Our last morning at Pilanesberg was awash with color! Right from the start of our 5:30 AM game drive, our guide Werner hustled us up into the hills of the park. The atmosphere already had a delightful blush tone, and I could tell by the way he was looking at the skyline that Werner was trying to beat the full sunrise.
Sunrise At Lenong
We arrived at Lenong lookout just in time. The lookout is near the center of the crater and offers panoramic views of the park. Lenong means vulture; however, Werner told us there are no vultures in the park.
Sunrise
We had the whole area to ourselves. Just 9 of us watched a glowing sun rise above the cloud cover in the crater. The place was quiet and still. It was spectacularly serene to stand in silence and watch the sky.
First, it was a bright red ball cresting over the clouds.
Then it became a mix of yellow and pink as it rose higher. The sky was like a watercolor, whose color saturated more and more as time passed.
When the sun was finally bright, hot air balloons started to lift just below it. We were up at Lenong for about 45 minutes watching the landscape before we headed back down.
Blue Wildebeests
Midway down the hill there was a wet blue wildebeest grazing on the tall grass by the road. After watching us for a bit, he started to jog down the road in front of us.
The wildebeest was zig-zagging across the path down the entire lane, as if playing a game with us.
Another three wildebeests were making their way around a small lake nearby.
Fog
Back at ground level, the fog was thick. So thick at some points that you could barely see beyond the vehicle.
We ended up stopping for our morning coffee break early to see if the fog would pass. It never really did. I’m so glad that Werner got us to the sunrise since there wasn’t much else to see that day.
Several people in our game truck had different guides throughout their stay but we were with Werner the whole time. I really appreciated that! He was awesome and there are advantages to having the same guide – they know where you have already been in the park and what animals you have already seen or are still looking for.
Checking Out
After the drive, we had a quick breakfast and then headed to reception. At checkout we experienced our first issue with load shedding.
(We had two hours of load shedding the next day at our Airbnb. Luckily, it was a sunny day and we spent it by the pool.)
Load shedding is a term for reducing the power supply nationwide to prevent a total blackout of the system. Usually, power is disconnected for 2 to 4 hours at a time. These are typically scheduled, and customers are notified beforehand. Everywhere we stayed had flashlights for our use just in case. Many large businesses have automatic generators.
Right around the time I was trying to check out, load shedding kept the credit card machines from working. The room, game drives, and food had already been paid for, but I still owed for drinks. Thankfully, I had cash (Rand) with me and was able to pay that way rather than leaving my credit card information with them.
Ivory Tree Game Lodge Standard Room
2020 Price: R16,793 (approx. $1,166) for 3 nights
Pretoria
We left Pilanesberg and headed back to Pretoria. Once again, I stopped at the petrol station near the lodge to have the tire pressures rebalanced. Along the main highway to Pretoria, there were two toll booths.
Toll Booth
2020 Price: R15 for a car (approx. $1)
After a 2.5-hour drive, we were early for our check-in at the new Airbnb. I stopped to fill the petrol tank and asked for the tires to be checked since the tire pressure indicator had come on again during the drive. The attendant told me that the driver-rear tire was flat from a nail. We had such bad luck with tires this trip!
Want to hear the crazy story of what happened with first tire? Check out my Voortrekker Monument blog.
Thankfully, there was an auto shop right across the street. The tire only needed a plug, and we were able to get in and out relatively quickly.
Tire Plug
2020 Price: R100 (approx. $6.50)
Then we checked in at the new Airbnb and got a recommendation for dinner.
Airbnb
2020 Price: $77.40 for a 2-night stay
After eating a delicious meal at Crawdaddy’s, we tucked in for the night.
I love the mood of the photograph with the wildebeest zig-zagging down the road in front of you. It has a soft almost surrealistic touch to it.
The Lenong sunrise is something I will never forget. We were the only vehicle out at this highest point of the game park. Witnessing silence and beauty brought tears to my eyes. Only one other place in all my travels had as much of a profound affect on me.