Bliss in the BUSH

Not even the rain could dampen the spirit and beauty of a visit to Lalibela Game Reserve

- MEGAN PAULSE

I could feel my cell phone vibrating in my pocket as we travelled from Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha to Lalibela Game Reserve. I read the message waiting for me: Loadshedding in 55 minutes. Not for me, I smugly thought, because where the road and our driver, Alan, were taking us, we'd be safe from it, at least for the next two days.

Alan showed us various areas of interest on our one-hour drive on the N2. One of them was the salt pans in Nelson Mandela Bay, which I had thought looked like a lipstick palette of pinks and browns from the aeroplane window just moments before. We passed various other game reserves en route and, as luck would have it, saw some of the parks' wildlife.

Before long, Alan indicated left, and we turned off the smooth, tarred road onto rougher terrain, a sign of things to come. Another turn, and we were at the gates of Kichaka Luxury Game Lodge. On our way to the reception, Alan told us that a week earlier, the lodge's reception staff had been unable to get into the offices as some of the local wildebeest had decided the shaded area in front of the entrance was the perfect spot to relax - a story repeated to us by Sam, the friendly receptionist, upon her welcome before settling us into a game vehicle with Ruan, our guide.

Ruan had a story, too, about a cheetah spotted on the side of the road a few metres from the reception area. The couple accompanying him were so scared that instead of admiring the magnificent animal's beauty, they insisted on heading straight to the lodge. That made me chuckle. Seeing these animals in the wild was why they were there! I silently hoped the cheetah would be a part of our welcoming committee, but, having not received a warm welcome from the previous couple it'd 'greeted', it appeared to have kept its distance.