Bakutung Lodge and Animal Drive

The following blog post was written on the evening of the 27^th July.

The hotel we are at has internet access…and overall it is beautiful! The only part that is a little strange about Pilanesburg is its apartheid era history. The area the National Park is located was the home to many Africans who were kicked off the land during apartheid in order to make a tourist park that was exclusively white until 1994.

Today Pilanesburg is a sort of play ground for people with money, specifically the Sun City area (which I will visit tomorrow night). The staff of the hotel met us at the front door when we arrived with fruit drinks on a platter for us, there was a sign out front welcoming our group, and we were handed our room keys. The rooms here are fantastic as well, it is the first double bed I’ve had since arriving in Africa and there is a huge patio. The grounds around the hotel are beautiful, including sprawling lawns and a lovely pool. They also have a large range of spa services that some members of our group might take advantage of tomorrow.

Dinner is included with our meals and it was an amazing buffet of game, veggie, cheeses, and deserts. So far, we are very impressed by the facilities here.

Immediately after arriving we dropped off our bags and met an open air vehicle for a game drive through the park. We spent about 4 hours driving through the park, which a superb guide who help spot the animals and provided interesting information along the way (for example, a giraffes tongue is 20-30 cm long and they might pass out if their head is below their heart for more than 45 seconds, so they drink quickly). During our drive we saw zebras (a group is called a dazzle), elephants, giraffes, impala, springbok, speenbok, a brown hyena (very rare), baboons, hippos, rhinos, a crocodile, jackals, and a large number of birds.

The drive was so much fun!