We arrive at the lodge at about 3 pm and the checking in takes quite a bit as you have to park at the reception then you are taken on a tour of the lodge then we have to return to the car and temporarily park in front of the room where we can unload our luggage. After finally checking in and unpacking we go to explore two geological phenomena in the area, the Organ Pipes and the Burnt Mountain.
First we go to the Organ Pipes which is quite interesting and similar to what we have seen in Northern Ireland at Giant’s Causeway but on a smaller scale. We have the viewpoint area to us for a few minutes before safari tours start to bring other tourists in but we are the only ones to actually descend in the canyon to walk through it which gives us more solitude.
We walk through the canyon for a while enjoying the great views but then it is time to continue on to the Burnt Mountain which is further down the road.
So we continue to the end of the maintained road to Burnt Mountain but even though it is sunset when the mountain is supposedly look like it is burning we do not see anything. So we continue on a bit on a dirt road that quickly worsens so we stop and take a hike through the area to take a look at the plants and the interesting rock formations. We find quite a lot of stones that are placed in an upright position not sure for what reason, maybe just for fun. However we also see this afterwards in other areas so there might be another explanation.
We also find a few wild welwitchia, a nice find in the wilderness and we explore for some time before returning to the lodge.
As the sun is setting we return to the lodge and explore our room for a short while, this time it is quite a common one so we go out to explore before it gets dark.
The main lodge building is impressive and they also have a few safari trucks but we are not sure where they would go to see any animals.
However the main goal is to visit the petroglyphs that are on the grounds and are free to visit as a preview for tomorrow when we go to the nearby Unesco Heritage Site containing a much large collection of petroglyphs and engravings. There are two panels which are quite impressive and to our surprise we are the only ones here looking at them. After identifying animals especially giraffes throught the panels we decide to enjoy the sunset from our room before eating dinner from our provisions and then retiring for the night.
