Game for a Drive - Animal Magic
We had to get on the move early. We were leaving Just Unwind for one night and heading inland on the over two hour drive to Aquila. It was another scorcher as we headed inland on good roads. We were a bit concerned that if we broke down we would be cooked. However, we made it to our oasis OK without any dramas. Our aim was to arrive in time for a nice lunch and we sort of achieved that as we were on-time. Unfortunately we visited the wrong Restaurant. There is one for day guests and one for overnighters. To be fair they were both Buffets and there was not a lot to choose between them.
After lunch we checked into our really nice room in a large modern block. Our first floor room had a great view of the swimming pool and the park behind.
It was soon time for the first of our two Game Drives. TW, with her dizzy issue, was kindly given some special treatment by the Front of House Manager. Concerns about motion sickness were allayed by being allocated seats behind the driver and extra cushions. Our driver was brilliant, Randall, giving enough interesting information but not too much and we saw all the animals we wanted to see plus some stroppy baboons. Rhinos, Hippos and Elephants, Zebra were my highlights. The Lions are just big pussy cats and were very sleepy.
We were back in time for Dinner. We managed to bag an outdoor table and hungrily consumed a decent buffet. Can't say that the food was that great but it's a long way from anywhere. We did a bit of star-gazing after Dinner. We saw the Milky Way from the grass behind the pool. It would probably be better viewing out in the park where there is no stray light but not sure we were keen to get eaten by a lion just to get a better view of the Southern Cross!
We had to be up early, at 6am, for a 7am departure the next morning. As it was early, the previously dozy Lions were wide awake. Not sure that's a good thing, one female lion looked very keen to share a private tour with a young couple. Amusingly their guide was safely ensconced in the the front cabin with the windows up. Afterwards we had another close encounter with the elephants which we really enjoyed.
Anyway, the animals looked to have a happy home at Aquila and we were happy visitors and felt lucky to have seen them.
Breakfast was very welcome. TW had a massage at the spa as she was getting neck pain. Yours truly had a dip in the pool and relaxed under a shady umbrella.
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| On the long road home |
After a coffee we heading back on the long road back to Somerset West. There are virtually no places to stop on the way until Stellenbosch and it was after 3pm before we could stop for Lunch. We chose the magnificent Guardian Peak. They were about to close the restaurant but allowed us to order. We had a lovely meal looking out on the beautiful vines. Arguably the nicest meal of our stay. Faultless service, tasty fish with veggies and a lovely white wine.
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| Guardian Peak |
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| Nice |
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| Guardian Peak view from our table |
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