Not really knowing what to expect I signed up for the bush experience with Elela Africa. I wanted to get away from the City (i.e. Cape Town) and spend some time in the bush. Never could I have thought that it would be so amazing!

Bush walks, tracking, game drives, bird and tree spotting, sleeping under the stars, lectures on conservation, sundowners and amazing views, early mornings and early nights…. Every day was a new adventure and I loved every minute of it.

Most people who visit Kruger NP just want to see elephants and lions. We got to see and did so much more than that. It was the combination of wildlife, nature, history, geology, hiking and driving that made the trip so much more than the ordinary safari trip. As a history buff I thought it was amazing that we found a piece of pottery in a place that had been used by people (traders, etc.) for many hundreds of years, and the dry riverbed next to our camp in Botswana, with all its crystals and semi-precious stones was a true treasure chest!

I learned a lot about wildlife and birds and I never expected that I would ever be interested in bird spotting. I already bought my very own guide book to learn more!

For me some of the trip’s highlights were the sleep-out in Kruger and hearing all these animal sounds – some close and some far away, the stand-off with a young bull elephant, sundowners whilst watching a group of 5 lions, the mother elephant with the tiny baby elephant, sitting around the campfire on a dry riverbed under the stars, watching sunset on a rock at a lone baobab tree….

I can’t wait to go on the next trip!!!

Stef