april 2011
My 3 week trip to South Africa finished with a 4 day Safari in the Eastern Cape split between two game reserves.
The first reserve was Amakhala game reserve which is a really easy to find as it is just off the N2. I had the pleasure of staying at two different lodges whilst there. The only problem was the Eastern Cape was having its heaviest rains in 5 years!
I made it up to Woodbury lodge and was warmly greeted by the manager. The suites are great with your own private deck for viewing. At this stage my biggest worry was getting out on the game drives with the wet weather. I met my rangers Amy and Claire and they weren’t worried at all! Their attitude was “I am game if you are” We threw on our rain proof gear and headed off.
I soon realised I had been worrying about nothing. The rain had brought on new grass which had brought out the animals. Straight off we saw a ‘tower’ of Giraffe, a herd of zebra and two fabulous rhino! Though it was wet we had a great laugh and had lots of sightings.
That night we had a great dinner around a big table with everyone at the lodge. The food was amazing and maybe we had too much wine but we were in bed early enough for our morning drive. The morning was a little wet but not as bad as the day before and the reserve was so green which was great for the grazing animals. Again lots of giraffe and zebra but also a lot of different antelope which I had never seen before such as the Eland.
That afternoon I transferred to Amakhala Safari lodge and to my new ranger. It was only 20mins down the road so not too much of a drive at all. The best thing was the rain had stopped, the sun had appeared and it was a beautiful day. I quickly dropped my bags in my room, met my fellow guests and off we headed on the next game drive. By some strange coincidence they were all Irish like me so we had loads to talk about.
Again lots of zebra and giraffe but a lot more as well. Ostrich, elephant, and rhino all with in the first hour of your drive, the best thing being they all had little babies with them. We spent a fair amount of time with them before heading off for our sun downers. We found a great spot for a drink looking down over the whole 7000 hectares – absolutely beautiful!
Again that night we had great meal as a group and a few glasses of wine too, well you know what they say about the Irish….
On the morning drive we decided to look for the Lions, Amakhala Reserve has only two at the moment but it is looking to increase its pride and are hoping that the lioness is already pregnant. It took us sometime to find them but when we found them they were very impressive. At one stage we lost the big male, as we looked for him we realised he was just 2m to our left beside the Land Rover. Once he knew we knew he was there he got up to show us his size and he was definitely a big boy and fairly intimidating!
After that bit of excitement we headed off to the flat plains to see what we could see. This was to be better sighting than the lions, well in my opinion anyway. We found a female cheetah with her 5 cubs all about 11 months old teaching them to hunt. They were play fighting and running after each other but at this stage they couldn’t really take anything down. The mother was definitely looking for lunch but there was nothing small enough around at the time. At one stage the young cubs did make a run for a Kudu but stopped after a disapproving look from their mother. They look so cute you nearly forget they are natural born killers, it was very tempting to get out of Land Rover and give them a pet, but I thought better of it!
I could have sat with them for hours but I had to head on to get to my next reserve. The last two days were great and I met some lovely people, it was going to be hard to beat!
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One of my favourite places visited on my recent trip to South Africa was Grootbos Nature Reserve.
I was expecting a very rustic lodge type property with basic service and how I was wrong! Grootbos is set within a 23 hectare Milkwood forest and it is stunning. It was originally a farm with some decrepit outbuildings subsequently bought by a Capetonian for a ‘project’ in the 90s and it has grown since then.
The first thing you notice is its very modern building hidden within the thick forest and the next is the view! Absolutely stunning views from the main building that look out over a huge vista of forest right down to a perfect beach.
I was met by 6 staff when I arrived, my bag was whisked off to my room and I was set down with a cold drink by the manager for a chat. This wasn’t special treatment this is just the standard. It was really just to get to know each other so he could make suggestions for my time there as there is quite a selection of free activities available. Once he explained how it all worked he introduced me to my guide Kevin who walked and talked me through all there is to do.
At Grootbos you can be as active or inactive as you like. My choices for that afternoon where a Social Responsibility tour (visiting there education centres), Ancient Caves tour or Horseback Riding and in the morning I would have the chance to go on the Forest & Fynbos walking tour, 4x4 Reserve Safari, Horseback Riding or Guided Beach Walk. As I was on a tight schedule I could only avail of an afternoon activity so I opted for the Cave tour.
In the meantime I was able to go to my room relax and then get some lunch. The villas are awesome! Huge villas with separate living room, bedroom, dressing room and big bathroom, though the best part is the deck with uninterrupted views equalling the ones from the main building. I was able to lie on my day bed on the deck and have a little doze before lunch.
Lunch is served in the main building with a set menu. First course is a huge buffet of meat, salad, cheeses, bread, pasta and anything else you can think of. I had a choice of four main courses, I chose steak in a three mushroom sauce with salad and spicy potato wedges – it was absolutely perfect. The experience being enhanced by one of the best views I have ever experienced. Brownies with ice cream with hot fudge sauce and I was ready for my caving experience.
I was lucky as I was the only one on the tour so it was just me and Kevin. We head down to the cliffs and caves in the area which is only 5 minutes away. He has huge amounts of information about the flora and fauna of the area and is able to take me right down into the caves. We had to climb down some fairly steep rocks and jump over large pools of water. It is amazing to see how the landscape has changed and he was able to show me different rock formations from 85,000 years ago. It reminded me of my youth with summers at the beach searching in rock pools for creatures as we discovered all sorts of starfish, mollusks and crabs. It was a really interesting tour, one of the best sights was a perfectly formed fossil of a bird in one of the rocks, we did have to time it right with the incoming tide to ensure we able to easily leave the case but it was worth it.
This is definitely a tour for the younger person due to the jumping over rocks and avoiding incoming waves, I was out of breath on the climb back up as well.
After all that I needed a rest and my villa deck was the perfect place, I was able to sit out and connect with Wi-Fi to catch up with emails from home.
As I was travelling alone the manager asked me if I fancied having dinner with him and a couple of drinks. This also gave me a chance to meet the owner too, who was eccentric to say the least. We had a great 6 course meal with lots of choice, mine was as follows:-
- Course 1 : Aubergine salad
- Course 2 : Falafel with mango salad
- Course 3 : Tom Yam soup
- Course 4 : Pineapple sorbet
- Course 5 : Braised pork neck
- Course 6 : Chocolate mousse with peanut fritter.
Every course was delicious!
I was sad I didn't get to spend more time at Grootbos and partake in some of the other activities, I will definitely be back and next time it will be the beach tour and shark diving!
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The BIG 5 in 2 Days
A quick coffee break and off to see my favourite sighting cheetah! Such a great sighting as she was just sitting on a termite hill looking for prey right in the middle of a clearing so got as close as 5m to her. Beautiful animal and such a bright coat though don’t think the warthog that she had spotted would think the same.
After lunch I travelled up to Simbambili Game lodge in the north but unfortunately the way the reserve is designed you have to leave through the southern gate and travel the whole way round to the northern but it’s not too bad at least the roads are good. My problem was that I had estimated a 90 min drive and 3.5 hours later I arrived. When travelling in these areas it definitely best to ask for local advice.
I was glad I made the trip as the game view I had at Simbambili Game Lodge was by far the best, though game viewing does have an element of luck. Great timing again I was just in time for lunch, this time I had elephants to watch in front of the lodge. Grant my guide came and sat with me and asked what I would like to see, chancing my arm I said leopard and cheetah but he just replied no problem! He didn’t disappoint at all, first thing we come across is a cheetah with a kill but unfortunately he was quite a distance in the bush and we decided to come back and track him later.
100 m down the road and we bump into a leopard! Unbelievable no.4 of the BIG 5! A young male just walking down the road looking for somewhere to lie down, we were able to go off road and follow him into the bush again only about 5m away from him. After I took about 1000 photographs we decided to head on and see what else we could find. One of the rarest sights is of wild dogs, no problem Grant found us a pack of 20!! This was an amazing sighting; people all over Sabi Sand were talking about it. They are not the most beautiful of animals but they are fun to watch. It really couldn’t get any better than this and it was time to head back to the lodge.
After the afternoons drive I was expecting the morning to be a little less exciting but even breakfast had great viewing. Right in front of Simbambili there is a watering hole and this morning there was a hippo and the lion pride! We had a quick breakfast and headed off to see the lion – no 5 of the BIG 5! Lots more sightings of zebra, elephant and buffalo throughout the morning and then just before we get back to the lodge we found two cheetah sunning themselves on the airstrip. A great end to my time in Sabi Sands.
All in all I was very lucky but with the help of some great rangers. A perfect start to my time in South Africa, the whole BIG 5 in two days!
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Part 1 - Hippo Stand-Off
As part of my education and training in Mahalatini Travel I flew out for a 3 week trip to South Africa and have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would have to say my favourite part of the trip was my time at Sabi Sands Game Reserve staying at two 5* star lodges.
First thing was to pick up my car at Kruger Mpumalanga Airport and then find my way to Newington Gate of Sabi Sands. The whole experience was really easy even though my Sat Nav didn’t work the roads were great and well sign posted. Two hours later and I was at my lodge.
My first night’s stay was at Exeter River Lodge which is fairly large luxury lodge but with only 8 suites. I was just in time for a beautiful lunch on the deck whilst watching the Vervet monkeys play in the trees beside me. A perfect ending to a long trip all the way from Ireland.
The afternoon drive starts at 4pm with drinks and time to meet the guests in your vehicle, I only had 4 in mine. First thing we bump is a whole herd of elephant, now I have seen them in zoos and circuses but really not the same as seeing them in the wild! Absolutely beautiful! We spend about 4 hours travelling around the park spotting hippo, impala, crocodiles and buffalo. Two of the BIG 5 on the first drive not bad! When we reach the lodge again we see that there is a candle lit dinner been set up for us beside the pool, very romantic! Pity I was having dinner with Craig my ranger!
Morning drives are an early start with a 5am wakeup call and 5:30 for coffee then off you go. The best thing about safari is that every drive is different. We turn the corner and we see a family group of rhino having their morning bath and scratch – that is No3 of the BIG 5! Unfortunately can’t stay long with them as a large bull elephant is not too happy with our presence as he is in musk and not in good form but no problem lots to see elsewhere. Craig is so knowledgeable about the area and it wildlife I don’t even feel tired with my early start. He knows of a buffalo herd in a nearby watering hole so we go investigate. So much going on around water in the game reserves and this one didn’t disappoint. A resident hippo was not happy these 200 buffalo were using his home as a rest stop so we sat for quite some time watching him try to scare away the buffalo but unfortunately there was too many for him to take on.
Continue to Part 2 of Adam's Adventure
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