South Africa & Mozambique, 2010

[Jochen]

I'll try to post one lodge per day.

 

We spent 3 nights in every bush lodge and 4 nights in Moz.

 

Enjoy!

 

J.

[Jochen]

Africa On Foot (see here for the website) is a safari bush camp like a safari bush camp should be. Well… they are close to perfection, but to be honest, I have not encountered the perfect safari camp yet. The rooms are separate, round houses; those typical cottage-type things with a thatched roof. The bathroom is outside, outdoors, surrounded by a wall at head height. Hot water is provided by a gas heater that hangs in the toilet. The gas cylinder is at the other side of the wall (outside).

 

 

No electricity. Only oil lamps and therefore no air conditioning. That is not need anyway, as after a day or so you are acclimatized (as opposed to someone who keeps moving in and out of air conditioned rooms; he will not not acclimatize and probably suffer every time he’s out in the sun ...or he gets a cold, that is also possible).

There is electricity in the central part of the lodge (to recharge batteries). The houses have no glass in the windows (only mesh wire), and a wooden door. Personally I prefer canvas over stone walls, but with the mesh wire in the windows it was still fun all night to be able to hear all the animals.

Only downside was probably the location of the cottages. Usually these lie side by side, along a typical lugga or on a hillside. This is just a matter of giving everyone a nice view. But here, most were simply in the "garden". Our cabin was probably the best of all in terms of location, on the edge of the parking lot, but with the bathroom facing the bush.

 

The central part of the lodge was the best we saw during our whole trip. A beautiful central lounge with a good library and some recliners, a bar, a long table (where meals were served) and a campfire with chairs around it (separated from the outside world by a wooden fence).

 

Edited March 17, 2011 by Jochen

[Jochen]

Most lodges focus exclusively on game drives. Africa On Foot is a bit different, as you can probably tell from the name. Here you have 50% game drives and 50% bush walks.

These "bush walks" are done in the morning. And that makes sense because any other time would be too warm. So, at 6o’clock out of bed, a quick cup of coffee and some rusks (the typical hard biscuit that will get you everywhere in the morning) and then at sunrise (6:30) the bush walk starts. Single file (unless on roads), a ranger in front, a ranger at the back, and the tourists in the middle. Both rangers are armed. Not that it's so dangerous, because you hardly see animals on foot, but you never know. If it is your first bush walk, you get a brief explanation of how to behave, what can / may / will happen, etc.

 

 

Just to reassure you; , these game walks are not dangerous! You never know what you will find in the bush, but you hardly see any animals, plus the guides are very professional and can "read" the bush perfectly: they take into account wind direction, the visibility in the field, and can also interprete the intentions of the animals. None of them (not only at Africa On Foot but also at the other lodges we went to) have ever had to use threir weapon. And they hope they never will need to, because basically a ranger who has to do so has blundered.

 

 

I can hear you think; “You hardly see animals? Then what is the use of bush walks??” Well, first of all, there will of course be some animals. Mostly herbivores, and from afar. There is a good reason for them to stay well out of the way of a peron on foot; a person like that means “danger” (of getting shot, I guess). By now their behavior is deeply ingrained in their genes. They behave very differently than when you sit in a jeep. Once they see a person standing, or even smell him/her, most run as fast as the wind. The exception seems to be giraffes (and probably rhino because of their bad eye sight and only if the wind does not carry your scent to them, but we did not see any on foot).

So you could say; the message is “not to be seen on foot”. That is right, in the sense that you should not wear pure white or black attire i(most animals see no color, so make sure your clothing looks gray/neutral in their eyes). But it is not right when deciding on what route to follow; the rangers will never choose a path that runs through dense undergrowth. Because then it's too difficult for them to spot animals that might prove dangerous.

 

 

The fun of a game walk is not in animal sightings (or at least not the typical sightings that tourists appreciate the most, namely those with a predator and prey). No, the fun lies in the feeling you have by walking around in the bush: there are no borders between you and nature. No more jeeps with doors or windows. No more noisy diesel engine. In fact, it is an indescribable feeling. Your senses will be heightened. Hearing. Smell. And vision. Unless you walk around like a zombie of course. We had some people like that on our trip. They did not even bother to avoid branches or leaves (the cracking of a branch soon sounds as a bomb).

 

 

 

But there's even more fun in bush walks; you learn a lot. You learn about tracks and droppings. You learn about who eats what. You learn to determine your heading by looking at the stars. You learn all about the smaller creatures in the bush (not the least the insects, who are, together with plants, the base of the entire food pyramid).

There is much more lo learn than what you can absorb during one bush walk, and perhaps even a thousand bushwalks may not be enough to know it all, but I can say without exaggeration that by the end of our safari, everything fell into place for me. I saw the bush in it’s totality, a well-oiled machine, with many small cogs (animals and plants), each having it’s purpose.

 

 

Of course, there were still gaps. You can not become a biologist on one bush walk oriented safari. But there was nothing that prevented me to “read” the bush myself , with the (limited) knowledge I had. I understood the essence, and more. At the last lodge, many fellow tourists looked surprised when I could interpret tracks perfectly. "A rhino, going south, a few days ago, and then a hyena, in the opposite direction (because his track were on top of the rhino’s tracks). And here a giraffe, judging by its faeces about a day ago, and it was a male." When the guide confirmed my findings, I must admit it felt very good.

 

 

Credit where credit is due: the basis of this bush knowledge, I got it all at Africa On Foot. Here I learned the most. There is clearly a reason why the lodge is named the way it is. They put a lot of effort in their game walks, and try to make it their top product. And they are succeeding!

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

The game walk will end around 8:30 am, then it's time for a well deserved breakfast. Buy your clothes one size too big, because a breakfast in the bush is essentially an English affair, with "bacon and eggs”, sausages, baked potatoes, beans, etc...

Between ten and three is the siesta time. Time for a little nap, and some conversations with fellow travelers in the lounge. Then a light lunch, and then it's time for the game drive. This drive invariably consists of two parts, one during daylight and one after sunset. And between the two parts, the typical "sundowner" (just watch the sunset with a drink).

 

 

The game drives at Africa On Foot had a lot of variation. Of course, the animals do not show up on demand. So you have to settle for what you find. There are notably fewer animals in the "Lowveld" than for example in the Okavango Delta. Here, near Kruger, it sometimes seemed that there were no animals at all. But somehow the rangers were always able to take us from one sighting to another without chance of getting bored. There are several reasons for this. First of all; the area contains quite a few artificial water holes (either created by damming a lugga, or water is pumped up to the surface). In contrast to the aforementioned Okavango Delta, there are no ever-flowing rivers here. But because of the water holes the animals remain in the neighborhood or stop by regularly. And a second reason for the absence of boredom; Africa On Foot , shares their sightings with Gomo Gomo, another lodge in the same Klaserie Nature Reserve. They also have traversing rights on each other's property. Africa On Foot has a jeep, Gomo Gomo has two. So it’s never crowded at sightings. Strangely enough, we did not see any jeeps of AOF's sister camp "nThambo".

 

 

We had a lot of good animal sightings. Lions with their prey (or without). Elephants. Giraffes. Many grazers. Some beautiful birds of prey. Too much to mention it all here. The only thing we did not get to see was rhino (although we saw a lot of Rhino middens). At a lion sighting the guide drove away from the lions, then stopped the car and asked; "Who would like to go back and see those lions on foot?" Yup, it's quite clear that they want their top product (the walks) to be an unforgettable experience. Of course I went along. But unfortunately for us the lions did not feel for a meeting with humans on foot. They heard us coming and walked off.

 

Edited March 17, 2011 by Jochen

[Jochen]

The night drives resulted in many good sightings as well. More lions, but also a leopard with prey, and a large herd of buffalo coming to quench their thirst in the lake in front of Gomo Gomo lodge. We also had a beautiful sighting of an African wild cat, the wild equivalent of our cats at home. She was very relaxed and sat long enough for a photograph. The night game drives were also carried out with a lot of respect for nature; when grazers were caught in the spotlight they switched off all lights immediately, even the lights of the jeep. The reason for doing so is because these lights would blind them, and they need up to one hour to get their sight adjusted again to the dark. During the time of night blindness, they would be (too) easy prey, and that's not fair. So that’s why all the lights are turned off, and and only stay on for predators (whose eyes adopt very quickly to changing light levels).

 

 

Speaking about nights; at that time we could also enjoy the call of lions, hyenas and even a leopard, all from our room. But the most fun of all were two honey badgers that kept us from our sleep. Judging by the sound, one hit the bar and made the bottles rattle. The other was nosing around in the pots in the kitchen. By shining my headlamp in his direction (and flickering it back & forth) I could scare him off. But half an hour later he was back. Strangely enough, in the morning we hardly found any damage. They apparently were regular guests in the camp.

 

 

Another night we slept in the treehouse, which was built beside a small pool where animals come to drink. It was a bit windy, so on three sides they foresaw a plastic windshield. But the side towards the pool remained open. You also get a radio, for emergencies. Alas, not much happened that night, but it's still exciting, simply because there’s no barrier between you and the bush. If a leopard really wanted then he could climb the stairs and come pay you a visit while you are sleeping. Excitement! Adventure! Most is of it is of course between your ears. The most exiting moment was, in fact, in total darkness, coming downstairs for a visit to the toilet (a small building of stone beside the tree house).

 

(the treehouse)

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

Our time at Africa On Foot really flew by. I’d preferred to stay a day longer. Or a week. Or a year. Well, you really get spoilt there. With beautiful nature, and knowledge of that beautiful nature.

 

I must say; these were the most enthusiastic and inspiring guides we have ever met. Young folks with a lot of ambition, that too. No effort was too much for them. One night, the telescope was set up for me. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn could be seen with the naked eye. But through the telescope they were even more stunning. I even saw four moons of jupiter and the rings of Saturn. I hope it’s clear; this lodge, albeit being rather new, has a lot to offer. Go now, before it becomes unaffordable!

 

For the true safari lovers; CLICK HERE for a vid of a funny lion encounter we had at Africa On Foot.

Edited March 17, 2011 by Jochen

[JohnR]

I really enjoyed reading this report, Jochen, and agree 100% with everything you say about going on foot.

 

Great images too. I love the lion shaking himself.

[basto]

Interesting camp, thanks a lot for the report! I like the comparison with Okavango, it´s so difficult to know what to expekt in different places.

 

Looking forward to the rest.

 

/Tom

[Jochen]

Thx dudes.

 

Here's part 2: Shindzela Tented Camp, Simbavati

 

Shindzela Tented Camp (see the website) is in my opinion equally close to the perfect safari lodge as Africa On Foot is (the previous place we stayed at). Here, each couple doesn't stay in a stone cottage, but a tent. That Tent stands on a wooden platform and wooden poles. It contains a large double bed and two small tables. On the other side of the bed is just enough to put the suitcases. The tent is covered with a thatched roof.

 

 

Behind the tent, still on the same wooden floor and still under the thatched roof is the bathroom. It contains a toilet, a sink and a shower. The walls are made of shoulder-high reeds and bamboo, so you can safely use the term 'outdoor shower' as well because that is exactly what it was. I loved it.

 

 

The lodge is not fenced, and the houses are standing in a row along a dry riverbed. Some water is pumped up in that riverbed, so from your terrace you regularly get to admire animals that come to drink. When we arrived there were vervet monkeys drinking. Immediately a cool sighting for us (in the area of the previous lodge there were no monkeys as there were not enough fruit trees).

 

 

So the rooms were about the ultimate for me. But the central parts were a little bit less. The part I liked was the campfire, which was basically just a pit in the sand and some tree stumps around it (nothing more is needed, quite the contrary). There was also a dining room which was just a long table under a thatch roof. There was no bar or lounge or something. There only was electricity in the central part (to charge batteries). And there was also an "honesty tab bar". Well, that's just a large fridge with soft drinks.

 

They were excavating a pool. I don't see the point in that. It's certainly is no added value for me. I even wonder how they will prevent the elephants to come bathe there, or drink from it. Because the pool is just 50 meters away from their watering hole in the riverbed, and there are no major obstructions in between.

In fact, the previous lodge also had a pool. I even forgot to mention that! Because I've barely seen it. That one was a different type. I can only describe it as a large kettle on the ground, surrounded by a wooden platform. But for that pool too, I ask myself now; how do they keep the animals away? I am certainly going to ask them that next time.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

The daily schedule was identical to previous lodge (though you can change it if you want, you are free to ask). Wake up early for coffee and rusks, then a game walk of about two hours, then around 9-10am a hearty breakfast, then relax. And in the afternoon, first a light lunch around 3pm and then a game drive until about 1,5 hours after sunset. That game drive is interrupted for the typical "sundowner". After the game drive a little chat by the campfire, and then supper.

Speaking about meals, the cook at Shindzela - Gertie - is a phenomenon. She announces every meal with incredible enthusiasm. And rightfully so! As every meal, although it may consist of simple things, is immensely delicious. Gertie is a treasure, and is even mentioned frequently on TripAdvisor. If everyone in the world had Gertie as a cook, there'd be no more wars.

 

 

Gertie's enthusiasm has to be seen to be believed CLICK HERE for a vid taken wile she is announcing breakfast.

 

The guides are both big asset to Shindzela as well. First and foremost, the owner, Dave. I suspect he is somewhere in his mid 40's, and clearly loves nature with all his heart. He is apparently a (school?) friend of the infamous guide Bruce Lawson.

Dave is clearly at home in the bush, where he can do his thing, how he likes it, and when he likes it. His product is of very high quality. He leases the Shindzela concession from a black community, and has the sole right to do safaris there. The area borders the Kruger. He plans to expand further, not in beds, but in property size. Currently he is negotiating with two other owners of private land next to Shindzela. One would be ideal for walking safaris. And one would be nice to have for the game drives.

 

 

Not that the territory is too small now. At least, we didn't have the impression that we were passing the same place twice. Moreover, the area has some nice places where you can easily spend several hours. like a fairly large lake (made by a large dam). Here we saw our first rhino, and also had the weirdest sighting of the entire trip (see below). One of the walks also ended here, and we admired giraffes, zebras and warthogs who came to drink. Dave thinks about building a "treehouse" here, an observation tower where you can spend the night, just like at AOF. That would be fantastic.

 

(camp inhabitant)

 

The second guide is fantastic as well. Mark Graves led about half of our safari activities (Dave often had to go to town, as he is still busy with putting his business on it's feet). Mark was clearly also a pro, with about as much experience as Dave. His knowledge seemed even more comprehensive in the sense that Mark has been guiding in about half of Africa. He has been in Ethiopia and Sudan a lot, for example. Especially nice with Mark was that he could - for a certain animal or a sighting - explain the differences he noted in similar animals or sightings elsewhere. That way, you learn a lot more than you could possibly expect.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

A quick addition; I heard that in the meantime Mark left, again to somewhere far more up North. Dunno where he is. Dunno who's replacing him.

[Jochen]

Time for a little more info on the gamedrives and gamewalks. The first game drive we had little luck. A cold front was coming in, and the wind was picking up. If that happens, all grazers go into hiding. That's quite normal behavior; because of the wind they can often not smell the predators nearby like they normally can. Hence why they hide. We saw some animals, but nothing exceptional. Except for one animal, a Red Crested Korhaan. That's nothing exceptional in itself, but it had its red crest up, in order to impress his mate. What they also do to impress their partner is flying straight up, about 2 to 3 meters high, and then drop back down. Mark knew that by revving the engine of a Toyota jeep, one can sometimes provoke that behavior courting display. Something about the sound of the turbo, the typical whistle, he said. Our jeep was a Land Rover but he tried anyway. And yes! The Korhaan did it. A really cool thing to see. That night there were elephants drinking from the pool in the river bed next to our camp, but it was already completely dark, so we heard them more than we saw them. And that night the wind was blowing so hard that we woke up several times (the wind on that canvas that makes a lot of noise).

 

 

The next morning, during the walk, the weather was still as bad. Even worse; now we had a grey, overcast sky, and even lower temperatures. So again; not that much animals. But an informative walk, regardless. In the afternoon, just before we were going to table for lunch, we got a radio message from Dave. On his way back from the city he had spotted a leopard, about five minutes drive from the camp. He would wait there until Mark had driven us there. Gertie could not hide her disappointment, as she just had just announced her lunch with great enthusiasm. The poor thing!

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

And so we got to see our first leopard in daylight. This little anecdote shows that Dave and Mark will spare no effort when it comes to the safari experience of the guests.

 

Back to the lodge for lunch and then hop, straight back into the jeep for the game drive. It was still windy, but the gray sky was gone. Hopefully we would get to see something more than the day before. At one point I saw two ears sticking out above the grass. I pointed to have Mark stop the jeep, and the first head popped up below those ears, we shouted out in unison "wild dogs!"

 

You should know, wild dogs are always a gift when you get to see them. No lodge can guarantee you will see them. Their hunting area is so big, and they rarely stay long in one place (except when there are newborns, but even then you have to know where to find them first). But in our case it was not just seeing them. We got to spend almost the whole afternoon with them.

 

 

There were six dogs and they walked all around the jeep. They were not in a hurry, and started playing with each other. When finally they moved on, Mark let them go. Here I really noticed how experienced he was. Another guide would probably say "when they run, I must try to keep up with them". But Mark knew exactly where they were going and where we could still see them.

Only when the dogs were completely out of sight, we noticed that there were two hyenas behind our jeep. They obviously knew that when the dogs chase, they are almost always successful. And of course they hoped to steal a bite to eat if the dogs would make a kill. We left the hyenas and took a small tour "around the block". And yes, there were the dogs again. Again we could film and photograph them.

 

 

And again Mark let them go, completely out of sight. He knew with certainty that they would arrive at the dam, and had already radio'd Dave so that Dave could wait for the dogs there. Even though Dave was busy in camp, he rushed over. And indeed, by the time we were at the dam, Dave was waiting for us. But no sign of the dogs (yet).

Dave said, "they will come. Step out of the jeep. We'll go sit on the dam, and wait for them there." And so it happened. They came out of the bush and first they quenched their thirst, and then they walked towards us on the dam. Dave sat down in front of us, to the right. The dogs passed us by very close, and one was a little too curious; twice had Dave to lift to his knees to make clear that we were not planning to be their dinner.

 

This is something you will surely enjoy; CLICK HERE for the vid of the wild dog encounter on the dam. The video is a collage of footage from my wife (sitting in the front, next to me), and Cooch (fellow visitor at that time, from Australia, sitting in the back). You can recognize me as the only creature with big ears that is not on four feet.

 

After that encounter we drank our sundowners on the dam, while the two hyenas passed by as well. Mark told us he was so relieved with this sighting. He had been getting frustrated because we saw so little that previous afternoon and morning.

 

That evening the bad weather gave us trouble one last time; the guard-flame of our gas heater had been blown out. Dave fixed it right away, and we enjoyed a hot shower. After that, we also enjoyed the magic of Gertie again. Mark went to get his black light for me, so I could photograph the scorpions in the dead tree stumps where we were sitting on around the campfire. No reason to panic, they were quite small.

 

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

The next day the temperature returned to normal, so the walk was more enjoyable, and (as said above) it ended at the dam with some amazing sightings of giraffes, zebra and warthog drinking. At noon it got real hot, so we decided to throw a blanket on the terrace in front of our tent and rest there a bit.

 

 

We got lucky a second time; another great sighting while not in the vehicles. First some warthogs trotted through camp, and then elephants came to drink at the waterhole in the lugga. Enjoying beautiful animals from your terrace, without any fences in between; is there anything more cool than that?

 

 

Another video; CLICK HERE for a vid of the elephants visiting the waterhole at Shindzela.

 

On the last game drive Mark clearly gave all he had. As if he wanted to make up for that day of lousy weather. He knew that rhinos had evaded us so far, and decided that he would change that. After some tracking and examining several rhino "middens" (rhinos males defecate at fixed places), he soon found fresh spoor. When we finally caught up with him he was at the most photogenic place …the dam! A better place was not possible; out in the open, and a nice landscape all around him. The perfect end to a fantastic safari at Shindzela!

 

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

There you go folks, hope you like the Shindzela info.

 

One remark; I reread a bit of the report here & there, and I now realize it was written for a forum where there's far less safari knowledge, so I apologize for the lengthy explanations that are about stuff you all are of course very much aware of.

[Atravelynn]

Great photos, including the scorpion at night. The ele clip was like being there.

[Kavey]

Really enjoyed it... had already looked at your photos from a link you shared before, but a pleasure to see them placed in context and the videos too!

[Jochen]

Thanks!

 

On to part 3: Elephant Plains in Sabi Sands GR.

[Jochen]

Elephant Plains Lodge (see the website) is very different than the previous places we stayed at.

For instance, the lodge is completely surrounded by electric wires. No animal, unless things smaller than 10 centimeters, can get in or out. The only opening in that "wall" is the driveway to the reception. There, a staff member is on duty, to remove a chain (which is also powered) to let cars pass. I had heard that large camps in Kruger NP are fenced this way. That sort of seemed logical to me, because it's the only way to ensure that a large mob of self-drivers and campers is safe at night. But I had not expected a fence like that here. Meanwhile I have learned that this is common practice within Sabi Sand lodges. I cannot understand why tourists, who are in search of unspoiled nature, want to keep that same nature out at night. I felt like in the zoo, on the wrong side of the bars.

 

The lodge itself is very beautiful. It is classified as "luxury lodge", but you would not notice that from their tariffs; they are cheaper then Africa On Foot, for example. Now, to be honest: all the lodges in Sabi Sands GR are "luxury lodges". We chose Elephant Plains because we absolutely wanted to visit Sabi Sands and because this lodge seemed like the only affordable option. Most other lodges are a bit to a lot more expensive.

 

How come? …you might ask. The guide told us a thing or two about that. First of all; the most expensive lodges definitely cater for a different public. The rooms are much bigger, there's even more luxury (things that Elephant plains did not have, like internet in the room, or heated towel racks, or a personal plunge pool), and their area is huge as well. Of course, you easily pay three to ten times as much as we did. But apart from those lodges, there are quite a few that are similar. For instance; Arathusa, Chitwa Chitwa, etc. So how come these are more expensive then? According to our guide, Elephant Plains owns a fairly large area, meaning that they themselves need to buy less traversing rights on other territories than those other lodges …who need to buy traversing rights from Elephant Plains!

 

 

Our guide told us another interesting thing; Elephant Plains has an average occupancy of more than 90%, but at other, more expensive, lodges that figure is between 40 and 60%. According to him there are too many lodges fishing in the same pond (aka the rich tourist pond). Added to that; that the fact that we are still in the aftermath of a financial crisis …you get the idea.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

Enough about prices. Back on topic: how does the lodge look? At the entrance there's an administrative building, a building with toilets, a curio shop, a bar (with a wine cellar underneath where you can choose your bottle) and the building where breakfast and lunch is served. All these buildings are connected by a central hall, covered with a thatched roof.

 

After registering we were assigned a porter who had to bring us to our room. Along the way he halted a couple of times, to show us "the sights":

 

"Above is a library with DVDs, so you can look at nature films". (Huh? DVDs? We're still here among the animals? Why watch them on DVD?)

 

"Here is the terrace and pool. At the end of the lodge, there is another large terrace and a pool". I have always doubted whether such pools are at all, except by children. But children are not welcome in many places in the bush. At Elephant Plains, the pool was used one day …by children. So it seems I was right. And another thing I can confirm; children are allowed here.

 

"Here is the Gym and Health Spa is here where you can enjoy a massage." (Who comes to the bush for that?)

 

After ten minutes (!) we were finally at our "cabin". We had booked a "rondavel" and those were all the way at the back. Our cabin was completely surrounded by other buildings. On one side other rondavels, and on the other side a "game room" (with a billiard table and a bar etc).

 

I fear we could not quite hide our disappointment. We wondered why - for the price we had paid - they were unable to give us a little "bush-view". After all, the earlier lodges had all provided us with that. Here it was only possible for the most expensive rooms. We were not even given a piece of garden view; on our right, next to our hut, was an aisle to other rondavels, and in front people passed on their way to the game room. So, all curtains and shutters remained closed.

 

 

Not just our sight was blocked, our hearing was too. Well, this was the first lodge where our room had glass windows. This is the price you pay for air conditioning, you need glass to keep the cold inside, and the sound of the roaring airco's out. Unfortunately, you lockout the African night as well. So at this lodge we heard no roaring lions, hooting owls, or anything else at night.

 

For the rest, the room was luxurious of course; a large bed, a refrigerator, a telephone, a ceiling fan, a huge bathroom, ... It looked like a typical hotel room in a big city. But then dropped down in the middle of the bush. All that "luxury" was unnecessary for us, and some attentions were somewhat "over the top". Like the chocolate and the bed time story on your pillow in the evening. Or a crisp white, damp towel to wipe off your face after a game drive. We noticed, however, that such things make a difference for other tourists. One girl said her uncle had visited another (much more expensive) lodge in the neighborhood and that they used these white towels after a game drive… She was overly ecstatic when she saw that at Elephant Plains they had them too. Homo Sapiens, the most vain genus on this planet.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

Side note; I noticed I forgot to mention something in my trip report: the room smelled of flowers, but in an unnatural way. I soon found the tool that was responsible for that. It was on top of the closet, one of those automatic refreshers. So here was another consequence of a "closed room". I don't know if you all know this but those things are highly carcinogenic! We switched ours off immediately, and did so every time some cleaning personnel decided to switch it back on.

[Jochen]

So our room was not quite to our liking, and the common parts of the lodge were a bit over-the-top (but gorgeous). But we had expected that a bit. We didn't mind that much. However, what we did not expect was how the evening meals were handled. That went like this: you entered in a sort of arena with a high stone wall all around (2.5 to three meters high, so any contact with the bush: forget it), and in the middle was a campfire. Against the wall of the arena, all the way around the fire, were individual tables.

The idea seemed perfectly clear; they had tried to combine the coziness of a campfire with dinnertime. But the end result of this "experiment" is that neither concepts remained intact; the fire was too far, so you got no heat from it, and dinner was a lonely affair as socializing with fellow tourists was simply not possible (you could just talk to the person sitting next to you, for people further down the line you would have to shout).

In an attempt to bring the sprit of the campfire back, they gave the tourists marshmallows. These you could go and warm up in the fire. A use which hardly has any meaning to Europeans. Perhaps children like it.

Meanwhile, we learned that this is standard practice in almost all lodges in the Sabi Sands. Well, for us it was the first time, and preferably not be repeated. We have visited many lodges, but none where the social event called "dinner" is replaced by the bush equivalent of a TV dinner (with view at a campfire instead of at a TV). The person who has invented this formula deserves a public execution. Period.

[Jochen]

My apologies for the whining about all that did not meet our expectations at the lodge. But I'd rather be complete, so that everyone knows what he can expect at this lodge. Please don't dismiss Elephant Plains (or Sabi Sands in total) because of the above remarks. We certainly do not mean to say that Elephant Plains is a poor choice. It has plenty of good qualities too. For example, the meals themselves were delicious, the staff was extremely friendly, the price (especially for Sabi Sands) affordable, and so on.

Also, the view from the terrace by the pool was spectacular as well. Across a dry river bed you could see a grassy plain with tall trees. There was a small artificial waterhole too so regularly you could see animals who came to drink. That there were no bushes whatsoever in that grass plain probably means that sometimes a bit of gardening is done. But who cares; the pictures you take from the terrace all show this "typical African scene", the way people picture Africa in their head.

 

 

So; plenty of positive things as well, and I haven't even mentioned the best yet: the game drives were all very spectacular in terms of animal sightings. I've just checked my photo archive, and counted how many "keepers" I have. Normally I should have about double, when compared to previous lodges (as there we only had one gamedrive a day and here we have two; note that a bush walk very rarely produces "keepers"). Well, the number of photos from Elephant Plains is not double, but almost triple! In other words, counting per game drive I got about 40% more keepers..

 

There are a number of reasons why their game drives are so successful. One reason is the size of their territory. The larger the concession, the more likely that there are interesting animals to be spotted. A second reason is the traversing rights: the lodges share each other's territories, and each jeep warn the others if something interesting has been spotted. And a third reason is that even during the hours that there are no game drives, they have scouts driving around is search of animals. This way a guide immediately knows where to go when leaving the lodge. Our guide, Louis, started every drive with a call on his radio:

 

"Stations, stations. EP3 is mobile. Any updates?

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

Are there any disadvantages to this type of game drives? Unfortunately, yes.

 

A first disadvantage is that some sightings may become too "popular". Such sighting is shared with all other jeeps that want to pay a visit. There is an agreement that a maximum of three jeeps can be present at a sighting. In practice this means that they work with "slots". The guides decide, via the radio, who gets which place in the queue, probably depending on the distance to the sighting in question. Upon arriving at the sighting you may have up to about 15 to 20 minutes (I guess). Then you have to make room for other people.

 

 

This type of arrangement has the disadvantage that you are never alone with a sighting (always a small battle for the best place for photography), and that you might need to leave just when it gets interesting. It could also happen that the opportunity is gone before that it's your turn .

 

In all honesty; during our stay we noticed very little of these disadvantages. We can count the number of sightings with a rotation system on one hand. But just be warned; a whole afternoon alone with wild dogs like in Shindzela; that sort of thing you can forgot about here at EP.

 

 

Another disadvantage we saw is not for tourists but for the animals. In our eyes the animals did not get much rest. Certainly not at the time the game drives take place. They are usually stalked by several jeeps, and the jeeps come very close. A few examples: one time, we were so close that a leopard was contemplating using the hood of our jeep to get out of a tree. And once we came so close to elephants that that one could have touched us if he'd wanted too. The guide wisely decided to give the elephant some more space at that point.

 

The guide told us that the animals were accustomed to the jeeps, but sometimes it seemed to us that the animals had little choice, it was either get used to the jeeps, or move to another territory. This was not just a feeling we had, one time we clearly got proof: at a hyena den we were looking at two pups, when the guide said: "the mother moved them six times already but we always find them again". As a tourist I had a bit of a dilemma. On the one hand I must admit I liked taking pics of those pups. But on the other hand I thought: "why not leave them alone then, even though you know where they are?"

 

In our view they should give the animals some more space and privacy. It often seemed like "safari on steroids". I mean, after we were able to extensively photograph a lion, what good is it to follow that animal by driving through thick bush, when it clearly wants to get away from us?

 

 

Now, to be honest, even though we often felt that the game drives were a bit "over the top", the number of animals in the area and their behavior towards the jeeps clearly show that the methods used by the lodge are far from unsuccessful.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen

[Jochen]

A little more info about the sightings we had. Lots of leopards, and up close. Also a lot of rhino. One day, our guide wanted to explore an area where he had not been for quite a while, and where few other jeeps were. It resulted in a sighting of a rhino family: mom, dad, and their baby rhino.

 

 

When we were there, there were few lions, but we were lucky. Let me explain: there are apparently five or six males who have forged a coalition. Something rarely seen before, but it was also detrimental to the lion population in the area. Not only did a lot of lion cubs die, but the aggression of these males was so high that many lionesses chose to flee the area. Our guide told us that there were less than sixty lions in Sabi Sands because of this big coalition of males. Meanwhile the coalition has fallen apart and everybody hopes there will be plenty of new cubs next year. We were lucky as two of those "coalition" brothers were in the area and they got hold of a giraffe with a broken leg.

 

 

We saw very little birds, but that's partly due to the fact that I had to make it clear to our guide that we were not "newbies", and that he should not only focus on the big five, but should also pay attention to the rest of the animals. In hindsight, I think he was glad. It was for him something different than reciting the same facts about the big five over and over.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Jochen