South Africa - August 2006
The trip started in Johannesburg and I immediately went to the Pilansberg National Park, about a 2-2 1/2 hour drive. The area is better know as the home to Sun City but for me Pilansberg is one of several underrated parks in South Africa and not often visited by foreigners unless they are staying in Sun City. But now that there is a proper 5 star property, Ivory Tree Lodge, I think this becomes an easy weekend destination for anyone visiting Johannesburg on business and it has the bonus of being Malaria free. Add to that you can play golf, gamble and otherwise take advantage of what Sun City offers and Pilansberg becomes a unique and fun destination
Ivory Tree is set right at one of the gates and offers two drives a day in an open safari vehicle. While nothing can ever be guaranteed, all the big five, cheetah, hippo and the usual assortment of plains animals, antelopes, etc are found. We saw about 12 rhinos on one drive and had lions chasing wildebeest.
You have the option of self-drive also if you want to test your skills at finding the game but it would be a shame to not take advantage of the professional rangers they offer and the ability to stop for a “sundowner” in the evening. (Sensible people drink Gin & Tonics but there are other options)
Ivory Tree is large, about 55 rooms but it didn’t feel crowded even on the weekend I was there. The rooms (which are air conditioned and heated) are very comfortable individual chalets with decks open to the bush. There is a lovely swimming pool area where afternoon tea and snacks are served just before the evening drive.
There is a bar and restaurant with breakfast and dinner buffets. The rates, as with most game lodges, are all inclusive of meals and game drives.
Back in Johannesburg I stayed at the Intercontinental Palazzo Monticasino in the suburb of Four Ways. The Palazzo is designed to look like a Tuscan hotel and is adjacent the Monticasino complex which is also designed to look like an Italian village. But mixed in between the various Italian café’s, pizzerias and restaurants are some wonderful other choices. My favorite is the Meat Co. even thought I don’t eat meat: they have terrific seafood.
There are also a Thai, Japanese and Portuguese restaurants among others. The centerpiece of this is the casino itself and at night there is no doubt this is a “happening’ place. There are also 8-screen movie theatre and food court and La Scala “opera” houses where various theatrical productions are preformed.
The hotel has it’s own restaurant with an outdoor terrace overlooking the gardens and swimming pool. There is a small gym and business center and a variety of conference rooms.
Located between the hotel and the casino complex is a bird aviary which is truly amazing. I am not that interested in birds that I can’t see much less knowing what gender or the sub species of the species you can see anyway is!!! But here you can walk amongst the birds and almost touch them. You really get a feeling for what they look like so when on a drive you have a better appreciation of what the “birders” are getting so excited about when all you can make out is the shape of something that looks like a bird!
After a few days in JoBerg visiting clients and friends, we beginning of our actual safari and headed of to Ithala Game Reserve about six hour drive in northern Kwa Zula Natal Province. Another underrated to game reserve where even on a Saturday you hardly see any vehicles The mountainous terrain and rolling landscape makes this one of the most beautiful parks in South Africa and it is also Malaria Free.
The only lodging in the park is run by the government and in Natal, some of the lodges are extremely comfortable. The main lodge at Ithala, Ntshondwe Safari Camp is one of the best in Natal province and one of the only two government lodges we feature on ROL (the other is Hill Top Camp in Hluhluwe Game Reserve).
There is a main lodge with gift shop, restaurant, bar and coffee shop overlooking a water hole, a conference center with Internet, laundry facilities and a swimming pool. The lodging is made up of 1, 2 or 3 bedroom chalets that each has a living room, kitchen with pass through area, deck, TV and barbeque. For meals you have the option of doing a ‘brai’ (barbeque) or going to the restaurant.
Ithala is a great place to see all of the range animals, giraffe, antelopes, etc. There are no lions or cheetah so the animals are quite relaxed. There are leopard but rarely seen and plenty of rhino and elephant and even some buffalo. The lodge offers morning and afternoon game drives and bush walks and you are welcome to do self-drive also. The terrain is very mountainous and the roads are quite narrow, adding to a sense of adventure as it would be hard to get out of the way of a rhino (as I once found out) or elephant if they are on the road especially coming up hill!
As we were with some friends from JoBerg, we cooked out both nights but the restaurant with full breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet as well as a coffee shop for snacks.
From Ithala we drove over to Thula Thula a private game reserve in the heart of Kwa Zulu Natal where we had a really up close experience with a heard of elephants including a nervous and pregnant female. There are no predators here but most of the other animals can be found on the morning and evening game drives. The owners, Lawrence and Francoise are a charming couple dedicated to rescuing game, especially elephants that were meant to be culled. In addition, Francoise, being French, oversees an excellent kitchen.
Our trip to reach Thula Thula took us threw some really beautiful scenery covering most of the battles of the Zulu’s, British and Boer’s.
We then proceeded to Leopard Mountain Lodge via Hluhluwe National Park, one of my favorites and one of the most beautiful in South Africa. We stopped at Hill Top Camp for lunch. I have stayed here several times and it is a wonderful government run camp with studio, 1 & 2 bedroom chalets. There is a restaurant and bar and they do offer their own game drives and walks.
We then drove on to Leopard Mountain Lodge on the other side of the park. Leopard Mountain is also convenient for Mkuzi National Park which is just opposite. Mkuzi has no accommodation so this is an ideal place to stay. Family run, Leopard Mountain has a beautiful setting high up with spectacular views of the mountains and the river below. The morning sunrise is one of the prettiest in South Africa and you see it from your bed if you leave the curtains open.
The reserve shares with the Rhino Reserve adjacent so the possibility of rhinos, especially Black Rhinos, is higher than most other places. While there are no lion or cheetah, most of the other game can be found here.
After our morning game drive, we headed off to Swaziland and stayed at a new hotel, Royal Villas, in the Emwelizi Valley (where most hotels are located) outside of the capital, Mbane. Each villa has 4 bedrooms on two floors, two living rooms, dining room and several outdoor areas. They are extremely luxurious and as long as you have an engineering degree or a teenager with you, you will be able to figure out the TV!
Royal Villas has a beautiful swimming pool and bar area adjacent the restaurant. Across the street there is a golf resort, which also offers spa treatments. Horseback riding is also easily arranged and there is even a small game park nearby. Curio shops are evident everywhere making buying Swazi candles rather easy.
The drive in from the south and out via Piggs Peak is really beautiful and well worth the trip. Border formalities are pretty straightforward. No visa is required for most nationalities and it is just a matter of filling in some forms and getting them stamped both going out of South Africa and entering Swaziland. Needless to say on weekends the crossings can get a bit crowded but otherwise it didn’t take us more than maybe 20 minutes altogether at each end.
Leaving the next morning, we headed north via Piggs Peak as our next destination was in the Kruger National Park. We stopped at the Orion Piggs Peak Resort for coffee. This would make another option for the overnight. Set in the mountains it is a lovely resort with a casino, pool, etc.
As we had made an early start of it, we were able to enter the Kruger Park through the Malalene gate and give ourselves a game drive through the Park over to the Shishangani Lodge near the Crocodile Bridge gate. Shishangani is one of the new private concessions in the Kruger National Park tucked into a corner in the south near the Mozambique border. The lodge is really beautifully done with very spacious and comfortable rooms all of which have views into the bush from the deck. There is a beautiful swimming pool area, small gym and conference room. The dining room and bar area opens onto a terrace overlooking the bush.
There are two smaller satellite properties near Shishangani, Camp Shawu which is just 5 chalets overlooking a huge water hole and Camp Shonga which is a tented bush camp. Both are ideal for whole groups to take over. All the camps offer two game drives a day and as you are in the Kruger you are free to go off on your own anytime and see what you can find.
From here we proceeded to our next destination, Singita Lebombo one of the more over the top luxury properties in Southern Africa. As with most of our drives in the Kruger Park on this trip the game was fantastic. We came across a lion hunting Wildebeests and Impala right in the road, a sleeping rhino, several elephant sittings and a hippo grazing in the middle of the day! And that was just getting to the game lodge.
I have stayed many times at the original Singita located in the Sabi Sands but this was my first time a Lebombo, another of the private concessions in the Kruger Park. Located on the Mozambique border in the Lebombo Mountains it is without a doubt the most beautiful of the private concessions and perhaps the most beautiful setting of any lodge in the park.
The suites are all extremely modern and luxurious overlooking the Sweni River (there is a second Singita lodge just below called Sweni). It is almost impossible to describe Singita Lebombo but if you have a look at their web site you get the idea.
While the game is not as easy to find as in Sabi Sands, we had great drives and wonderful and up close sittings of everything but cheetah. In the end we never did find any cheetah on this trip.
Leaving Singita, we again drove through the park and out the Paul Kruger gate to get to the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve. Adjacent the Kruger Park and open to it, Sabi Sands is known for having the highest concentration of game in South Africa. Most of the lodges are extremely luxurious with such legendary names and Singita, Sabi Sands, Djuma, etc.
We arrived at the Lion Sands Private Game Reserve located on the Sabi River. Lion Sands is made up of two lodges, River Lodge where we stayed and the over top luxury camp, Ivory Lodge. Both are over looking the river allowing for easy game viewing without ever leaving the camp. We had an elephant come by the bar just before dinner!! Breakfast and lunch at River Lodge are served on a lovely terrace overlooking the river and dinner is in the boma. River Lodge has two swimming pools and at Ivory Tree each room has it’s own.
The rooms at River Lodge are very comfortable and at Ivory Lodge so luxurious that, like Singita, impossible to describe: you’ll just have to check out the web site. The problem with rooms like that is that you don’t want to leave for the game drives!
And while I said I was not going to get into game drives, we had one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had at River Lodge. We came upon a Leopard in early evening and stayed with her to see if she would hunt. We had been sitting in our vehicle about ten minutes when all of a sudden we heard a scream. It was dark so we immediately turned on the lights and the Leopard had jumped on a warthog no more than 50 feet in front of us. The screams were awful but the site was extraordinary. The Leopard was wrapped around the warthog which was really too big for her to kill. After maybe ten minutes of watching this, all of a sudden a hyena came running out of the bush and attacked the leopard. The warthog got away and apparently the leopard bit the hyena and it limped off. So in the end everyone survived but the ten year old in our group asked if that counted as a “kill”!!
After we left River Lodge I was now on familiar ground for a while. Out groups’ last night in the bush was the other side of the Sabi Sands at a lodge I have visited several times before, Idube. Idube isn’t over the top luxury but like River Lodge is really very comfortable and has a wonderful setting and atmosphere. Nyala and warthog roam the grounds and there is a swing bridge leading to a hide overlooking a water hole just behind the dining area and swimming pool where anything might show up.
It was really special that on our last night, Idube had arranged for a bush dinner: something our group had not experienced on this trip. After the evening game drive, rather than go back to the lodge, we were dropped in the bush where a wonderful outdoor buffet dinner awaited us complete with bar area and toilets.
It was a great way to end our trip to Sabi Sands and the Kruger Park.
The next morning we still had one more game drive before heading off to the Blyde River Canyon area outside of the Kruger. Much overlooked by the in and out safari tours, this area is well worth a day or two at the end just to wind down. The area is a popular weekend getaway for South Africans and there are some lovely lodges. I normally like to stay at the Blue Mountain Lodge near Hazyview. A true 5 star facility where Nelson Mandala comes for a week each year. Fishing and golf are nearby and the hotel offers massage treatments, swimming pool and a host of other activities as well as an award-wining restaurant. But the reason to visit is the spectacular scenery. The Blyde River Canyon has several vantage points offering incredible views down into the canyon, God’s Window and Three Rondavals. There are also numerous other historical sights as well such as Pilgrims Rest; one of the original gold mining towns resorted to its original charm. There are also numerous curio shops which when you travel with 5 females are as important as a good game drive!
Finally we headed back to JoBerg where half our group boarded flights home. Three of us continued down to Cape Town and checked into the Cape Grace Hotel located on the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront: a huge commercial & residential development that has become “the” place to have an apartment. The Cape Grace, annually voted the best hotel in South Africa, sits right on the water with views of the marina and Table Mountain. The hotel’s restaurant is one of the best in the area and overlooks the heated swimming pool and there is a health spa on the top floor
There are dozens of shops and restaurants in the V&A Waterfront area and my favorite restaurant is Baia offering some of the best seafood you’ll find in South Africa.
The main attraction in Cape Town is the trip up to Table Mountain, which should be done as early as possible to avoid lines. The Cape Grace car will take you to the cable car and pick you up: they even can sell you the tickets so you avoid having to wait in line.
We took one day to visit the Cape Peninsula and have lunch at one of my favorite vineyards, Steenberg. In addition to producing some of South Africa’s best wines, there is a beautiful 5 star hotel surrounded by a golf course, health spa and gourmet restaurant. I have stayed several times at Steenberg and it is a real treat but just to come for lunch is great way to end a trip down to Cape Point and the nearby penguin colony at Boulders Beach. Another nearby option to stay or just come for lunch or dinner is Constantia Uitsig. Slightly closer making dinner easier if you are based in Cape Town and with what is considered the best restaurant in Cape Town.
We then moved over to the “other” wine country for two days in Franchook at the fabulous, La Residence. The main wine producing area near Cape Town consists several small towns such as Franschook, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Somerset West with dozens of well know vineyards all within 30-40 minutes of Cape Town but well worth spending the night, if for no other reason than you can drink more and drive less!! ROL has several wonderful clients in the region but this time we picked La Residence, which is truly something that has to be experienced. I had stayed last year at the owners game lodge near the Kruger Park, Royal Malewane in the Thornybush Private Game Reserve, which I think is the most luxurious and best run of all the game lodges I have visited so I was really looking forward to visiting La Residence and it more than lived up to my expectations. Unfortunately they will be closing down at the end of the year, having sold it and will build a new hotel just across the street which I am sure will be as wonderful if not more so but if you have a chance, do visit before they move out to experience this wonderful property. After two intense days of wine tasting and some great meals in Franschook, I finally I put the two remaining ladies on a plane and headed off on my own for another 8 days.
My new goal was to find whales and sharks. From June to September, the coast is home to hundreds of whales that come in to mate and give birth. I have been along this route several times visiting Hermanus where La Residence also has a hotel, Birkenhead House but this time I wanted to go a bit further south and headed for Gootbus Nature Reserve. Grootbus is a paradise for anyone interested in the extraordinary plant life in the Cape. Hikes and horseback riding are organized throughout the property which overlooks the ocean above Gainsbai, where you can take boats to watch whales, dolphins and seals as well as go cage diving with Great White Sharks. I managed to take two boat rides and we saw lots of whales, seals and dolphins but no sharks. August being their winter and the weather being a big cold, somehow the idea of getting into the water wasn’t very appealing but I had hoped to see a shark jump out of the water with a seal or diver in its mouth. Unfortunately that was not to be but the whale watching is really special.
While the outdoor activities are the point behind Grootbus, it is a very beautiful, luxurious and romantic property with each chalet having a sitting room with fireplace, bedroom, deck and bar area with spectacular views of the ocean. The main building has the swimming pool, bar and restaurant where gourmet meals are offered with a wonderful wine selection.
Hermanus gets all the attention, but I think a trip 30 minutes further south to Grootbus is well worth it. If you can do both, that would be a real treat.
From here I start my drive up the Garden Route through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. My first stop was in Mossel Bay at The Point Hotel, a nice 4 star property with a spectacular setting on the water. There is no beach but you can swim, in season, in the rock pools below the hotel but in the winter, the waves that come crashing in over the rocks are a sight not to be missed. Mossel Bay is a major fishing port and commercial center that has become a resort destination on it’s own. Our other client in the area, Diaz Strand, sits on a beautiful beach on the other side of town.
If you are lucky you’ll see the whales from your room at either hotel but boats are available as is cage diving with the sharks.
The next day I headed further up the coast to Plettenburg Bay, perhaps the chicest town on the coast: much smaller than Mossel Bay and with a more intimate resort feeling. More like Malibu, the Hamptons, St. Tropez, etc. Here I took another boat trip that as really magical. Not only did we get up close to several whales, a group of at east50 bottleneck dolphins showed up and surrounded us as we e watching the whales. We even had a seal pop up, a rather dangerous thing to do in these shark-infested waters. We also visited a seal colony and watched, with amazement as they climbed out of the water and up the sheer cliffs where they caught the sun and would spend the night. Apparently these are a special species of climbing seals!
I stayed at the NH Plettenberg Bay, just outside of town off the N2. Sandwiched between a golf club and polo club you get the idea of what Plettenberg Bay is all about. The hotel is set in some beautiful gardens with a pool, bar area and restaurant
From here I continued up the coast to the Eastern Cape to a new client, Hlosi Safari Lodge located in the private Amakala game reserve about one hour past Port Elizabeth. Hlosi is a really wonderful lodge and along with their sister camp Bukela make a perfect ending to any trip on the garden route. In addition to having great game the owners are heavily involved in conservation. We had some great Elephant and Rhino sittings and one of the best Cheetah sittings I have ever had. It was the only cheetah I saw on the trip and I was only sorry none of my guests were able to share this experience. We also saw buffalo and a wide variety of antelopes, zebra and giraffe.
The camps are small, only six cabins each so it is a really intimate experience and I can confirm that t Hlosi, the food is terrific. The rooms are spread out open to the bush and overlooking a water hole. There is a great main house/lounge area as well as a swimming pool.
A bonus reason to visit Hlosi is that it is about 30 minutes drive to Addo Elephant Park which is another well run government park where you will have great elephant sightings along with many other animals. This makes a wonderful day trip or you can stay just outside the park at Elephant House, a luxury accommodation near the entrance gate. Doing both would be ideal and this is also a non-malarial area.
From either lodge Port Elizabeth airport is a one hour drive.
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