February 17, 2020

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens 

Pre stay Day 5

Aquila Game Drive

Ashley arrived with a minibus to pick us up. This would be a 9-hour tour. We joined 2 other couples already onboard. This was our first shared your and we all got along well. 

Ashley explained that the drive to the game reserve would take 2.5 hours including a half-hour mercy stop. Upon arrival, we would get a welcome drink followed by a buffet lunch. At 1:20 we would meet for the drive.  It would last until 3:45. After a mercy break, we would board the bus for the return to Cape Town. 

The drive to Aquilla Game Reserve was very pleasant. We drove past many vineyards and observed mechanical harvesters picking grapes from neatly organized rows of grapevines. We also saw fields of table grapes. These are supported on trellises and have to be harvested by hand. 

At one point Ashley pointed out a roadside sign indicating that we were entering a fruit fly control zone. In this area, fruit tree orchards were covered on top and sides with a netting. This was so thorough that the flies would be kept out. That prevents them from laying their eggs in the blossoms before the fruit starts to grow. If eggs get into the blossoms the larvae eat the fruit from the inside out. This is not visible until it is too late. 80% of the crop is for export. The arrival of a rotten container of fruit has proven devastating to the ability to sell the harvest in the past. They never want to suffer that again. 

We arrived at Aquilla at 11:20 and received our welcome drink. After walking around to survey the lodge and facilities, we returned to the restaurant for lunch. Both a cold table and a hot table we're excellently presented. 

After this plentiful lunch, we went to the meeting place for the drive. Ashley led us to our vehicle. It was a 20 seater, but we were among the first to board and got excellent seats. Ours was the lead vehicle for a group of 6. Departures were staggered so we would not bunch up. The benefit of being first was that when we spotted animals if they ran off, we did not miss out on the experience. 

The reserve is quite large. The trails are narrow and rocky. Our driver/narrator was excellent in both tasks. We were close enough to the front that we had no trouble hearing him. 

We first found the rhinos. Then we spotted hippos submerging in a pond with their ears showing. Patient waiting resulted in watching heads rise above the water as they came up to breathe. A little later we found a mother hippo with her 5-day old baby. As we encountered animals our driver did a fine job of explaining them. He included diet, size, speed, and habits. 

We eventually encountered springbocs, wild beasts, zebras, water buffalo, elephants, a giraffe, and lions. These were not located in a shared area, but rather they were scattered throughout the reserve. The lions were in a large spacial area protected by an electric fence. This was to prevent them from decimating the population of other animals. 

STRIPES ARE THEIR FINGERPRINTS

JUST 5 DAYS OLD

SPRINGBOC

Shortly after entering the lion zone, we spied a female lion lying in the sun on a high rock. After watching her watch us we saw movement behind her. Slowly a majestic male crept forward. He looked at her, looked down at us and turned around. He disappeared behind the rocks. The people in the vehicles following us never saw him. Our thanks to Ashley for positioning us so well. 

From here we exited the lion range and headed back to the lodge. On the way, we stopped to observe two elephants playing with each other as they pulled up large clumps of grass to eat. These huge beasts were the closing act for our exciting and satisfying ride. 

We were not disappointed that the thousands of dollars we saved by coming here instead of flying to someplace like Kruger will be available for future travels. The day was fun and it took us to partsSouthwest Africa that we had not previously visited. 

Ashley delivered us to the food court of the V&A mall. We had a light snack and walked home. We were in our room by 7:15. This was another long and enjoyable day.