Nearing the end of our South Africa trip, we headed three hours from Durban to Rhino River Lodge Safari. This was an interesting journey as in SA the motorway driving is..to put it lightly.. mental. People use the hard shoulder as an actual lane, pedestrians walk down the road the opposite way to incoming cars, and no word of a lie our convoy had to swerve to miss a cow that had stumbled into the road. We made it to the Safari safe though (just) and were more than impressed with our surroundings. Our rooms boasted a four poster bed, an amazing pool was near by, and cute wild warthogs were casually strolling around! We had a lovely lunch, met our tour guide and were off on our first safari in no time.

Our safari guide Kyle was ridiculously knowledgeable and had eyes and ears that could pick up the quietest sounds and the most minimal movement. Seeing these wild animals in their own habitat was just crazy. Watching a group of giraffes run across the plains was really quite surreal – and turned a bit odd when the male giraffes started drinking the female’s wee. Anyway. Half way through our evening drive we pulled over and Kyle set up a little table of nibbles with champagne for us girls and beers for the boys. It was incredible sipping champers in the middle of the savannah watching the sun go down. 

Coming in from the Safari after dark we were greeted back at the lodge by a beautifully set table, ready for us to have dinner outside by the fire. We headed to bed soon after though as our morning Safari meant we had to be up and ready by 5.30am; which I was not best pleased about! Morning soon arrived and while I refused to go makeupless (putting on mascara half asleep is a skill), I still had time to grab a quick breakfast with everyone before we went off on another drive. It was still dark when we took off, so we got to watch the sunrise which was super pretty. We saw all the animals we hoped to see – rhinos, lions, monkeys, hippos, zebras etc but sadly never got to see elephants. This was a bit of a bummer but apparently it’s quite rare to see them where we were. We pulled over after a couple of hours to have a coffee and a cheeky photo op – the selfie stick came out much to Kyle’s amusement. We drove for a bit longer then headed back for lunch and a much needed hot shower! It is SO cold on the jeep that early in the morning. I was covered in blankets and was still freezing. Sadly it was time to say goodbye to safari and hello to another three hour drive back to Durban.

I would definitely recommend Rhino River Lodge as a Safari – all the staff were so friendly and helpful. The meals included were super tasty and well done, and the accommodation was to a good standard and had everything you really needed. Ours was only a fleeting visit but it really was a once in a lifetime experience, and one I will never forget.