Moditlo, the First Lodge
The real trip started when my mother and I got to our first lodge. The Moditlo River Lodge in Hoedspruit gave us a warm welcome with warm towels. I have only experienced the warm towel thing like once so for me it was a big deal. Anyway, the place was beautiful and remote on a dried river out in the bush. Firstly, they took our bags, gave us a rundown of the activities, mealtimes, amenities, etc. and showed us around the lodge. They took us over the bridge to where the rooms were, which were gorgeous with views right out into the wild. There were monkeys climbing all over the buildings, giraffes passing by impala grazing and meerkats running around the dried riverbed, all of which you could see from your room or just walking down the raised boardwalk. This was obviously amazing but had one little catch: because animals were roaming free around the premises, at night and in the early morning we had to be guided to and from our rooms for our own safety in case something dangerous was around. Remember, there are still lions, cheetahs, and leopards in the wild.
We check out our rooms and then my mom and I walk back to the main lodge area to get some food which was a little weird because the place was near empty. Besides us, there was only one couple staying at the lodge at the time, so it felt a bit creepy and there was some peer pressure because the whole staff seemed to be waiting on our every move. Lunch was at two in the afternoon and after we sat down and ordered a couple glasses of wine, one of the staff comes over and puts an impressive plate in front of us filled with chicken wings, coleslaw, mangos, meatballs in sauce, broccoli and even more that I cannot remember because it was such a mix of so many foods. The staff member, an awesome and funny lady named Appearance (I’ll explain the name later) was our usual server for most of the meals and before finishing our meal she asks us what drink we would like for our sundowner, which happens in the middle of the game drive where you stop somewhere and enjoy your choice of drink, more on that later.
After eating this awesome lunch, we had about a half hour to get ready for the first game drive which leaves at 3:30. We went back to our rooms to prepare and get some warmer clothes because it gets cold there at night and the sun sets earlier than here in Florida where I live. While on the way to the game vehicle, we see the couple from earlier and say hello and while talking to them, we see a group of four college kids checking in. Not too empty anymore which was nice. As the couple, my mother, and I keep walking, the students rush past us to go change into safari appropriate clothing and race back from their rooms to the front of the lodge, and hence our first safari game drive begins.
Right off the bat we see a bunch of animals such as impala, kudu, warthogs, jackals and vultures so I’m instantly engaged with the whole experience, checking out the plants, watching animals run about, looking at the mountains in the distance while the sun sinks behind them, everything was just so gorgeous. About an hour and a half into the drive, we reach this small lake where hippos were swimming and doing their thing when one of the trackers, Derek, told us to look on the other side. In the distance a female lion treaded down the road at a leisurely pace. I was psyched, my first lion sighting and it’s just going about its business. We sat and watched for a handful of minutes as it walked and it eventually made its way into some foliage when the head tracker, a man by the name of Aurela, said, “Okay, we goin’ to follow it” and I was like “Yassssss.” Aurela drives us further down the trail towards where the lion disappeared and then said that she was eating a kill. Instantly I try looking through the greenery trying to make sense of the images within while wondering how he could possibly know she was eating until a foul smell hit me right in the face. It must have taken down this animal earlier today or yesterday because we all could smell something going bad. I settle for taking Aurela’s word for it until he decides we need to get closer. I wonder how exactly he was planning on doing that when he quickly answered by driving straight over an acacia tree. No fear, no worries, he just barreled this thing down and said its fine if you go slow. Aurela takes us straight up to this lion who is feasting on a kudu like we weren’t even watching. I’ll tell you; these lions have no fear and are used to being around people. It didn’t even look at us while we were all either ogling at this event or taking a video. My first lion sighting and I watched it eat its dinner. Good score.
We stop near the lake with hippos chilling in it to have our sundowner. The sundowner is a break in the game drive where the two trackers who are driving and searching for the animals set up a table out in the middle of the savanna, put out bowls of jerky, dried fruit, and nuts while we all enjoy our drinks. I had a glass of white wine the first night (had to keep it classy at first) and munched hard on this jerky they put out. As my mother and I chat with the other guests, obliviously having a good time, Aurela tells us all to hurry and get back into the game vehicle. At first, we all were wondering, “Hey why the sudden pack up” until we looked where we just drove from, and in the headlights is that same lion just strutting over to us. It was a cool sight to see but still, survival instincts kick in and say, “Hey don’t get eaten.” So, we all fall into line and hop right back into the vehicle. Aurela and Derek hastily pack up the table, food, and drinks, no change in the lion’s behavior. Once all in the vehicle, the lion walks up to it, takes a quick sniff then walks about 10 meters to the side and just lays down. Everyone gets a kick out of it and we all start cracking jokes about it wanting some company, being full and in a food coma and just hanging out.
By then it was quite dark out and we start heading back to the lodge for dinner. I had fried venison with veggies and my mom had a salmon dish. The food was consistently delicious, and the staff member Appearance was dead set on making us eat as much as possible at every meal, looking legitimately upset if we didn’t want dessert. Soon after I was in a food coma myself ready to go to bed and our first day at the lodge came to a comfortable end.
