It’s been amazing to see just how close we get to the animals. They’ve clearly become use to humans and seem generally unfazed by our presence. To date, only the hyenas and leopards seem nervy. We’ve spotted one hyena in the distance but have yet to see a leopard despite finding fresh tracks last night.
To date the only real disappointment has been the turtle spotting expedition. Two nights ago we drove 45 minutes to the coast to go searching for turtles. The weather was overcast but dry when we left Phinda. However, as we neared the coast torrential rain began falling and never let up. We waited for a break in the weather until our guide eventually decided it really wasn’t worth venturing onto the beach.
Incredibly, the rain soon vanished again as we returned inland. It seems that only the coast was inundated with rain. In fact, since arriving in Phinda we’ve enjoyed dry weather. Our first full day here started with the occasional light drizzle patch and that was about it. Any fears that the wet season would spoil things have proved unfounded. We’ve also had regular cloud cover so the intense Summer sun hasn’t been unpleasant. All in all it’s been ideal safari weather.
The safari team has agreed to take Mum and I back to the coast this evening for another attempt at spotting turtles. It’s going to be a very late night as low tide is about 1:00am. We’re only allowed on the beach two hours before and after low tides. We probably won’t get back to camp until close to 4:00am. Fortunately it’s our last night. Tomorrow our day is largely taken up by transferring from Phinda to Johannesburg. We arrive at our hotel around dinner time which should give us plenty of time to catch up on lost sleep
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