Day 10 was a free day in St Lucia and we thought we’d go on a whale watching tour but the seas were getting too rough so there were no more boats going out that day. Instead, we walked the 11km loop around St Lucia right up to the beach where a whale gave us a much better show than in Hermanus but was still quite far. I did manage to get a couple of shots of the tail. It was a beautiful day and the beach is stunning but the undertow is strong so we only dipped our toes in the water. In the early evening, we were treated to a nice sunset on the grounds of our hotel, overlooking the river.
The next day we drove to the beautiful Emdoneni Lodge where they have a cat conservation project. While cheetahs are the main attraction, they also have African wildcats (that look a lot like tabby house cats), caracal (look a bit like a reddish lynx) and serval (smaller, yellow with black spots and we could pet this one).
In the afternoon, we went on a game drive in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, the oldest nature reserve in South Africa and known for its white rhinos. We got to see several of them as well as our first lions, water buffalo and more elephants. We were very lucky to see 4 of the big 5 in one drive. All we need now is the elusive leopard! The last rhino we saw has the longest, most beautiful horn but it’s hard not to worry that it will become a target for poachers – something that is a huge problem right now…
Other blog posts from this tour:
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Days 8 & 9 | Days 10 & 11 | Days 12 & 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Days 16 & 17 | Day 18