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AUTHENTIC | LIFE-ENRICHING | IMMERSIVE www.journeys-magazine.co.uk
NORTH WEST PASSAGEVOYAGE THROUGH THE ICE
10 AMAZING SNOWY GETAWAYS
Call of the WildSensational safaris
Winter 2015 ISSUE 8
FIESTA!Celebrate like a Texan
in San Antonio
Places travel writers really want to go15
CAMBODIARiviera revival
OMANFollow the Frankincense Trail
PLUS: KERALA, WINTER IN EUROPE, TURKEY, CHILE, NEW ENGLAND, TRAVEL PHILANTHROPY
88
Game plan . It’s a long journey to Cape Town
or Johannesburg and worth some investment, and some research, to
make the most of your experience, as there are a great many game
reserves and a lot of possible ways to see them.
Smaller private reserves in the Cape, KwaZulu Natal, in or around
the massive Kruger Park – Lion Sands, Sabi Sands, Kapama, Timbavati
– offer better opportunities for close encounters of the wild kind. You
can drive yourself there by all means – most visitors to South Africa
prefer self-drive holidays – but all the lodges recommended here
provide 4X4 off-road game drives with a ranger, sundowners, guided
walks, a bush spa, exclusivity, privacy and top-notch accommodation.
Enjoy your South African safari in style
South Africa’s game reserves offer an almost bewildering choice of experiences. Local travel expert Caroline Hurry offers some top tips to managing your time
SAFARI
89
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Best for sleeping under the stars Go out on a limb. Tinyeleti (pictured left),
one of two ‘forest ships’ – Chalkley is also
popular – in Lion Sands, part of the vast
Kruger National Park, offers the ultimate
‘Me Tarzan, You Jane’ fantasy in Big Five
territory. Your ranger drops you off before
sunset with all your provisions and picks
you up the following day.
Become one with the savannah from
your lofty perch under a celestial canopy
as the chortle-barks of grazing hippo
and the high-pitched hoot of a Scops owl
punctuate the Sabi River’s murmuring
lullaby. A waning moon will illuminate the
naked, white torsos of knobthorns stripped
by elephants. Expect a resident genet
to help clean the last morsels from your
dinner plates.
Best for familiesFive ecosystems merge at malaria-free
Shamwari (shamwari.com) in the Eastern
Cape, favoured by families. Wildlife
specialist Dr Johan Joubert and his staff
heal injured creatures at the park before
returning them to the bush. Volunteers are
also welcome at the Born Free Foundation
here, which nurtures once-abused lions
and leopards in their natural habitat. When
not cosseting his ‘kitty cats’, animal care
manager Glen Vena teaches children
why lions must never be castrated
(“their manes fall off”) and how
to blow a kudu horn, the original
vuvuzela. Further north, Madikwe
is a popular choice for those who
don’t want to take anti-malarial
medication; there’s a good chance
of seeing the Big Five and the
reserve has a thriving population
of rare wild dogs.
Best place to see wild dogs With fewer than 3,600 in the world, you’re
more likely to encounter wild dogs in
Madikwe (madikwe.com), against South
Africa’s border with Botswana, than
anywhere else. These ‘painted dogs’ are to
be found splashing in the Marico River at
sundown, before embarking on the evening
hunt, trailed by hyena and assorted
scavengers. The owners of Jaci’s Lodge say
their child-friendly philosophy – children go
on game drives and guided nature walks
– makes them a hit with families.
Volunteering conservation projects
include rhino notching and
wild dog collaring.
Best riding safaris Ant’s Nest (pictued left) in the Waterberg
region (waterberg.net) of the Limpopo
Province offers guided rides for all ages
to allow greater access to the wildlife via
open plains to woodlands. The area is
malaria-free, so great for families. In the
Kalahari. try Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, the
country’s largest private game reserve,
with top quality horses and instruction for
all ages and levels. It’s also malaria-free.
Best (and only)place to take a night-time elephant safariCamp Jabulani, a Relais & Chateaux
camp in the Kapama Game Reserve near
the Kruger, has its own herd of rescue
elephants which take guests on safaris
to spot the Big Five (below). There’s a
wonderful sense of peace, game viewing
from the back of a gentle elephant, with
no motor noise. Evening safaris finish with
sundowners and canapes in the bush. Or
take a night elephant-back safari, the only
opportunity in the world, the camp says;
guides pick out animals with spotlights, or
switch off the lights so you can gaze at the
Milky Way. Afterwards, you can even put
your elephant to bed (campjabulani.com).
Best for luxury Kruger and Sabi Sands have the biggest
abundance of high-end lodges and camps.
Expect bush spas, private plunge pools,
hamman-sized bathrooms with outdoor
rainforest showers, gourmet food, crisp
white linen, fine silverware and guided
walks with highly knowledgeable rangers
or trackers offering superb game drives
day and night. Places to stay include
Singita (Boulders Lodge, pictured above,
and Ebony Lodge); the extraordinary Earth
Lodge at Sabi Sabi; Royal Malewane in the
Kruger, where the top suites have private
plunge pools; Ivory Lodge at Lion Sands,
or the 1933 Villa, ideal for extended family
or groups. At &Beyond’s Ngala Private
Game Reserve, stay under canvas in style
at the Ngala Tented Camp. Or live out
your Karen Blixen fantasies at Mala Mala’s
adults-only Rattray Camp, all colonial-style
leather sofas, cut-glass crystal and (a bit
less Blixen), private heated plunge pools.
Best for safari and city From Cape Town, hire a car. View the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans from the
Rhodes Memorial, Table Mountain or
Cape Point. Smell the roses in
Kirstenbosch Gardens or swim with the
penguins at Boulders Beach before
winding up the Garden Route via the
Cape winelands to enjoy a Big Five safari
at Kariega Game Reserve, with two rivers
and rich biodiversity.
Alternatively, head up the whale
coast for Hermanus, Overburg, Walker
Bay, and Gansbaai, the best places for
viewing Southern Right whales and
jagged-toothed sharks.
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Your first encounter with a Mountain Gorilla can be a pretty life-changing experience. Our peaceful primate relatives touch deep into the soul, making the trek to see them worth every last step.��Rwanda is remarkable not just because of its wildlife, but also due to the amazing birds, breathtaking and varied scenery, plus its unique culture and fascinating history. Rwanda also provides an uplifting view of Africa’s potential future. ��Plan your remarkable journey full of life-changing experiences.�
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LIFE CHANGING
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JOURNEYS ADS ISSUE 8_J8.00 26/11/2014 10:20 Page 91
Best place to see leopards Riverine luxuriance at Londolozi
(Londolozi.com), a private reserve
bordering the vast Kruger National Park,
lends itself to libidinous leopards that
enchant with their seductive beauty. Here, I
saw two mating within metres of a basking
crocodile and three lion demolishing a kudu
carcass. You don’t get wilder than that.
This 15,000-hectare Sabi Sands reserve,
with the highest concentration of leopards
in Africa, harks back to the colonial 1920s
– when co-founder Charles Varty hacked
through buffalo thorn, hunted lion, skinned
kudu, and dispatched puff adders – but
with all today’s mod cons, obviously. Stay
at Tree Camp, cradled by 1,000-year-old
leadwoods overlooking the Sand River.
Best for the Big Five In KwaZulu-Natal, Phinda’s proximity to
stunning coastal reserves makes it the
perfect place to mix beach and bush. The
Varty family restored this 56,800-acre
reserve into a living tapestry of woodland,
grassland, wetland, and rare sand forest,
home to cheetah, black rhino, and 415
species of bird. On guided walks, you’ll
learn which plants you can use as a
toothbrush, and what to do should you
meet a lion. (Hint: Don’t run, or you’re
dinner.) There are numerous volunteering
opportunities here: rhino tracking,
elephant population monitoring and
hyena research. Or for almost guaranteed
sightings, Mala Mala, bordering the Kruger,
offers miles of pristine lowveld wilderness
and a rich concentration of game (pictured
above; malamala.com).
Best for prehistoric relics Walk over rocky dinosaur footprints up
to the only known Bushman painting of a
cheetah at Samara (samara.co.za) in the
Karoo, where you can fondle the vertebrae
of a 250 million-year-old dicynodont or
get up close with two of nine cheetah.
At Bushman’s Kloof in the Cedarberg
Mountains, there are daily tours to see the
rock art left by bushmen who lived here
for millennia and used painting as a way of
expressing their spiritual culture.
Best for self driveOwned by the Zulu Royal family until its
establishment in 1895, Hluhluwe–iMfolozi,
within easy reach of Durban, is Africa’s
oldest game park, famous for single-
handedly bringing the white rhino from
the brink of extinction. This is one place
you can explore easily by hire car, but
keep an eye open for dung beetles and
potholes. Volunteer opportunities involve
surveys of wild dog, cheetah and leopard
and activities include night safaris (with a
driver and guide) and photographic safaris.
Aardvark Safaris 020 8150 7216 / Aardvarksafaris.com; Abercrombie & Kent 01242 858 133 / abercrombiekent.com; Bushbaby Travel 0845 1244455 / Bushbaby.travel; Cazenove & Lloyd 020 3740 1393 / cazlloyd.com; Definitive Africa 0161 929 5151 / definitive-africa.com; Expert Africa 020 8232 9777 / expertafrica.com; Destination South Africa 01509 618 800 / ItisSouthAfrica.co.uk; Jacada Travel 020 3131 5279 / jacadatravel.com; Real Africa 01603 283 517 / realafrica.co.uk; Rainbow Tours 020 7666 1250 / rainbowtours.co.uk; Safari Consultants 01787 888 590 / safari-consultants.com; Wildlife & Wilderness 0845 00 44 599 / wildlifewilderness.com; Wildlife Worldwide 01962 302 086 / wildlifeworldwide.com
WAY TO gO
wildlifeworldwide.com01962 302 088 sales@wildlifeworldwide.com
Over 22 years experience in creating exceptional wildlife holidays worldwide
Whether you yearn to see lion and leopard in South Africa, experience a walking safari in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley, witness the great migration in Tanzania, explore Lake Malawi or visit Namibia’s legendary red sand dunes we offer something for everyone.
Our collection of our small group holidays are led by expert naturalist guides and for the independent traveller we create tailor-made holidays to ensure the fi nest wildlife encounters.
The natural choice for wildlife holidays
Experts in SAFARIS
SOUTH AFRICANo trip to South Africa is complete without a safari to see the diversity and abundance of wild animals roaming through their natural habitats.
memory of a South African Safari will stay with you forever.
THE INDEPENDENTTRAVELLERWe are your source for all the good things South Africa has and have
travelling and discovering this stunning country. If you want to experience the best of South Africa, look no further.
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JOURNEYS ADS ISSUE 8_J8.00 26/11/2014 10:15 Page 93
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