The Kruger

Our first game drive...very exciting!

We said good bye to Sun City at 6 am this morning when we started our journey to Kruger National Park.  There is no easy way to get to this place but the challenge is worth it considering the rewards that await us. First of all, there will be the daily game drives in the mornings and evenings. However, we also can’t wait for our game at Leopard Creek, the current #1 course in South Africa. So, we drove for about 3 hrs to Johannesburg Airport where we caught a little plane that took us to Nelspruitt (40 min), where we jumped in mini buses that took us to the park in a further 90 minute drive.

Driving to Lukimbi, we saw the first animals along the road including giraffes, lots of impalas and birds of prey amongst others. A lovely lunch was prepared for us and it was, according to some, one of their favourite meals on tour – which says a lot considering the standard of the places where we have been in the past few days.

In the evening we went on safari for the first time and we were all like children in a lolly shop! Our knowledgeable drivers and spotters managed to locate a Rhino and her baby and we took great photos of them at a very close range.  We then saw a group of giraffes so large that someone counted 19 of them. Some of them were necking each other which is a sign of dominance amongst themselves, but the ritual seem to be more focussed towards some mating that was taking place too. It was nature at its best!

The weather has changed dramatically in this part of South Africa going from 42 degrees a couple of days ago to 20 degrees today. It was perfect for our traditional Boma Dinner though, which took place in a fabulous outdoor setting around the fire and the meal was very tasty. Time to prepare for golf tomorrow…Leopard Creek, the last game of the tour, is waiting for us and with many prizes up for grabs, I am sure everyone will be trying their best. 

Rhinos - mum and baby

Gary Player becomes even more popular with men!

The rematch!

So far we have played 9 rounds of golf. All were on quite different styles of courses and all of them well liked by the group in general - some more than others, though! Today, however, regardless of the score, everyone thought the course was fantastic and most people said they would like to play it again.  The course we played was the Gary Player Golf Club at Sun City - host of the Nedbank Challenge every year and where the most recognised and best golfers on the planet come to compete.

Even though we weren’t playing for big money like the Pros do, the challenge for everyone was like one of their “majors”! It was the much anticipated girls vs. boys rematch. With smart uniforms kindly arranged by tour organiser, Global Golf, the format was ‘best ball’ match play, meaning the best stableford score per hole would win. The pairs were carefully chosen by the Team Captains – Meredith and Paul. The line up for the photos shows behind every girl her opponent for the day, and those boys were more determined than ever to get us….and…they did, winning 4 out of the 7 matches! Well done to the guys! My only excuse for the girls’ performance is that we were very distracted - not only with the caddies’ sense of humour but also with all the animals we saw in the hills that frame the course, including elephants, zebras and wilderbeast.

Best score of the day was Eddy who had a fantastic score of 40 points putting him ahead of everybody in the “Game Park Guru” competition and making him gain positions in the overall. Congratulations Eddy!

It was again a hot day in this lovely part of South Africa and, being the last day at Sun City, people wanted to make the most of it. After the game some people went on safari and saw many of the animals we saw from the golf course but at much closer range. This safari was like an appetizer for what is coming up tomorrow when we move again and this time to the Kruger National Park. Others enjoyed a relaxing day in the hotel pools while drinking delicious Margaritas! Not a bad way to spend the rest of the day either! A group dinner in Santorini’s - one of the many restaurants the Sun City has to offer- finished off this full-on day.  Big moving day tomorrow and yes…early start again but I am sure it’ll be all worth it!

View of the 9th green on the Gary Player course

And then…there it was…Sun City!

Today's winners - Reg, Fi, Eddy and Meredith

Yesterday was a huge day - after golf and travelling all day we finally arrived at Sun City at nearly midnight. The sleepy ones woke up as we started to see what this place is all about – ostentaciousness, luxury, statues, chandeliers, marble –you name – it’s all here! After checking in, we staggered to our rooms (and I must mention that  elephant tusks decorate the elevators - surely they are not real!) . This morning's game was at one of the 2 championship courses Sun City has –The Lost City course. It was quite a contrast to the courses we have played so far. This course is Gary Player's version of a desert golf course. The course design is interesting and challenging from the get go, but the most challenging hole on the course is the Par 3 where the crocodile pit is! Seven of them live in that area and, believe me, you don’t want to try to retrieve your golf ball if you hit it there!

The team challenge was the infamous ‘pink’ ball comp. Only that this time we used a logo ball...but the torture was the same! 3 out of the 4 balls made the entire 18 holes and it was an unheard score of 42 points that won the competition. Not surprisingly, 2 of those  team members had 42 points each with Reg taking victory over Ed on a count back. Ed was the real winner because he gets a good amount points for the aggregate competition and only gets 2 strokes deducted from his handicap. Reg gets 4 strokes taken of him…and once again, just in time, for the girls vs. boys rematch…not very clever!

A well celebrated birthday also took place today. It was Stephen S’s birthday and we met at the Royal Suite (yes, the suite is bloody amazing!), kindly allocated to the Gilson’s by the hotel. We celebrated with nibbles, cake, champagne, and a taste of Fiona’s skills as a piano player (not bad at all!). We finished the day with a group dinner at one of the many restaurants in this absolutely massive complex only comparable to a “mini Vegas”.

A much earlier start tomorrow will see the girls and boys playing a "Ryder Cup-style" stableford match against each other. The captains are Paul and Meredith and the teams will be nicely uniformed in golf shirts and hats kindly offered to us by the resort.  Once again winning will be priceless!

View of the 18 hole with the Palace int he background

A day of big adventures

Ed and Reg on the signature hole 7th

Contribution to the blog by Paul Van Ryn:

Today had an early start leaving the Fancourt Resort at 6:30 am for an hour bus trip to Pinnacle Point Golf Course. This course was on cliff tops and very challenging with many golf balls lost -  over the side is the Indian Ocean! This course was completed in 2007 and whilst is currently unrated it is expected soon to be included in the list of the World’s Top 100 golf courses, once sufficient analysts have rated the course. This would likely make it the top rated course in South Africa.

Today’s leading players were Roni, with 38 points and Stephen T. with 33 points on a count back over Biv. Great scores considering we have gone back to our original golf link handicaps to start the second leg of the golf tour called the “Game Park Guru”. The weather was very friendly and calm considering that the course will be very tough in windy conditions. After finishing golf and a quick bite and drink we took our bus to George Airport for our flight to Johannesburg and then 2 hour bus trip to Sun City – our venue for the next 3 nights. All didn’t go to plan as we had a 3 hour wait due to a booking mix up, providing time to write post cards, post on blogs, play cards or go to the café.

The shot that made Paul famous! 

Contribution to the blog by Meredith:

Best shot I’ve seen on tour so far....

The wind was kind to us at Pinnacle Point which made it easier to appreciate the spectacular scenery of a golf course perched on an ocean cliff side surrounded by appalling unsympathetic architecture…OK back to the shot...

7^th PAR 3 – 111 meters where the tee and the green are completely separated by a ravine, the carry is about 100 meters and the pin was at the front. Paul cracked a pitching wedge long into the back greenside bunker then flew out of the bunker long back into the ravine. The ball ended up suspended 15cm up in the branch of a shrub. Undeterred, Paul played his third shot delicately balanced on the hill to within 3 feet and dropped the putt for bogie 4 – A Masterpiece!

View of the 18th hole

Contribution by Biv:

AS good aussies do they turned the wait into a bit of a party and took over the lounge offered to us by the Fancourt Resort. There was a “Nearest the Pin’ competition about the total weight of the luggage – 17 people, 14 golf bags & 15 suitcases…take your bet! A previous golf winner  proved to be very good in other calculations too! It was  Helen, who after a late change won the bet just 4 kg over the weight of 428kg! Well done Helen!!! Edddy shared some of his knowledge about Sun City with us - sounds like a really exciting and exotic place!

View of the 12th hole

The complete package

Helen O'R., Paul Van R., Meredith R., and Lindy H., at the 'drinks party

The Fancourt Resort has everything a golfer could wish for. From 2 spectacular golf courses to an amazing spa centre, tennis courts, bike rides, sushi bar, yes…a bar too…etc. So, today, some of the fanatic but a bit weary golfers in the group couldn’t resist the temptation to play the second course at this resort (the Montagu course) while others decided to take it easy and make the most of the facilities the resort has to offer. The weather was perfect for any activity!

Montagu is a completely different course than the Links. This course is a parkland style course that sits amongst a residential development with very beautiful and interesting architecture. There is also such a great variety of birds here that a guide to identify the different kinds has been developed by the resort. Some of the holes on the course have water in play and the fairways can be quite undulating. The fact that the course is so stunning and well manicured  doesn’t take anything away from its difficulty - after all just like the Links, it is also a Championship course. The only downside of this course is that if you were to play it regularly, you will be changing your shoe spikes quite often, since the walks between greens and tees are quite long – so much so that for a normal round here they allow 4:50 min!

An interesting finishing hole with a creek running in front of the green makes the perfect entertainment for the 19^th hole spectators who can sit and enjoy a cold beer in the well located terrace of the club house! Nothing better that to see other golfers suffering too when their ball goes in the water!

The report from the massages and beauty treatments were good and, overall, regardless of what you did everyone had a good time. We finished the day with a ‘drinks party’ at the O’Reilly’s room before heading for an early dinner.

Tomorrow, we’ll be leaving the hotel very early to play Pinnacle Point – one of the most scenic courses you can find. After golf we’ll be flying to our next destination Sun City! Can’t wait!

Perfect weather and lovely course, what else can we ask for?

The real deal

Robyn, Ed, Marsh and Biv -note the size of her caddie

The Links Course at Fancourt lived up to its reputation as a true golf challenge. It was built as a dramatic links style course (albeit 20 kilometres inland from the ocean!) on a flat piece of land that used to be an airstrip. Gary Player moved an incredible amount of dirt and created an amazing series of windswept, grass-covered dunes. This is a very unforgiving golf course that needs precision off the tee and the right club selection into the demanding greens. The fact that is quite exposed to the wind increases the challenge and not even the great knowledge of our caddies telling us where, how and sometimes what club to hit helped most of us! The golf course is fair and its unique revetted style of bunkering makes it quite fascinating. Here is where the 2003 Presidents Cup was played. It was a special event because the Team Captains were legends of the game, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. The event featured players of the calibre of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els (probably South Africa’s favourite golfer), Phil Mickelson and others.

The caddies always add to the entertainment - some of them have interesting personalities and are good story tellers, some other ones are shy and quiet and some other ones are quite bossy! Overall, they do know these courses better than any of us so their advice is usually accurate and well received. It is just a matter of doing what they say!

Today we saw a new winner for whom her caddie became –according to her own words – ‘the second love of her life’! For Helen O’Reilly her caddie was the extra help she needed and he helped her navigate the course without getting into too much trouble. She won the individual with 40 points. Congratulation Helen! Her strong performance wasn’t enough to help her team though! The winning team came from a good combination of players with a total of 95 points – they were: Ed, Marshall, Biv and Robyn.

After golf we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and a casual dinner. As much as we have enjoyed the different courses and the tour itself, the ‘good old’ bodies are starting to show signs of tiredness so a good night’s sleep was very welcome.

Gary Player's version of Hell Bunker

OMG!

"Top Roomies" - Stephen t. & Paul Van R.

So we drove 5 hours to get to our next golf course, Simola Golf Club - needless to say we were all getting pretty restless on the bus. As we approached drove inland from the the ocean we started climbing up the mountain for about 6 or 7km through what looked like quite a poor area. At the top of this mountain we found an elegant housing complex with security gates. Rapidly we jumped in our golf carts (compulsory, later on you will understand why!) and headed to the first tee. And that's when we went OMG......from there on the beauty of the scenery and the golf holes was literally breathtaking.

Not being a golf expert but having played many courses in my life, I have to say I have never seen anything like this! The golf course was built on the side of the mountain and it has some downhill holes where the hang time for the shots feels like a few minutes long! Designed by Jack Nicklaus, this golf course is totally playable and fair despite its 'craziness'. The precisely located bunkers will catch errant shots and you need to know how to read the mountain-side greens - they can be quite deceptive and fool you into believing it is an uphill putt when it is totally the opposite.

It was the "4BBB Roomies" competition and the second last round of the the "Garden Route Road Runner" event for the tour's first half. So,with such an interesting course, who dominated the field? Well I believe the skills acquired playing the Old Course at The National will serve you well on a course like this.  And yes, it was a proud National member, Paul Van Ryn, who claimed victory (with 43 points on his own) with a total of 51 points with his roomie partner, Stephen T. Excellent score boys and a well deserved win!

We arrived quite late to the Fancourt Resort but, even at night, it looks stunning. After a quick bite in the restaurant everyone headed to the rooms for a much needed rest.

The ladder has changed and tomorrow we will be playing the Links Course at Fancourt. this is where the new, artificially high handicaps will be needed! This course was the host of the Presidents' Cup a couple of year ago and promises to be quite challenging. With the "Garden Route Road Runner" title up for grabs and a few people cramped at the top of the ladder, the competition will be fierce!

View of some of the holes of the Simola GC taken from the Club House