In the Bush: Chapter 2: The daily routine & game drives

I apologize for the delay in getting this post up, but last week has been very busy as I focused on collating the findings from this trip and producing a recommendation.  The feedback we got today from the presentation was very good so that makes me happy.

I think the next logical topic as I document my adventures in the bush is to tell you a bit more about game drives (or as it is known to the rest of the world - and myself before I got here -  "safari").

As a guest at the these lodges in the game reserve, your daily activities are largely already planned for you.  Of course, there are options to deviate from these plans and other adventures and options that you can take, and I mean ultimately, the choice is yours if you decide to just take it easy and spend your time by the pools.

The schedule

Your morning usually begins at around 5am, when your ranger gives you a wake up call, either by phone or by knocking on your door (if your lodge's phone is not working).  The ranger is a very important person to you at the game lodges.  They are your guide for the game drives which means they drive the vehicle and provide information to you. He (or sometime she) is very important to your wildlife experience. (I must say, my ranger at Phinda made my experience =)).  They are very well trained and extremely knowledgeable, from animals, to birds, to trees, to plants, to bugs, to tracks, to dung and of course the reserve since they have to drive and guide you around to observe different things.

Then at around 5:30am, you're expected to be at the "deck" which is usually where you get tea or coffee and a quick snack (my usual is black tea with honey with cookies - hmm *drools*) After your little eye-opener (unfortunately not like curling, there is not baileys at that point.. yet), you will meet your ranger and the fellow guests who shares your vehicle at your vehicle

@ Kirkman's Kamp - on my first game vehicle with my coworker sekoati and a single visitor from NYC Eric

@kirkmans, Ralph, our ranger and Richard our tracker asking us what we wanted to see , and then realize that he just needed to find me "something with 4 legs that moves" (since it was my first drive - i must say the standards rose for awhile and then it went down again by the end of the two weeks)

Then your morning "game drive" starts and last for about 3 hours until around 9 with a refreshment (at this point you can bring out the baileys-equivalent - the Amarula and have that with hot chocolate)  and bush toilet break. (More on game drives later)

Richard and Ralph organizing our coffee/tea (and amarula) with the cookies -yum

A nice spot at kirkman's with the biggest tree in the area

For one of our drives at Phinda Forest, Wayne and Nsika took us to the mountain area (on the other side of the reserve) and it was beautiful.  It was only my coworker and I and by that time we've seen a lot of things, so we were happy with the change of scenery (no one else spotted anything that morning anyways).  Wayne was excited to drive on new roads and we heard a lot of new bird calls in that area.

Upon return to the lodge from your drive,  breakfast is served.  After breakfast, you can choose to either have a nap, take a dip in the pool (which you have to do then, since you can't do it in the dark) or go for a nature walk (bush walk - again more on that later). For me and my coworker, we spent most of these time doing real work and visiting the communities to conduct meetings and seminars.  Then lunch is served at around 1, and sometimes depending on the lodge they might skip that and serve high tea instead a bit later (e.g. Phinda Forest).

At around 3:30pm to 4pm, you meet at the "deck" again for tea/coffee/cake/snack/afternoon refreshment and chit-chat before heading off for your afternoon drive. There is again a break for sundowner - where you stop and have a drink and snacks and use the facilities ("find your own bush wisely" bush toilets, i usually ask for a recommendation just in case something decides to come eat me...)  And your drive wraps up with the night portion where you can observe night animals.

@ Kirkman's , it got a bit chilly so Ralph made himself a blanket skirt! - You can see our selection of drinks (alcoholic too) with the snacks - usually nuts, cornuts, dried fruits and biltongs (jerkys)

@ Ngala - Tracker Ernie putting a cool metal table together 

@Ngala - that was right after Peter, our ranger, destroyed a dung beatle's day of work by stepping on it

@ Phinda Forest, on my last drive, one of our vehicle-mate Justine convinced me that I must try the Amarula - given that it was the last drive (i was getting a bit upset about leaving), i figure might as well - and had it on the rocks.  It was quite nice! (I checked the LCBO, we sell it in Canada which means I don't need to bring one back).

@ Phinda Forest with the amarula in hand - the weather was getting worse and rain was coming.. it was so memorable though because when there was lightning, the entire sky was so clear that the whole thing lit up like an endless movie screen.. 

@ Phinda Mountain - they had a nice table with sparkling wine (our vehicle mate from cape town spotted it earlier, and the ranger tried to tell us it was a census table that counted the number of rhinos in the area... i actually believed him... geez... i'm so gullible) - more stories on gullibility later 

ranger Brett at Phinda Mountain, trying to open the sparkling wine

we found a nice spot for it =)

@ Phinda Forest, this was what Wayne was trying to organize for us (because it was the last drive for 4 of our vehicle mates) and of course there was the whole " oh look at those on the trees, i wonder what they are!"

It was a beautiful area for the surprise...but

Unfortunately, it was not for us... (none of the names on the glasses meant anything to us)... Apparently wayne's request was never confirmed and another vehicle beat us to it.. booo

so we took pictures instead! =) and then went somewhere else for our drinks

Once you return to the lodge, it's usually dark and you have to be escorted to your room by armed security (yes, because the lodges are not fenced off, you could get eaten).   Then you get to be escorted back by security for dinner.  They usually host dinner at different parts of the lodge to make it different everyday.  Sometimes, your ranger and the rest of your vehicle-mates joins you for dinner.  Other times, you can have it with your own party only.

I must say, usually by dinner time, I'm exhausted.. and then the day ends with the final escort back to your rooms.


Game Drives


I must say that after my dream experience at these private game reserves, I have now been spoiled with the way game drives should be conducted.  It will be very hard to experience it any other way.

At these lodges, you are assigned a specific ranger and tracker team and have a specific vehicles (their vehicle) that you go on every time you're scheduled to go on a game drive (yes, you can choose not to go on one if you want to skip it, that's entirely at your discretion.. but really? it's the highlight activity for going to the game reserves! So why would you skip it?!?!)

I've already told you the role that your ranger plays.  The tracker is the other person who plays an important role in your game drive experience.  He (and mostly he this time), sits in the front of the vehicle and is responsible for spotting animals, as well as tracks (hence, the name tracker), and sometimes helping with directions for the ranger.  The tracker and ranger usually work in partnerships (that don't change) and will largely direct/provide guidance to what you will see on a game drive.

Me trying to be a tracker.. I remember asking Richard (from kirkmans) whether he's ever fallen off before, and he said not yet... I mean if you see where the vehicle goes, you'd be impressed at how strong the tracker's arm strength is to keep themselves on the seats

Advantage of sticking with the same ranger/tracker for your stay

1) Continuity:  they know what you have seen and what you haven't seen. They also know where you've been which is helpful if you're there for a long time (in my case, I was at Phinda Forest for almost 7 days)

2) You always have space on your assigned vehicle: There is no need to race other people in order to get into a vehicle (which is the practice at some other reserves as you are not assigned)

3) You build a relationship with your tracker and ranger and your fellow vehicle-mate (until they check out and get replaced  by new guests). It's just that much more enjoyable when you can refer to the last drive where you saw X,Y,Z and the one before that when you shared a moment watching A, B, and C

4)  There is a limit to how many guests they assign on a vehicle: Usually you never have more than 6 guests in a vehicle so it's very spacious (The landrover has 3 rows for guests - which could squish in 3 per row.. but that's too squishy)


Other things to note

You are also very well taken care of during these drives.  Not only are you asked what you would like to see (at the beginning of the drive, and then the ranger/tracker try to "track" what you want to see for you - as long as it's not unreasonable demands like the lochness monsters), you're provided with drinks and snacks as well as blankets to sit on (which I think is a mechanism to add grip so that you won't get thrown off the vehicle when you go off road).

As well, you get blankets that you can use when it gets chilly at night/ or because of the strong wind (when you're gunning down at high speed trying to spot that leopard).  There are also ponchos that will be provided to you if it looks like it will rain/ is raining.

Me in a poncho

Orientation & Rules

In order to make the experience even more enjoyable, you're given an orientation before your first drive by your ranger which includes the following:

1) Where you are in the world (Africa -> South Africa -> Reserve area)

map of kirkmans'

2) Orientation about the company , about the foundation, etc
3) Star birds (there are usually 10 special ones that they pick for each reserve) that you can try to spot
4) Then you also get the etiquette and rules:
i) Don't make too much noises when observing animals
ii) Don't stand up (The animals perceive the vehicle as one metal block, and they get quite comfortable with it, the minute a person stands up, they will spot a human, and the cats will think they can try to get to it... then it's not good)...
iii) Don't jump off the vehicle, etc..

Peter showing us the map of Ngala (it looks like an upside down zebra head)

Because these are private game reserves, there are strict rules that ensures you respect the animals and also the land.  At any observation sites, you're allowed a maximum of 3 vehicles only.  All the vehicles are connected by radio such that if something interesting is spotted, that information is shared.   However,if you're the 4th vehicle (also sometimes depending on the landscape, maybe only less vehicles will fit), then you will have to wait on standby.  This is a way to provide space for the animals and not to stress them out (Apparently at Kruger national park - the public park, there's no such rules, hence cars will drive closer and closer to the animals to make sure they get a good view, it's quite bad).  We had an experience where we found all the Big 5 in one drive and we were the ones to discover them all - first viewer advantage =)   Our ranger and tracker did well that day (Big thanks to Wayne and Nsika, and we said that everyone else owes them drinks for the night)

Wayne and Nsika - we were on the field area looking for cheetahs/ or lions or something

best team ever!

:D

In addition to the number of vehicle rules, there are also strict rules about going off road.  Typically game drives occur on roads (sand roads) and to go off road means you drive into the forest/bush/whatever.  Because some areas are burnt for regeneration (they burn it all down, then regrow the area), some of the grass are too new to be trampled over by vehicles.  Hence you can't go off road in those areas (I think the rule is it has to be half the height of the wheel to qualify).  Also - depending on what you're viewing you can also be permitted to go off road.  For example at Sabi- you can go off road for the Big 5, other cats and the wild dogs.  At Ngala it was only the cats and the wild dogs.  At Phinda (because it's closed system and does not have wild dogs), it's only for cats and the black rhino (since they are rare).   This is why sometimes, the ranger and tracker go on walks to confirm what it is that they think is there, before we go off road to find the animals.

That was Ralph in his rain suit (I think that was when they found the 3 male lions at kirkmans' attempting to stalk a giraffe but failed)

Peter and Ernie going off to look for something

looking at tracks

I think we were in the dry river looking for leopard tracks

Driving off road - sometimes you drive right into the marsh (to see water buffalo's) that's someone else's vehicle

Or right through the river (@ Kirkman's) traversing the Sand river

And again! richard had to make sure to lift his legs up to not get  splashed

Or you drive into the dry river (Thembavati?) @ ngala which is significantly drier - prob the sand river would be more appropriate

Or through the Sand forest (in one of Phinda's areas) @ Phinda Forest

Spotting animals

To be honest, I quite cool to be in an open top vehicle and to be able to see the animals up close (i guess i just never did my research to know what i was going to get)

On rides, you're also encouraged to spot things, and the ranger will explain how they are tracking the animals (by looking at tracks). I realized by the end of the 14 day adventure that my eye sight is really bad for spotting animals.  The only thing that i managed to do in the end is to recognize some of the bird call (only "coffee, tea or me" - more on birding later).  I was always amazed by the things that the tracker and ranger can spot.Even at night time, the tracker's eyes are so great and we are only able to see some of the night animals because of it.  The tracker wears glasses (to avoid the bugs that fly into the spot light) and uses a spotlight to look for eyes of the animals that will reflect (I will have a post on night animals later).

Husband of a lovely older couple from durban - Lawrence - they were veteran wild life watcher. And Dave from boston (his wife lisa was off the shot)

You know you're seeing cool things when your ranger takes out his camera to take pictures ;) (wayne and his giant camera) I think he was taking a picture of a cute reedbuck (good cheetah food in that area)

The tracker comes in when you're near cats (partially because they are too distinct of a human figure to stay at the front - and the cats will see that, and also because when you go offroad for the cats, you run down trees - so it's not that safe to run the tracker into a tree) - we were observing two gorgeous male lions at this point

Being a ranger

As I've mentioned above, the ranger makes your experience at the game reserve but being a ranger is not easy.  I am so impressed at the level of professionalism and the amount of knowledge that the rangers have.  In my attempt to find a way to stay behind in my favourite place in the world, I really thought long and hard about becoming a ranger.  Hence, I asked wayne what it took to become one.

To start, you must apply, then you go through a selection training period that is kinda like a boot camp (basically if you can't do it, you'll self select out).  Then you are moved to the game reserve that you'll be working at and begin training there.  Finally when you're about to graduate, you have to do a 14 day bush walk unarmed.  Each day, the ranger trainee will just go walk to a specific route without a rifle and retrieve something to prove that they made it (?).  They need to learn the roads and what to do if they get near certain animals.  It's actually quite scary if you think about it.

Life as a ranger is also not that easy.  (Actually it's the same with the rest of the staff).  You work 6 weeks straight and then you get 2 weeks off.  You work long hours and you're always serving guests.  You might sometimes have to deal with difficult guests or guests with difficult questions (or the same questions all the time).  I think you must really love the bush to work like this.  People say that Consulting is not a job,it's a lifestyle, and a tough one that is.  I think that working out in the reserves is much tougher lifestyle than consulting.

My closest attempt at being a ranger @ ngala.. and yes i was wearing a skirt because i was in meetings all morning and had no time to change

with coworker sekaoti and our host - lotus

@ kirkmans

apparently phinda vehicles and the other vehicles from kirkmans and ngala are different.. do you spot the difference? (coz i don't) Toyotas versus landrovers... hmm?

So anyways, i really thought i could do this, until I remember how much I didn't like it when the beatles attack me... so maybe I can't be a ranger... but maybe i can find another way to stay there ;) ...

Now, some teasers to the animal pictures that are to come - I think i'm going to start with the ... dum dum dum - one of the big 5 next time ;)

The animal and their zulu names! :D I learned them ;) 

Its a bit hard to see - but i like a crash of rhinos and a dazzle of zebras ;)

To be continued...

In the Bush: Chapter 1: where I stayed

I figure the best way to start describing my experience in some of the most beautiful places in the world is to start by sharing where I stayed.  As mentioned in the Table of Content post, I stayed in 3 game reserves and in 4 lodges.


Sabi-sand game reserve: Kirkman's Kamp

So on Sunday 30 October, I took a short puddle hopper flight from Joburg to Nelspruit (Kruger Mpumalanga International).  Then it was about a 1.5 hour drive from Nelspruit to Sabi - sand game reserve, a private reserve that shares an unfenced border with Kruger National park (on the south west side).  It is famous for the sighting of the Big 5 (more on that later).

Gate that controls in/out of the conservation area (also to make sure you didn't smuggle an animal out)

Arrival to Kirkman's Kamp!

Kirkman's Kamp's main building used to be a hunting cottage of someone from the 1920s.  They have since kept up on the theme and built additional guest accommodations to that theme.

Upon arrival, I was introduced to a bunch of the staff who came to welcome us and was introduced to Sonny Boy who was going to be our butler for our stay.  We were given a tour of the lodge area and had to sign my life away on a waiver form that pretty much says if I get eaten the lodge will not take any responsibilities.  As well, because the lodge area is not fenced off, animals do come into camp.  It is thus recommended that you do not use the pool between dusk til dawn and also that you must be escorted by a security guard at night if you are to move between buildings (from main area to room).

Then the lodge manager also gave us the schedule/itinerary of this lodge.  Wake up knocks on the doors are at  5am and we meet for coffee/tea at 5:30am.  Then you're off to your morning game drive that goes until 9 to 9:30am.  Then you're off for the morning to nap, enjoy the pool, schedule a bush walk, etc.  Lunch is then served at 1pm.  And then we meet again at 4:00pm and around 4:30pm we're off for our afternoon game drive that runs into the evening (night) portion.  We return at around 7:30pm and then drinks are served.  Then dinner is around 8pm.  (Un)lucky for us, our meetings/work engagements are scheduled to start at around 10am and end shortly after lunch 2pm hence we had the opportunity to do the morning game drives and the afternoon ones (just no nap) - SLEEP IS OVERRATED. I figure I can do that when I'm back in Joburg, when I'm back in Canada, I've gotta just do it all while I can! This also means I'm usually exhausted by dinner time...

A fever tree! (Apparently it got its name because  people in the past went into the area and got  malaria, and one of the symptoms of malaria is getting a fever, so they thought it was the trees that were causing it.  The tree also has a Shangaan name, but i don't remember it.

Antlers, just like what you would expect at a hunting lodge

that was the picture of the owner

A water buffalo

This was the scoreboard! Where people congregate after a game drive and tally up their score.  The highest points awarded is for the Cape hunting dog, and the kill at 200 each. (by rarity)

the main driveway and also where you board your game vehicles for game drives (see game drive post)

The lounge area

The usual breakfast, lunch areas

The swimming pool that overlooks the river

looking back at the houses/cottages that holds 2 rooms each.  They are all along the river (sand's river) It is because of the river that a lot of animals from Kruger comes to Sabi, increasing the chances of seeing animals here.

Once I finished walking around the lodge area, I went to my room and it was beautiful

Lemon and passionfruit cordial and snacks

The shower! Really liked the wooden grill at the bottom

Branded bottles (apparently some guests take these.. like really?)

a bathtub and lots of towels

I didn't get a close-up but the band around the soap is branded (you'll see for the other lodges)

A stocked fridge with little alcohol bottles on the side (didn't make it into the picture).  The little pop bottles are cute (all over South Africa)

Safe and other amenities, incl a horn, bug spray, insecticide, shoe brush

Complementary laundry form: 3rd bullet from the bottom: "Occasionally hyena and baboons raid the laundry area"

A beautiful bed :)

It seems that all of these lodges have an area called the BOMA where there is a big grill (South African likes their braais) and they usually rotate having dinners there every few nights.

We ended up having dinner there on our first night, with the fellow guests in our game drive vehicle and the ranger.  I stayed at Kirkmans for 3 nights and then we drove up north for about 1.5- 2 hours to Ngala.


Ngala game reserve: Ngala Main lodge


Because of the rain that we got on our 2nd day in Sabi, the rural south African roads did not hold up (a new found appreciation of tarred road for sure!) and man it was a bumpy ride... regardless, we managed to arrive at Ngala game reserve shortly after 4:30pm.

When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by a couple of birds at the entrance.  Then our "African momma", Connie came with a drink, and cool towels to welcome us.  Again, we had to sign our lives away - since the camp is not fenced off.  Very similar rules exist between the two camps, but there are also its differences.  The schedule was slightly different (but with the same morning knock on the door at 5am), lunch was at around the same time, and there's also an afternoon game drive at around 4:30pm.  Similar rules with not walking around the property without an escort at night (unless you want to be eaten).

Entrance area

these are real birds!

the area where supposedly you can get wi-fi

A watering hole, where animals will come and drink.  We were warned that if any of the big cats come or the elephants we were to remain on the deck (avoid the grass area) to keep some distance

lounge area in the distance

the lounge area close up

hmm looks lovely to just relax here

Then we were shown to our rooms and we took as little time as possible to get ready so that we can go join the afternoon game drive that has already started.  It was called a linked-out.

There are two latches on each of the room because bush criminals (baboons and vervet monkeys)  figured out how to unlatch only one (the top one)

another very nice shower

we were recommended to keep the curtains closed, otherwise the bush criminals will try to do anything to get in if they see something from outside the window

branded soap ribbon

complimentary sherry in the room

a nice canopy king sized bed in a hut like room

At Ngala main camp, because it is so remote, there is actually no cell phone towers at all.  We were warned by our host, Lotus, about that.  So when the landline phones are down at the lodge, it is actually quite inconvenient.  (Also no cell phone tower means there's no data stick usage).  We were cut off from the world for 2 days (which was somewhat refreshing.. as I didn't really have much time to go online anyways with our schedule packed with work and being a tourist).

Ngala BOMA

beautiful

love the lamps

Similar atmosphere but a very different set up, still pretty.

Ngala game reserve: Ngala tented camp (just a visit only)

Lotus wanted to make sure we get to take a look at the more luxurious camp that was in the same reserve, the Tented camp.  So one afternoon, he took us over for a tour.    It was very different than what I had pictured when I heard it was a "tented" camp.  

the main area

Pool that opens up again into the viewing area

the tent!

Inside a room, you can see the tented top

A true outdoor shower

a tub

Looking in from the outside

Apparently the tented camps have been running for over 10 years.  They will actually be redoing all the tent tops in Feb of next year.  I can't wait to see how great it'll look afterwards.

Ngala Game Reserve: Ngala Main Camp (the private suite visit)

We also took a tour to the private suite on Ngala Main Camp which is usually rented out to a family.

Only one bed in here so far, but apparently furniture can be moved around including adding more beds

A private pool!

and a beautiful balcony view

And so after a short two night stay at Ngala Main camp (being cut off from the world), I was back to Johannesburg shortly for Friday night.  Accommodation was booked for us starting on Saturday and there was no way I would be missing out on this opportunity of a lifetime.  Hence bright and early on Saturday morning, I flew to Richard's bay and a 1.5-2 hour ride later to begin my second week in Phinda Game Reserve.

Phinda Game Reserve - Forest lodge

The beauty of arriving on Saturday morning is that work doesn't start until Monday.  Besides, my colleague does not get in until mid-day sunday (wanted to spend time with his family in joburg).  Hence it was definitely a nice break for me and I got to enjoy being at these lodges as a regular guest (no need to rush off to work) and schedule a bush walk on sunday (since they can only happen between the morning drive and lunch)

As I have mentioned in my Table of Content post, Phinda Game reserve is very special because it encompasses 7 distinct eco systems: woodland, grassland, wetland, forest,  mountain ranges, rivercourses, marshes and pans.  The Forest lodge is within the Sandforest area.  A sandforest is a forest that is on ancient sand dunes.  My ranger told me that there is about 5000 hectare of this type of land left in the world and the sandforest where the lodge is at is about 1/4 of it.  The sand on the ground is like beach sand, it's truly special.

Vlei, Homestead and Forest were in the Northern area of the reserve, while the others in the south.  

reception area at forest lodge

the veranda area for breakfast and lunch and sometime dinner

Another thing that makes this lodge special is that the rooms are surrounded by glass and elevated to minimize damage to the ground (sandforest!) 

My room! no 3 , elevated glass houses

the elevation makes the scene very pretty, and sometimes little animals come by

more branded soap

Again latches on the door, it seems like monkeys are the problems

The fridge and snack area outside with walking sticks, boots and yoga mat to use

outside sitting area - personal deck

looking into the sand forest surrounding

We were going to take a tour of the Vlei lodge and the Homestead, but there ended up being no time.  To give you a bit of an idea.  Vlei lodge is more intimate with only 6 rooms.  Each room has its own private pools.  Sometimes in the dryer season (winter), the elephants come and drink out of the pool.  The homestead is rented out as a whole - 4 bedrooms up to 8 people.  It's very luxurious and actually where Prince Charles stayed (for the day only to freshen up) when he was at the reserve the day before I arrived!


Because I was free on Sunday, I also managed to schedule a massage service.  All the bumpy rides (rain rides) and sitting in game vehicles all week the week before had made my neck very tense.  The massage bed was set up on the deck and you don't even need nature's music, because you are already in nature!  It was so wonderful

Phinda Game Reserve - Phinda Mountain


I was very sad to leave Forest lodge (i think it's my favourite - the rooms are special, sand forest was special, we got attached to the ranger and the camp manager and other staff at the resort, it was just hard to leave!).  But after 6 nights at Forest, we were moving to Mountain lodge in the south before we fly out on Saturday morning.


We had a meeting in the community with the mayor before returning to Phinda and directly to mountain lodge in the south to check in at around lunch time.

walking towards the lodge

reception area

internet room

menu board - hmm yummy- food pictures later

beautiful view of the mountain

 The lounge and reception area was very beautiful with an excellent view of the mountain (ubomba? maybe).  However, it was a bit of a walk to get to our rooms... and it might be hard for some people to walk it.  It's practically a hike!

a waterfall

the pool with a great view

the pathway to my room

a hike down to get to the room

those are dried pineapples and maltese.. yum

the bathroom

hmm tough choice, a bath or a dip in the personal pool ( 1.5m by 1.5 m "pool")

I opted for the outdoor shower in my bathing suit...

and then tanning!

looking up in the sky

the big 5!!

another branded soap!

Overall, all the lodges were very beautiful and the beds were extremely comfortable.  I really like the system at Kirkmans (butler),  the view at Mountain, but I loved my time at Forest which has the most special rooms and lovely people =)  

I would say that Phinda is one of my most favourite places in the world and especially at Forest lodge =)


Stay tuned for the next chapter!