A Close Encounter

This weekend Michael and I were invited to join my family from Canada at a game farm lodge. Our 4:45am wake up was followed by a 9am arrival at Mabula Lodge in Limpopo. My cousins were staying up in Sunset Hill, a house with a gorgeous view across the deep set valley. Michael and I saw 3 giraffes eating from the trees in the valley with the aid of binoculars. After a lunch that was entertained by many visiting horn-bills (birds) and a brave warthog, we played a couple card games and then ventured off to where we were to spend the night: 5-star Mabalingwe Lodge.


Upon arrival, we settled in and started a bonfire (in the lapa). Our visit here was filled with many animal encounters, a result of people continually feeding the wildlife against the lodge’s regulations. These now friendly beasts sought to harass us into feeding them, a task my grandfather enjoyed giving in to. My favorite was when two very eager warthogs decided to follow Michael around! I took a video of the encounter. but I cant seem to upload it online.

After meeting many monkeys, baboons, warhogs and nyala (buck), Michael and I eventually retired for the evening; only to be woken up by a very strange roaring sound! At 5:30am I shot up in my bed and rushed to the glass sliding doors that separated Michael and I from the dark wilderness outside. For a minute straight our senses were overwhelmed by the drawn-out-rough-roaring that rolled into our camp. It wasn’t anything like a lions roar – quick and powerful. But rather like a continuous moaning and sawing. This happened 3 times during the night. When morning came, I discovered that no one else in my family had heard it. But I did find out that leopards make more of a sawing noise and Impala bulls (buck) make a sounds very much like that of a leopard. Who knows what was out there….? It was a very thrilling experience. I wish I could have seen its figure in the night though the glass doors.


Our trip was cut short because my grandfather wasn’t feeling well. So unfortunately we had to cancel our scheduled safari and head back home after lunch on our second day there. While I was not able to introduce Michael to the giant beasts of the wild, he was able to have some close unique encounters that he did not have before… I will definitely make it my personal goal to take him to a lion park where he can meet the king of the jungle and hold the little furry ones.

In a way I am glad that we went home early. That very night I had a bad fever. I fell in and out of delusional dreaming and shook from the chills only to be dipping in and out of sweaty heat strokes. I had a very rough night and woke up with the flu. We had to cancel Sparrow Village for the day because I was not prepared to risk getting any of the kids sick… I only hope this passes soon! I hate the flu!