Day 101 Richard's Bay, South Africa

What an amazing trip! We were picked up at the dock in Richard’s Bay after a great welcome dance and headed for Phinda Game Reserve. It was about a 1 ¾ hour drive. When we arrived it was immediately exciting! There was a lot of wild game out as we drove to the Mountain Lodge. What a welcome! We had lunch and relaxed until about 3:30 when we went out on our first drive. It was great fun with a lot of wildlife to see. The highlight of the evening came when we were watching 2 female lions. The guide, Lucky, said there were more lions in the brush behind eating. He drove to the left around the 2 female and drove toward the brush. All of a sudden there was a very loud roar and out came a very angry male coming right for our vehicle. Lucky slapped it into reverse and we hauled our buns out of there. I snapped off a blurred shot (pictured) od the male coming out. There was no time to take a proper photo. Later, when we were driving around in the dark, yes, the dark, a large black rhino reared up next to the truck just a few feet from me. After the lion incident this got my blood flowing again. Sandy, Grace, Bernie, Sharon & I were having a great time. We even stopped (in the dark) by a watering hole for drinks & snacks…. It was a great afternoon/evening capped off with a lovely meal outside (inside an enclosure). The place is magnificent… you can tell from some of the photos. Each room even has their own private (small) pool.