BARBERTON

We spent our first night with the Dunbar Clan and had a fantastic evening.  Ross and myself managed to polish off a whole case of Windhoek Draught between us, as well as sharing a magnificent "Polecat" Potjie.  We created another Tiger Shark in Mark by giving him his first Leicester Tigers jersey, as the away colours for 2010/11 match the colours of The Sharks!

We went up the pass from Barberton to the back of Songimvelo Game Reserve where Ross and Sandy are in the process of building a new lodge in an incredibly diverse park.  It was an amazing view and on the way up we stopped to look at/touch sand that was on the ocean floor three billion years ago as well as rock/strata that shows evidence of when life was first created through the bacteria that grew within the rock.

We also discovered that The Sharks were playing The Pumas in Nelspruit on Friday night so a quick change of plan was called for!

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

This year we were spending one night at Lower Sabie and three nights at Skukuza.

They have recently upgraded the accommodation in Kruger and our twin bed chalet was lovely and as we had booked a perimeter one and it had great views over the river.  We ate in the restaurant as we were going to braai when we got to Skukuza and were soon reminded that you should by your rations on the way in and always cook your own food!  The service was delivered with the usual Kruger apathetic incompetence and the food was dismal.  The campsite itself however is great.

The general game viewing was definitely up this year and we saw Lion almost twice a day for the five days we were in the park.  We didn't see a single Leopard however, which whilst that might not sound unusual, is for us in Kruger, as we normally see lots.

Skukuza has been through a re-furb since we last stayed there and the chalets were fantastic.  Again we had a perimeter room with fantastic views over the river.  The camp facilities are great, although the food selection in the shop for the braai is very poor compared to Lower Sabie.  All the meat was frozen and their was very little choice.

The best food in Kruger is served at Tshokwane, located between Skukuza and Satara.  The Kuduwoers they serve is fantastic, especially when accompanied by a bush breakfast!

NELSPRUIT

A quick diversion to watch the rugby, that we only found out about after we landed!  As it was the Sharks there was no way we were going to miss this!  Probably the best Biltong we have ever eaten, fantastic World Cup Stadium, seats on the half-way line, ice-cold beer, great fans around us, fantastic pub opposite the Road Lodge, great company (and Ross too!), beer from the vending machine in the hotel after the pub shut (bizarre) and no hangover the following morning (result!)  Oh and did I mention Angela finally saw the Sharks win!  Top Friday night in Nelspruit!

TSHUKUDU GAME RESERVE

As has now seemed to become a tradition, the welcome we got was exactly what we have come to expect at Tshukudu.  A cold beer was poured and we were handed the remote control so we could put the Tri-Nations on which again was only interrupted by a steady flow of welcome back hugs.  The guys made it an amazing visit for us, in particular Patrick and Jaco.

Meeting our dog, Norman, was fantastic.  Rhino poaching is major problem and Norman is a cross between a Blood-Hound and a Doberman, which makes him perfect for tracking poachers in the bush.  We had this demonstrated to us first hand by Patrick and Jaco.  Angela and Jaco went for a nice gentle stroll through the bush before radioing through to myself and Patrick who then tracked them down.  I wasn't sure whether to ride Norman or, as actually happened, get dragged along behind him at a rate of knots regardless of what terrain we were going through!  What was amazing was the way he stopped, sending me flying past him, before turning at a right-angle and starting the chase again, finding Angela and Jaco hiding behind a Termite Mound.

Where else in the world can you go for a walk to watch the sunrise accompanied by a Dog, Lion-cub, Cheetah and Bush-Pig!  We took The Dog and the Lion out with us, but the cheetah and the Bush-Pig just turned up of their own free will!

It was great to catch up with all the Sussens, but really cool to see Richard and Matthew joining David and Patrick out in the reserve.

As we say every year, and even though circumstances mean that people we love are no longer there, we still love everything about Tshukudu, the people, the atmosphere, the food and the interaction you get with hand-raised animals.

ARATHUSA GAME LODGE, SABI SANDS

Even in the absence of Brendon and Michelle, Arathusa is still up there as one of our favourite lodges.  Arathusa has a new Manager, Ashleigh, who has carried on where Brendon and Michelle left off.  She is friendly, welcoming and very accommodating, although Ashleigh has no clue how to dress for a game drive!  Luckily for her, I don't feel the cold as much as some people!

Ryan was our ranger this time and although he has never been our ranger before, we have got to know him over the years and had a blast.  He is incredibly knowledgeable about the bush and De Beer is an outstanding tracker.  As always, the game viewing was fantastic.  Lions, Leopards and Hyenas were the highlight this year.  We tracked six Lions coming in from the North late one evening and listening to them contact calling all around was unbelievable.

The food was awesome and even better when we managed to persuade the team to let us eat around the fire overlooking the dam at night!  The food has always been good, but in previous years I had asked for more "game" on their menu.  I cannot fault the food this year, it was spot on.  The open boma over the dam is just too beautiful a setting not to use it, especially when all of the returning guests were requesting it!

Angela loved the new Spa, which was very reasonably priced and offers a great variety of treatments.  The only thing they need to do is put up something that stops people walking in front of it as they have windows wide open so you can overlook the dam.

My only complaint at Arathusa is they take the mickey on the price of drinks.  They are the most expensive lodge we go to, by a long way!  There is no excuse for charging so much more than other lodges, it is pure greed on the owners part.

That said, we will always go back there when we are up that way, because the cost of the beer is negligible compared to what you get from Arathusa!

RATTRAY'S ON MALA MALA

So this year we had five nights at Rattrays on Mala Mala and our own vehicle.  We have been asked several times why we go to both Arathusa and Mala Mala as they are neighbouring farms.

Arathusa is fantastic, more than fantastic, but Rattrays is a step up again in everything apart from drinks prices!  Their drinks are cheaper than Arathusa amazingly, although I think this says more about Arathusa than Mala Mala!  I cannot comment on whether Mala Mala Main Camp is better than Arathusa, but Rattrays is the most perfect place we have stayed in Africa.  Nothing is left to chance, the attention to detail is exemplary and the service is outstanding.

It seems that Leopards only come in pairs at Mala Mala as well this year!  We saw three different pairs of mating Leopards, seeing nine different Leopards in total over the five nights.

Watching the rugby in our "Khaya" with Brett and Gordon was a good laugh.  Brett, who is a Zimbabwean supports the All Blacks so the banter was in full force and of unfortunately he was the one who walked away happy!

The funniest moment of our entire trip had to be the night we found a Leopard in a tree with a kill, another Leopard laid in wait and several Hyenas sitting under the tree waiting for any scraps that fell down.  The only thing that fell down was the poo-filled guts, right on top of one of the Hyenas heads!  they must have heard us laughing back at camp it was just too funny!  The Lions sightings were just as great and we saw the most amazing play-fighting display from two young Giraffes.

The food was as amazing as always and they really nailed the room service this time, taking on the feedback from the previous years.  Alan, the Bar Manager, is worth his weight in gold.  His attention to detail, the pride and care he takes in his bar is exceptional and his ability to never let my glass run out of ice-cold beer is quite simply miraculous!

We had Gordon as our Ranger again this year and with it just being the three of us we really had a great time.  We even managed to get Gordon beyond second gear one afternoon, albeit for about thirty seconds!  Gordon is a very knowledgeable ranger and an absolute pleasure to spend time with in the bush.

Rattrays on Mala Mala, in our opinion, the best South Africa has to offer!