Everything it says on the tin and more

Our three days at Umlani have to rank as the best I can remember anywhere for a very long time. Getting up close and personal with such a variety of animals and birds on the game drives was clearly the highlight but the hospitality, the location, the food and the people made our visit a very special experience.

Our fellow guests were a mixed bunch but we managed to get on quite well. There was a little unease as we were joined by an Anglo-Swedish couple with three weans (9, 7 & 2) but they were quite well behaved and the little one was useful bait for attracting the big cats!

Each of the rangers – Ginger and Elvis – took us off-road through the bush to find lion, leopard, wild dogs and others with uncanny precision. We had a couple of drives where it rained from start to finish, but we still saw a huge variety and when the sun finally arrived, we had a magical hour standing round the trucks with our sundowners as a herd of elephant wandered down the road past us. It stayed dry for the rest of our stay and we ticked off the Big Five in less than 24 hours and then went on to see even more.

If any of you are considering a visit to South Africa, then this is a must. Ali said that Umlani would suit us down to the ground and she was right - thanks again to you both.