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Published: June 30th 2008
This is a continuation of my previous South Africa and Zambia blog entries. This is an Adventure with Toni Tours trip. www.tonitours.net
June 20, 2008
Kookie picked us up at 8:30 AM from Sandton City Garden Court Hotel and we headed to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. It was an easy check-in for our flight to Hoedspruit in Limpopo Province. We flew a prop jet which took a little over an hour. The Hoedspruit (Hat Creek) landscape reminded us of Arizona with the red clay mesas. These are the Klein Drakensberg (Dragon Mountains). Hoedspruit serves as the main hub for most of the private game reserves adjacent to Kruger National Park, including Thornybush, Timbavati and Umtabaat.
The airport was tiny, but quite efficient. We especially got a kick out of baggage claim, which was a truck that pulled up on the street in front of the terminal. Bags were just unloaded on to the sidewalk. We grabbed our bags and passed them off to the transfer van that was waiting to take us to our safari lodge. The driver took his time and put our bags together like a jigsaw puzzle, to fit them all in the small
luggage trailer attached to the van. We squeezed ourselves into the van for the tight, uncomfortable ride to Motswari Safari Lodge in the Timbavati Reserve. Most of the route was paved, but about 10 km. was a very bumpy, dusty, unpaved portion. We passed some agricultural hectares which eventually turned to scrub brush area.
We arrived at Motswari (means to conserve and protect) about 2:00 PM and were greeted by the friendly staff with a cool fruit juice cocktail. We received a quick orientation talk and then had to sign an indemnity form, stating that we wouldn’t hold the resort responsible if we were maimed or killed during our stay due to accident or wild animal attack; brings new meaning to “signing your life away”. They escorted us to our rondoval style cottages, which were named after the animals which frequent the game reserve. Catherine and I were assigned to Nyala, which is a type of antelope. Other cottage names were cheetah, giraffe, kudu, etc. Our cottage had a front porch with a table and two Adirondack chairs that overlooked the watering hole and river bed. The porch was concealed behind a privacy fence on one side. The inside
Verandah
Motswari Safari Lodgeof the cottage was beautifully designed with a European King draped in mosquito netting with two easy chairs at the foot of the bed beside a wicker hope chest. There was a writing desk and armoire, which contained a basket with bug spray and a whistle. The whistle was to be used if we required assistance or had an emergency, since there were no phones in the room. The bathroom had a soaking tub with a view of the riverbed, a stone vanity and a separate rain head shower. It had a beautiful mirror framed in animal bone and stones. The rondoval also had pieces of local art decoration displayed strategically around the room.
After settling in, we walked through the property to the verandah, where a light, buffet lunch was served. The verandah was an open air structure filled with inviting wicker couches, comfy chairs and wooden tables filled with stunning local art pieces. It overlooked the infinity pool and riverbed. It also had a gift shop featuring clothing and local art including jewelry. A large bar offering spirits, South African wines and an assortment of ice cold beer from South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Botswana were served
up with flair by the staff. Lunch included kudu stew, salads, fresh breads, cheeses and fruits. There were also an assortment of linzer tarts, chocolate cake and other sweets for dessert. These were served up by the assistant head chef, Eugenie. She was filling in for the head chef known as “Amazing Grace”, for her delicious homemade recipes.
After we were sufficiently fed and watered, we set off on our first game drive. We were assigned as a group of six to an open-top, stadium style seating land rover puma. There were four rows of seats that could accommodate three passengers per row. This gave us plenty of room to spread out along with unobstructed views. We had the senior naturalist guide, Godfrey, who was a member of the Shangala tribe. Our tracker was Jacky, from the Sotho tribe. These two tribes were enemies many years ago, but today live peacefully together in a town about 2 hours drive north from Motswari.
We set off at 3:00 PM and had our first sighting of a Striped Kingfisher, one of the 350 bird species present in the park. This was followed by a White Crowned Shrike and Yellow Billed
Hornbill (a.k.a Zazu from the Lion King). We finally had our first mammal sightings one right after the other, including Impala, Kudu, Giraffe, Common Duiker, Bush Buck and Steen Buck. The Kudu were beautiful with their sleek gray striped coats and regal antlers. The Impala were graceful as they pranced in front of us. The animals were at ease, and allowed the land rovers to get close up since they did not perceive us as a threat. Further along, we pulled alongside a herd of Water Buck, who Godfrey said couldn’t read which caused them to ignore the “wet paint” signs on the public restroom. They sat on the toilet seats which resulted in a white ring around their butts. They blended well into the surrounding brush, but the white rings served as a bullseye to allow us to pick them out of the brush.
Godfrey also pointed out different kinds of animal tracks and poop from different animals on the move, such as lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and hippo. He explained how they use the tracks and age of poop to determine how long ago the animals passed and the direction they were moving. We came across a
large batch of Cape Buffalo tracks, which Godfrey said we would track after having our “sundowner bush cocktails”.
We met up with the other group at a clearing in the bush. The guides and trackers set up tables and served mixed drinks, wine and beer along with snacks such as peanuts and kudu jerky. We traded stories of animal sightings and enjoyed our drinks accompanied by an outstanding sunset. The stars were visible almost immediately and we could easily pick out the constellations Southern Cross and Sagittarius. Our guides packed up the trucks and we set off in search of the herd of Cape Buffalo. After a few minutes drive, we could smell and hear them snorting and mooing. Jackie turned on the spotlight, and we were amazed at the sight of over three hundred buffalo surrounding our truck, heading into a nearby watering hole. They were so close we could have reached out to touch them. We got a good laugh out of watching the bulls walk up to the front of our vehicle, stare at us with a menacing glare and then move on once they felt we were not a threat. This happened a number of
Sundowner Cocktails
Happy Hour Motswari Style times as different males moved past us into the watering hole.
After a half hour of enjoying this spectacle, we moved on to see Doorf Moongoose, who popped up and down in an old termite hill. They resembled miniature meerkats. They were very curious and entertaining. We saw lots of Franklin birds, similar to the Guinea Fowl, hopping around the sides of the road. We also saw the tiny bush buck and two Honey Badgers, who are similar to the skunk.
The temperature dropped about 30 degrees within an hour of the sun going down. We layered up with clothing and curled up inside the fleece blankets supplied in the vehicle. The grand finale was watching the moon rise as a huge orange glow appeared on the horizon. It was a beautiful full, harvest moon. This enhanced the star lit sky that displayed the milky way, the planet Saturn and slow moving satellites. It was the perfect ending to our first night game drive.
We returned to the camp at 8:00 PM, to a surprise of having a lone bull male elephant, eating and uprooting trees in our front yard. We had a great view of his
butt from our bathroom window.
We had a few minutes to freshen up, and were escorted by a staff member to the open-air boma. All guests at the lodge must be escorted around the grounds at night, because wild animals can roam free in the camp, and there is minimal lighting around the grounds. This served as a safety net to prevent the guests and animals from startling each other, which could end in disastrous results.
The boma was surrounded by a tall, wooden, circular fence with a roaring fire pit in the center. This provided a welcome source of heat in the cool night air. The staff was waiting for us behind the bar, where we shared a pre-dinner cocktail. We then sat at long wooden tables, and were served delicious home made breads and soup. The main course consisted of a buffet with lamb and ostrich dishes. Dessert was served at the table. One of the staff members read a fable aloud, that told the story of why an ostrich has a long neck. It had to do with getting tricked by a crocodile to stick its head in his mouth. The crocodile clamped his jaws
Leopard
Motswari shut on the ostrich’s head, but the ostrich fought and pulled and stretched his neck, until the croc finally opened his mouth.
We each received a parting gift of a furry hot water bottle to stick between our sheets, as we exited the boma. We got escorted back to our cottages and hit the sack by 10:30 PM, in order to get some sleep before our early wake up the next morning.
June 21, 2008
The 5:30 AM wake-up knock arrived right on time. We got up and got dressed bleary eyed, and headed off to the verandah for early morning coffee, juice and pastries. We loaded up in our land rover at 6:30 AM, bundled up in layers to guard against the 50 degree temperatures plus wind chill from the moving vehicle.
We saw our first animal adjacent to the camp entrance. It was a hibernating monitor lizard, about 3 feet in length. He was followed by a number of the many beautiful birds including the Lilac Breasted Roller, Yellow Billed Stork, Grey Heron, Pill Spotted Owl, Crested Barbett and the Scrub Robin. We were watching a Grysbok Antelope when Godfrey received a notification from Palance,
Zebra
Motswari Game Drive the naturalist guide with the rest of our group. He was following a leopard. We were off in a flash at a hurried pace, racing up and down steep slopes at over 30 degree angles, and making our own roads through the brush and trees, ducking to avoid branches. We could see the other truck ahead in the distance and were amazed when we drove up next to them and a young female leopard. Godfrey figured her to be about 4 years old. She was very relaxed and posed beautifully for us. The leopard passed within 6 inches of the back and sides of our rover. This made Mikki very nervous, and ready to keep her hands on the rifle…..just in case !!
We watched the leopard for over a half hour until she finally wandered off into the thick brush. We headed for a clearing and set up bush camp for coffee and homemade granola. Godfrey searched out a “safe” bathroom bush for us to use. We braved the bush and dropped our drawers to mark our territory (LOL). While drinking coffee, Godfrey noticed a shed snake skin hanging on the front of the bush where we did
our business. Imagine our surprise when he told us it was from a Black Mambo….one of the most poisonous snakes in the region. We really broke his shoes about trying to kill us, since he picked that same bush for us to use as the bush bathroom !! We figured Peter put him up to it, because he needed to get rid of us “Queens”, so he could be King. Since the poisoning attempt failed, we figured they would now try to bury us alive !!
After enjoying a good laugh together, we packed up and continued our game drive. We saw Zebra, Elephants, and Burchell’s Starling. We got back to camp around 11:00 AM and enjoyed a lavish brunch buffet with cooked to order eggs and omelets on the breakfast terrace over looking the river bed. Our house elephant from the day before, decided to move over to the other side of camp with reinforcements. They spent the afternoon eating and up rooting trees. Just another routine day in an elephant’s life.
After breakfast, Godfrey and Palance loaded up their rifles and escorted us on a bush walk across the other side of the river bed. We
were instructed to walk single file and 3 meters apart. This would allow them to fire the rifle safely in case of an emergency involving wildlife, since we would not have the land rover as safety net. We came across a boom slang snake, sticking his head out of a hole in a hollowed out tree branch. The snakes hibernate in wintertime, but occasionally come outside to warm up in the sun. Today was officially the first day of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Godfrey explained that if bitten by this particular snake, you have 72 hours to get to definitive care. Its venom acts as an anti-coagulant. We enjoyed the landscape on the walk and headed back to camp.
I returned to our cottage and enjoyed a soothing soak in the bath tub to wash away the safari road dust; then it was time to return to the verandah. At 2:00 PM, one of the staff hosted a presentation about the different types of snakes in the region. Almost all of them were poisonous in varying degrees. We learned the venom of the Black Mambo attacks the nervous system and usually renders a human dead within 24 hours.
Tribal Dance
Motswari Camp Boma Nice going, Godfrey !!!
Eugenie once again, served up a fantastic lunch to fuel us up for our afternoon game drive. We departed at 3:30 PM, but didn’t see much. All of the guides reported the same absence of animals. It was kind of strange. We thought maybe they were attending a special Winter Equinox party somewhere. We did manage to see some more beautiful birds including Double Banded Grouse, African Hou Pou and the White Crown Shrike. We also found a leopard kill of a duiker that was dragged up into a tree branch, at least 20 feet high. Godfrey said that leopards can haul up to two times their weight into the tree, where they can leave it, until they are ready to eat it. We searched the area, but could not find the leopard. He also gave us a talk about the many uses of an old termite mound. Besides being used by Mongoose, large holes are often dug at the base which house warthogs at night and porcupine during the day.
We headed back to camp, for another great meal in the boma. Entertainment tonight was provided by the staff who dressed in
Jabulani Camp
Elephants on parade traditional tribal garb and performed traditional tribal dances. They dragged Mikki and I up to join them. It was good exercise to try and shed some extra calories.
We finally turned in around 10:30 PM, for an extra early wake-up the next day.
June 22, 2008
Our wake up knock arrived at 04:30 AM. We had a half hour to get ready and wander over to the reception cottage, bleary eyed and groggy. Our transfer van picked us up for the 1 hour drive to Camp Jabulani. It was an uneventful ride, since most of us slept during the journey.
We were stopped at the front entrance gate to Camp Jabulani to wait for an official escort. The dawn light started to brighten and we enjoyed the sight of a group of giraffe sitting in the bush. They were resting, and can only do this for up to 20 minutes at a time, due to the anatomical design of their circulatory system. So, it was a rare treat to witness them doing this.
Our official escort showed up a few minutes later with clipboards and the “doom and gloom” indemnity forms. They wouldn’t let us enter
Sue and Inge
Jabulani Elephant Camp the property until this was done. I guess this is starting to become the norm around the world, due to our litigious society.
Once the paperwork was completed, we drove through the property and started to giggle with glee when we saw all of the elephants lined up waiting for us. We jumped out of the vehicle and began snapping photos of our unique styled “safari vehicles”, complete with tusks and canvas saddles. There were also three baby elephants, playing like any group of human toddlers, tussling and wrapping around each other. They would stop every now and then to suckle from their mothers. They were quite comical to watch.
The head trainer gathered us up and gave us the orientation speech. He explained that the elephants are trained….not tame. So, therefore, it was possible they could do something out of the ordinary while we were riding atop them. He stressed that we should never try to dismount the elephant while out on safai, even if they break out into a run. A run?? Are they kidding me?? I don’t even like it when a horse breaks into a trot !! Oh well….the fun stuff in life often
Nice Tusks !!
Jabulani Elephant Camp involves a bit of risk. I’ve managed to not get eaten by a crocodile or maimed by a leopard or rhino yet, so I guess I can handle a trotting elephant.
We lined up single file, for our respective elephants to grab us with their trunks, and toss us over their heads into the saddle. Only kidding !! Although, we did have some people in the group believing that this was the way they would get put on top of the elephant.
An elephant mounting platform was used, which made getting on top of the elephant pretty easy. They were amazingly gentle. We took turns hopping on in single and double groups. I was the last one to saddle up and ended up on top of Jabulani, the camp’s namesake. He was the first elephant the camp rescued 11 years ago. Jabulani was orphaned and found stuck in a mud wallow. He was only a few months old at the time. The camp raised him by hand, and he grew up thinking he was a human, albeit a rather large one. It must have been hell trying to burp him after feeding time !! The other elephants all
My Shadow
Me riding Jabulani came from Zimbabwe. They were orphaned during the herd culling program, and were being hand raised by local farmers. When Robert Mugabe began to make a mess of Zimbabwe, the farmers lost their land and the elephants needed to be moved. Camp Jabulani stepped in and accepted the elephants and their trainers about 4 ½ years ago. The camp then began the elephant back safari program.
My driver was Davson, who hailed from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. He was very nice and funny, too. The other trainers adjusted my stirrups and I grabbed hold of the canvas handle with a death grip. What do you mean there aren’t any seat belts ?? Davson told me to hold on tight to the saddle with one hand and grab him with the other, if necessary. It took some getting used to the fact that my seat was rhythmically moving up and down in a slow, rolling motion as Jabulani smoothly stepped away from the mounting platform. Goodbye terra firma.
I waved at my fellow group mates who were already seated in their “jungle cadillacs”, most of them looking rather pale and sweaty with that deer in the headlights look. Davson
led Jabulani past the lineup and took the lead position. My attempt to take photos while “rolling” past the crowd was a futile effort. I chose “life” over getting that “perfect” photo !!
It took a few minutes to get over that “I’m gonna die” feeling, and relax into the fact that my life was in the hands of the largest mammal in the world. And there is safety in numbers, right? I began to loosen my death grip and enjoy the experience. The early morning light cast a beautiful peachy glow over the surrounding landscape and I was delighted to see giraffe, impala and zebra along the way. We really got a kick out of the many warthogs who waddled right into the middle of our convoy. The baby elephants chased them around like a human baby would with a brightly colored rubber ball. That’s something you don’t see everyday on a routine safari drive (listen to me….like a safari drive is routine !!).
Some in the group also had to deal with those annoying youngsters trying to suckle while on the move. Damn kids !! Can’t they see we are in a serious convoy here !!
Our wonderful elephant back experience, sadly came to an end about an hour later. We were pros now, and scored 9.0s for our graceful dismounts. I was glad I had a single rider elephant. Those who sat in the back on the double mounts, had the ultimate in saddle sores, since they learned the back of the elephant is much, much wider than the front part. Go figure !!
Some of us walked, while others waddled bow legged to form a group in front of the elephants for our Adventures With Toni Tours group photo, in our matching shirts. We visited the gift shop that had a lot of nice items. Our group cleaned them out of pillow covers. They were beautiful elephant tapestries that would pack flat; very important in this day of luggage size and weight limits.
We said a fond farewell to our new friends and headed back towards our safari camp at Motswari. On the way, we passed a Nyala Antelope, Cape Buffalo, Zebra and Giraffe. The van was filled with voices talking excitedly about their elephant adventure.
Netta was waiting for us on the breakfast verandah at Motswari, to cook us
Reception Cottage
Motswari Safari Lodge up eggs to order. It was another delicious brunch that also included fresh fruits, sausages, baked mushrooms and freshly brewed coffee. After breakfast, a few of us took a bush walk with Palance. We didn’t see any animals on today’s bush walk, but received a botany lesson about the different trees and plants in the area. The marula tree has sumptuous fruits that the elephants and humans adore. South Africa is known for its creamy aperitif called Amarula, which is made from this delectable fruit. It is quite tasty….similar to Irish Cream, a bit lighter and sweeter. He also showed us the “wait a minute tree”, so named due to its thorny branches. If you get caught in it and try to pull away, the thorns grasp harder. However, if you wait a minute and relax, the branches can be pulled free. Then there was the “baby tree” I can’t remember its scientific name, but local tribes people believe, that if a pregnant woman rubs the bark of a female or male tree on her belly, the baby’s sex will be the same as the tree. Palance swears by this, since he used this method for his wife to have
Swimming Pool
Motswari Safari Lodge two girls. He said when his wife is pregnant again, he will take her to the male tree so she has a boy next time. Who needs genetics engineers?
After the walk, I luxuriated in a well deserved bath. Then it was time to work on packing, since we begin our journey home tomorrow. It was a good idea to bring along clothes that I planned on leaving behind. This made room in my suitcase for taking home my South Africa purchases.
We reconvened on the verandah for an ice cold beer and a talk from Palance about medicinal uses of some plants and trees found in the area. Most things could be infused into a tea and used to treat stomach ailments.
Eugenie cooked us up another wonderful lunch buffet and then we headed off for our afternoon safari drive. Our destination today was the pride of lions feasting on a kudu. The location was a distance from the camp. A short distance from camp, Godfrey spotted a Boom Slang snake in the process of shedding his skin on a tree branch. I am amazed at how easily these guides and trackers pick things out in
Waterbuck
Motswari Game Drive the bush, that I wouldn’t be able to spot standing still.
On the way we saw a Fork Tailed Drongo, waterbuck, impala and elephants. We finally arrived at the lion pride just prior to sunset. We found the female lions and cubs lying around on their backs, with full bellies stretched to maximum capacity. They really resembled house cats with their paws up in the air, rolling back and forth. Just across the clearing, we found big daddy licking his paws and watching us intently. Just past him were the remnants of what was once a regal kudu. Only the rib cage and part of a leg bone remained.
We watched the lion pride until the sun peeked below the horizon and then set off for a nearby watering hole to have our final sundowner cocktail. I brought along some Godiva chocolates to mark the occasion and turned Peter and Godfrey on to the delectable treats. It was 7:00 PM, before we packed up and headed back to camp. We were cruising along at a pretty good pace, when Jackie put his hand up and Godfrey backed up the truck. Imagine our surprise that Jackie actually spotted a
Flap Neck Chameleon camouflaged like a leaf in a tree. He did this in the dark, while moving at 30 mph. He picked out the glint of the chameleon’s eyes as he was moving the spotlight back and forth. Amazing !!
Camp was quiet when we got back. No house elephants in sight. We rendezvoused at the boma for our farewell supper. Godfrey told us stories about safari mishaps that happened at some nearby camps. These stories included a guide being cut in two by a nasty hippo, and a guest who was badly injured when a giraffe tried to jump over their vehicle in an attempt to avoid being attacked by a leopard. The problem was, the leopard managed to grab one leg of the giraffe, which caused the giraffe to fall onto the vehicle, resulting in one of the passengers getting kicked in the head. He also spoke about Impala that have a habit of running into the Motswari kitchen and gallery room, which act as a safe house from predators. He said the predators do not follow into these enclosed areas, however, the staff has a hard time getting the Impala out of those areas. He
also spoke of a tourist, recently dragged under by a crocodile while canoeing on the Zambezi River in Livingstone. Now we understand why they made us sign those waivers !!
We turned in for our final night in the bush. It was great to snuggle up between the high thread count sheets and comforter one last time, while listening to the sounds of the night outside.
June 23, 2008
We followed our routine schedule for coffee and safari drive preparation, and loaded up the land rover for our last game drive before departing. It was the warmest morning we experienced, allowing us to strip away extra layers early on. We saw some new birds today such as the Knob Bill Duck, the Korhhan and the Red Crested Goshawk. We had the pleasure of watching some elephants do their version of bush landscaping, and then found our lion pride from the day before. They were a bit more active today, as the effects of over eating the day before, began to wear off.
On the way back, we stopped at one of the dams to see some small Nile Crocodiles sunning themselves. We also found another herd of
Motswari Sunrise
With Jacky in the tracker seat Cape Buffalo and drove right into the center of them to say our proper goodbyes.
We reluctantly returned to the lodge for our final brunch. We had just enough time to shower and say our fond farewells to the staff. Godfrey, Palance, Jacky and Maurice saw us off, as our van headed for the airport in Hoedspruit. We saw a lot of wildlife on the way including a Black Rhino grazing on some farm land along the road side.
Hoedspruit Airport had a nice lounge area and a great gift shop, where many of us bought locally made jewelry, wood carvings and linens. Prices here were some of the least expensive we had come across. Our flight was delayed a few minutes, but no one seemed to mind.
We had a lovely flight with views over the Drakensburg Mountains enroute to Johannesburg. We had to claim our luggage there and then re-check it in the International Terminal for our flight back to New York. Peter escorted us to the International Terminal where we said our good byes. He headed off for his flight back to Capetown and we ventured into the chaotic world of VAT refund. I
must say, this was the only aggravating part of the entire trip. You must make your first stop at the VAT receipt check off desk, which is inconveniently positioned in the spot where passengers are trying to check-in for their international flights. There was no orderly cue, just a free for all. You need to show them the items you purchased, along with the receipts. If they are satisfied that the receipt is properly filled out and that you have the item, they stamp your receipt.
From here, you can re-pack your items and then pass through the check-in line to weigh your bag, check your bag and collect your boarding pass. You then pass through immigration into the main departure terminal. Your next VAT stop is at the spot where they review your receipts and decide whether or not you are entitled to a VAT refund. It depends who you get on whether or not that particular person deems you are entitled to a refund. It was very inconsistent. We all had the same gift shop receipts from Jabulani and Motwari gift shops. These shops did not itemize the 14% VAT separately, so some of the clerks told
us we could not get the VAT back on these purchases. Others in our group did receive the VAT, since the clerks were nice enough to calculate the amount of VAT included in the purchase. If you had 150 Rand or more due back to you, they were able to issue it as credit on your credit card. Otherwise, they issued you a check in Rand after they took a 20% commission fee out of the VAT refund. You then took the check next door to the bank, who took their 20% commission fee for cashing the check. All in all, I ended up with 45 Rand (just over $5.00 USD); hardly worth it for the time and aggravation.
We spent some time doing last minute shopping in the souvenir and duty free shops, before boarding our flight to JFK via a stop in Dakar. I slept for about 10 hours during the flight and watched a couple of movies. We were landing at JFK before I knew it. We arrived 30 minutes early and flew through immigration and collected our luggage in no time flat.
An easy arrival added to the wonderful trip full of great memories.
Giraffe
Motswari I will cherish this experience and I hope I can return to Southern Africa in the very near future.
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