DAY 89 - DAY EIGHTY ONE ON THE CRYSTAL SERENITY

Greetings, we are now back on the Crystal Serenity after our three day and two night Safari.  We arrived back "home" yesterday afternoon.  It was a truly wonderful experience and we are so very happy that we finally decided to do a Safari.  

We wanted to begin with a short summary of the last three days.  We will be following this up with photos each day for the next week or so.

We woke early on Monday morning and had an early breakfast as we were scheduled to meet at one of the designated rooms on the ship at 7:00 AM to then go as a group for immigration.  We got dressed in our outfits for the Safari.  The shirt, pants and even our socks were pre-treated to repel bugs.

Anne Marie was a good sport.  Keith took the photo before she even combed her hair.

We encountered a few problems when we arrived to Durban.  The pilot was late getting to the Serenity which causes our arrival to be delayed.  Once we arrived, immigration was a disaster and was way behind schedule (no fault of Crystal Cruises) and this delayed the passengers from getting cleared and caused our tour to be delayed by a couple of hours.  We were supposed to be off the ship by 9:30 AM but did not get off until 11:30 AM.

Sok we got off to a challenging start, but in the end that did not diminish our enjoyment of our very first Safari.  For many years we have heard what a unique experience a Safari is.  This is our take.  In many ways it is a life changing experience and it is a reminder about how diverse and unique our planet truly is.

Once we were on this pier, we boarded a small mini bus.  Our luggage was placed in a trailer that was pulled by the bus.  The drive with one stop took three hours and thirty minutes until we go to the drop off point at the gate and entrance do the Pindha Private Game Reserve.  This reserve is locoed on 43,000 acres of prime conservation land.  We stayed at the Vlei Lodge.  There are several different types of accommodations at Phinda and this would be the Crystal equivalent at the Reserve.  Our lodge contained only six rooms.  There were four couples, one friend who is solo, and the Crystal Cruises escort, also a friend who was solo, so there were only ten of us at this lodge.  

We then boarded one of two 4x4's for a 15 minute drive to the Vlei Lodge.  We were welcomed to the lodge by the manager and the staff.  We were served a welcome drink.  We would have had lunch but we arrived too late for that so we had afternoon tea and also some snacks.  It was sufficient for us.  He went over some items with us and then we went to our room to quickly get set for our first drive which was a late afternoon and evening safari that began at around 4:15 PM.  Our room was beautiful and we were fortunate to have one of the two rooms that according the manager had the best views.  Each suite is in a separate chalet and ours involved the longest walk and there was also a patio and an outdoor pool for each chalet.  There is no fence for the lodge so animals can roam freely.  Because of this when it is dark out you must be escorted because you never know what animal you could meet up with including one of the big five animals.  

We then went on our drive.  Our driver was Sam.  Martin was the other driver.  Sam was the guide and driver and has worked at Pindha for twenty years.  He also was assisted by another man who was a tracker.  Sam used to be a tracker but has been a guide for many years.  He started at one of the less luxurious lodges but for the past few years he has been at Vlei and he was very proud of this. He was terrific and over the course of the two days we met many of the drivers and guides as they work as a team and help each other out so that the guests can all get the most from this.  We road with friend Ilene and with friend Stan who was also the escort. The other six people road in the other 4x4.  These 4x4's could hold quite a few more people.

On our first drive we saw three of the big five animals so that was very exciting.  The drive lasted until around 7:45 PM.  During the drive we also enjoyed the scenery as we viewed many animals and we also got a great appreciation for where we were.  For example, we enjoyed the stars and we not only had great views of the Milky Way but also of the Southern Cross.  All of this was amazing as was the ride in the 4X4.

When we arrived back to the lodge, one of the butlers served us any kind of drink you wanted and there were snacks for us.  A short while later we all ate outside and were served a several course dinner.  The food was always great during our stay and the staff was friendly, enthusiastic and attentive. The group bonded over these meals and it was just a treat.

We were quite tired and after dinner we unpacked, showered and got to sleep.  

The next morning we were up early and we met for a brief snack and coffee. We skipped the coffee due no restrooms on the drives other than the woods which we preferred to avoid.  We then went out for close to four hours and we saw several other animals including a heard of elephants and some cheetahs.  For a few minutes we took a break and Sam set up coffee and some snacks for us but only Stan had the coffee.  We then returned to the lodge for a delicious breakfast which included not only cold foods but a plate of hot items including eggs and toast.  They also served a very delicious and healthy homemade bread.  This is when we had coffee and lots of water.

Some of the cold items.

We enjoyed our breakfasts outside.  Often you could see animals right from the table.  Now, you left for a minute some of the monkey's might stoop down and take something from the table so not a good for everyone to leave the table at once.  Eight of the ten people are in this photo, excluding Ileen who was on a private tour that first full day with a photographer guide and of course Keith who took the photo.

After breakfast we had a few hours on our own before we had lunch at 2:00 PM.  We enjoyed the beautiful views and saw quite a few different types of animals from our patio.  Lunch was absolutely delicious as well.  We then had a little more time and then we got ready to go back on our second afternoon/night safari.

The drive was very enjoyable and we continued to learn a lot.  On each drive Sam provided us with a lot of good information about each animal that we saw and that also included even the birds.  During this drive we saw several Giraffes and we also saw a variety of other animals.  He and other guides tried very hard to track a leopard.  There were times that they thought they were very close but as it turned out we never saw one.  There are not many leopards relative to the other animals.  We also didn't see a water buffalo but none of this mattered.  We had a great time and there is always next time.  

Following our drive there was a barbecue for us and also for the group that stayed at a nearby lodge.  We sat outside and when we arrived there was a bar set up where we were offered drinks. The ten of us sat together and that was fun and we were served salad family style, soup and then we went up to select our entree items.  We went with the sampler and had the fish which was similar to cod, beef filet and a sausage.  The sides included string beans and sweet potato and also couscous.  We also were served dessert.  The staff from both lodges sang and danced for us.

We were driven back to the lodge and then since it was dark we were walked to our room.  We packed as we were leaving the next morning.  We slept well and were up early as we met at 7:00 AM for breakfast.  Once again we started with cold items and they were willing to cook each person whatever they wanted but Keith suggested we keep it simple for them and we all had the same items.  We then freshened up and met back at 8:00 AM.  We were driven in the 4x4's to the entrance and then we got on the mini-bus.  The resort prepared a nice snack for us but it really turned out to be lunch.  The drive back to Durban and the Durban Airport took about three hours with one stop.  We arrived to the airport about 90 minutes before our flight. Check in was easy but since this was a 50 seat aircraft we had to check in our carry ons.  The flight was around one hour and in no time we got our luggage and there was a bus for around three different groups who stayed at different locations at Phinda.  There were some at a couple of other locations who had to get up earlier and take even earlier flights.  The ride to the port was about 10 minutes.  It was great to be home but we truly loved the experience.  We will do this again.  Over the  course of the next several days we will post some photos.  

We decided to eat in our room for dinner last evening since we were a bit tired and didn't want to have to get dressed up for dinner.  We had salad, pizza and popcorn.  It was a nice way to top off our extraordinary safari.  When our Stewardess, Lunghar, and our Stewardess in Training, Eliana came by the room to do the turn down service we heard the great news that Eliana had been promoted and starting in a couple of days when the new voyage begins she will be a Stewardess.  We congratulated her and she has been a gem as has Lunghar.

We slept well last evening.  Keith was almost falling asleep as we were watching a movie so as soon as he put his head on the pillow that is all he remembers.  Anne Marie also slept well.

Keith was up early and after three days of no real exercise he was glad to make it back up to the Fitness Center, enjoying a great workout.  He also finished doing our laundry from the clothes we wore at Safari.  Speaking of clothes we did a lot of research on this and our friend Ileen was a big help too in what we purchased so we came very prepared.  In the end, while we had the Malaria medication we decided not to use it.  We also spoke with several people who had been to this area of South Africa before as well as some members of the ship.  The risk was very low of getting it where we were.  Although bugs love Keith (they truly do) the clothing is the type that provides protection against insects and we purchased some good repellent that is more of a cream that we could wipe on our face, neck and hands, using a sponge applicator,  Even our socks were special with a repellent that lasts for something like 100 washes.  The good news is we didn't get any  insect bites.  Contrast that at the orphanage at Cambodia where Keith was bitten several times.  In the end though this is a very personal decision and some people do take the medication.

While we loved the Safari, it was nice to have a day back on the ship.  Today is mainly a sea day since we arrive at Cape Town at 6:00 PM.  There was a lot on the schedule for today and we will not cover it all as we normally do.

Keith worked out again and read and wrote and watched one lecture and will play Paddle Tennis this afternoon and also meet up with dear friend Bob.  Anne Marie attending the knitting get together and spoke with dear friend Glo and will attend personal training this afternoon and also walk and if she has time Yoga.  

We both also met with the Head Sommelier and we just enjoyed speaking with fellow guests and the wonderful crew.

We are back in the Crystal Dining Room this evening and we will continue to post photos in the coming days.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……..

"One of the aspects of World Cruising we so very much enjoy is the ability to visit new areas of the world and to make new memories which will last a lifetime and our Safari experience is an example of that."

Keith & Anne Marie