A day at Aquila: Four out of Five ain't bad!!!! - Friday 9th June 2017

I had been looking forward to this day for such a long time! This was to be my first ever visit to an African Game reserve. I was going on safari! All be it, one of the smaller reserves, but I stood a chance of seeing at least some of the Big Five!

I had flown over to South Africa with my friend Gareth, a week earlier. Gareth was born out there and we were fortunate to have been invited over by his family. Having spoken about our trip for a long time, the day was finally here!

It was an early start and a long day but one that I thoroughly enjoyed and will treasure for the remainder of my days!

The day began around 6.30am when we were collected from The Crystal Towers Hotel, the central pickup point in Cape Town. We then spent the next couple of hours driving to the Aquila private game reserve at Touws river, in the Western Cape.

Driving through the most beautiful countryside, as tired as I was, I didn't want to miss a thing! I was rewarded with stunning views of early morning mist rolling off the mountains as we drove through the southern Karoo. My excitement grew as we neared Ceres. Not much further now! more beautiful sights before me as I glanced at the mountain tops, surprised to see snow covering their peaks. It was June!!!!! But this is South Africa in the midst of their winter!!!!

On arrival at the reserve, we were greeted by our guide, Obai. We were then shown to the complex and took up residence in the restaurant with some breakfast to fuel our bods for the day ahead!
I remember walking through the reception area and seeing some stunning local artwork of Kudu.

By around 9.30am we were out and about in a safari truck ready for a day of jolts and bumps! All part and parcel of the great safari experience! They must have known I was coming as they had provided blankets!!! (chilly mortal I am known for being!) The first animals we came to were a group of Hippo. It was all far too much for them, this morning lark and they busied themselves by continuing to laze about on the muddy banks. Far more interested in our presence were the Ostriches who certainly weren't burying their heads in the sand! In fact, we had one bird decide to strut its feathers at us! Until you are up right up close to these beautiful birds, it's easy to under-estimate their sheer size! They are somewhat bigger than I imagined!!!! Driving on, we encountered many Zebra. I took one of my favourite captures to date of any animal. I loved the way this beautiful animal was grooming itself. I aspire to take natural photos as much as possible and loved the whole body positioning as the Zebra had its body faced away from me, tail end on but with the head looking at me. "Now's my moment", I thought to myself!
An hour in and I had already been rewarded with so many wonderful sights but my excitement grew as I got to see a couple of Rhino's: an adult with a calf. Wow! wow and triple wow! I had seen the first of the Big five!!!! It saddens me so much to realize the plight these magnificent animals face. I can't bear to think of a planet in which these beauties aren't on it!

So what are the Big Five I hear you ask??? the Big Five are referred to as Lion, Leopard, African Elephant, The Cape African Buffalo, and the White Rhino. The Leopard is so shy and elusive though and unsurprisingly we weren't lucky enough to spot one. However, four out of Five ain't at all bad!

One of the most incredible realizations for me while visiting the reserve was the notion that these animals were living together in the same place! Driving across the reserve and seeing stretches of bushveld with not only herds of Zebra on them, but Ostriches too! I got to see so many different species of Antelope! One of the best books I have ever had has been my "Gameranger in your backpack" book. This has been invaluable to me in helping me identify all the different animals I saw on my trip! This young Cape Buffalo made no. 2 of my Big Five list.

Driving further on, we entered a secure enclosure which contained the lions. In effect, the lions at Aquila aren't what one would call "totally wild ". It would appear that there are limitations to just how wild the lions there can be. They are fed I believe once or twice a week. It was a wonderful experience still to see them up so close but admittedly it wasn't as natural as at say a bigger game reserve, which I have yet to discover! There were quite a few lions within the reserve and as they were well fed (perhaps a little bit "Too" well fed!) they were totally unfazed by our presence. So that ticked off no. 3 of the Big Five!

"OMG" Elephants ahead!!!!! wow was I like an overexcited little puppy or what!!!!! If one animal could have totally overwhelmed me, it was this one!!!! Their sheer size is incredible! And those magnificent ears just give them such an awe-inspiring profile! so here's an interesting fact for you! Did you know that an Elephant can poop up to 22 times a day? yep!!! Talking about dung, now I know it's not the normal topic of conversation (well unless you're like 6 or something!) but I can now add "handling Rhino Dung!" to the list of things I have done in my life! lol, It actually feels very dry!

So, after handling some Dung, it was time for a well-earned stop to rest those butt cheeks too from all that bouncing about in the back of the jeep! Here I am with tour guide Obai enjoying a glass of vino! and yes that is a "longgggg lens!" it's my "beast" as I call it! my Sigma 150 - 500mm lens. Love it!

Back on the road again, we approached some Giraffe. From what I recall, Aquila only had about 3 or 4 animals. It was wonderful to see them though! Later on, we also spotted some Eland drinking around a water trough. Our arrival seemed to alert them enough to stop drinking and look up for long enough to take some photos! There were also some Springbok in the same vicinity.

By mid-afternoon, we headed back to the complex ready for a nice warming drink before heading back home. We had enough time to enjoy the facilities at the complex, though it was far too cold for a dip in the pool! I took a walk around the grounds and was lucky enough to spot a beautiful Sunbird. Wow! the array of birds in South Africa is so impressive! Admittedly I've always been more into my mammals than the feathered kind but I couldn't help but be impressed by the beauty of these colourful birds!

I enjoyed looking around the shop there but found it to be very expensive! I would have loved to have come away with a hoodie or something with the Aquila logo on it but they didn't have anything like that! maybe next time! But I have my wonderful memories but will always be grateful for the fantastic time I had at the reserve.

Thank you, Aquila, for a very enjoyable day and a special introduction to my first experience of an African Game reserve. I hope to return again and pay you all another visit!!!!