Thursday 2017/01/05

Utshwayelo Lodge

Breakfast quite relaxed at the bar of the Utswayelo Lodge.

The boat trip with six guests and the boatman Ian Smith is quite amusing. It leads across the fourth lake north through a canal into the third lake, which we also cross to see a hippo herd of about 8 animals. But our guide has to turn around quickly, as one of the hippos reacts a little aggressive and runs towards us (hippos do not swim, they walk on the ground). Impressive, which bow wave it can push ahead.

On a side arm of the canal with mangroves we have the opportunity to snorkel. It is nice to observe the small fish along the mangrove roots. You can simply drift with the swell and watch the thousands of fishes. A wonderful show.

Around noon we are back at the camp and have lunch. This morning, Brigitte did not eat much because of a stomach problem and now she's happily hungry again. Both of us are still struggling with the aftermath of eating in the Kruger National Park.

Unfortunately the organization in the lodge is a chaotic and it is not easy to see how everything works. Also, it is not always clear whether an activity takes place or not. The criteria are not clear and the persons responsible are hard to reach. They also forgot to give us a permit on arrival, which you need to pass the nearby gate to the park. The Luxury Chalets are nice and we do not have any problem with them, they are really charming, but they are just huts and the term "Luxury Chalet" is more kind of a joke. In addition, it is advisable to travel to this place with a 4WD, since you then can do more on your own. If the weather is bad, even the road to the boat trip can be problem with a normal car.

Here in the East of South Africa the service quality is not as it's best. Although there is always a lot of staff available, they often seem somehow unorganized. And for non-native speakers, it is often impossible to understand people and this is probably not only due to our modest knowledge of English.