Tuesday, September 3, 2013

B.Y.O.B.


B.Y.O.B. - Bring Your Own…Bedding?!?!?! (and booze, too!)

We spent last weekend with Anton and Candace at Rotsinbos private game reserve in Brits, ZA. The place was rustic (but very well-maintained) and we slept in a Safari tent! Thank goodness it is still too cold for snakes. This is black mamba territory, people!!!

{front gate of game reserve}
The tent had a bed and a lamp but we had to bring everything else we needed including bedding, towels, food, and drink. The property had a communal bathroom, kitchen, outdoor dining, and braai (bbq) area. We had the entire place to ourselves on Friday night, but a large group of people arrived on Saturday and we had to share.

{front view of tent}
{inside of tent before we unpacked our stuff}
The weather was warm during the day, but FREEZING and windy at night. It was honestly warmer outside than it was inside the tent. We only brought one blanket because it has been warm in Witbank – big mistake. We both slept in beanies and three layers of clothes and were still cold. No joke!

However, it was worth it. We got to see some amazing animals up close including giraffe, zebra, gemsbok, kudu, impala, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, nyala and waterbuck. Mat calls the waterbuck a “H2O buck.” Haha, get it?! He actually got to see a zebra kick a H2O buck in the head (pre-kick photo below) because it was trying to eat the zebra’s food. Zebras are temperamental little things! But I love them anyway.

{communal bathroom doors - impalas!}
{braai area}
{potjie pots for cooking soup over the fire - pronounced pot-key}
{see how the tree trunk is used as a pillar? very clever}
{communal fridge and food storage}
{outdoor dining area}
{jacuzzi that was not working}
{view from deck}
{game drive vehicle}
{jack the jack russell terrier - he ruled the place!}
{zebra about to kick the H2O buck in the face!!!} 
{blue wildebeest}
{nyala & kudu}
{giraffe}
{gemsbok - how beautiful is his masked face?}
{mat & anton relaxing with beers}
{jess and mat after almost freezing to death in the tent}
Hope you enjoyed the photos! 

Love,
Mat & Jess

3 comments:

Meredith said...

So much fun!!! Love seeing the photos. Glad you are having fun

Anonymous said...

So jealous! What a great time for you both! Wish we could be with you. Love you, mom

B Weezy said...

This place looks AWESOME-O!! So jelly! One question though...what exactly is that on the bedside table?? (in the pic before you unpacked) :-)