🇿🇦 Jessica Hippo and Our First Safari Near Kruger
Our last morning at Forever Resort. The baboons are still there, right on cue. One final look at the panorama, and we get back on the road.
First stop: Jessica Hippo. This was one I had really been looking forward to.
Seeing a hippo this close, feeding her and watching her behaviour is completely different from a conventional wildlife park. Jessica lives with two other hippos, a male and a female, both already large. Visitors can feed all three. Jessica, accustomed to people, even allows gentle contact under supervision.
With the male, we remain cautious. Habituated or not, he is still a powerful wild animal and potentially dangerous.
Then it is on to the lodge. We arrive at around 2:00 p.m. and barely have time to settle in before leaving on our first safari. Suddenly, the Africa we had come to experience appears all at once: around fifteen elephants, then giraffes. Our first real immersion in the bush.
A quick meal stop on the way before continuing towards Greater Kruger.
Back at the lodge in the evening for dinner.
What stays with us: this day marks a real turning point. We gradually leave the panoramic landscapes behind and fully enter the safari part of the trip.
Jessica: a visit that must be booked
Jessica was born in 2000 near Hoedspruit. The official website now stresses one practical point: visits are by reservation only, with no walk-in visitors. The listed adult price is 300 ZAR, matching the 600 ZAR we paid for the two of us. Even though she is accustomed to people, Jessica remains a hippo and all interaction must stay strictly supervised.
Mbizi Bush Lodge: in the Balule Greater Kruger
Mbizi is located in the Grietjie Private Nature Reserve, part of the Balule Greater Kruger. The lodge explains that the reserve has open boundaries with Kruger National Park, allowing wildlife to move across a large area. The lodge itself is not fenced around the buildings, so animals can pass close to the rooms and waterhole.
