#camping #roadtrip #southafrica #SANParks #thelazycampers
25 days (19 Aug - 13 Sept 2016)
16 stops
6960 km
+- 1700 km of dirt roads
480L diesel
Lowest temp -2°C
Highest temp 30°C
21 bags of ice
Total cost R21 288
My husband and I have a done a fair bit of travelling and so have many of our friends but when we asked everyone how much of South Africa they had seen, many said “Very little”. We decided to put our international travels on hold for 2-3 years and spend some time exploring our own diverse and beautiful country.
We purchased our first Wild Card at the end of 2014 for our honeymoon, to the Blyde River and the Kruger Park, at which time we started receiving the Wild Magazines. After reading the magazines and revelling in the content my mind started to wonder: wonder to these fascinating places I was reading about; and wonder how we were possibly going to be able to see all the marvels that South Africa has to offer. I realised that the best way to see all these places was just to go.
My husband came home from work one night to a very excited wife who had decided to plan a long South Africa trip and of course he agreed that it was a great idea especially since we haven’t seen enough of our own country. So, in June 2015 the planning began and as we received more Wild Magazines so the trip started to develop and evolve. We decided to call the trip “The Kelly SA Epic”.
In 2014 we had started restoring a 1985 Suzuki Samurai SJ410 and when the idea of this South Africa trip was born we decided to take the slow and rugged route of doing this trip in our refurbished car. The restoration of our SJ410 was not as swift as we had hoped and so we decided to do the trip on our Ford Figo instead. Disappointing, but not as disappointing as not doing the trip at all.
We prepped the Ford Figo so that very little packing and unpacking then repacking of the car needed to be done on the trip. We took the back seats out and put a piece of MDF superwood in their place to create a large flat surface. In both the back doors we stacked 4 plastic drawers (one side with clothing and the other side with non-perishable foods) and when the boot opened we had the cooler box with all our fresh food and drinks and our box with all our cooking and eating utensils. There was no need for any of these items to be taken out of the car and they could all be very easily accessed so this meant only our tent and chairs needed to come out of the car and be repacked.
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| 1. Space in the car, 2. Drawer system in the door, 3. Open drawers, 4. Boot with cooler box and cutlery box |
19 August 2016 finally arrived and we were up early, eager to get on the road. We left Durban at 4am excited and ready for our adventure. With our Figo fully kitted for a month of camping we were on our way. Only a few hours into our trip and we arrived at our first destination.
The Golden Gate National Park is a small reserve through which a portion of the R712 runs. The road meanders through the park with the black-streaked-sandstone Maluti mountains on either side of the road. The road winds down the hillside to the base where you will find a small rest camp and reception where you can get your day permit. With our permit in hand we chose (from the many walks available) to do the 1 hour Brandwag walk. We strolled up the mountainside taking in the magnificence of our surroundings and really admiring the enormity of the cliffs. The viewpoint from the top of Brandwag gave us an amazing panoramic view of the area below. We didn't stay at the top for long, however, as it was very windy that day and the air was rather frigid. We came down from the walk and did two of the short drives inside the park and saw our first bit of wildlife: Zebra, Wildebeest and some bird life. Although the drive through the park was short, it was a brilliant start to our trip.
We continued on to Clarens and arrived just after lunch. Due to this being a one night stop we decided to stay at the Clarens Inn Backpackers (when planning we were also a little worried about what the temperature would be in Clarens and didn’t want to get caught in the freezing in our tent). The backpackers was very funky: we stayed in a beehive shaped double room with an outdoor bathroom where we soaked in a warm bath out in the fresh air. We had a lot of fun moseying around the artsy town square and enjoyed the craft beer at Clarens Brewery. That evening we sat around the fire pit at the backpackers and enjoyed the sounds of Dan Patlansky playing on the small stage (who we came to learn later is a big deal in the music world). He had a group of people with him on a guitar workshop and we were lucky enough to be there at the same time.
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| 1. Bee-hive room at Clarens Inn Backpackers, 2. Beers at Clarens Brewery, 3. Golden Gate Nature Reserve |
From Clarens we drove on to Kimberley which turned out to be a little disappointing as it is looking rather run down and a little dirty. We tried to go and see the flamingo colony (on recommendation by Google and a tourism magazine) but when we got there we found out that you have to make a booking with the farmer who owns the land but could not find a name or number. The one thing we did really enjoy in Kimberley was The Big Hole and you need to pay for the full experience. We watched a video about how the diamond industry started in South Africa, roamed through the diamond museum, went down the mine lift into the mines and pretended we were miners, marvelled at the hole, wandered through the streets of the mining town admiring all the old businesses and finally stopped for lunch at the old miners pub. After an enjoyable few hours we were disappointed to have to go back to our accommodation where the dormitory section of the backpackers is on the outside of the property and not inside around the lush grassy central square. Not to worry, we were leaving early the next morning and we were determined not to let the accommodation put a dampener on the start to our trip.
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| The Big Hole, Kimberley |
4am we were up and on our way. The trip to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park was set to take us about 5 hours (according to the GPS) and we had decided to take the R31 instead of the R350 so that we didn’t have to drive the same road in and out of the park. This, however, found us on an unexpected 250 km dirt road which we soon found was a trend for our trip. The drive leading up to the park was undoubtedly beautiful but incredibly dusty. Luckily most of the road was in fairly good condition and we were able to keep a decent driving pace. We stopped once or twice so my husband could set up his quadcopter and fly it behind the car to get some aerial footage of our drive, and he got some great footage. Once we were at the park and checked in, at Twee Rivieren, we drove around the campsite to find ourselves a site to pitch our tent for the first time on our long journey. As we drove around the camping area we found that there weren’t too many sites that were sporting a good amount of shade but managed to find a superb spot with the perfect amount of shade out of the way of everyone. The rest camp is situated just outside the park itself and has a pool, a petrol station (that only has diesel), a restaurant and a little shop where we could buy the essentials like ice, wood and ice-cream. That afternoon we took our first drive into the reserve and were greeted with rolling red hills which eventually opened up to the expansive Kalahari plains in the bottom of long narrow valley. After a short drive we went back to reception to book ourselves onto the morning game walk and the sunset game drive (as these had come recommended in all the reading I had done), however, we were told that we could only to the game drive as they no longer to do the game walks, which was very disappointing. We booked onto the Sunset game drive and had a wonderful drive with a very knowledgeable guide, Ian. We were treated with sightings of bat-eared fox, cape fox, jackal, steenbok, meerkats, wild cat and spotted eagle owls. Each day we did our own game drives and found the scenic drive on the Mata-Mata route very serene and we saw plenty grazing animals (springbok, gemsbok, wildebeest and giraffe), but when we switched over to the Nossab route we were spoiled with some spectacular sightings: two young lions as well as a mating pair, a Honey Badger (what a treat), a Giant Eagle Owl right next to the road and to top it all off a cheetah with 4 cubs also right next to the road. Throughout the park we saw a great deal of birds of prey: Black Shoulder Kite, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Martial Eagle (we also saw two crows harassing a Martial Eagle mid-flight), as well as the larger birds like the Secretary Bird, Northern Black Korhaan and Kori Bustard. The picnic spots inside the reserve are very well placed for stunning views while you enjoy your time out of the car. The picnic spots are peaceful and spotless and most of them have interesting fact boards or little museums. At the Auchterlonie picnic spot, on the route to Mata-Mata, we were entertained by a squirrel who ran around our feet and under the table while we ate our lunch. There were lots of squirrels everywhere and we spend a lot of time watching their animated behaviour. The squirrels were very cute and extremely entertaining and probably one of our highlights of this park. We spent the evenings sitting around the fire keeping warm and enjoying the tranquility of the bush. It was here we experience our coldest night of -2°C and proud to say we survived just fine. After 3 days of Kgalagadi serenity it was time for us to move on.
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| 1. Cheetah Cub, 2. Twee Rivieren campsite, 3. Squirrel |
The drive from Kgalagadi to Upington was characterised by the rolling Kalahari landscape which flew passed as we drove along an incredibly straight Rd. We did a quick shop for perishable food items at the Upington Mall, had an egg and bacon breakfast and continued on to Augrabies Falls. We arrived at Augrabies in the midday, 30°C, heat and were welcome by the sound of the waterfall. The campsite at Augrabies Falls is beautiful and is alive with dassies, Red-eyed Bulbuls and Common Waxbills. The campsite is quite large, and once again not easy to find a good piece of shade as all the good shade had already been claimed. Since it was a scorcher of a day that little piece of shade was very important. We ended up finding a great spot right next to the grass where the dassies hang out. In the early evening we watched the dassies playing on the grass and at night we lay in our tent listening to the quiet of the bush and the soothing cascading of the waterfall in the distance. Although we were told to be aware of the monkeys and baboons, we underestimated their sneakiness. We turned around for just a second and a monkey stole sweets out of the car, the only food item that we had not put away in the drawers. The Augrabies Falls are majestic and the surrounding rocks are covered in brightly coloured lizards scurrying all over the place catching the insects. The river was quite low but at sunrise you could still feel the light mist of the waterfall tickle your skin. The park landscape is nothing like I have ever seen, littered with rocks and Desert Broom and Milkwood trees. We didn’t see a lot of wildlife but thoroughly enjoyed the drive as the landscape is exquisite. I was interested to see the amount of walks and cycle tracks available inside the park. There are also many viewpoints where you can get out of your car and really take in your surroundings. It was at one of these viewpoints where we got stuck in the sand, for the one and only time on our trip, and after trying to dig ourselves out for about 20 minutes we were rescued by a very kind couple in a 4x4. We were very weary of sandy patches from here on. Once again we did the sunset game drive and again our guide, Richard, was very knowledgeable. We saw a spotted genet, striped polecat, spotted eagle owl, klipspringer, kudu, eland and gemsbok but the highlight of the game drive was when we stopped on a rise, got out of the vehicle and turned off all the lights to do some stargazing. After the drive we had a quick dinner and went straight to bed as we had yet another early morning ahead of us.
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| 1. Augrabies Falls, 2. Augrabies campsite, 3. Augrabies National Park |
The drive to Namaqua National Park was once again characterised by, what had become the familiar, long straight roads of the Northern Cape. We took the turn to the park just after Springbok (which is a very cute little buzzing town) and immediately the dirt road started, the gps said 40km, that’s not too bad, but little did we know. We drove down the Wildeperdhoek pass which was very scenic and a gorgeous introduction to the many more flowers that were to come. We drove through the park only to realise we were on totally the wrong end of the park to where our accommodation was and the 40 km dirt road was now more like 60 km and we had another 50 km to go to get back to the main road. Our quick drive into Namaqua National Park turned into a 2-3 hour expedition. In order to get to Skilpad (where most of the flowers are) it is better to go to Kamieskroon first and then down the dirt road, however that being said, if we hadn’t taken that route we would not have experience the Wildeperdhoek pass and the sensational landscape of the Namaqua Park. We finally found the correct road and made our way to Skilpad where, at reception, we found out that we were at the right place to see the flowers but at the wrong place for our campsite. The flowers were a real spectacle and the hillside was carpeted in orange even though it wasn't full bloom season yet. It is not only the flowers that make this environment as impressive as it is, but also the variety of greens that brighten the landscape from lime green to turquoise and everything in between. Skilpad rest camp does not have camping but they do have neighbours who do. It turned out that our campsite was two hours away down a 90 km dirt road and along a 4x4 path (reminder: we were in a Ford Figo). The ranger at Koringkorrelbaai (our awaiting campsite) said we would make it in our car and so after seeing the flowers we went on our way, down another long dirt road. The ranger was right we did make it, however, the trip was rather precarious but so worth the drive and was a fantastic end to a long day of driving. We chased the setting sun all the way to the coast which was, all at the same time, nerve racking, exciting and breathtaking. The dirt road opened up into a little bay where the campsite was situated on the coast protected from the crashing waves by the coastal rocks. The campsite was very rustic (no ablutions, no water, no electricity) but had a lovely setup with a fire pit and a little wall to protect the site from the prevailing wind. The entire Koringkorrelbaai campsite only has 5 sites available and 3 pit latrines, this is real remote camping and incredibly peaceful and really removes you from real life. The full day we spent at Koringkorrelbaai was a day of no driving which, after the previous day, we really needed. We went on a leisurely, romantic walk along the beach to the opposite point of the bay and walked up the roads into the fynbos landscape which was still littered with an array of colours of flowers: white, bright pink, yellow and orange. Large lizards lounged on the rocks soaking up the sun and jumped at the insects for food. We finished our remote beach day with sundowners on the rocks with waves splashing in front of us, enjoying an Old Brown Sherry.
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| 1. Koringkorrelbaai campsite, 2. Skilpad flowers, 3. Koringkorrelbaai sea view |
We left Koringkorrelbaai at sunrise and we nervously drove the precarious sandy road while holding our breaths, but we made it out without any problems. After a quick stop in Calvinia we were on our way to Tankwa-Karoo National Park and once again found ourselves on a long dirt road: 126km (2h10min) according to the GPS. Once inside the reserve we were greeted with an expanse of purple flowers as well as the stunning Gannaga Pass. We wound our way down the pass as we soaked up the breathtaking view. We reached the bottom of the pass and were welcomed by the expansive Karoo plains flanked by the majestic Roggeveld Mountains. We eventually reached reception, feeling rather rattled and shaken, where we found out that I had accidentally booked us into the rustic campsite instead of the formal campsite. My husband’s expression immediately dropped as the possibility of a shower was getting further away and the formal campsites were full. It had been a hot and dusty day of 30°C with a significant berg wind and after our long and bumpy drive we were not prepared for the simplicity of our accommodation. Our remote campsite was very rustic and very exposed with only a fire pit and one very bare tree for shade. Due to the strong wind we were not able to light a fire (as we did not want to be responsible for setting the Karoo ablaze) and ended up making packet pasta in our car on our tiny gas stove. With nowhere to shelter ourselves from the wind and sand we ate our pasta in the tent and as we looked around us we remembered the the cover of our tent is removable. So after dinner we removed the tent cover and lay on our bed admiring the glittering star-filled sky, shielded from the wind. It was incredibly peaceful and the stars were magnificent. We took a drive to the formal campsite just to see what we were missing out on. The sites are beautiful, they are set in an area of the park where the vegetation in a little higher and thicker and so there is ample shape. Each camp site is allocated its own separate toilet and shower and they are spacious and very homely. When we woke in the morning the wind was just has warm as the previous day but considerably stronger and after my cereal was blown out of the bowel we decided that unfortunately the rustic campsite was not for us and we decided to move to our next destination. As we drove out of the park we were greeted with impressive scattered fields of late-blooming yellow flowers. Leaving the park was very slow as we found ourselves on yet another long dirt road with quite serious rumble strips.
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| 1. Rustic campsite, 2. Expanse of yellow flowers, 3. Gannaga Pass |
After leaving Tankwa we arrived in Sutherland and were lucky enough to come across The Jupiter which is a very sweet restaurant/ pub and B&B. We had a scrumptious lunch in the restaurant and then checked ourselves into the B&B. We decided to take the afternoon off, take a real shower for the first time in 3 days, sort through our photos and take advantage of the WIFI. The accommodation was lovely but even more so were the people who run and work at The Jupiter, they were very friendly and extremely hospitable. Sutherland is a very small place: the church bell chimes every hour (there are not a lot of places that you can still hear that), the only tar road is the main road through the centre of town and many businesses do not have regular operating hours. On our second day in Sutherland we went up the mountain to do a tour of the SALT observatory (the only reason Sutherland even has a tar road). The tour was fantastic and well worth the minimal R60 entrance fee. We watched a short video putting the size of the universe into perspective and then were guided around the visitors centre which is very interactive and informative. We took a drive from the visitors centre up to the telescopes where the guide identified which countries operate which telescopes and then took us inside the massive SALT telescope where we got to admire its enormity. After an informative morning at the observatory we spent the evening star-gazing with Jurg from Sterland. We were a bit apprehensive about the star-gazing as the cloud cover was quite thick and not clearing as quickly as the weather app had forecasted, however, after Jurg’s intro video the sun had started to set and the clouds had begun to clear and the star-gazing could begin. Jurg has 6 telescopes which he uses to show visitors the worlds beyond ours. The highlights of our star-gazing experience was seeing some of the star clusters which he compared to doilies or jewels, Jupiter with its moons as well as Saturn and its rings. This really was an unforgettable experience. I would recommend doing the star-gazing with Jurg one night and then doing the night tour at the observatory on a second night to really get a full experience. Our star-gazing experience was followed by dinner at Cluster d’Hote which came highly recommended for the wonderful food, more specifically the lamb shank which fell off the bone. After a wonderful star-gazing and lamb shank eating evening we return to our cosy B&B, La Pari Pari Guesthouse, to get some shut eye. We were up early the next morning, devoured our eggs and bacon breakfast and were on the road again.
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| 1. SALT observatory, 2. Sutherland church, 2. Star-gazing at Sterland |
We left Sutherland and took the beautiful drive back down to the coast to Paternoster. We stayed in the Cape Columbine Reserve at an incredibly special little place, The Sea Shack. It was a pity the weather was a little miserable but this didn’t stop us from really enjoying our surroundings. The Sea Shack is situated right on the sea front and we had a front row shack with a superb view of the ocean and the rocks with sea gulls and cormorants perched on them. There are a number of different walks within the reserve (along the roads, along the rocks and along the walk paths) and after being too early for the flowers in Namaqualand and too late for the flowers at Tankwa-Karoo, we were right on time for the flowers in the Cape Columbine Reserve. There was white, orange and purple elegantly sprinkled everywhere and it was spectacular. We visited the lighthouse and here the flowers were at their best, covering the landscape surrounding the lighthouse. The Cape Columbine reserve boasts beautiful campsites all along the oceanfront with fireplaces and ablutions and is an ideal place for a quick weekend away in a scenic setting with friends or family, especially if you live in the Cape Town area. We ate dinner at Voorstrand Restaurant on the beach in Paternoster, as recommended by many people, and even though the weather was a bit rainy we had a lovely evening looking out over the beach while enjoying our drinks and dinner next to the gas heater. Dinner was followed by drinks in the Panty Bar. That’s right, a tiny bar in the local hotel with its roof covered in ladies’ panties. Our stay at The Sea Shack was far too short but nonetheless we had to move on.
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| 1. The Sea Shack, 2. Voorstrand Restuarant, 3. Cape Columbine Reserve Lighthouse |
Our next stop was Cape Town to visit family and friends. Enroute to Cape Town we drove through the West Cape Nature Reserve where, by chance, we stopped to walk down the wooden path to the bird hide. We were surprised with a flock of flamingos which was wonderful considering we were not able to see them in Kimberly. We spent about 20 minutes watching the flamingos shlurp through the muck in search of food. We then continued on towards Cape Town and made a last minute stop at Darling Brewery for a quick tour (thanks to my brother-in-law who is friends with the owner) and a few tastings. We arrived in Cape Town a little later than expect (our niece was not happy that we were late) and spent our first night braaing with the family and bonding with our niece.
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| 1. The Brewery, 2. Beer tasting, 3. Flamingo in the West Cape Nature Reserve |
We got an early start the next day, picked up a friend and made our way to the Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve to the Cape Canopy Tours zip lining. When we arrived it was overcast and chilly but that did not dampen our enthusiasm. We put on the rain gear provided and climbed aboard the 4x4 to meander our way up the mountain. The views were spectacular with the clouds suspended around us filling the valleys. The excitement grew with every bump in the road and when we reached the top we were more than ready to get going. We leapt off the platform and disappeared into the cloud and emerged on the next platform, even in the rain and cold the guides were still full of energy. After flying over valleys and rivers, from platform to platform and whizzing through cloud and rain we were treated to hot chocolate at the 8th platform which was welcomed by our frozen bodies. We finished the zip lining having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but soaked right through every layer of our clothing. We spent a good 45 minutes enjoying our springbok pies and a cup of tea while drying our backsides around the fireplace. Once were had decided we were sufficiently dry we took a drive to Stellenbosch to Waterford Wine Estate where a wonderful wine and chocolate pairing awaited us. The wine farm is picturesque, like something out of a movie and was well worth the stop. That night we had dinner with friends at Forries and spent some good quality time catching up and reminiscing.
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| Cape Canopy Tours zip lining |
For once we got a slow start the next morning, enjoyed breakfast with family and just before lunch time left Cape Town. We took the scenic coastal drive to Cape Agulhas with the intention of stopping along the way but it was a rather windy and rainy day and so we just enjoyed the drive. When we arrived in Cape Agulhas we were very pleasantly surprised by how charming Cape Agulhas is as we hadn't heard very positive things about it, in fact quite a few people had told us to give it a skip. We loved the afternoon we spent in Cape Agulhas and wished we had allocated more time to fully experience the area. We did the scenic boardwalk walk along the beach to the most southern tip of Africa to have our photo taken, which is a must. We visited the lighthouse and walked the many cases of stairs to the top where you can get a fantastic panoramic view of the coastline. We drove through the town which is very sweet and much longer than expected. We stayed at Cape Agulhas backpackers with is a vibey and friendly place, there were a whole bunch of people there to enjoy braai night or to have a drink at the bar.
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| 1. Cape Agulhas Lighthouse, 2. Africa's most southern tip, 3. The top of the lighthouse |
From Cape Agulhas we took a bit of a detour to Oudtshoorn to go see the Cango Caves. Oudtshoorn is a lively place with plenty activities for everyone. Cango Caves was great, we did the adventure tour and it was a lot of fun. We started in the first chamber which is unbelievably big and slowly made our way deeper into the cave where the walls of the cave started to get closer and closer until a point where the walls were so close that we had to shimmy up the Chimney, slithering on our tummies to the point where we slid out the Post box. If our bodies had been much bigger we would not have fitted through all these crawl spaces in the cave. I was very surprised how warm it was in the cave, I was expecting it to be cooler but with the lack of ventilation and the enormous volume of visitors the cave has heated it up over time. A quick drink and bite to eat and back to the road, back to the coast to the Tsitsikamma area.
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| Cango Caves |
The Garden Route area is absolutely stunning and the Diepwalle Forest Station is a fantastic place for camping, especially if you live between George and Port Elizabeth as it is close enough for a weekend away. All the campsites are elevated on wooden decks with neat braai facilities and an undercover counter with stools. The decks are set into the forest and so we were perfectly protected from the wind we had one night. The forest reserve has quite a few walks that you can do that vary in length and difficulty. We did the 7km red route Elephant walk and wandered through the forest where the trees create a continuous canopy and the floor is covered in mushrooms and mosses. The walk was so peaceful, all we could hear was the wind rustling through the trees, our footsteps and the birds, interrupted periodically by the activity at the quarry a little way away. There are so many activities to embrace in the Tsitsikamma area but time constraints only allowed us to visit Birds of Eden and Monkeyland and they were spectacular. We spent 4 hours strolling around Birds of Eden and were completely mesmerized by the variety and animation of the aviary. My highlight was the giant fruit bat and the blue duiker. Monkeyland was a lot of fun and the monkeys were very entertaining. Hold onto your loose items though as we did see one of the tourists spectacles get stolen by one of the monkeys.
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| 1. Mushroom in the forst, 2. Diepwalle Camping decks, 3. Elephant forest walk |
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| 1. Giant fruit bat (Birds of Eden), 2. Parrot (Birds of Eden), 3. Lemurs (Monkeyland) |
My husband was brave enough to do the bungy jump at Bloukrans on our way to Port Elizabeth. Once we had paid for the jump (well for him to jump and me to walk out onto the bridge) we had to sit around for 45 minutes, waiting for the next time slot, stewing in our nerves. The walk out onto the bridge is exiting, nerve-racking and really beautiful. Once on the bridge the jamming tunes and the enthusiastic staff get everyone really excited for their jump and they are very efficient. The next thing you know it is your turn, you are clipped in, have had your photo taken and are standing on the edge. After an exhilarating experience and adrenaline pumping we jumped back into the car and made our way to PE.
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| 1. Bloukrans Brige (the jump point, 2. Getting strapped in, 3. The jump! |
Our stop in PE was a short 2 days to visit friends and family and get some laundry done as this is where my husband and I both grew up.
Our last stop was Mountain Zebra National Park. The park has 3 distinct habitats: open plains, woodlands and a mountainous area. The beauty of visiting Mountain Zebra Park is that the park is small enough for you to be able to explore the whole park but still big enough to house a variety of wildlife. Since the park is fairly close to PE, some of our friends and family joined us for the weekend and we ended up with a party of 15. Once again, as has been the case with all the parks, the campsite was lovely: there is a walk up the mountain that starts at the campsite which has a great view, plenty of shade and lots of bird life. The whitebrowed sparrow-weavers and the Pied Starlings came so close you could almost touch them which was great because we had a 15 month old toddler with us who was captivated by all the birds. With our group being quite large, we took up 5 camping sites and used one site just for braaing so that we could all fit around the fire. Most of our game drives were not very fruitful in terms of big game but we did see quite a bit of springbok, wildebeest and zebra. Ordinarily this would have been disappointing, however, most of our game driving was done with a toddler which changed the game viewing experience. He was so excited to see every animal that we got excited as well. It is fantastic that a little person seeing these things for the first time can be as excited to see a squirrel as he was to see the secretary bird flying in front of the car. At the end of one of our game drives we stopped behind a car to see what they were looking at when we noticed they were watching two Gabar Goshawks hunting a Greater Double-collared Sunbird. The sunbird was so quick, darting in and out of the acacia trees, keeping itself protected deep within the thorns but unfortunately as it darted to the next tree one of the Goshawks managed to catch it. Our last evening in the park was just the two of us. We decided to do a long afternoon drive and not even 5 minutes into our drive we came across a cheetah with 3 cubs. The sighting was so quick we barely had time to get our cameras out. They crossed the road and were gone, disappeared into the bush alongside the road, not to be seen again. We thoroughly enjoyed the drive but needed to keep a close eye on the time so that we were back at the camp before the gates close at 6pm and were back at the gate at 5:55 pm, or so we thought. When we got to the gate, however, it was already closed. We were very confused as it wasn’t 6pm yet, so we picked up our phones to call reception only to see that it was in fact 6:20 pm and at some stage the clock on the car radio had lost time. We sheepishly had to ask reception very nicely to let us in which they very kindly did after giving us a small earful about being late (and rightfully so).
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| 1. Sunset in the campsite, 2. Brai campsite, 3. Sunset over the plains |
On our last morning we got up early so that we could fit in one last morning game drive before taking the long (but this time tar) journey home to Durban. We were very sad to be going home and could have easily done another week. Especially knowing that there is still so much to see.
What we learnt on this trip:
There are many places in South Africa that are very remote.
There are a lot of places that can only be accessed by driving a very long dirt road.
No matter the change in scenery all the landscapes of South Africa are absolutely stunning in their own way.
Although all these places were perfectly accessible with our Ford Figo, perhaps the 1700km+ we did on the dirt would have been a whole lot easier/ more comfortable in a 4X4.
Just because you do not have a 4X4 you should not be deterred from exploring our magnificent country.
It could be tricky do a trip like this without prebooking your accommodation - most of the campsites we stayed in were fully booked on the days we were there.
It is so wonderful to see how beautiful all of South Africa’s national parks are (not just the larger ones), how safe and well maintained and well visited they are. The national parks are really something special that South Africa has to offer. After visiting so many of the parks I am proud to say I am South African
Thank you to the Wild magazine for all the captivating articles and the inspiration to travel our beautifully amazing country. Hopefully we will get to see more of South Africa and hopefully we will take the Suzuki SJ410 along on our future adventures.
