Just returned from 3 fantastic nights at &Beyond Phinda Homestead. On our arrival day we encountered an elephant bull on our way to the lodge as he knocked down a tree between our car and our friend’s car! Excitement (and fear!) ran high as both cars escaped untouched and unscratched.
At the lodge, we were very warmly met by the Homestead team. We had a late lunch and a quick swim in the pool to refresh before our first-afternoon game drive. As we got out of the pool I heard my youngest son say “mom look at the elephant”. He said it twice before I registered that the elephant was on his way to the pool and proceeded to drink the water from the pool! What an amazing sight. He must have been waiting in the dense bush for us to finish our swim before he approached! We watched him for a good 15 minutes.
During our 3 night stay, we managed to see all of the Big 5. Our ranger & tracker (Mark & Thulani) tracked and successfully found a leopard to everyone’s delight. We had some fantastic lion, rhino & cheetah sightings. The bush at Phinda is quite lush at the moment after the rainy season but still, the game viewing was fantastic. Apart from our game drives, we also did a little bit of fishing with hippo’s watching!
We were very fortunate to stay at the Homestead which is a 4 bed-roomed exclusive use lodge. Thank you to the team and in particular our ranger Mark, who made our stay & safari so unforgettable and for spoiling our kids & friends for life!
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