The Inyati Lodge arranged to pick us up in Nelspruit for the 2-hour drive into its home with Kruger. As we get close to the Inyati property, our dirt road is completely blocked by a bull elephant who has just pulled over a tree. Our driver says that we must wait for the bull to move out of the road, he cannot honk at him or scare him in any way, as he has the right of way. Whether it was the elephant’s play time or meal, he was not in a hurry. Fortunately after 25 minutes, he finally meanders off into the bushes and a game jeep arrives in time to help clear the way. What an exciting introduction to life on the wild side.
After checking into our bungalow, we gather in the main lodge for a snack and to meet our fellow guests. That afternoon, we are introduced to George, our guide for the evening game drive, soon learning that he was on the front cover of the National Geographic Magazine in August 1999 as an expert on the “big five” in Kruger. Here, we are guaranteed to see all “Big Five” and more.
Over the next three days, our routine included being up early for a 6:30 morning game drive, having the mid morning and early afternoon for leisure, then another game drive in late afternoon and early evening. Our favorite part is stopping in a safe area for sundowners. The sunsets are spectacular and so are the cocktails and appetizers.
Africa’s "Big Five" include the 
Elephant, Rhino, Leopard, Lion, and the most ferocious of all, the Cape Buffalo. On our drives, we see many elephants, even lucky enough to find a female who has just given birth within 30 minutes. The baby is adorable trying to walk on unsteady legs while looking for mom’s teat with her trunk.
Usually, the evening drives are the best times to spot leopards… we found one stretched out on a tree limb, resting before his evening hunt. However, one morning some Vervet monkeys give a warning cry as a female leopard wanders down the road not far from our lodge, looking very fat from her evening meal. She even stops in the middle of the road and gives herself a bath. What a great photo opportunity for us.
Our game guide, George, finally manages to find the White Rhino, which are well hidden in the dense bush. There was no problem for getting near the two males guarding a female as George just drives over and through the bushes to give us a closer look at the action. We can even see the Oxpeckers on the rhino’s broad back looking for ticks.
We found the lions less active as they are seen just sleeping the day away. During our evening game drive, we could hear two sisters calling each other while spotting another female finishing off her dinner of antelope.
The Cape Buffalos are one of the most dangerous animals in all of Africa. Getting up close and personal with them, buffalos are intimidating beasts with dark eyes that seem to look deep into your soul and dare you to blink. Fortunately for us, they just see our vehicle, not six fearful humans inside snapping photos and starring back.
We spy a male and female Yellow Horned Bill enjoying a view together and caught a glimpse of this Hammer-head Water bird avoiding crocodiles while fishing in the river's falls.
Besides the "Big Five," we see several different antelopes including Impala, Kudu, Nyala, and a Duiker, along with giraffes, crocodiles and baboons. And of course, those frisky Vervet monkeys like to play on the lawn of our lodge and up on our roof looking for trouble. Check out one of the alpha males displaying his manly “blue balls” to all his competitors.
Our observant tracker even manages to scout out this little chameleon on one of our evening game drives.
The most exciting animal encounter was this Spotted Bush snake trying to make a meal out of a frog outside of our bungalow. With nature at work, this smart frog inflates his body so that the snake cannot swallow him... and eventually giving up and setting him free. It is just another day in the animal world of Africa, which we are lucky enough to experience.
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