&BEYOND SAFARI - SOUTH AFRICA
&Beyond Safari - South Africa - Luxury Travel Magazine
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The Big and the Little Of It | |||||
| By: Sandra Nori, Issue 42 – Autumn 2010 | |||||
| (&Beyond Safari – South Africa) | |||||
| SAFARI NOVICE SANDRA NORI HEADED OFF ON A 15-DAY, THREE LODGE SOUTH AFRICAN SAFARI WITH ONE CLEAR AIM; TO SEE BIG CATS. SHE SAW LIONS, CHEETAHS, LEOPARDS, ELEPHANTS, RHINOCEROS AND HIPPOPOTAMUS BUT SHE HADN’T EXPECTED TO FIND HERSELF SO FASCINATED BY DUNG BEETLES. | |||||
| It’s easy to see why some people can’t stop at just one African safari. When you’re there you hear stories of people booking their next safari before they’ve even stepped off the continent for their homeward journey. And there are stories of people so transformed by their safari experience, they throw in high-powered jobs to lead very different lives back home. For me too, the experience was absorbing, addictive and genuinely transformational. As the aircraft landed at Ulusaba airstrip in the Sabi Sands on the first day I was excited to see, before even setting foot on the ground, a lone wildebeest standing at the side of the runway staring intently and fearfully as we touched down. As we taxied to the terminal (a beautiful African themed, open planned, well appointed lounge) I understood why the wildebeest was separated from its herd. As it came more fully into view I noticed its front left leg was dangling from below the knee. I knew that it would not survive its first encounter with a predator. It was an instant reminder of the unforgiving nature of the wild that I had come to see. It was not long on our 30-minute drive on the way to Exeter River Lodge in the jeep before we encountered a troop of baboons and duly waited for them to cross the road, the alpha male putting on a display, the juveniles playing, mothers climbing and jumping from trees with their tiny offspring happily clinging to their backs. Kudu and impala, quiet and watchful, were also around in abundance. No fences here. We were afforded a friendly welcome at &Beyond Exeter River Lodge with wash towel and fresh juice while I checked in at reception and then I was escorted to the communal guest area undercover but open planned al fresco eating area, lounge and bar with a splendid panorama of the bush beyond and the running river only metres away. Lunch was being served on a shaded verandah with a refreshing breeze, even closer the river. A herd of elephants had come through the day before during lunch. Today the vervet monkeys were jumping around clambering onto the roof, putting us all into good humour. They were keeping their distance but eyeing off chances to grab our food, obviously smart enough to know from previous experience that it was worth a try. We had arrived at the lodge at 2.30pm, had lunch, got changed and left for the evening game drive at 4.00pm; my first game drive of the trip. By 7.00pm that evening I had seen four out of the big five, and so much more. I met my guide, who was carrying a rifle, and our tracker who sat on a specially constructed seat on the left hand side on the bonnet, and was given some basic rules before leaving. I was asked what I’d like to see. As I settled into my elevated seat, I was excited but passive. I had not yet made the transition from spectator to participant. The jeep had just turned the corner from the porte cochere of the reception area when our guide stopped and listened; the birds were “alarming calling”. The impalas had stopped grazing and had turned heads over shoulders looking in the direction of the alarm. “I wonder why they are doing that?” asked the guide. “Let’s follow up!” It was at this moment that our passivity was converted. We became active participants in the mission to find our game. Over the next two weeks we would follow-up on many such hunches. The consensus of the six guests on board was that our priority was to find the cats so we started our first game drive, looking for spoor, making radio contact with the other vehicles, trying to discover if they had seen any animal movements that would suggest a predator might be coming our way. Stopping every now and then because there were more alarm calls from the birds, the guide periodically jumping out and checking spoor only to find they did not help complete the jig saw. We let it go and changed direction as we were not able to find any more evidence that a cat might be close by. We were soon distracted by a troop of warthog racing away with their shiny little bottoms and tail sticking straight up. We also saw wildebeest, impala, kudu, champagne birds with their characteristic “pop”, black bellied bustard, lilac crested breasted roller and much more. Every tree and plant of interest was explained as we kept driving. We saw all manner of birds and eagles, sometimes flying just over our vehicle with their underbelly only metres above us. ? We had been hurtling along for a while, we had just gone over a hill and rounded the corner, when out of nowhere there were two white rhino just 30 metres away. We were instantly captivated by their 70 cm or more long horns. According to our guide the long horns were quite unusual as they normally get worn down. It is not until you come across the rhino up close that you comprehend their sheer size and prehistoric build. But we were on a mission and we had to move on, the guide obviously had a plan. We kept getting waylaid because so much of the wildlife just kept presenting itself to us. A ball the size of a rock melon in the distance caught my attention, it was moving… “Quick, stop. What’s that?” I asked. It was a dung beetle in its handstand pose, industriously using its hind legs to roll the ball up the slight slant of the road and onto the grass. We had quick look… the guide assuring us we would see many of them on our journey. It was best to keep moving. We kept driving, we went off road onto a small track, negotiated a slight curve and there they were, we stopped no more than one and half metres from them. Lions. Bloated, panting in a deep sleep that only those who have gorged on 30 kilos (each) of kill can enjoy. One of the females raised her head toward us, barely bothering to notice, looked and slumped back to sleep. They had been tracked by another vehicle. All the guests were in awe. What had they killed? When had they killed it? How long would they sleep for? Would they go for a kill while so sated? Was this the whole pride, was the male in his prime ……all was explained. They were part of a pride; the male had joined in with three other males who were same litter siblings to form a coalition. The females preferred him because he was a “gentleman” compared to the three brothers; the other females of the pride were not there with him at this time. More importantly one of the other females had very young cub but they were not certain if she had introduced them to the pride. We moved on about 10 metres to a thicket, and a metre adjacent to the vehicle, barely obscured by tall grass, was a lioness, bloody mouthed, and demolishing a wildebeest rib cage. It was a sound that no city dweller could be prepared for; bones cracking as she chewed through them. This large female was so close to us, eating with calm enjoyment, not in the least threatened by our presence. My joy at spotting the tiniest seven-week-old cub with her was the stuff of long awaited heartfelt dreams for me. The little cub was minute compared to its mother and performing all the cub antics, completely oblivious to the world around him. Our question had been answered; yes she had introduced the cub to the pride. The juxtaposition of the innocence of the cub and the rawness of its feeding mother was striking. We all felt extremely privileged to be witnessing this scene. We went down to the large waterhole where the hippopotamus were swimming. They came very close to us: swimming, submerging, and remerging closer and closer. We were served gin and tonics, Amarula liquor and nuts, snacks and biltong as the guide and tracker set up a table and tablecloth for us to enjoy a sundowner. As it became darker we moved off again, the tracker had a hand-held spot light and we made our way back to base. We saw more antelope, nocturnal birds, a genet and large, highly camouflaged owls. Finally some buffalo in the bush started following us. Day one was ending and we had done four of the big five. We arrive at Phinda Vlei Lodge on the &Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve. Encompassing 23,000 hectares of prime wilderness land in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, this reserve had different terrain, different specialties and different encounters to offer. Phinda is described as “Seven Worlds of Wonder”, because of its seven distinct habitats: woodland, grassland, wetland and forest interspersed with mountain ranges, river courses, marshes and pans. The Reserve also includes 1,000 hectares of Africa’s remaining rare dry sand forest. On the first afternoon drive, we followed a very large herd of elephants. We kept encountering them at different points along the drive, waiting for them to cross our path. When it seemed that the largest had gone by, an even larger one would come through. One male towered over the others. We waited for the young males that just followed a couple of hundred metres behind the herd. We spotted the matriarch. The guide gave us a detailed commentary on the individuals in the herd and the habits of the species. We came across them throughout the afternoon as they headed to the waterhole, as the guide had predicted. Again, we waited as they crossed, but by this time we had found out from other guides to look out for the day old new born. We could see glimpses, but the mother kept stalling, one last munch on a bush, turning around, moving back, moving closer to the road, changing her mind…finally the crossing…as always worth the wait…this tiny creature so minuscule compared to its mother, staying close or between her legs, perfectly competent, keeping up. So precious. No one should think that these waits and tracking are boring. Every moment that passes as we wait or travel towards our goal is filled with other animals attracting our attention, other features of the landscape are being explained. Every moment is rich in detail and learning. We headed off to the Great Fish River Lodge at Kwandwe in the Eastern Cape. ?&Beyond Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is in the heart of South Africa’s malaria-free Eastern Cape near Grahamstown. 20,000 hectares of farmland in the Great Fish River region were restored and restocked with African wildlife and these days thousands of animals roam this reserve. It is very dry here, rockier, open terrain and it was in drought. The much-needed rains were late. Here it is known for cheetah but there was no shortage of lion sightings and giraffe, zebra, buffalo and black rhino. On our second day at this lodge we saw a lone male lion, part of a coalition that seemed to move between two prides. He had been calling (roaring) since about 5.00 am. He was close to the lodge. We had seen him with some females and sub-adult males the day before. By the next morning he was alone. He was calling for the females, one of whom had four lactating nipples. He was considered a good male in that he had shown patience with earlier litters. The females need the males to protect their territory and provide stability, but given a chance they give the males the slip. He was within 200 metres of the lodge. He started to walk and we followed. We had to do the usual detective work because we would seemingly lose him for 10 minutes at time only to find him again. I’m glad we did because the sight and sound of a male performing a heaving set of roars is imposing: it is not just the sound, it vibrates the surroundings. After impressing us with his roars he proceeded to unceremoniously do the longest and most voluminous marking we had seen. We eventually caught sight of the two sisters he had been calling and we were keen to see if we could find the den with the cubs. It was decided to give them some space and observe them from the other side of the river, high up about 600 metres away. We knew the direction they were walking in and roughly where they had to be because we had only just left them. They eluded us then the guide caught sight of them again. They had been there all the time. We left them to it. We resumed in the afternoon and soon came across the same two females as they walked along. They were slightly hidden from us by light bush but we were very close and the mother turned and snarled. “What’s that about, that’s unusual,” the guide said. Then we heard it. The tiny sound a very young cub makes to call its mother. The guide and I just looked at each other silently, huge rapturous, satisfied smiles on our faces: we had confirmed the location of her den. As for the male, later that evening we found him kilometers away by the airstrip by himself, as he had given up on trying to catch up with his other girls, heading towards the other pride where he also enjoyed conjugal rights. | |||||
| Details: | |||||
| &Beyond Safaris | |||||
| THE GAME DRIVES | |||||
| Donning the unflattering hiking gear, getting up no later than 5.00 am and facing the chill of the morning, each time I left my lodge to go to game drive I was fully conscious in a way you never are at home. In Africa, you take the time to reflect on the peace and optimism of morning. And then in the afternoon, after a long middle-of-the-day break, you want it all to get started again. You want the breeze in your hair, the jeep to take off and hurry to the next sighting. You eagerly ask, have the lions been seen? Any news of a kill? Maybe they will hunt tonight. And then, as the drive comes to a close at around 7.00 pm, you spend the last 30 minutes before the sun goes down craning to see anything you can. Even if by your 10th to 20th game drive you have seen every animal you wanted to see many times, you’re not bored. You consolidate your knowledge; you see an extra detail, a different stance or activity, a different mood. | |||||
| THE GUIDES | |||||
| The &Beyond trained guides have eyes in the back of their heads. They drive, they observe the sky, the landscape, the top of trees and bushes and check for tracks on the road. They carry books and other resource material and give guests a better look at some creature that has just been spotted. They even carry photos of individual animals on the reserve to check against a specific sighting. They are helpful and superbly informed. They patiently answer predictable questions. Most importantly they infuse guests with their own passion and commitment to the wild. | |||||
| THE LODGES | |||||
| I visited three game reserves and stayed at a different & Beyond lodge at each reserve. While each was different, there was a consistency to them in design and basic layout. There is a central point that serves as an indoor/outdoor dining area and a shaded verandah or deck, which is always well positioned for a great view. Each had a bar, a lounge and/or reading area. Each room has its own plunge pool, indoor and outdoor showers and large indoor sunken baths. Each had large plush beds with expansive views. The food was excellent and varied: champagne picnics, dinner in the boma accompanied by staff performing traditional singing and dance. At all times guests have their needs met by superbly trained, friendly, well informed staff. | |||||
| &Beyond Exeter River Lodge | |||||
| &Beyond Kwandwe Great Fish River Lodge | |||||
| &Beyond Phinda Vlei Lodge | |||||
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