Before arriving at Kuzuko we were discussing the animals we were likely to see. As we were in Addo Elephant Park, we assumed we'd see lots of elephants. Seeing as the national animal of South Africa is the springbok we thought there'd be lots of those as well.

I was really hoping to see lions, but I also knew that would be unlikely and someone else really wanted to see giraffe, but we'd been told there weren't any in the park ☹️

The first animals we saw on safari were zebra and I was surprised by how amazing it was to see them in the wild. They really are beautiful animals. Next were wilderbeest, and the size of them were really impressive.

As we were heading back to the lodge our ranger received a radio message telling him that the lions had been spotted, so we excitedly made our way over to what would be one of the best experiences of my life. Four incredible lions were within meters of our jeep, getting some shade as the sun went down. We watched them for ages with wide eyes and open mouths.

The night sky in Plettenberg bay was amazing but Kuzuko Lodge was even further away from any towns, which meant the stars were even more defined.

The safaris at the lodge start at 4:30am and 4:00pm and it was time for our first sunrise safari. After filling ourselves with strong coffee we were back in the jeep. After seeing the lions the day before, I was hoping to see elephants this time.

Within minutes we'd stopped to watch an Oryx, which is a type of antelope with huge horns and a black and white face. Our guide then stopped to look through his binoculars before telling us there was an elephant in the distance. It was basically impossible to see without binoculars, but he was eating deep in the forrest, which meant there were no tracks the jeep could take to get us close.

After the sunrise safari we had some breakfast and headed out on a walking safari where we had been told we could see giraffe. We hiked up to the top of a hill with a view for miles and our guide took out his binoculars. He pointed out two dots in the distance and told us the giraffe had spotted us. It was really funny to see their two heads poking out above the trees as they took a look at us.

We spent the next hour hiking over to see how close we could get to them, stopping along the way to notice they were still watching us. We were getting closer before they obviously decided we were too close and they made a run for it right in front of us.

The next morning we added another of the big five to our found list when we came across a heard of buffalo chilling out in the bushes. We also spotted a heard of elephant and while we were closer this time they were still on the other side of a mountain.

When we got back to the lodge our guide told us that the heard of elephants we had seen earlier had made their way to the mountain outside of our room. We ran straight to our balcony and watched them through our binoculars as they made their way up the mountain and over the top. It was a special moment for all of us to share on our final evening.

It was the day we were flying home but 2 of us decided we just had to get up at 4am one final time to go on another safari. Our guide had told us the main aim was to track down the elephants we were following the night before so we kept our fingers crossed for a closer sighting.

After driving for a while with no sightings of elephant our ranger received a radio message telling them the lion had been found again. He asked us if we were happy to abandon the elephant hunt to go and see the lion for a final time. Begrudgingly we agreed :-(

While we were watching the lions, another call came over the radio and alerted our guide that the elephants had been spotted at the top of a hill nearby!

We sped off and found a great spot to stop for coffee with a great view of the elephants walking across the top of a nearby mountain before they disappeared into the trees once more. Our ranger thought they might be heading across a nearby road so we packed up the food and drink and tried to get there before they did.

We abruptly stopped driving and the ranger shouted for us to look ahead at the elephants. I looked out into the distance and couldn't see anything. That's because they were literally meters away and they emerged from the trees and crossed the road right in front os us. It was a breathtaking moment to see the size of these beasts as they walked by one by one. It was a perfect way to end our time in South Africa.