Sunrise Thornybush Reserve (Mary Curry)
This morning we woke for a singular goal: tracking black rhino. Our guide had spotted prints the night before and wanted us to get a chance to sight these endangered animals. Black rhino particularly like the thick thorny thickets in this area so it's one of the best places left to see this elusive species.
We followed tracks and dung, eventually circling around to a particularly dense thicket where there was a mother rhino with her calf. Wow!
Rangers have to be especially careful in reporting rhino sightings- often using codes to evade poachers. Black Rhino Thornybush Reserve (Mary Curry) Black Rhino Thornybush Reserve (Mary Curry)
After this incredible sighting, we headed back to pack up and drive south along the border of Kruger National Park to the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, especially known for cat species. We arrived in time for the afternoon game drive where we headed straight for a watering hole. This one was extra special as we spotted about 15-20 hippos with their young and several huge crocodiles! Our tracker demonstrated just how relaxed the animals were around the vehicle by briefly getting off, causing the hippos to raise out of the water and start watching him intently. As soon as he got back on, they all relaxed and settled back into the water. Hippo in Sabi Sands Reserve (Mary Curry)Hippo in Sabi Sands Reserve (Mary Curry)
Not far from the hippos, crocodiles basked on the side of the watering hole. Crocodile in Sabi Sands Reserve (Mary Curry)Crocodile in Sabi Sands Reserve (Mary Curry)
Leaving the watering hole, we encountered an elderly male lion, on the prowl for impala. He was quite skinny, a sign that he was slowing down and less effective at hunting than he once was. Lion in Sabi Sands Reserve (Mary Curry)
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
5 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
6 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.