Rhino Walking Safari, Kruger National Park

CSI Kruger

This post by Characterstays was recently published on Africa Geographic: www.africageographi.com/blog/a-rhino-walking-safari/.

We had a lot of anticipatory anxiety about our Rhino Walking Safari. Every day for several weeks we asked each other a new question, like “When they say Rhino Walking, do you think they actually try to get close to rhinos?” There were a lot of “What if?”s. The night before we depart on our walking safari our fears peak and we secretly hope for torrential rains that we might be spared from this adventure, all the while being able to complain loudly about the unfair weather. Finally dawn breaks crystal clear and a red sun rises over the dewy plain. Douw.

Nothing can quite prepare you for the experience of walking out in the wilds of Africa. Every sense lights up in primal re-awakening. Senses you never even knew you had become foregrounded in puckered awareness. I jump at every whisper and waft. One of the guest’s stomach growls and I almost hit the ground.

Then a funny thing happens and I quite quickly start to relax. A thorough assessment of our guide, Doug, and tracker Amos reassures me of their professionalism and respect for nature. They stay out in open areas and avoid the thickets, such that they may see far into the veld and avoid any potential danger. I start to enjoy the light, sounds and smells of the great outdoors. I use my newfound sensory awareness to appreciate every texture of the bush.

Doug and Amos are passionate about their environment and bring us into their world by creating 4 dimensional reconstructions of the events as told by the living crime scenes of our surrounds. They explain which type of animal left its trail, when it passed by this particular spot, in which direction it was headed, its size and gender. Even the sounds at different heights in the bush take on meaning and can alert one to past, present or future action. I begin to look at animal scat with new appreciation, as Doug seems to have majored in the subject. Both guides are footprints experts and can also point out nests and hollows were different birds and beasties spent the night. It is thoroughly enjoyable and informative and I almost forget I am out on foot in untamed Africa.

Suddenly Amos lifts both his hands, turns and motions in silence towards a quiet sound in the bush. We follow his gaze and see a mother and baby rhino to our right. “Shall we try to get closer?” says Doug. Well, I guess that’s one question answered. As I open my mouth to form a diplomatic reply, another guest nods enthusiastically and I close my mouth thinking “OK I had a whole different answer planned.” If there’s one thing for which I have a healthy respect, it’s for a mother with baby animal in the wild. We creep up downwind towards the mother and baby.

Once again I quickly become more confident and start snapping away happily with my camera. Then the smallest gust of wind swirls in a different direction and four things happen in quick succession. 1 The mother hears my camera shutter snap. Gulp. 2. She turns to look directly at us. Double gulp. 3. Doug holds up his hand, hisses “stop shooting” and 4. we all freeze. Time stands as still as we do, none of us even breathing. But with her phenomenal powers of hearing and smell, she is onto us, fully aware of our presence. With a snort and thrust of her head she moves between the baby and us, and then thankfully, they turn and trot off light footedly (and with surprising speed) into the bush.

No sooner have they turned than we realize that there are four more rhino moving towards us from the left. We have all been unaware of each other’s presence. We crouch down and pray that the winds don’t change. The four rhino move unconcerned past us, munching grass as they go. We slowly let out a long breath.

“Wasn’t that fantastic?!” exclaims elated Doug. “Errrr exhilarating” I reply, walking on wobbly legs until gradually I once again relax and with a spring in my step feel proud that we tracked our quarry so successfully.

To book for a Rhino Walking Safari, visit www.isibindi.co.za. 

Plains Tented Camp, Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga

Privilege within a Privilege

As one born of wanderlust, I have been fortunate to travel to many different parts of the world. I have travelled from Scandanavia to Singapore and San Francisco, have bowed my head in cathedrals and temples in Europe, have been up close to calving glaciers in Alaska, caught my breath at the edge of the Grand Canyon, paid homage to the source of the Nile at the border between Uganda and Rwanda, driven through indigenous forest of Sierra Leone during war and walked in peace on the white shores of Zanzibar. But I count this as one of the greatest privileges of a charmed life – sitting here writing these words from the deck of a canvas tent facing onto the Timbitene Plains in the Kruger National Park.

Larger than many countries, the Kruger National Park has been preserved for decades as a wildlife sanctuary, protected by strict conservation laws from incessant human development. From this very deck where I sit I can witness nature interact uninterrupted, often unaware of my presence from this low environmental impact tent. Plains Tented Camp is set within the Timbetene concession, a privilege within a privilege, as the general public do not have access to this quieter area of the park. There are no tarred roads here, no shops, no cell phone towers or wifi. This is as authentic a safari experience as it gets.

The tents are erected on wooden platforms, nestled into the forest at the edge of an open plain which looks out onto a waterhole. They are full canvas, though glamping this is none-the-less, with proper beds and full bathrooms. The towels are thick, white and the size of blankets. A beautiful copper basin is set against a gnarled trunk, and the shower has open netted canvas all around onto bush views. Earlier I watched a Paradise Flycatcher munch his breakfast right next to the tent while I showered.

Now from my nature-hide deck I look up again from my pontificating because of a loud trumpeting. A memory of elephants has just paraded in from the left to the waterhole in front of my tent for their midday drink. There is a small baby elephant, too short to reach the water though he tries to be big. His kindly mother gives him a gentle shower. The teenagers think this is great fun and spray themselves and each other.

I take a mental image of the row of fat elephant bums lined up at the water and store this gifted moment in my travel journal, with a sigh of silent gratitude for all that has been and that has led me here.

Accommodation Experience

In the words of MacBeth, “ ‘Twere a rough night”. At first I fell immediately to sleep after the exhilaration of the game drive and satisfying dinner. The bed here at Plains Tented Camp is so comfortable – the perfect softness, with white cotton linen and the cozy sense of being under canvas under African skies. 

But no sooner had I fallen asleep when I woke with a “What the ….?” to the unmistakable sounds of lions mating right near the tent. Now lion stamina is legendary, so this continued every 20 minutes well into the night. At one point I swear another lion couple started up in tandem further across the plains! 

Just as the lion couples finally finished their show, a particularly musical hyena takes over and enthralls me with his whooping howls. I take inventory of the other sounds, and heard a Night Jar, an owl and a suicidal antelope munching the grass along the side of my tent. Sleep is for the birds, I decide, this is all too exciting.

This is no bland hotel with time-limited experiences of canned game – here you really are on safari in the most authentic way, closely connected to the immediate wilds of Africa 24 hours of the day. I know from here on I will be well disappointed with a good night’s sleep in a concrete box-shaped room.

Towards morning though, sleep finally claims me. I wake again at 5am to the sound of endangered Ground Hornbills’ haunting dawn lament as they move slowly across the plains, foraging for their breakfast. “Doo doo doo-doo” calls one. “Dow dow dow dow-dow,” the other replies. I smile and snooze lightly, appreciating this gentle wake-up call. ‘ “Doo doo doo-doo,”…”Dow dow dow dow-dow” I whisper.

To listen to the recorded sound of Ground Hornbills, click on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDdfIUR0o_M&feature=youtu.be

Kurisa Moya Forest Lodge Cabins, Magoebaskloof

Where Ents Moot

Picture this view X 360 degrees and you will have some idea of life amongst the trees at Kurisa Moya Forest Lodge Cabins. This is an ancient forest where Ents Moot. At night, if you listen very well, you will hear them move about and speak in their whispery way – though not during the day when they stand tall and dignified.

In a not-so-rustic treehouse raised on stilts, within 422 hectares of indigenous forest, Kurisa Moya is a birders' paradise. Accredited Birdlife SA guide David Letsoalo will reveal the many wonders of this pristine location to you, including a Bat Hawk nesting site. Set between Tzaneen and Polokwane in the spectacular Magoebaskloof in Limpopo, there is plenty to do other than birding, such as hiking, elephant-back safaris, swimming in dams and waterfalls.

At night you can return to your private treehouse, with a fireplace, deck with Weber braai, and kitchen with a gas stove. Double glass doors and surround-windows allow one to feel connected to the forest at all times. The treehouse has a double bed, ensuite bathroom with shower, and mezzanine with twin beds under a glass apex. Everything is wooden, even the cutlery rack, made from a branch with helpful hooks. There is no electricity and the respect for the natural environment is clear in every aspect of the lodge.

Accommodation Experience

I go out at dusk to fetch something from the car. Suddenly the forest feels very much alive – there is movement in the trees and under the bushes right next to my feet. I have a sense that the forest has been waiting for humans to retreat and that my presence is revealing a different life at night. I have to stop myself from running across the little bridge across the stream back to the safety of my treehouse.

I am happy my house is on stilts and I light a fire to create a warm glow. As soon as I am settled in at the fire in the safety of this cosy space I am able to reflect quite happily on the privilege of being in such a pristine world. I feel alive and very much connected to the ancient forest and all the creatures who call this beautiful patch of the earth home.

Ngama Tented Camp, Hoedspruit

White-linen Glamping

This elegant little stay requires little other than perhaps a pair of white pajamas to complement the serene bed. The unique feature of the Ngama Tents is that one whole side of the tent lifts up completely to open bushveld. This gives a wonderful outdoor feeling, enhanced by the stylish interior.

When a clean minimalism is done well, it is both calming and inspiring. All white furniture and fittings, a wide mosquito net, silky white linen and sage green cushions contrast and connect with the outdoors. Natural, light lampstands bring a warm glow to every corner of the tent.

Character stays should remove us from our everyday life, and I love a freestanding bath in the main suite – it is an unlikely romantic decandence compared to our usual functional lives. A Victorian-style slipper bath overlooks a window onto the bush with organic home-made Marula bath products filling the tent with this local fragrance. There is a basin and white towel ladder in the room, with a separately brick-enclosed toilet at the back of the tent. An outdoor shower opens onto bushveld trees and blue African skies.

At night is it hard to leave this peaceful haven for dinner, but I am excited to discover that we will have an African dinner outside in the boma. The glowing pathway to the boma is lit with oil lamps and the reed circle enclosed boma is surrounded by more hung lanterns giving a warm orange light to match the large open fire in the centre. We are instantly transported into a surreal happy place, and the excitement is tangible. Individual lamp-lit tables have been prepared for each couple around the central cooking fire. No effort has been spared and I am touched by the attention to detail and invisible hard work that has gone into laying out this unique experience for us. Our hosts work seamlessly together and are generous in plying us with drinks and food. The meal is excellent – one of the best outdoor meals I have ever had – tender lamb stew and potjie slow-cooked vegetables, stuffed chicken, braaied bread, stuffed butternut, mielies and salads. A malva pudding with home-made custard completes the evening under starry skies.

Accommodation Experience:

As soon as I wake I lift the sides of my tent completely up, even though it is a cool morning. I drink my coffee and munch the biscuits from my suite. The light moves slowly down the surrounding high trees, over the grass, onto my deck and into my tent. I have come here seeking solitude, silence and simplicity, but I find myself surrounded by many enthusiastic friends. Zebra bark, a Nyala antelope munches her breakfast loudly, an African Wood Hoophoe chortles and bush warblers chat. The textured sounds and layers of bush are the perfect backdrop to the tent’s soft interior, and there is nothing left to do other than sit in mindful appreciation of the complex simplicity of it all.

Hluhluwe River Lodge

Life worth living

A game ranger I once met in a different part of the world once confessed how much he misses the bushveld of Northern KwaZulu-Natal. The sights, sounds and smells are uniquely rural African and you are instantly transported into a different world. We are travelling North and as we turn into Hluhluwe River Lodge’s game park we instantly feel what he is talking about. This is wild country, with a soulful depth to it that is difficult to describe.

The perfect African safari style thatched huts of Hluhluwe River Lodge amplify the bushveld effect. There are two decks facing indigenous forest and birds call from every height of the bush. No effort has been spared in connecting one to nature, with full glass walls reaching right into the apex of the roof on two sides. Exposed beams and high ceilings make the hut feel cool and light.

The suite is enormous, with glossy floors and natural furniture. A wooden headboard, chunky railings and fittings complement the theme. Even the lamps are made of buck horn. A white mosquito net over the bed completes the look.

However the real reason I chose this lodge is obvious – the inviting wide bath set against glass doors overlooking a private area of the natural forest. Lying back in the bath, all doors folded right back, I look up and out into the trees. Lying quietly in this state of bliss, more and more shy birds and buck come closer and reveal themselves, unaware of my presence.

The main lodge is a lapa style thatched open structure over a wide wooden deck. There is a cool bar area and indoor and outdoor seating areas with comfortable couches with cushions covered in golden African fabrics. The dining area is vibrant with a bright red wooden wall. Its deck has far-reaching views down to False Bay where hippos graze.

Accommodation Experience:

It is our first night on our holiday travelling North and this space is so different from our usual lives – the bushveld thatch, the romantic suite and open-air bath – that we relax instantly. It is like a burden is shed and the life energy comes flowing out of us. We find ourselves joking and laughing uncontrollably about the silliest things. The contrast shows how tense we are in everyday life – tight packages held together with stress and duty. And when unwound, even in the space of a day, our life energy and a sense of fun bursts forth unbidden, unstifled. This is the great gift of even a weekend away in a characterful place and once again we vow to do this more often.