My last tour to South Africa was a two-week adventure during early May. Our first stop was to a popular, newly built, private game lodge on the border of Kruger National Park. Lukimbi Safari Lodge was only built in 2001 and Conde Nast Traveler Magazine selected Lukimbi Safari Lodge (www.lukimbi.com) as one of their hottest new properties in the world for 2003. Located on 37,000 acres, Lukimbi boasts some of the most luxurious accommodation in the southern portion of Kruger National Park. Once again, during our 3 night stay we were not disappointed as we witnessed sightings of all the Big 5 and were fed to our stomach’s delight.

Our next portion of the trip had us flying into George, located in the heart of the Garden Route. We drove east about 60 miles as far as Tsitsikamma National Park to boat down the Storms River and bungi jump the 700+ feet off the Bloukrans Bridge.

A favorite return visit brought us back to The Knysna Elephant Park (www.knysnaelephantpark.co.za) in Knysna. We were in for a new twist to this spot as my hosts had built a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom apartment overlooking the Elephant Boma. The boma is a sleeping and feeding area for the eleven elephants found on the grounds. These elephants came from the wild after being saved from a number of culling operations, and while they roam freely by day, in the evening they return to the boma to feed further and sleep as a family. I had no idea how much and how often these baby elephants require to be bottle fed. All through the night, we watched their handlers take turns with 4 gallon milk bottles, as some of these babies were brought in after their mothers had died in the wild. There also is, Thandi, born on the property in October 2003. By night we watched them feed after having hand fed them ourselves in the day.

The Knysna Elephant Park now offers a unique experience in accommodation. The Elephant Boma allows guests to "sleep with the elephants". We were able to share the elephant's feeding, playing and sleeping habits from the comfort of the lounge with its large windows that overlook their resting area. We fell asleep to all the communicating sounds (and smells!) of these magnificent creatures. The common lounge has a patio with a barbeque area, which overlooks the Knysna Elephant Park and is a great spot to view the elephants when they are out and about.

The excellent restaurant on site only served to sweeten the deal for us. I hope to be able to take all my groups for at least one night at the Elephant Boma apartment. Located in the heart of the Garden Route, the Knysna Elephant Park serves an excellent base from which to see the area.










The further drive down the coast allowed one of my groups another special opportunity to see the great white sharks in a cage dive (www.sharkcagediving.net) off the coast of Gansbaai, followed by a boat trip to watch the breaching 60-ton, Southern Right Whale (www.whaleviewing.co.za)! To see these two distinct magnificent creatures in the same waters, in such an intimate fashion, is like nothing we can see and do in the United States.