If you have landed here without viewing any of the previous days, you may want to start at South Africa 2023 Day 1 and view your way up to Day 9.
Today is our last full day at the Ivory Tree Game Lodge and we are going to take full advantage of it. Here is a glimpse of our schedule.
The lodge also posts a sightings board for you to see the locations for the current day and the day before.
Picture taken inside the lodge looking out to the front door.
These pictures were taken of the outside of the lodge around 5:30 am.
We are heading out on our early morning safari with Jafari. Come go with us.
I could not get enough of these serene views.
Here chicken, chicken, chicken.
Our gifted guide spotted...............lion foot prints.
Impalas.
Wildebeest.
This is a short second video capturing them running then one seemingly looking at us. The video is followed by a few pictures.
Hippopotamus Sighting.
This short video shows a hippo floating in the water. A few pictures follow the video.
African Fish Eagle. The African fish eagle or the African sea eagle, is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Random pictures.
Rock Rabbit. The rock hyrax also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East.
Kudu. The greater kudu is a large woodland antelope, found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation, and poaching.
Euphobia Tree. The Euphobia Tree is a species of flowering plant. It is popularly known as the candelabra tree and its milky latex can be extremely poisonous.
Well that's the end of our early morning safari. Back to the lodge for breakfast and other activities before our game drive tonight.
Ivory Tree Game Lodge https://ivorytreegamelodge.com/
This short video provides a little panoramic view of the Ivory Tree Game Lodge outside and pool area. Thank you, Angela, for allowing me to feature you at the end.
This waterfall is located in the lobby.
So I overheard a group of members talking about scheduling transportation to go to Sun City. While they wanted to go to do some shopping, I heard there was a casino there and it was calling my name. So off to Sun City I went.
Sun City is a luxury resort and casino located in northwest South Africa. It is located 90 miles northwest of Johannesburg. The complex borders the Pilanesberg National Park. It is made up of a number of themed sub-resorts with hotels on each, including the original Sun City Resort, The Cabanas, The Cascades and the Lost City (The Palace).
A map of Sun City.
The Sun City Hotel has a Hard Rock Casino inside and I went and tried my luck.
I didn't hit a jackpot but I left with a little more than I started with so that was time well spent. Time to head back to the lodge for our last safari and our farewell dinner.
We're Back on Safari with Jafari.
Our first sighting of the night was one we've seen before ---the Wildebeest.
Then came these.
Our game ranger, Jafari, making the other vehicles back up so he can get through. We had so much fun driving around with him.
Up close and personal with a rhino.
All of a sudden there were a flurry of vehicles driving fast and crazy. We were wondering what was going on. When we got to the location, look at what we saw. These next several videos are extremely short but I wanted to share some of our excitement in what we saw, albeit for a short period of time.
I was so fortunate to be able to capture these pictures.
These short videos are truly amazing. The whole family going for a stroll.
I think this was the highlight of our entire safari.
Well, I may have spoke too soon but you be the judge.
Farewell Dinner in the Bush
Tonight is our last night at the Ivory Tree Game Lodge and our farewell dinner has been planned in the bush. This will definitely be a first for me.
Come along with us on our drive through the bush to get to our dinner spot.
We have reached our dinner destination.
This video shows a panoramic view of our dinner spot in the bush. Our cooks and servers are in the final stages of getting everything ready for us to begin eating.
Pictures from our farewell dinner in the bush.
Our bar crew.
We kept seeing these flashes of light as we were enjoying our dinner. When we inquired what they were, we were told that the game rangers were in the bush to keep the animals out. Glad we're having dinner and not being dinner. (:)
What a day! So many memories today and throughout this entire trip. This is my second trip with the Michael Baisden Travel Club and Gene and Ja'Vonne with Advantage International LLC, and traveling with them all is definitely a good time full of meaningful experiences. I'm looking forward to many trips more with them.
I hope you enjoyed Day 9 - More Safari Fun and Our Farewell Dinner in the Bush. Just a reminder that each day builds upon the prior days and blogs so if you haven't read South Africa 2023 - Ivory Tree Game Lodge and We're Going on Safari - Day 8; South Africa 2023 - Apartheid Museum and Lesedi Cultural Center - Day 7, Part II; South Africa 2023 - Return to Soweto - Day 7, Part I; South Africa 2023 - Sandton Sun - Day 6; South Africa 2023 - Johannesburg - Day 5, Part I or Mandela House - Day 5, Part II; or Cape Town - Day 4, Part I and Part II; Day 3, Part I and Part II; Day 2, Part I and Part II; or Day 1 yet, you may do so here. https://www.edeeonthego.com/link-tree
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Until our next time......