It has been a crazy week! I can't even begin to tell you how incredibly it started, but I'll certainly try to do it justice.
I went to a private game reserve in Sabi Sands with my mom and aunt on Saturday morning. The nearest main city is called Nelspruit (pronounced nelsprate) and it's located in the province of Mpumalanga. I sit here trying to frame my experiences there into words, and I feel like it's negating the fact that I have a BA in English. I honestly have never had a more amazing time than the time I spent in the African Bushveld. Even the trip to Savanna Private Game Reserve was interesting; I liken it to a far more interesting version of I-5 North. One thing I couldn't quite wrap my head around was the fact that people were just walking across the highway as cars going 120 km/h (around 75 mph) whizzed by. That's South Africa I guess!
Throughout the stay at Savanna, we were treated like royalty. After a harrowing, 15-20 km dirt road drive, we were greeted by a very friendly woman named Lorna who immediately made us feel like we were family-- she got us wine and sat down with us in the gorgeous lodge area as we surveyed the area with eyes that were thirstily drinking in the serene landscape. We sat and chatted for a while, and then we went to our rooms to settle in. The first night, my accommodation was in the Pilot's room-- a quaint and comfortable room designated for the pilot of guests which were flown in. I was happy with it, but Lorna said that she could possibly move me into a suite the following night if I was lucky. After settling in, I went to go see what my mom and aunt's accommodation was like, and what I would see would actually leave me speechless.
When you walk up to the suites in Savannah, you actually walk in the "back door." One might think that the front door would be a better choice, but there is no front door per se, because the bathroom area of the suite is closest to the path. This all transpired because the back door is essentially a wall of glass framed in rich wood, with two sliding glass doors replete with screens that back straight up to a private plunge pool and the wild and untamed elegance of the bushveld. Upon entering the suite, I was struck by the steep, thatched hip roof, beautiful white linen sheets and mosquito nets enclosing the beds. It served as sharp contrast to the bushveld (herein after referred to as the "bush") just feet away behind me. My mom and my aunt looked absolutely delighted and, to be honest, I thought the three of us would unleash the little kid in ourselves and just start jumping up and down in pure and raw excitement. I walked through to the bathroom and was equally stunned by the location-defying chicness. Several sliding panels of translucent glass served as a door to an outdoor shower, sheltered and privatized by bamboo shoots. Smack in the middle of the large bathroom itself was a nicely sized tub. Off to the right was a room with a toilet, and to the left a niche with his/her showers with rain-type heads. I recall asking how all of it had gotten there; the location was fairly remote and I could never have envisioned that sort of luxury to exist out there. I never got an answer, but I wasn't upset. It made the experience that much more magical.
After relaxing for a while, we were told that at 3:30 lunch would be served, and that we would go on a game drive directly afterward. Lunch was perfect after the long drive from Johannesburg (just under 7 hours). The food was excellent; if I'm not mistaken we had fresh sole, salad, and some fruit. At this point we met our game ranger/driver, Paddy, as well as our tracker, James. For the next few days, these guys were our family. Here, we also met the people who were going to be in our Land Rover-- a mother and daughter from Australia and a Dutch couple, and they became family as well. After lunch, Paddy "fetched his toys," which consisted of a proper rifle, the Land Rover, and his photography accoutrement. We all hopped in and that's when the adventure started. Almost immediately, we came across a giant group of elephants. They're MASSIVE and you do not want to piss them off. Paddy got us situated so that they'd walk right by us, and they accepted us with no question. From there we journeyed to see a leopard and her cubs, who were feeding on a kill. The smell was interesting, to say the least, but watching it was so enrapturing that I just couldn't take my eyes off the carnage happening before us. I think that later that evening we also saw a lioness and her cubs as well. My 700+ photos will help jog my memory a bit, and I'll post the best shots when I've got them on my computer and edited. Darkness began to settle upon us, and we stopped in a large clearing to have drinks and snacks. It is so quiet, and so dark when the sun sets. I felt perfectly content, although I knew that at any moment a multitude of animals engineered to kill could take any one of our lives. There's something about having a gin and tonic out in the bush after dusk that is so contradictory to reason. But it was a moment, resplendent in the sleek evening dress of the night sky, that has indelibly imprinted itself upon my mind.
Dinner that night was absolutely enchanting. A table had been beautifully laid out in an area partially enclosed in a bamboo fence strung with lanterns. The table also had kerosene lanterns on it, which lit the faces of our group in a soft and dancing light that mimicked our entertainment for the night. A local choir had come to put on a show before dinner, and the energetic African music permeated our ears in the most wonderful way. Their aura was infectious and I even found myself trying to harmonize with them, albeit silently. After that we were told what was on the menu for the night; boerewors, chicken, ostrich, and salad. I wasn't brave enough to try the ostrich, but boerewors (a type of sausage) is a South African braai (bbq) staple that I am completely enamored of. The chicken was quite good too. Excellent food, excellent company-- I was content with all and everything in the world in that moment. I stayed up until past 12 talking to everyone, once again proving the cliche, "time flies when you're having fun." Afterward, I had to be escorted to the pilot's room to retire for the night. You're not allowed to wander around by yourself at night, because the consequences could result in that lovely scene I described above involving the leopard and her cubs. I did not want to be that Impala, that's for sure.
5:00 am, and my iPhone jarred me awake from a comfortable slumber. I had a half hour to get ready and have a bit of coffee before our morning game drive. Bleary-eyed but oh so excited, I sucked down the coffee and we all piled into the Land Rover again. We saw a few elephants on the way back out into the bush, but didn't stop for them because Paddy had gotten wind of a sighting. The memories are blurring together a little bit for me because we saw so many animals so many times that it's hard to remember individual sightings. Again, when I get the pictures sorted I'll be able to remember the timeline more accurately. However, I do recall that we got to see the mapogo (mapocho) lions. They were having a bit of a lie down but even in slumber they blew my mind. The size of their paws was incredible. At one point, one of them got up, walked over, and looked straight at me from about 5 feet away for a duration of 15 seconds. Being eye to eye with death for 15 seconds did not allow that time to pass quickly, but I felt like I connected with him, and he decided it wasn't my time to go. I was told not to move, so I couldn't get a picture of him looking at me. He carried on and flopped down in the shade of a tree at the side of the road-- back to sleep. We saw the Mapogos again the next day but they were sleeping again. Ah, a lion’s life. From there, we heard about a cheetah sighting so we high-tailed it over and found a cheetah munching on a baby antelope. It was also kind of grotesque to watch but equally as riveting as the leopard’s kill the previous day. We also heard about some rhino, and ran into Zebra on the way over. After that, we stopped by the side of a river and had cookies and coffee/ tea. I must say that I'm glad I'm a guy when it came to nature calling in the middle of the bush. I can’t believe how lucky we were to see so many of Africa’s animals in even just two days. We saw some kudu on the way back, and then went to have a bit of breakfast and relax for a bit before the afternoon drive again.
True to her word, Lorna moved me into the suite next door to my mom and aunt during that period. I had a queen bed all to myself, in the same accommodations I described earlier, with one addition. There was a door that I assumed led through to my mom and aunt's suite, but I noticed that there was a building in between that wasn't their suite. When I opened the interleading door, I found a passageway that led to a gigantic sitting room with leather couches, a bookshelf/ TV unit, a fireplace, kitchen, and bar. It was too gorgeous. I was sorry that I couldn’t share such a beautiful experience with someone else, but at the same time it was pretty intense to think that I had the suite all to myself. I had a dip in the plunge pool and wandered around the grounds before getting ready for lunch. I found showering in the outdoor shower particularly enjoyable. There’s something so liberating about showering under the sky—It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like that and I found it very invigorating. Lunch was excellent, on par with the other meals I’d had thus far at Savanna, and then it was off to another game drive, during which I saw many of the aforementioned animals again. Too much is not enough, however, when it comes to being face to face with animals in the wild. I believe that during this drive, we were leaving a male leopard that we’d just spend around 10 minutes with, when a troop of baboons came through and chased him. The baboons were quite scary; they made these wild shouting noises that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. More sightings, and then back for dinner.
Savanna's staff went above and beyond to make the entire experience in the bush an incredibly memorable one. When I returned to my suite, I found the mosquito nets had been released from their ties. They hung delicately from their frame above the bed, opalescent in the soft light from the bedside lamps. When I went through to the bathroom, I found a bubblebath waiting for me, complete with a glass of sherry and candles. Sinking into that bath with the sherry was a heavenly experience, and I had to take a picture on my phone (pg 13 maybe, but nowhere close to R lol). Then off to another amazing dinner and socializing with our group. After dinner I had a rousing game of chess with miss Australia which I let her win, and then we all retired for the night.
The next day was very bittersweet, except other than our experiences it wasn't sweet at all, so make that bitter. Leaving Savanna was something I was not looking forward to, so it was with a heavy heart that I got out of bed at 5am and suited up for our last game drive. This day was very similar to the one before, except we saw some hippos in a waterhole. They didn't really come out of the water at all so we just saw their heads, but I wasn't complaining; I was happy to have seen them at all. After that drive, we headed back for some breakfast, and then we had to hit the road. It was very difficult to say goodbye to the people we had banded together with; but I'm sure that somewhere down the line, our paths will cross again. I certainly hope that they do!
A thousand and one thanks to my dad's friend David for making our stay at Savanna possible. I sincerely recommend that if you're in the market for a trip to the bushveld, you look up Savanna Private Game Reserve. I've heard on multiple counts that it's impossible to compare other game trips to this one, and I believe it with no doubt whatsoever. I'll post pictures soon, I'll edit and upload them this weekend.
The rest of the week in comparison has been pretty slow. I missed Thanksgiving last night, but I did manage to partake in a candlelighting picnic in the park at Zoo Lake which is close to my aunt's house. We met up with one of my mom's friends and her family for dinner afterward, and I had a hell of a time. Again, I have to go back to how amazing the people here can be. Hopefully on Saturday I'll see them again and have a right proper jol (South African word for night about the town, or just fun time). My weekend is quite open at the moment, but I'm sure that something will materialize and I'll get a fun time out of it. It has been happening every weekend thus far! Perfectly ideal, if you ask me. And no excuse for me not to get those pictures sorted!
I suppose it's worth mentioning that the hired car I had broke down in the middle of a busy street during a thunderstorm. That was exciting, in a sitting duck sort of a way. After a bit everything got sorted, and I'm now driving a Toyota, which is much more reliable. There are several things wrong with it though, so I'm hoping to change companies this weekend. It's actually quite sensical if you think about it. These old cars are at the most vulnerable point of their existence, and they get people driving them hard day in and day out. No wonder they break down. They're cheap, but in life you get what you pay for, and it's much better to have money to do things rather than wasting it on a rental car. There is a point, however, where it's not feasible to be changing out cars every few days, so we'll see what happens.
Right, well it's time for me to get some stuff done, so I'll update later with the pictures. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good night! Or good morning. Gotta love the time difference!
Cheers,
Adam
