Africa tour day 4,5,6, Umzolozolo Lodge, Nambiti Conservancy.

This was the absolute highlight and reason for our trip. We stayed at the Umzolozolo lodge in the heart of the Nambiti conservancy. It is a 22,000 hector private game reserve in the KwaZulu Natal province. Our room, perched high upon a mountain, looked down on the beautiful grasslands with the Drakenberg mountains far off in the distance. There are not protective fences around the lodge and the animals move about freely. The night before we arrived a large bull elephant made his rounds and destroyed the surrounding trees, garden and small fences...it looked like a war had taken place. During the evening everyone was required to be escorted to their rooms because of the risk of lions. It was fun to sit and listen in the dark to the cracking of branches and rustling of the grass, imagining what may be lurking just beyond the light! One of the highlights every evening was listening to the more "seasoned" safari experts talk about their experiences and horror stories....ie the lady who went out to the loo unaccompanied and never returned. The lion apparently didn't feel bad about an easy opportunity!

Nambiti Conservancy is a private Big Five bush retreat and game conservancy set on 20,000 acres of malaria-free bushveld in KwaZulu Natal. It has an incredible biodiversity including savannah, grasslands, thornveld and tall acacia trees. The Sundays River flows through the reserve and has two 40 metre waterfalls with magnificent ravine bush, home to several rare bird species.

The mission at Mambiti is to undertake scientific research on wildlife and their ecology in order to provide sound scientific information and advice to the individuals responsible for making decisions and passing resolutions that ultimately affect wildlife and their conservation.

The greatest threat facing our planet is indeed its people and our lack of respect for that which sustains us. We can irreversibly transform our world for the worse or introduce the changes required to avert environmental disaster. Conservation, research and education programmes are vital if we are to be able to curb the declining wildlife numbers.

The kids were in awe daily as we explored and experienced the wonderful wildlife and terrain. The absolute highlight was watching these three Cheetahs. They are brothers that separated from the other Cheetah group some time ago. On the last day there we were able to watch them devour an Impala kill. After, they were so fat and lazy they could hardly walk. When they found a comfortable spot they just dropped to the ground. Our guide Bradley told us that Cheetahs eat only about every 5-7 days because of their high (exclusive)protein diet.

We were sad to leave! I have never experienced such pampering, service, exceptional food or wildlife viewing ever! Below is a few of the animals and sights we experienced. I hope you enjoy. This is an experience we won't soon forget!