Mosetlha Bush Camp and Madikwe Game Reserve

When Dave and Debbie said they would like to come to Johannesburg to see us and would it be possible to do a safari with very little time, we were a little nervous.  But after some research and planning we made reservations at the Mosetlha Bush Camp on the Madikwe Game Reserve about four hours northwest of us.  They have traveled the world and stayed in very nice motels so we thought it would be a fun and unique experience to stay in the bush camp.  And so it was - all very fun and unique.  We tucked Dave and Debbie Monday night away in a very beautiful bed and breakfast not far from us.  It was a little bit of heaven for them while they waited for us to finish up our transfer day responsibilities.  We picked them up at 1 p.m. and were on our way.  We had to get there by 6 p.m. and were told it took about four hours so we felt pretty safe. We arrived a little after 5 and was met by a guide who took us to meet up with a group that were already out in a big eleven seater Land Rover. 

 This was the first animal we saw:

The rhinos are magnificent animals and very endangered.  They told us about their fight with poachers who kill them for their horns.  Very sad.

The green shrubbery contrasted with the red of the dirt made for a beautiful setting.

"Scar" had a little tussle with another lion and wasn't feeling very well

He decided to roar and tell the whole world what he thought about it

We stopped for a little snack - table cloth and all and witnessed a beautiful sunset

We drove around with a spotlight the rest of the night - it was beautiful weather and returned back to our camp lit with gasoline lanterns everywhere.  It looked like a fairyland.  We couldn't see it all very well but we were served a delicious dinner by lamp light and shown to our cabins.  We were able to see everything the next morning.

Our cabin is up the stairs on the left - it was adorable - equipped with chamber pots as the bathroom was a little ways away on the right - we still walked to the bathroom which was a very fancy outhouse with plenty of water to wash and rinse (not running water but plentiful)

This was the dining room and we were fed plenty of yummy food. They got us up at 5 a.m., we had hot chocolate and a rusk (favorite dipping bisquet of the locals) and the truck left at 5:30. We came back about 9:30 to a wonderful breakfast. We could nap or whatever until lunch at 2 and then left again at 4 for the night run. It was too hot to sleep so the four of us played games in the thatched roof lounge which was a little cooler.

This was the hot water heater and you could have a nice hot shower if you didn't mind carrying buckets.  It was very clever but I didn't get a picture.

The early morning was brisk and beautiful and we enjoyed watching many animals up close and personal.  We saw some that we hadn't seen on our other trip like the hyena, wild dog, wart hog, water buffalo, lions, and cheetahs. 

You can't ever see too many zebras - their strips are still amazing -

This baby zebra was the cutest

Yes, hyenas are ugly

I can never get enough of giraffes - these two kept wrapping their necks around each other - amazing what they can do with those long necks

Mamas and lots of babies

Lazy young lion

Two lazy young lions

The higher up the better the view

The water buffalo weren't very friendly so this was an amazing picture

Eland

The wild dogs were on a hunt - we came upon them right after they had killed an Impala.  They were all bloody and frantic and pretty ferocious looking

They ate the insides and then took off to find the rest of the pack who had killed another Impala and there was a feeding frenzy with all the pack and the pups

Gross!!

Talk about King of the road.  No they never did move.

Big kitty cat!

Big mama kitty cat

Lots of mamas and cubs.  They were all hanging around this water hole then they strolled off and we followed them through the bush to a big shady tree.....

Where they settled for their morning nap

But the kings never left the road

And then the beautiful Cheetahs

And so we said goodbye to our guide, Johnny

And to all the other guests we met

And to the beauty of the bush, took Dave and Debbie back to the airport and went back to work.

We have many more pictures but just gave you a select few.  We had a wonderful time and were so glad to have the break.