I'm soooo glad you reported in, Arlene. Thanks for keeping us updated. Oh, this sounds like such a fantastic trip. Dena, it's moved to the top of my list too!

More, More, More...LOL It sounds positively devine!

Hi everyone,

Yes... it was a bit unnerving to hear them so close, and they are SO LOUD. The guide/driver and tracker didn't seem worried, so we shouldn't be, I guess. (Some of us were looking at each other with very big eyes) They do take all the "cats" seriously. The tracker sits on a seat on the hood of the jeep, but whenever they think any type of cat is near, it is Singita policy that they stop and he gets inside the jeep. Even did that this morning for a BABY leopard. The lions were so amazing. Can't wait to post pictures. (Probably too difficult with the dial up service here) I didn't get the shot, but several got pics of the male yawning. THey are so careful with the widelife. last night they saw chamilion (sp) and went and got it out of the brush to show up how it changed colors and then they took him back and put him right back in the same exact place, rather than put him down closer to the jeep. This morning they stopped just so the tracker could pick up a little piece of paper.

The trackers are amazing Last night when they were searching with the spotlights you could get a better idea of how they are constantly looking all around by the way he used the spotlight. bck and forth very fast over and over and up and down the trees also, looking for birds and monkeys. Andi is haveing the best time outside now, with the monkeys, they are all around in the trees, and she is having a great time spotting and photographing them. They are really cute, kind of light grey with darker feet, faces and tails. They have robins egg blue b---s. It quite strange the first time you see them. (Hope I didn't offend anyone).

Today we saw lots of giraffs. They are so beautiful and gracefull. Amazing how close you get and they just don't care. They just ignore you. some animals are more shy and hide though.

This morning we were wakened at 5:30 then at six they came to escort us to the lodge. Quick coffee and off just at sunrise. They just kind of drive on the established dirt trails until they spot tracks or dung or sounds. when we see soemthing we sit and watch long enough to get lots of pics or until they wonder off, run off or until the guide gets word of soemthing else more intersting. If we are sitting looking at soemthing and the guide just take off, we have learned they are on the go for something special, as the guides can all radio each other. This mornign it was the leopard cub. When we got there, there were three jeeps already there, includeing Nagire's and she is staying at the other lodge. No one wanted to frighten or wake the leopard cub so were were all just waving silently at each other and pointing. It was very small, hidden down in the brush very well, so it was almost impossible to get a good pic. With that spotting our jeep has seen all of the "big 5" though not in big quantities. About 8:30 - 9 we stopped for hot chocolate (mine with a whole small bottle of amarula... yum yum yum!!) and coffee. So quiet and peacful, with all the animal and bird noises. Truly special.

When we got back this morning had a wonderful breakfast out on the deck overlooking the river. So beautiful. Then some on to massages, etc. and some off to the shopping building. Fun fun!

Oh well, got to go take a nap so I ready for tea this afternoon then another game drive then tonight over to the other lodge (Ebony) for our BOMA dinner...

MOre latter.....

Susie and Marilyn just came up, and say hi.....

I'll let susie post next......

Gad Zooks! it's me, Suzie Woozie...had lunch with Suzette and Marilyn, Joanna & Olivia and they wore out our poor waitress pouring wine. This place is incredible....I'll cry when we leave...we get so excited when we see a monkey on our deck and our lodge rooms are enormous. These LCT ROAR'ers are like family now and I'll miss them so much when we get home....Anne and Gary are Loves! Arlene the sweetest and WHAT can I say about Suzette!! She keeps us entertained and Brad is our comedy man. I bought an elephant hair bracelet with gold accents today....I'll worry about the charge when I get home! Sorry if this sounds goofy but thats what we are all becoming...you can't imagine the fun we are having.Happy to be posting from Africa instead of Va. Beach! Good-bye to all
Love, Suzie

Hi Arlene and all!

Just when you think your experiences and reports couldn't surpass the last ones, here's another incredible report! The thrills, excitement, awe in your words really make your journey come alive for us!

Thanks to everyone for including us in your trip of a lifetime! Eagerly awaiting the next installments!!!

Suzie Woozie - LOL - love that! Arlene, your reports make me feel like I'm right there. Wish I was. Denise is right, this really is a trip of a lifetime. Thanks for sharing it with us. Can't wait for more.

Thanks Suzie & Arlene for your reports. It all sounds so wonderful. I'm so glad you are all having so much fun!

Green Betty

WOW..knew it was going to be great..but SOUNDS spectacular.. said I was jealous..now VERY Jealous...hey..by the way
jungle folk...
are you guys going to ber able to visit the other camps ( Ulusaba perhaps?)

p.s..tell us about "plunge pools" anyone plunged?lol..cold?

Another update....

Last nights game drive was spectacular. The guides found a large herd of cape buffalo. We litterally sat IN THE MIDDLE of it for 20 minutes just watching them eat. They make quite a lot of noise, just chewing and trampling the grass there were so many of them. Big ones, baby ones...really a once in a life time experiance. Then we came across an elephant (some have seen herds of them) and sat and watched it eat a while. I had my telephoto lens on and he was so close I couldn;t take a pic without changing lenses. Amazing how they use that trunk to eat. There are some bushes here with thorns 2-3 inches long, and he still just pulled it up sometimes roots and all and stuffed it in! Then stopped for "sundowners" cocktailes in the bush at sunset... complete with HOT snacks.

Last night over to Ebony for BOMA dinner

Opps more later got go on the game drive

Thanks for the great picturesque description of your game drive and of course of the update Arlene. That must've been REALLY close to not be able to shoot with the long lens!

OK, as I was saying....

Went to Ebony last night for our BOMA dinner. It was nice everyone being all together again. Half of us are in one camp, half in the other, so don;t see each other too much. The food here has been terrific.

THis mornings game drive was really neat too. We looked for a leopard for quite a while. Saw the tracks but never found her. Then we were crossing the river (in the jeep!!) and came across a Hippo, so sat and watched it for a while. It was probably 50 yds away, and we didn;t get any closer. It did open its mouth wide which we were told is a territorial thing, to ward off other animals, and got great pics of that. When the mouth is open it has to be 3 -4 feet wide. THis morning while I was typing the above post, Marc was out having coffee on the deck waiting for the others and a BIG Hippo came out of the grass right below the deck and walked out to the river. I didn;t see it, only the smashed grass in its wake. Must have been a big one based on its "path"

After the hippo, we came across 3 female and 1 male lion, lounging in the grass beside the trail. We sat and watched them until they got spooked, probably 15 - 20 minutes. Got great pics. THe male was licking himself and also his sister, then he rolled around in the grass a while and and fell asleep with his paw around the sister. So sweet. the guide said it was a bonding thing.

Anyway, off to lunch now and then a nap!!!!!! More later.......

In a word - AWESOME!!!!!!!

Arlene, I'm loving your descriptive and very exciting reports!!!

And then? And then? MORE PLEASE!!!

This is such an incredible experience! We have had the most exciting game drives - so far, white rhinos, giraffes, zebras & babies (yes!), cape buffalo, impalas, lions (yes finally today for us!) leopard & two cubs, hyenas & the devouring of the leopard's kill, got stuck in a ravene in our landrover - in the dark!! We were wildly excited that we had to get out and stand close together in the dark in the bush while the ranger & guide got the vehicle out of the heavy brush. (Linda was with us & had the video tape running...so we thought, but turned out she had the "pause" button on!) This was our first night drive the very first day....what an experience that along with the leopard & cubs sighting, hyneas, giraffes, etc. Sitting 2 feet from the animals from inside the vehicle is so great! Once you get over the fear factor, you are just awed & enjoy hearing the animals chewing, breathing, even snoring. We were right in the middle of cape buffalo herd yesterday. Today, we just returned from a wonderful visit to a nearby village. We went to a school where the little children sang & performed for us. Hard to hold back the tears, they were so precious. Went to a villager's home where the women showed us how they prepared their food. Also, two men's groups sang for us. Lots of sweet, colorfully dressed people all along the way, waving to us. Again, hard to hold back the tears.... This has been THE MOST incredible experience. Repeating ourselves. You are all here with us in spirit. - Michele & Don

This trip must be so amazing. What a wonderful way to experience nature. And, Michele, the village visit sounded fascinating and very touching. Thanks for taking the time to share all of this with us.

Thanks Michele!!!! Thanks Arlene!!!!
Your reports are nothing short of awesome!!!!

Greener Betty

Ask for more, and Michele delivers! Thanks for another outstanding report! The visit to the village must have been something you will keep in your heart forever!

Fabulous adventures, taken vicariously through thrilling reports! Thank you!!

Totally wonderful reports - thank you!

Your reports have been so wonderful. I just hang on your every "words" good job guys! I wish so much I was there with you all but get by knowing I'll be there in January. Thanks for all the wonderful ROAR reports. Keep having a fantastic time and keep reporting!

MORE MORE MORE! We can't get enough!

Can you just imagine the pictures when they get home? I can't wait! You all have been wonderful with your updates!

Hi , it's me! Waiting for our ride to Ebony for dinner with the Captain (Ngaire). I decided to take a nap today on our huge deck and a family of monkeys gathered to watch....brought out an apple and they surrounded me! Elephant in our back yard today and hippo. So beautiful here I can't stand it. Arlene waiting to report. I'm surprised how quickly we jump up in the morning 5 am! to start our game drive. Our driver and tracker are Rex and Nicklolas, the best. They always have gun loaded and ready to defend us!
More from Arlene BYE!

Hi its Arlene, just a quick report. TOnight we saw Elephants up close and personal really up close.... wait till you see the pics. Then saw jackles, they are cute, but mean and sly. ALso saw a worthog "family" Gotta gpo off and socialize.... more later

I read these reports and it sends chills (good ones of course) down my spine...I can't imagine how wonderful it would feel to actually BE there!!!

Sheri I would be worried about you watching all these predators eating their kill. :ohmy:

Sheri and I would keep our eyes closed for sure!

Since everyone is anxious for photos of ROAR, I thought I'd post this to get you all ready:

Click here for photo

I read these posts and keep muttering to myself "have to do this itinerary before I die ... have to do this itinerary before I die ..." Please keep posting!

Masaki

Masaki, me too!!

Jim, you are so right. I love Discovery Channel, but I always turn away when they first pull down their prey. I'm okay after the animal is dead, it's just the thought of the pain they experience that bothers me.

Yes, Masaki you DO HAVE TO DO THIS before you die. Words cannot describe the experience.

This morning we went out for our game drive and saw Hyenia, Zebra (finally) Eagles, another bird (I cannot remember the name) but it is endangered and very difficult to find. Large black birds with red beaks, and other red feathers. They had killed a snake and taken it way up in the tree. It was a dead tree with no leaves so easy to see them all, one with the long snake hanging out of its beack. We also saw more giraffes, hippos, warthogs, and on and on. So really spectacular. Also stopped and had our usual coffee and tea (and hot chocolate with amaula for me) out in the bush. Lster we thought we were headed back to the lodge for breakfast, came around a corner on a dirt trail and there was another jeep there, which is not unusal, but there was no on in it. Looked over to the right and saw a whole area set up with linen covered tables and chairs, complete with china a glassware, silver service pieces, centerpieces, and ..... wait for it..... MENUS!!!!!!!!!!!!! A complete buffet was also set up with cereals, and every other cold breakfast item you can imagine. On top of all that was the table with the large large bottles of champagne. (the good stuff 16 years old). Truly a magical breakfast. Just difficult to put into words. THey even had a bar area set up with made to order bloody marys, and anything else you might want (or need at that hour). Even an area with a flushing tolet for the ladies. HOw they did that out in the middle of the bush is unknown!

MOre later....

Ray plunged. Marilyn plunged too. Suzie shaved her legs there. The monkey drank from Andi and Doug's pool and an elephant watched. Joanna watercolored with her mom. Some went to a wine tasting and now some are doing room tours with Ngaire and Ken.

Thanks, Arlene. These reports keep getting better and better.

Every morning, I read these posts to Alan. He has a dream of buying a Porsche sports car, the two of us picking it up in Germany and going on a driving adventure in Germany and Switzerland before returning home. He has started a "fund" for this purpose. Today, after I read your latest posts and raved about this trip, he looked at me and said, "oh no, there goes my Porsche fund!"

Donna, how funny - Grant has that plan in mind too! I think his dream may include a BMW instead of a Porsche, but he has talked about the very same thing.

I know - maybe we let Alan and Grant do their car thing, while you and I go to Africa! ;)

Like I always say ... if only there were enough money and time to do all these wonderful adventures ...

Dena

Hey Dena, think BIG. Let's do both!

Just incredible reports everyone - it sounds so exciting, and so awesome!!!

Thanks for keeping us updated - can't wait for somemore pictures.

Lions, lions, lions....I love lions!!! Two incredible game drives today as we watched a lion pride sleep after their meal of impala, and again this afternoon as they roused from their day of rest. I could watch them for hours.

It's hard to believe our time here at Singita is almost over. Many of us leave tomorrow for Victoria Falls, but the memories of Singita will remain forever.

Thank you for sharing; it all sounds incredible!

This has been the most incredible, over the top, fantastic vacation that I have ever had -- especially Singita. Today, after the breakfast that Arlene mentioned, we went back to our FABULOUS accommodations. At 3:30 we left on our game drives and saw a two day old elephant and a family of Lions...just incredible. We came back to our bathrooms being covered in flowers and candles, our baths drawn with bubbles and champagne cooling by the side of the tub.

Doug let out a scream "OH MY GOD" I thought some monkeys tore apart our room; We had to rush out to join the group for a final dinner and are reliving our stories together and planning our reunion trip in 2008. One group saw a pack of lions tearing apart a wilderbeast tonight and we have so many incredible stories. This place is utterly over the top. I have never experienced such luxury. It makes Regent pale. We are so sad to be leaving this wonderful experience tomorrow am.

Oh...we have experienced an elephant watching us on our deck...just feet away. Monkeys stealing our food and taking over our deck and watching us get ready inside the room...It has been like living a dream.

LOL, you and me both!!!

Donna, great idea! I am definitely up for both! Alan was smart to start a fund. Now it will just have to be two funds :D

I've always loved zoos and aquariums - I was amazed by all the wildlife we saw in Alaska but that pales in comparison to what the ROARers are experiencing. What an incredible trip.

Dena