World Cruise - Choosing Excursions: African Safari

Luckily we have been to many of the ports our 2015 World Cruise will visit but we did choose this itinerary because it visited lots of places we haven't been--like the southern part of Africa. It's been on my bucket list to go on an African safari. Not so much Bob's, I think. We found a good compromise in the listings for excursions on the Crystal Cruise site. The safari lasts for two nights and we get four forays out into the wild of Kruger National Park.

The excursion starts when we put into the port of Maputo, Mozambique. We depart the pier in an air-conditioned coach (yay!) for a three and a half hour ride to Lukimbi Private Game Reserve in the southern portion of Kruger National Park.

The KNP was established in 1898 for the purpose of protecting the wildlife of the South African Lowveld. The park is over two million hectares. One hectare equals 2.47 acres. That is one large park! There are hundreds of different birds, animals, fish and plant life in the area as well as some historic archaeological sites.

At the border of South Africa, we go through immigration and then transfer to 4X4 jeeps to the Lukimbi Safari Lodge. (That should be interesting.) Our accommodations look absolutely wonderful. Forget the tents and outdoor camping. Peruse the Lukimbi Safari Lodge site and you'll see that this is resort living in the jungle. Our kind of camping.

After getting settled and having a light lunch we enjoy our first guided safari where we have a chance to see the Big Five: the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo. The information assures us that there is lots of other wildlife to see as well.

The evening will include dining around a boma fire (fire pit) and the possibility of seeing some other nighttime animals. Then a good night's sleep to prepare for an early morning wake up call to start the day with another safari. Breakfast, lunch, a late safari drive and another night in our beautiful accommodations.

The next day sees us up early for another safari and then off to an airport to fly to Durban, South Africa, where we will be taken to our ship once again.

I know there will be lots of other wonderful things to see on this cruise but I'm guessing this just might be the highlight. We quickly booked this to be sure we wouldn't be shut out and now it's time to look at other excursions we might take. You know, the planning and anticipation are half the fun of travel.