On the road to Botswana

Today we left Johannesburg and travelled upto the Limpopo area for an overnight stay at Halcyon Lodge before crossing the border to Botswana tomorrow. The trip took us about six hours and as it was a public holiday in South Africa due to the elections there was very little traffic on the road and it was an easy trip. Traffic in and around Johannesburg can be horrific on a normal working day and getting out of Johannesburg and past Pretoria can take hours but today we did it in 40 minutes. Halcyon is a private game lodge covering a wide area and is 12 kilometres from the border at Pontdrift. The lodge consists of five tents under thatch and sits on top of a koppie offering views of the endless horizon. (koppie is Afrikans for small hill). The only sounds now are the wind and the occasional bird and the silence is so peaceful. I am sitting on my deck overlooking a waterhole and hoping something will come along shortly but it is early afternoon and the temperature is at its hottest so most animals are resting in the shade so I just have to sit here and wait. I could of course go read a book or take a nap but I think I will just sit here watching and listening and let the bush work its magic on me. The group decided to go for a drive in the late afternoon and the owner of the lodge recommended a route which went through the Mupangopwe National Park. It is amazing what happens when you plan nothing. On our two hour drive we saw Zebra, Giraffe, Eland, Impala, Wilderbeest, Kudu, Steenbuck, Jackal, Warthog and Elephant not to mention over 26 different bird species. What a wonderful afternoon and to thing we have not even crossed the border into Mashutu game park. I am now sitting in bed and just heard a lion roar in the distance, it is 9pm and the lion may be some miles away but it is such a special sound and you really know you are in the Southern Africa bush when you hear that sound