reached them. This was probably the furthest we were away from any animal. Not difficult to guess why. Shortly after seeing the giraffes we encountered the second species of wildebeest, the blue wildebeest, larger and much more recognisable. This was followed by a trip to revisit the lions, who were within leaping range of the jeeps this time. The guide told us how he had to look out for the ears going back as there was a lioness at eye level to us only two meters away! The lions seemed to be the highlight for most as they were so at ease when we entered their area and so we were able to get amazing pictures. Seeing the lions meant that only one of the big five remained, the leopard. However the leopard and cheetahs were unable to be released into the reserve and so to see them we had to go over to the separate enclosures. This was not as good to see, however it was the best thing for the animals as they wouldn’t be able to survive in the reserve. So we were driven to their enclosures back through the reserve via the rhinos, hippos, zebra, springbok and wildebeest. We saw the cheetahs first and they came right up to the fence and allowed people to stroke them. The group then went up to see the leopard which was relatively uneventful but beautiful. Finally we went for breakfast and shortly after began the long journey home. The trip of a lifetime was to be over and what a way to finish!