South African Adventure
First stop was Lesedi Cultural Village. I didn’t know what to expect for our first night but the ‘warriors’ were all smiling at us and took us & our luggage to the various village rooms. We did a tour which entailed a small group each being given a warrior guide who took us around the Basotho, Ndebele, Pedi, Xhosa & Zulu villages and told us stories about their culture as we went. Afterwards we went to the main dance performance followed by dinner with the tribal chiefs. Dinner was accompanied by some tribal music and the menu included crocodile, ostrich and ‘beans that thunder the buttocks’.The accommodation here was simple and rustic but everything worked and the people were very friendly.
Next day we set off for De Wildt Cheetah Centre. Here we listened to an introduction that informed us that a cheetah found on your property (in Africa!) is a good thing. De Wildt is one of only two breeding centres in the world and after many years they have introduced over 750 cheetahs back into the wild. Part of the education process is to introduce cheetahs to local people and explain how they live and hunt. Byron was chosen because he is curious and tolerant of human contact. We even got to stroke him!
Madikwe National Park is home to the ‘big five’ and is malaria free. Our lodge was Rhulani & over the two nights we were treated like house guests by Marnus and his team. Rhulani has 7 private lodge rooms and a family suite. They all have viewing decks with plunge pools, luxurious bathrooms with outdoor showers and a huge bedroom. The first night we ate by lamplight round a log fire and the second night we were in the ‘boma’. The lodge has its own waterhole and the animals come to drink regularly throughout the day. As it isn’t fenced, you have to be escorted by an armed ranger to and from your rooms after dark.
When we weren’t on game drives, we spent our days visiting some of the neighbouring lodges. They all have their own character either on the river bank, clinging to the cliffs or in the middle of the bush, but the emphasis is on natural surroundings and blending the buildings into the natural environment. We visited Tuninigi, Buffalo Ridge and Impodimo – I would have been happy to have stayed at any of them but had fallen in love with Rhulani and felt sad to leave.
At Sun City we checked into Cascades, one of four hotels that form this resort sited in the heart of an ancient volcano. The other three are The Palace of the Lost City, Cabanas & Sun City hotel with the surrounding golf course, lake, valley of the waves waterpark and facilities for horse riding, tennis, mountain biking and numerous other activities.
I then travelled on to ‘Elephant Wallow’. This is a safari experience with a difference as you get to do it on elephant back! We were greeted at the lodge and told a little about the history of the elephants who originally came from Zimbabwe. The herd consists of Chikwenya, Sharu, Sapi, Mana, Michael and baby Lesego .
Our herd arrived very gently and they wrapped their trunks around the log fencing whilst they were introduced. Baby Lesego would have climbed under the fencing if he could as he hadn't figured out yet that he’s too big!
We rode with a handler in front and one or two of us behind. Wow – it’s along way down! The elephants have several trails they walk and our trek was through a reserve with lions, leopard, rhino, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and many of the smaller impala etc. We passed within a few feet of a small herd of rhino - how amazing was that!
After the ride the elephants are taken away from the lodge to a garden area. If you ask for ‘trunk down’ you put the pellets into their trunk like a tube – if you go for ‘up’ they lift their trunks and open their mouths so you put the pellets at the back of their tongue – which means your hand disappears almost up to your elbow! Amazing!