Day 6, May 22, 2013: Wouldn’t you know it, the driver is early. Just as I take my first sip of coffee the phone rings telling me to please come down to the lobby. Sleepily, I head down to meet Pieter. The spelling is correct; he is an Africaaner. Very nice and well informed. We go to a downtown hotel to pick up the other guests. I wait in the car for a long time. Pieter comes out to apologize for the wait. He thinks someone has overslept. A great start to our day. I’m not having much luck with my tour mates. Laurent, Andrea and their two year old Louise finally come out. They are a family from Reunion Island; which is a French possession located between Madagascar and Mauritius. They turn out to be very nice people and Louise is not a bother (as I feared). We head out for the hour trip to mountains (including a 3 minutes ride through the mountain tunnel) and our destination, Fairy Glen. An odd name for a reserve you may think, as did I. There once was a pool of water that collected in a glen which dragon flies like to gather over. Locals said it looked like fairies flying about; hence the name. Deon greets us and waits while we eat breakfast. Well-fed and caffeined up we mount the vehicle that will transport us through the park to see four of what they call the big 5. Lions, rhinos, elephants and cape buffalo. We’ll also see wildebeest, zebras, springbok and various other antelopes. It’s a 3 hours trek over very, very (and I mean very) bumpy ground. My back needs a long hot bath afterwards. We have to opportunity to get down on the ground for some closer views and better photos. That’s a workout as well since you ride very high to stay out of harm’s way. This safari is a bit safer than others. It’s in a smaller private reserve that is malaria free. Many of the animals are rescued and familiar with the guides. It’s exciting to be able to get up very close to many of the animals. The only exception is the lions. One male and two females that we keep a safe distance from. We find them having a nap along the fence line. The elephants are kept close to the facility for observation and care. They have been aggressive lately and are kept separate from each other. We get the opportunity to feed one them. The rhinos had the horns hacked off by poachers. One is lucky to have it begin to grow back. The other will not be so fortunate, but at least they were both saved. We are fed again with a huge lunch buffet. Deon stops by to hope we had a good time. If not, “it’s your fault” he jokes. After a cup of coffee and some recommendations from Deon for other local attractions and restaurants, we head back to car for our return trip. On the way out I notice a photo of Deon with John Malkovich. He tells me it was taken about 4 years ago and he can’t say enough good things about him. Not a typical American or movie star, he says, with obvious sarcasm for my benefit. We take the back roads to return and see why they call this area wine country. There are vineyards everywhere. A legacy of the French Huguenot settlers, Pieter tells me. We stop at DuToitskloof Vineyard for a tasting. First class wines that can’t be bought in the USA, I’m disappointed to learn. Maybe someday I will get the chance to buy a bottle. The finally over, I am dropped off back at the hotel. Just in time to recharge the camera. I don’t know what I will do with all the photos I took today. I ran the camera battery dry and nearly did the same with the phone I later used. I’ll post some of them tomorrow. It’s getting late and there are too many to go through with the little bit of time left tonight. Here's a sample: Now that I’ve had a light dinner in the hotel bar (nothing very exotic-just ham) I’ll rest up for tomorrow’s trip to the Cape of Good Hope and the rest of the peninsula.