Number 40. Go on a safari in Africa

I have always dreamed of going on a safari, after how amazing my trip had been so far I started to worry that it might be a bit of a let down...especially after walking a cheetah through the forest for a few hours, but it was a truly amazing experience.

We were booked into fancy accommodation at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve which is about a three hour drive from Cape Town (though we drove through from Plettenberg Bay) and has 54,000 hectares of land over which the animals roam free. We chose this Reserve largely for that reason, the animals are not fed, so they are really only 1 step away from wild. Sanbona also has the only "Free, self-sustaining" White Lions in the world.

When we first arrived at the gate of the Sanbona reserve we were given a map and directed down to the welcome lodge. In hindsight we should have asked if the little mini-van could come to the front gate to collect us, since we broke our hire car, but then we would have missed the welcome lodge which started to give us a idea of what we were in for. The drive was alright, a few patches that our little Kia Piccanto struggled with (e.g. where we broke it), but a 4WD would have handled it easily. The welcome lodge was gorgeous. It was the kind of building where I had always imagined you would wait for your safari to begin. A lot of wood, spectacular views, a pot bellied fire place and a host to serve you a hot cup of coffee or tea on arrival.

We waited a little while for the minivan to arrive which would take us to our accommodation and then we were off. Before we had reached any of the accommodation the minivan came to a halt to allow us time to look at the two cheetahs that were running across the road - sheer luck that we saw them on the way in - and we thought it boded well for the rest of our stay. We drove past the first accommodation, the Tilney Manor, the second accommodation the Gondwana Lodge which is mainly for families and then arrived at our destination - The Dwyka Tented Lodges.

Sanbona calls the Dwyka Tented Lodges "secluded luxury" and it is an understatement. It is a series of 10 tented individual lodges, and a main building, which are located in a horshoe-like rock formation in the Karoo desert. The scenery is visually stunning and the luxury is complete.

When we arrived at the main building of the Dwyka lodges we were greeted by a charming concierge, Bernard, and handed a steaming hot face-cloth by one of the waiters (bearing in mind that we were there in the middle of winter and it was freezing!). We then headed into the main building where we stopped in front of the fire and Bernard served us a hot chocolate with a touch of Amarula and gave us a few general details about what was happening for the rest of the day. The first game drive would be at 3pm so we were free to take our lunch when we were ready and freshen up in our rooms before we left. We decided to take our lunch before heading down to the rooms... we ate breakfast at around 6:30 am and we were starving!

The lunch was incredible; I chose the butternut pumpkin soup with fresh baked bread for entree, a chicken and avocado burger with a trio of home-made sauces for main, and then the creme caramel for desert. This was a few weeks ago now and I still remember the menu in intimate detail which should give you an idea of just how amazing the food was!

Once we could no longer eat we were shown to our rooms to quickly change and get ready for the game drive. Bernard showed us around the room, explaining where everything was, and how everything worked. He mentioned that if we needed anything, even at 3am, we should pick up the phone and let them know.

Before long we were being introduced to our guide, Martin, who would be driving us for the four game drives that we would do during our 2 night stay. He explained a few details of the reserve and showed us where we could find the blankets and then we were off. It was amazing! The vehicle seats 6 people up high behind the driver though there is room for a 7th to sit in the front of the jeep behind the glass windshield.

In our Jeep we were lucky that it was only my friend and I and one other couple who were from Cape Town. Martin asked us which animals were on our wish list and after thinking for a moment we rattled off the names of most of the big animals, which brought a smile to Martin's face, I suspect he had heard the same list a dozen times already.

We had been driving for less than 5 minutes when we spotted a small herd of Eland which is the largest antelope in the African continent and are very impressive. Minutes later, mostly due to the terrible noise they make, we spotted some baboons in the distance on the cliffs around our lodges. We continued on and spotted both mountain and plains Zebra, Klipspringer's, and then through sheer luck I spotted the two Cheetah's that we had seen earlier. They had covered a massive distance in the time it had taken us to eat lunch and they appeared to be hunting...though they were miles away and the wind was going in the wrong direction so they stood very little chance.

We watched them until they disappeared from view and then drove down to the big damn / lake where we saw two hippos floating around. Once they disappeared from site we moved a little further along the lake and Martin got out to set up a little table at the front of the Jeep, he spread out a table cloth and put out a few little dishes with different nibbly foods, then poured us each a drink. The waiter had asked us what we would like for a "sun-downer" so I had a glass each of one of our favourite white wines.

It was a perfect moment, sipping wine, standing next to a big lake in the middle of the mountains. Real African-style wilderness!

We returned to the lodge to be greeted with another steaming hot face-cloth and hot chocolate with Amarula and advised that we should feel free to take our time and come back to the main room for dinner at any time. We went to freshen up and then decided to take our dinner right away so that we could relax and enjoy our gorgeous room. Dinner was even more spectacular than lunch and the chocolate mousse / meringue combination for desert was a taste sensation! We went via the bartender on the way back to our rooms who graciously agreed to whip us up a few cocktails even though they weren't on the menu. Then we turned in for the night...after a nice hot bath and enjoying our cocktails in some of the most comfortable bathrobes in the universe.

The next morning our wake-up call came through at 6:30, we bounced out of bed to get ready and went up to the main building for a mixture of a continental buffet, and for myself the pancakes... yum. By 8am we were back in the Jeep...delighted that Martin had arranged hot water bottles as well as the fleecy blankets for our chilly morning drive. We drove for a while before we were lucky enough to see three giraffes enjoying a morning snack... really close!

When we arrived back after the morning drive we were told that since it was such a beautiful sunny day we would be welcome to take our lunch in our rooms if we chose to. We were given a menu and advised to just call to tell them what we wanted and what time we wanted it... again the meal was stunning and we ended up falling asleep and waking up only minutes before we were due to be leaving again! That evening was a real treat, we saw more eland and wildebeests, a whole herd of elephants, and then on the way back out of the darkness we somehow spotted a White Lion cub. We saw both the mother and her two cubs who all actually came out onto the road around us. For more detail on this amazing experience please click here.

We came back a little late and my friend and I were both a little worried because we had booked an hour long massage treatment... not that we needed to worry... Bernard repeating his mantra of "we never hurry our guests here" and asking us if we would like to freshen up before we went in for our treatment. The massage was stunning and the rooms were so beautifully decorated. All this luxury followed again by a wonderful dinner and then we were fast asleep!

The next morning was our final game drive. We began with a large group of springbok's, who are unbelievably cute when they spring, and then we were lucky enough to find two white Rhino. We watched them for most of the morning before we had to head back to finish packing and leave. When we left and said goodbye to our waiters, and to Martin and Bernard, it really felt more as though we were saying goodbye to people who had become friends in the two nights we had been there. The rooms were luxurious and beautiful, the facilities were amazing, the landscape is incredible, but the staff there really made the experience. I can't speak highly enough of them or of our time at Sanbona and we definitely intend to return...maybe when the little White Lion cubs have had time to grow up!

In terms of my first Safari experience... wow! We had spent so much time up close and personal with these animals in a more captive environment so it was amazing to see them in the wild living as they are supposed to. They also look different in their natural setting, perhaps its the way they blend in with the landscape or that they look more at ease, but I think if everyone had the opportunity to see these animals this way they would have a better understanding of why it's such a shame to lock them up in zoo's.

Overall I was blown away by the whole experience and I can't wait to go again or maybe even take on Kruger National Park!

Plettenberg Bay & Oudtshoorn (part 1)

Cape Agulhas

We were up bright and early on the morning of Monday the first of August... and when I say bright and early I mean it! We were on the road by 7am, which is early when you are on vacation, headed for our first destination of the day: Cape Agulhas.

Cape Agulhas is the southernmost tip of the continent of Africa and the exact spot where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. It's a fairly cool place to be able to say you have been too! It's also pretty much the only thing that is happening in Cape Agulhas... on our way in we saw quite a few houses, some guest houses, a petrol station, a police station and what may or may not have been a pub... that was pretty much it! A very quiet spot which is perhaps due to the massive storms that rage around the coast and can produce waves of up to 30 meters high. It is an area which is notorious for ship wrecks and due to the conditions is not necessarily the ideal place to settle!

It is, however, beautiful. The light house that stands high above the tide is a stunning landmark against the brutal looking cliffs that edge the water. The Cape Agulhas lighthouse was the third light house to be built in South Africa, completed in 1848, and it is the second oldest which is still in operation. More information on the Cape Agulhas lighthouse can be found here.

We arrived nice and early which meant that we were the only people there and we mucked around taking a few photo's before taking a moment to soak up where we were and find a way to mesh our location on a map with what we were actually seeing. Both of us were thinking the same thing though we didn't talk about it till we were back in the car. What would it have been like hundreds of years ago when the dutch first arrived to have sailed around that point? What must they have thought of the land and coastline they were seeing?

*****

Plettenberg Bay

We reached our accommodation in Plettenberg Bay in the early evening and after checking in, checking out our suite and bbq area, we jumped back in the car and drove into town to pick up a few things at the supermarket and grab dinner. We were originally planning on having a braai at the acommodation but we were both so tired that we opted for Spurs instead - a local restaurant chain specializing in burgers and steaks - and ate until we could barely move!

Up bright and early again the next morning we went to visit Monkeyland. We had hoped to be able to touch the monkeys (we heard stories....) but it was set up as a sanctuary to dehumanize the monkeys and make them wild again so we understood when they said we couldn't. We paid for our tour (guided tours only) and sat down to wait. When it became clear that our tour was going to include some (4) particularly obnoxious and loud children we returned to the front desk and politely asked if we could wait till the next tour. Thankfully they said it wasn't a problem so we ordered a cappuccino and waited for the next one...as it turned out we were the only people on the next tour so we had a guide to ourselves... perfect!

I was a little fascinated by the guide. He started out the tour by reeling off these huge portions of information in such a way that you knew he had memorised a script and given the same speech a dozen times a day for years. By the time we had gone a little way in, we started asking questions because that's who we are, he started to relax a lot.

He was a mine of information having worked at the place for 4 years and he was actually really funny. The tour was supposed to take an hour and an hour and a half later we were back at the front gate having seen and taken pictures of some of the cutest monkeys. Many of the monkey's there had originally been pet monkeys. People find them really helpful pets for the first 5 years but once they mature they become like all other monkeys marking their territory and so on. Apparently most people don't like the smell of monkey pee in their bedroom...It begs the question though, if you are going to get a monkey as a pet, why wouldn't you do some research about that sort of thing?

We wandered back to the car and decided to check out a

place called Tenikwa, which was a wild cat sanctuary right around the corner from Monkeyland, we hadn't seen any brochures for it so we had no idea what it would be like but as it was only a 5 minute drive we figured it was worth a look. We were glad we had chosen it in the end as we were lucky enough to fill a spot on their daily walk with the baby cheetahs.

We began with a tour of the sanctuary, looking at the various big cats, from the African wild cat to the Rooi cat and the Leopard. The Leopard being the one cage you are not allowed to go inside. We hadn't yet finished the tour when we were collected by our guide and taken for a brief safety video. There are a number of rules when you walk with a cheetah. The first thing to remember is that the Cheetah is actually walking you and not the other way around. You are warned not to look into the eyes of the cheetah as that is a challenge and they will feel the need to dominate / fight you. You may not pull on the leash but rather if the

Cheetah starts to run you must run as well. You are not to crouch down in front of the cheetah as they will either view you as a new game or as lunch. After the guide was certain that we were clear on the rules we were escorted back to the baby Cheetah's cage and handed a leash.

We walked them through the forest for almost 2 hours, even though the brochure said the tour was only 1 hour, it was only a small group of us and we were all pretty good at doing what we were told! We took turns walking the Cheetah and taking loads of pictures and video footage of the experience. It was amazing.

We started out so nervous but by the end of the time we were feeling a lot more confident about handling these gorgeous cats. They were so cute and fluffy. The thing we were most surprised about was the way the traveled. They would run for a few seconds, or walk for a minute, and then flop on the ground for double the time. The guide said it was because it was an unusually hot winter and the heat really tired them out. When we finally said goodbye to the babies, Zeus and Gabriel, we stopped in quickly with the grown up Cheetah's.

My first thought was that I was really happy we had been walking with the babies.... they were so much less intimidating than these massive beasts in front of us! The Cheetah politely stretched out for us so that we could stroke her and snap a few quick pics with the guide assuring us that as long as we followed the rules she wouldn't attack. I was just concerned about the odds... 1 giant female Cheetah lying down, 1 even larger male Cheetah wandering around behind us. If those Cheetah's wanted us for lunch we were, quite literally, toast.

Finally we were escorted back to the main building where they provided us with an ice-cold drink and a plate of nibbley foods, which we were so grateful for after our two-three hour experience, especially since we had forgotten to eat lunch! More information on the Tenikwa Awareness Centre can be found here.

Then we were home for a braai and then a grateful flop into bed for a good nights sleep before another busy day!

*****

Oudtshoorn

We were up bright and early (again.) to head to Oudtshoorn which was a few hours away from where we were staying. There was a lot there we wanted to do and this was the only chance we were going to have to do it so we wanted to make the most of the day. We were going quite nicely until we hit a detour that took us onto a dirt road for around 100km. It was horrible. It seemed that most of the people flying past us were driving 4WD's - they managed to ford the river quite nicely too - and the stones flying up at us did eventually crack the windscreen.

By the time we got to Oudtshoorn the car was filthy. Positively caked in mud. We drove straight to our first point of interest, the Cango Caves, and the car guard took one look at the car and offered to wash it for us!

To go into the Cango Caves you also have to go on a guided tour. The Cango Caves are a series of limestone caves that were first discovered in 1780 by a local farmer named Jacobus Van Zyl, who I personally think must have been a complete lunatic to climb down into the belly of those caves with nothing but a candle light. Especially since the first chamber he went into was roughly the size of a football field - candle light just doesn't spread that far! For a time the Cango Caves were used to hold concerts, the incredible acoustics and the ability to seat around 2000 people made it the perfect location, but due to the damage done to the caves by visitors these concerts were stopped. More information on the Cango Caves can be found here.

For our trip we were lucky enough to be given an English speaking guide who was absolutely hilarious... called me "Miss Australia" for the entire trip. The Cango Caves are incredible so we spent half our time marveling at the sheer size and beauty of it all and the other half laughing at the antics of our guide!

The next stop was the Cango Ostrich Farm which was interesting. Again this was guided tour only and to be honest it was pretty expensive for what it was. First we were led through the incubation rooms and then out to meet face to face with some Ostrich where we learned that the brain of an Ostrich is roughly the same size as a teaspoon, in fact their eye is bigger than their brain, so they are huge AND stupid...not a good combination in my books! From that point everything really felt like a photo opportunity and it all happened pretty fast. We were allowed to sit on, or ride if you didn't weigh too much, an Ostrich - unfortunately Karel was just over the weight limit (apparently you have to be a lot on the skinny side) and I have a slight paranoia about giant birds so we opted to sit only rather than ride. Then they demonstrated how strong an Ostrich egg is by having us stand on a pile of them... I swear I heard a crack!

We took a break for lunch in the Oudtshoorn township where we enjoyed some delicious calamari and a feta and avocado pizza...yum....

Onward! Click here for part 2

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