South Africa Tour: Day 3 (Balule to Hazyview)

We awoke to the sound of Wildebeest and Zebra at the watering hole and were packed at 7:30 for our next leg. After breakfast we hit the road for a short drive to Hazyview where the people who ran our lodge also ran a local reptile park. We learned about all the indigenous snakes to Africa, including the infamous Black Mambo, and I got to hold an Albino Burmese Python. Next we went to the lodge to check in and it was like we were in Swiss Family Robinson's Treehouse. The lodge was built around these huge trees that came up through the upper deck. The Sabie River was rushing nearby and we would later be walking by in search of Hippos and Crocodiles. It was also home to some pets, including a vicious dachshund, a very friendly Pig (Napolean), 2 Warthogs, 2 Ostrich, and 1 famous Zebra (Gilbert), who was an extra in the film, "Racing Stripes" about a zebra who thinks he's a racehorse. There were also HUGE Golden Orb Spiders in nests underneath the carpark that were as big as my palm.

On our River Walk, we did see a crocodile but no hippos. This is the dry season in Africa so there wasn't much water flowing for the hippos to submerge in.

After the walk we had the rest of the afternoon and evening to ourselves. We played with Napoleon, and just as it was getting dark we went on the search for the Warthogs, who are supposed to be friendly. We found Napoleon on the lawn and then all of a sudden Gilbert had come by. We were warned that Gilbert loved Caroline, the innkeeper but that he would likely trample and stomp us to death (seems to be a theme in Africa). So we kept our distance but there wasn't really a place for us to run too. Plus we couldn't really see anything but vague shapes and the faint stripes. Then out of the bushes one of the Warthogs (Meatloaf) come flying out and starts chasing Napolean around. Then Gilbert charges Meatloaf and it we are stuck on a small deck with no way out and we weren't sure the Zebra was going to come after us. So we're half laughing, half screaming as all this is going on and as soon as Gilbert turned his head we ran across the yard and go through the gate to safety. Then we hear the Warthogs chasing Napolean underneath us on the first level and decide to investigate. We find one of the Warthogs trying to raid the downstairs outdoor bar and refridgerator and we approach slowly, making noises you would use to lure a cat or dog over. We couldn't quite see it, because it was so dark so I tried to coax it into the light and make it think I had some food. So I squat and hold my hand out and it comes into the light and I get a start. It was UGLY and not like anything I'd ever seen. We pet it and its hair was like steel wool, with 2 tusks jutting out of its face. It wasn't really interested in us once it realized we didn't have any food and left to search some more.