by Editor | Oct 1, 2009 | Africa, Botswana, Makgadikgadi, Simon and Baker Travel Review
The single propeller plane had been droning for almost one hour over some of the flattest, emptiest land I had ever seen. Swirls of gleaming salt pans and dusty sand banks stretched to infinity, baked by a merciless sun. The pilot nodded to the right. “Jack’s Camp,” he informed me, dipping the wing to give me a better look. Beneath me a palm and acacia-studded oasis was emerging from the stark Kalahari wilderness. Large green safari tents were scattered among high savannah grass, hinting of creature comforts. Could this be a mirage?
by Editor | Oct 1, 2009 | Africa, Simon and Baker Travel Review, South Africa, Waterberg
A short drive from Johannesburg led us to shady parking in front of Jembisa Lodge where Ané Van Schalkwyk and Steven and Jane Leonard, the executive staff of the property, greeted us warmly late one afternoon. From the parking area we crossed a courtyard to reach the entrance to the north facing house. After a day in the city and a flat tire on the way we were eager to get back to the bush. While Ané showed us around the house and gardens, we discussed our activities preferences with Steven, our guide; then they left to prepare for our evening outing and we sat down to a well anticipated late lunch.
by Editor | Oct 1, 2009 | Africa, Port-Elizabeth, Simon and Baker Travel Review, South Africa
The drive to Kichaka (Swahili for bush) of several hours from Plettenberg Bay, at the end of our Garden Route trip, was mostly easy highway driving and we were greeted warmly on arrival. Several staff members (Keith, the property manager, Charnel, our host that evening, and Francois, our field ranger and the head ranger at Kichaka) welcomed us as soon as we parked the car within the reserve just a few hundred meters from the N2 Highway.
by Editor | Oct 1, 2009 | Africa, Simon and Baker Travel Review, South Africa, Waterberg
One of of the features we liked the most about Marataba, meaning place near the mountains in Tsonga, was the splendid view of the Waterberg Mountains. We enjoyed this view from the comfort of our tented room, the common areas and the game drives. Located in a private concession within the Marakele National Park, Marataba was a luxury and gourmet oriented game viewing property managed jointly by South African Parks and Hunter Hotels.
by Editor | Oct 1, 2009 | Africa, Botswana, Okavango Delta, Simon and Baker Travel Review
This was my first experience in the Okavango Delta. I couldn’t have wished for a better introduction to this unique landscape of papyrus-lined channels and water lily-filled lagoons weaving through shady glades and rich savannah grasslands than Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp. Set under a lush canopy of massive ebony trees in a remote 19,800 acre (8,000 hectare) concession, Nxabega (“place of the giraffe” in Basarwa, the language of the river bushmen) was an oasis of elegance and comfort in the heart of the Delta. From the instant the Cessna touched down, it was obvious that a fascinating adventure had begun. Exceptional rains had recently flooded the camp’s own airstrip; we had landed on a nearby, higher ground landing strip, my guide informed me in the course of his warm welcome. We would now drive a few miles to Nxabega; and by the way, a leopard guarding his freshly killed impala had been sighted earlier this morning near our route; would I care to make a short detour to look for it?
by Editor | Oct 1, 2009 | Africa, Botswana, Simon and Baker Travel Review
Stretched along a verdant bank of the Thamalakane River on the outskirts of Maun, the gateway city to the Okavango Delta, Thamalakane River Lodge was quite literally a breath of fresh air after my extended stay in the parched wilderness of the Kalahari. Built in a grove of tall riverine trees filled with abundant bird life, the lodge was resolutely turned toward the river. All guest chalets and common areas had terraces that took full advantage of the cooling breezes and serene 180 degree view of the riverbanks lined with fluttering reeds visited by an ever changing array of water fowl and birds. Dusk was spectacular, with the sun setting the river ablaze as it slowly dipped behind trees.
