The Roth’s

Erindi Private Game Reserve, July 2022

We arrived at the Old Traders Lodge in the Erindi Private Game Reserve on July 19th 2022. After a 20 days holiday trip, this was our last stop before going back to Windhoek and wow, what a beautiful place this is! On the drive to the lodge, we had the pleasure of spotting some Giraffes. While unpacking our bags in the room we could watch the Elephants at the waterhole outside, just a couple of meters away from our porch.

We decided to go for an afternoon game drive the same day and as we were travelling with small kids, we had to take the closed vehicle for safety reasons. The driver and guide turned out to be a pretty young man, unlucky to do the boring family drive with the most boring car in the fleet, so I kept my expectations low.

Wrong I was!

Not only did he turn out to be an excellent driver, but also a walking encyclopedia! Countless times he just stopped in the middle of the road, making us aware of all the small things we would never have spotted. It‘s all the little details he knows that show that Carel is doing more than just a job. Of course, he managed to show us all the big animals we expected to see as well and demonstrated really good tracking skills and eagle-like eyes.

Two days later we went for a morning game drive and he organized to be our driver again - not only us but also the kids were very happy to drive with Carel again! Once more we were amazed by his knowledge and dedication to his work. For example, even though we have not seen a honey badger, Carel told us so many interesting and surprising stories about this animal, that we have got the impression to have seen it live.

We never had the feeling to be with a guide, but with a friend who is just showing us his living room.

We have very seldom seen a young person showing so much enthusiasm and dedication, paired with incredible knowledge and a clear picture of the future, living his dream.

Dear Carel, thanks a lot again for everything. We wish you all the best for the future and hope our paths will cross again.

PS: The kids tell me to write that you should take good care not to be eaten by a cheetah or a lion. And don‘t forget to feed Frank the tank ;-)