Dolphins crowd around her and out of a pod of over two hundredshe knows about thirty individuals on sight. They may arrive together or in small groups and Courtney and the dolphins give each other the eye (or was that a wink?), acknowledging an understanding that she says is, “a very physical and joyful relationship.” She says they love to play and so does she.  Courtney also talks about the real soul connection she has with the dolphins, which she finds funny, since she originates from about as far from the sea in South Africa as you can get; Kimberley. She calls herself the, “dolfyn van die woestyn,” dolphin from the desert. She has such inter-connectedness with the dolphins, that they even visit her in her dreams.

This may sound like esoteric mumbo jumbo, but we all go inexplicably soppy at the sight of dolphins and the possibility of swimming with them, is for many, the ultimate wildlife encounter. For the love of sharing of this experience, Courtney runs retreats at Halo Gaia Camp in the Parque de Malongane Holiday Resort in Mozambique, about 18km north of the Kosi Bay border on South Africa’s north east coastal border. There’s just one thing you need to acknowledge; the dolphins encounter you on their own terms.

 This is possibly the crux of why a Halo Gaia retreat is so liberating; you have to let go of control - completely. You cannot dictate a thing; not the time, the place, the weather, the duration. Nothing is in your power any more.

 But it turns out that the dolphins are just the conduit for a much deeper connection - the one with yourself.  This is really what a Halo Gaia holiday is about, and it may dawn on you after a couple of days that dolphins are not actually the main attraction at all. Courtney has seen people lift out of depression during a retreat. She has seen them experience a cathartic release of internalised fears, has witnessed an autistic child find expression through a drumming circle and watched a divorcing couple bring closure to their relationship.

 Most people don’t come with the sole intention of having a spiritual release, it just seems to happen naturally at Halo Gaia.  Perhaps this is because everyone is invited to express themselves, not necessarily by baring their heart, but more by screaming into the wind as the boat crashes through the breakers into the open sea. And of course, with any luck, by having a moment or two with dolphins in their natural habitat.

Courtney also uses music to enchant her guests and plays about 30 different instruments in a meditative ‘Sound Journey’; yet another tool to keep the mind and body in the ‘now’. Sounds a bit ‘hippy’ doesn’t it? But what joy it is, in the life of a hectic, slightly jaded adult, to feel utter stillness. The Halo Gaia concept is all about bringing people into a state of tranquillity, respect and deep inner listening. “We all have the ability to intuit,” says Courtney, “and if invited into a space to enable it, people come away with all sorts of experiences.”  

 You don’t have to get deep or even very spiritual; you just need to be in a state of acceptance.  Harish, an Occupational Therapist from the UK joining friends to celebrate someone’s 40^th birthday here, said that he wanted to take away the grace and effortless in actions that he had found here. “It’s joyful to be yourself; I have realised it doesn’t have to be an effort.” Pam, the mother of the 40 year old woman, said that the power of being on the water gave her huge peace. Susi the yoga teacher, Erika the opera singer and Lucy the waitress, who had travelled from far flung places to be here, all looked like they had witnessed Courtney’s purpose; “to go away to come home to your self.”

In November 2010 there is a big party to celebrate a decade of dancing with dolphins at Halo Gaia. Find out what other retreats are planned, which include all sorts of facilitators like yoga, or create a retreat just for your chosen group.

http://www.halogaia.com/

I am very sorry to announce that the founder of Tshukudu Game Lodge in Limpopo, Ala Sussens and her son Ian Sussens were killed in a car accident on 6 April 2010. Ala was a safari doyenne, one who cared deeply for animals and was known to take in any injured animal and nurse them back to life. This is why on any visit to Tshukudu you are likely to find tame animals like leopard, cheetah, elephant and any number of other creatures that you can actually touch.

On my first visit to Tshukudu, Cutlet the Warthog used to creep under the table and scratch himself against the legs of whoever was sitting there. Unfortunately, he found some oily diesel on the floor of the workshop, rolled in it and proceeded to rub it all over the legs of my white cotton trousers. Cutlet might have lived up to his name if I had caught him!

I can recommend a visit to Tshukudu for its family atmosphere (children welcome), homely food and camaraderie between staff and guests that is rare to find. It is several years since I was last there, but when I see their staff at tourism exhibitions (staff always stay long term – which says a lot), they greet me like a long lost friend.

Tshukudu Game Reserve is fenced and does not share a boundary with Kruger, thus the animals are not as wild as those lucky enough to free roam across Kruger Park which is the size of a small country. It is however, a truly rewarding experience, especially for children, singles and anyone new to safari.  

Here is an extract from another entry about Tshukudu Game Lodge in this blog, where we were kept captive during a boma braai by lions who had surrounded us (http://www.safaritart.com/?p=822):

Safari lodges often serve up pap during a boma braai and you will surely come across boerwors on safari, at breakfast or on the braai during a boma evening. A boma is an outdoor enclosure, surrounded by reeds or branches or some other natural barrier to keep lions and other animals away while you are eating your barbequed supper. At the family-run Tshukudu Game Lodge, near Hoedspruit (not to be confused with a lodge of the same name in the Pilanesberg), I remember eating in their boma - which is a very relaxed nightly affair - and hearing lions roaring so close it was nerve wracking. So close, in fact, that dinner was extended for an hour in the hope that they would move further away. The lions were barely out of camp when each party was accompanied back to our quarters and only the heaviest sleeper got any rest that night; lions roared and hyenas giggled and whooped until dawn.

You can also read more about my experiences at Tshukudu on my website www.travelwriter.co.za under the On Safari in South Africa tag, or go straight to: http://greater.krugerpark.co.za/South_Africa_Travel_Articles-travel/safari-in-south-africa.html

My condolences to the Sussens family.

 http://www.tshukudulodge.co.za/

The moment I got my copy of Lannice’s new foodie book, ‘ Tortoises & Tumbleweeds – A Journey Through an African Kitchen’  I flicked through it for ideas of what to cook that night.

I fell upon the Seafood chapter and thought that a creamy Malay fish curry would do the trick. Penang Fish; I needed tamarind paste and coconut cream – yes I had both in my cupboard and the green ginger in the recipe would have to be normal ginger and ghee would have to be plain old oil or butter. Hopefully, Lannice’s dish didn’t suffer too much under my hands. We enjoyed it and ate it while watching fish jumping in the tidal lagoon that washes right up to the lawn of the house in Marina da Gama, Cape Town’s south peninsula. Yes, I live in the most divine place in Cape Town, and no I’m not a millionaire (just a mere journalist).

But why is an Asian fish in a South African recipe book, you might ask? Lannice tells us that convicts from China and slaves from Mozambique joined Malay slaves and political exiles from Java and other Indonesian islands – brought here to toil the land for the Dutch East India Company sailors turned farmers. The Malays brought spices with them and introduced the concept of combining sweet and sour together. “Spicy sambals, chutneys and pickles perked up palates more familiar with bland European fare,” says Lannice. She then explains that French Huguenots (protestants seeking religious freedom) introduced some culinary finesse, which further influenced the cuisine.

All this occurred in the Cape (the furthest south-west point of Africa), where I now live, some 350 years on. These and many other influences mean that Lannice can include recipes in her book that are at one and the same time, international and local. Like braaied (barbequed) fish with apricot glaze. But the fish in this instance would be a lovely firm yellowtail, or a long silvery snook, which looks a bit like a barracuda. The snook are running right now and I can see the fishing boats heading down towards Cape Point, where the shoals are gathering in numbers.

But there are some things that are so South African, that people who have left these shores still yearn for. Boerwors is one. Lannice tells you how to make your own Boer (farmer) wors (sausage), but I’ve never met anyone who can be bothered, because as she says, “it is a time-consuming task.” Looking down the list of ingredients I wonder what makes boerwors different from other fat, juicy sausages, and it’s because boerwors is made with beef not pork and flavoured with roasted spices like coriander seeds, whole cloves, nutmeg, allspice, brown sugar and wine vinegar. Apparently, boerwors is attributed to early German settlers, who knew all there was about sausage-making, but boerwors it’s truly African now and should be eaten with mealie pap and spinach.

What’s Pap? It’s the same as Ugali, Sadza, Putu and other names for ground up mealie meal (corn kernel flour), which is made into a sort of mash or a thicker cake consistency and served as the staple carbohydrate in much of sub-Saharan Africa. I think you have to have been brought up on pap to yearn for it - give me mashed potato any day.

Safari lodges often serve up pap during their boma braai’s  and you will surely come across boerwors on safari, at breakfast or on the braai during a boma evening. A boma is an outdoor enclosure, surrounded by reeds or branches or some other natural barrier to keep lions and other animals away while you are eating your barbequed supper. At the family-run Tshukudu Game Lodge, near Hoedspruit (not to be confused with a lodge of the same name in the Pilanesberg), I remember eating in their boma - which is a very relaxed nightly affair - and hearing lions roaring so close it was nerve wracking. So close, in fact, that dinner was extended for an hour in the hope that they would move further away. The lions were barely out of camp when each party was accompanied back to our quarters and only the heaviest sleeper got any rest that night; lions roared and hyenas giggled and whooped until dawn.

Another South African delicacy that you can expect to find at every farm stall and at high tea on safari are Koeksisters. “What?” I hear you ask. You’ll need a very sweet tooth for these deep-fried, plaited cake-dough twists, soaked in sticky sugar syrup with the barest hint of ginger and lemon. Lannice says that in the late 1700s, the worth of a wife was measured by the quality of her koeksisters. I wouldn’t fetch much; they are way too sweet for me and I am not keen to ingest the high amounts of flour, butter, milk and sugar in this doughnut. Most people love them – you have to try one!

Rusks are another South African oddity, which to foreigners seem like hard-as-rock stale bread fingers, sometimes speckled with raisins, bran or seeds. They are highly prized first thing in the morning to dunk into the first coffee of the day, leaving soggy crumbs to collect in the bottom of the cup. Lannice has a simple recipe for Buttermilk Rusks (Karringmelkbeskuit in Afrikaans), which are great to nibble on during long journeys or when undertaking a ‘Great Trek”, as the Dutch Voortrekkers did in about 1685 to get away from those damn Brits, who had taken over the Cape.

I could be considered a latter day Brit taking over the Cape – but I’d like to think of it as embracing the Cape rather than trying to impose my will, which I know is futile. Africa has finally learned to chew up and spit out those that try.

In the process, many foreign tastes have been embraced into South African cooking. It is through this sensory means that you can arrive at the Africa of today through  Lannice Synman’s Tortoises & Tumbleweeds ‘A Journey Through an African Kitchen’.

Available at leading book stores in South Africa or fax your order to +27 (21) 790 1055, or email courtenay@lannicesnyman.com, www.lannicesnyman.com

 

Winner of a Gourmand Award for Culinary Travel 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guests at Buffalo Ridge Safari Lodge had a surprise visit from an opportunistic elephant, who simply couldn’t resist the cool, crystal clear, swimming pool water on a hot spring day in Madikwe Game Reserve. 

Photographed by 18 year old Tom Rudolphie of The Netherlands.

 Buffalo Ridge is a community owned safari lodge in the beautiful Madikwe Game Reserve of northern South Africa, near the Botswana border. I love this area.

For more reviews of lodges inside Madikwe on this blog see:

http://www.safaritart.com/?p=618

http://www.safaritart.com/?p=248

Do you speak Russian? If so, perhaps you can tell me what the comment below says. It’s nice to know this site has readers from all over the world, even if I can’t always understand what they say!

You may wonder where does a spoilt Safari Tart go for her Christmas holidays?  I needed a place to veg out, do absolutely nothing, get up late, read a lot and turn up for breakfast at 10.30am.  I also wanted to feel like I belonged and be entertained a little. Sounds good doesn’t it? I found just the place - a real life Fawlty Towers complete with Basil and other crazy characters in the countryside near Cape Town.

 Let me set the scene: Blue Gum Country Estate is one and a half hour’s drive east of Cape Town, about 10 km from the cute village of Stanford and about 25 mins from the whale watching capital of Hermanus and the same from the shark cage diving centre of Gans Baai. It’s in exactly the right place to do lots, or if you are anything like me, nothing at all.

I had good intentions to visit Raka Wines just up the road and have a picnic at the cheese factory down the road, or take one of the mountain bikes parked in front of reception, but did I? No!

The most I managed was a downhill stroll through the vineyard and along the lane to see the horses, and on another occasion, a slow walk through indigenous mountain fynbos with views across the 130 acre Blue Gum Estate.  The rest of the time I lay on the sun lounger on my private terrace or by the swimming pool and read books.

What kept me particularly entertained at Blue Gum Country Estate, were the Fawlty Towers moments, which came fast and furious. Owner & Manager Graham, shall we call him Basil, is a man of such high nervous energy that you could light a fuse off the sparks flying off him.

Drama follows him as sure as day follows night and if there isn’t any, you can be sure he will create some. His chef had to go into rehab just before Christmas due to imbibing too much seasonal spirit and a full house was expected. In true Fawlty style, Basil took to the kitchen (and was remarkably capable), but luckily the unflappable sous chef stepped into the breach and produced really superb food. There’s a story to be told here of local lad makes good in 4-star kitchen and shuns fame and fortune in the city for a quiet life in a country kitchen.

But there’s nothing basic about Meagan’s cooking. He can drum up a 3-course meal worthy of being photographed in any glossy magazine, and it tastes as good as it looks. As each dish was served, I become increasingly impressed.

 There’s no rushing at Blue Gum, if I made it to breakfast by 10am that was a good day. A full breakfast buffet followed by an English with all the works, was enough to fill me for the entire day.  By the time I had finished breakfast, Basil had already been to Hermanus (the whale watching capital of the world) for supplies.

Now back to the Fawlty moments; there was the time when the ‘Colonel’ tried to make friends with Dorrito Doris - the African Grey parrot who loves eating Dorrito chips on the bar. Doris only has eyes for Basil, thus promptly bit the Colonel’s finger such that a trail of blood could be followed all the way to the bathroom. Basil of course scolded the Colonel for being so stupid as to touch the parrot in the first place, but Doris did get a nominal telling off.

“When you arrive I won’t be around,” instructed Basil over the phone, “but check in at reception and don’t worry if you can’t tell if it’s a he or a she.”  As it turned out He is Manuel and Polly rolled into one,  and his name is Ranwell, let’s call him ‘Also Ran Well’.  

An indispensable right hand she-man who meets, greets, does everything with great efficiency and is adored by all patrons. Also Ran Well proved to be a wonderful front man; receptionist, waiter and a calming influence on the mayhem Basil leaves behind him.

 Moira also held these roles and took to giggling whenever something was not quite running smoothly behind the scenes, thus giving the game away.

She giggled a lot.

Add to the cast, Basils father in law - a third generation South African sounding more British than I do - who was, as he put it “parked” here for New Year (the women in the family having gone overseas for a family wedding).

 ”So where are you from?” asked the Major a couple of times in the same sentence.

“From London, but I live in Cape Town,” I replied twice.

“Ah, your work sent you out here did it - hmmm you must be terribly important.”  Short silence.

“Where are you from?”

Basil is booming down the phone while theatrically hopping on the spot,

“Which hill are you on?” (aside to us: “the Americans have broken down and the only thing they can tell me is they are on a hill!”)

“Yes, I will fetch you but which (aside: bloody) hill are you on?”

Turned out that a diesel hire car with a stick gear shift proved too difficult and the vehicle went on strike. Lucky Basil didn’t. He thrives on such theatrics (being an amateur Gilbert and Sullivan tenor of dubious talent).

Basil is an inimitable host and an intrinsic part of Blue Gum Country Estate and one of the reasons why you MUST go there. There is plenty of opportunity for absolute peace and introspection in great comfort, if that’s what you want. But for a touch of entertainment, follow Basil around for a while to get a little bit of real life guest house drama. You won’t be disappointed.  One word of warning though, whatever you do, don’t touch Doris! 

Blue Gum Country Estate offers specials from time to time on their B&B rate, and a complimentary night in advance of your wedding or large function, so you can get the feel of the place. Rates are in the region of R750 per person B&B and there are twelve rooms plus a private Villa that sleeps ten (for self catering or meals at the lodge). To book a room email Basil aka The Manager reservations@bluegum.co.za

Sad Footnote: Doris refused to come down from the tree one evening a couple of weeks ago and in the morning Basil was distraught to find feathers but no Doris. Our sympathies go to Basil, RIP Doris.

POSTSCRIPT: Did Doris rise from the dead? I re-visited recently and there was a Doris lookalike wolf whistling at me as I entered the door. At first I thought it was Basil (whistling), but it turned out he was fishing instead of manning the desk. So who was the parrot?

To get the answer to this and to hear the story of the gay wedding (which involved a staff member and a scorpion, a springbok  outrun by a boxer and a car that missed the bridge (at 3am) and landed in the stream, you’d better go and spend an evening with Basil!

A strange duo I agree, but a pairing that makes Samara a special safari venue in the absence of Africa’s really big game….. I regretted that line as soon as I wrote it, because it shows what a spoilt safari tart I have become!

You don’t find anything taller than giraffe, any stronger than rhino, any faster than cheetah, or any meaner than buffalo and Samara has them all, as well as antelopes and of course aardvark (which I will speak more of later).  

Samara’s cheetah are so habituated that through minimal tracking with the help of a radio collar, guests can step off the game viewing vehicle and walk right up close to where they might be lazing under a bush or shepherd tree. Especially Sybilla the biggest female cheetah I have ever seen. From a disadvantaged past that included a scoundrel farmer who trapped her and some cruel workers who damaged her tendons, followed by numerous hours on the operating table, Sybilla found the best home possible in Samara.

Here she has peace and food in abundance and has raised three litters of 5, 6 and 7 cubs respectively. This is unheard of, as a pair of cubs is the norm, one of which usually doesn’t make it in the wild. Out of Sybilla’s amazing total of 18 cubs, she only lost one! She’s particularly relaxed and yawns on cue for photo opportunities and only saunters off once everyone is done taking pictures.

It’s the ability to walk in Samara Private Game Reserve that made Swiss guest, Charlotte Vollmuth, sum up how this made a difference to her, “You get emotionally closer to the animals when you are touching the same soil as they tread.”

But Samara isn’t all about animals, it’s about rest. The kind of rest that slows your whole body down to the bare essentials and gives itself over to being pampered by willing staff, who do pretty much everything for you. You just have to eat the divine food, courtesy of Liz du Toit, who when asked if she had any particular philosophy on life said, “Philosophy is for old people, I’m too young.” But she had more to say about food; “Food makes me very happy.”  If you eat too much you get depressed and miserable, so I cook healthy food for my guests - all fresh, nothing frozen. If you eat good you are happy.” Sometimes, philosophy in its simplest form says it all.

Back to the elusive Aardvark. I have visited around 190 African safari lodges by now and been on hundreds of day and night game drives, and never have I seen an Aardvark. So when I was told that in July they saw 42 aardvark in one month, I was beside myself with the possibility of seeing one of these rarely seen strange creatures. Trouble was, I was visiting in December. Would the aardvark still show themselves at the start of summer, I wondered?

Oh woe, not an aardvark to be seen in December. I can’t believe it. I didn’t find out if they saw one the day I left, I couldn’t bear to hear the answer. If an Aardvark is something you must see before you die (which may not be top of everybody’s list, but is certainly on mine), I’ll see you at Samara next July.

To temper my despair, I practiced some deep breathing and yoga poses on the veranda of my Karoo Suite, while ‘him indoors’ lay snoozing on the lodge stoep where he felt quite at home sitting on white linen, feet on antique table and a kelim underfoot.

Three Victorian-style Karoo cottages face the thorn veld while three more bedrooms are in the main guest house. Each is decorated a little differently, with elements distinctive to Eastern Cape colonial homesteads, exuding a sense of history from a pioneering past. Wide wrap-around verandas keep interiors cool from 40 degree C summer heat and fireplaces do the opposite during minus 0 degrees C on frosty winter mornings. Make sure to get your packing right for the relevant Karoo season, as evening game drives can become bitter in anything other than high summer.

Karoo Lodge is not the only accommodation at Samara, there is also the exclusive-use Manor House, where unnamed rich and famous choose to take a discreet African holiday. Decorated by one of South Africa’s most talented interior designers - John Jacobs - it epitomises contemporary luxury mixed with iconic Africa and thankfully neer a leopard-print fabric in sight.

Think of cool white tones, linens with a hint of soft green stripe, a sofa nook with traditional African Kubu cloth cushions and an infinity pool stretching into the landscape ending at a waterhole where rhino come to drink. Even if you have no interest in interiors, Samara Manor House will convert you into being an appreciative audience of exquisite decor.

Owner Sarah Tompkins, suggested that dashing off on a game drive is not always necessary, as when her family arrived for their Christmas break from London, they were greeted by buffalo on the lawn and a rhino and calf at the waterhole. 

I tend to agree with her, as our ranger - to be known henceforth as the ‘Tortoise-Tickler’, for his amazing ability to coax giant leopard tortoises almost totally out of their shell by tickling their necks -  imparted almost no information about anything at all. He was nevertheless, very pleasant and willing.

The ‘Tortoise-Tickler’ knew nothing about stars either, although he did encourage us to look at them and stopped the night drive so we could look up in awe. With no light pollution, the Karoo night sky is one of the wonders of this world. Stars of the Milky Way shone through their ashen veil - African legend attributes the Milky Way to a teenager who was forbidden to roast her roots in the fire, so threw ash into the air in a tantrum, thus creating the milky way. Many other legends of the African night sky also went untold.

Would I recommend Samara? Without a doubt.  It is perhaps for the experienced safari goer who has heard all the info before and does not need to chase after lion and leopard. It’s for the person who wants to relax in the bush, eat fine food based on no premise than it’s fresh, good for you and tastes absolutely delicious. And if you fall into the category of being able to spend top Dollars on a very private affair at Samara Manor House - and it happens to be Aardvark month - please drop me a line and invite me along. I’d be delighted to tell you the other stories about the African night and many more besides.

~

Getting There:  Samara is a three hour drive from Port Elizabeth Airport and the most pleasant way to get there is through the services of Dave McNaughton of Karoo Connections. His vehicles are large with plenty of space for people and luggage. He and his team also run excellent guided tours of the Graaff-Reinet area, known for its rich colonial history with grand architecture and Anglo-Boer war stories, as well as indigenous history visible through rock art and fossils, plus the natural wonders of the Valley of Desolation and Camdeboo National Park. Contact: karooconnections@intekom.co.za, www.graaffreinet.co.za/karooconnections, tel: 049 892 3978, or cell: 082 339 8648.

To enquire about rates and availability at Samara Karoo Lodge or Samara Manor House, email: safaritart@wydahtours.com

© Carrie Hampton

Another notable element of Mosiac Farm is the food. It’s great when the chef has the kind of personality that allows him or her to reveal him/herself. Chef Craig Anderson did and revealed that he sources most of the food for Mosiac Farm from within a 50km radius. We ate the softest, most delicately flavoured smoked salmon from Peter Badenhorst’s farm about 10k up the road outside Stanford. This stretch of road also boasts Raka Wines and Klien River Cheese, also appearing on the menu. Jams and preserves are made by the Chef himself and I scored two jars to take home. I have been feasting on grapefruit and Southern Comfort marmalade and Apricot and dark rum jam (he’s not shy with the booze)! I was only sorry I wasn’t there at Christmas when he makes his mulled wine sorbet - sounds delicious?

Mosiac Farm is on the the Stanford side of the Hermanus lagoon in a conservancy area of natural fynbos and still quite a few alien trees. The surroundings of Mosiac Farm contain beautiful indiginous Fynbos, which change in colour and hue depending on the season. At the end of a wet winter when I visited, the lagoon was lapping against the picnic benches and completely submerging some of the boundary fences. It was good to have water so close by and with it a great many birds.

There are two main sections of Mosiac Farm - the 1892 Stanford Spookhuis, built of solid giant blocks of local stone stacked upon each other, which is now the restaurant and conference facility.  A couple of self-catering stone cottages are adjacent. Then there’s Lagoon Lodge in safari lodge style, hidden in a tangle of ancient Milkwood trees beside the lagoon edge. Once a tented camp, the wind that whips up from the sea and across the lagoon, rattled the tent fabric to distraction, so the canvas walls were replaced by solid walls that now create cosy little rustic cabins.

Pretty much all safari-style venues offer some activities and Mosiac Farm is no exception. Our afternoon drive was on a private sand road to the Atlantic Ocean’s edge, where whales were jumping far offshore. Having already mentioned the force of the wind, you can imagine the party of foreigners in clothing they thought would suit Africa - summer tops and shorts - freezing their extremities off while staring in the direction of the nearest land mass, namely Antarctica. 

The waves were hitting the beach with the amassed force of the whole South Atlantic Ocean and a chill wind came along for the ride. Our guide seemed fairly oblivious to this and set up afternoon drinks and snacks. No warming coco or whisky (both of which I would have gulped down in the same cup if offered), therefore in true colonial fashion, we sipped cold white wine and talked about the weather and watched intently at the ocean until teeth chattered and the whales dived out of sight.

Hermanus is well known for being the best land based whale watching in the world and Mosiac Farm has rights to go to a pristine stretch of beach within a nature reserve in which to look for whales. Not far away at Gans Baai is the other most popular ocean encounter; Great White Shark cage diving.

I chose to stay right were I was at Mosiac Farm and let the old trees and historic buildings murmer their stories to me, or was it the wind telling a few tall stories?

If you want to make a booking for Lagoon Lodge or the Cottages at Mosiac Farm, contact: safaritart@wydahtours.com.

Brothers Safaris offers African safaris with a difference. Dr Peter Brothers is an African wildlife Vet and Registered Tourist Guide, who allows you the rare opportunity to enter his world.  

His next safari immobilizes lions to monitor and treat them in the Amakhala Game Reserve, near Port Elizabeth. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime hands-on experience with lions that very few people are privileged to encounter. He involves you in the procedures carried out while the lion is immobilized, like blood sampling or collaring. Or you can simply observe and monitor a wild lion while this giant pussy cat is fast asleep (hoping all the while that he doesn’t wake up)!

Amakhala Game Reserve have rhino (white + black), elephant, cheetah, buffalo, lion, giraffe, black wildebeest, zebra, tortoise and over 16 antelope species and this veterinary safari allows time for traditional game drives and learning more about African wildlife.

 Dr William Fowlds - a wildlife veterinarian and the co-host of this veterinary safari - owns and runs Leeuwenbosch with this family, on the Amakhala Game Reserve. Accommodatin consists of the Country House & Shearers Lodge, one of which is your accommodation while on this 4-day African veterinary safari.

When: 7 – 10 December 2009 

Where: Amakhala Game Reserve – approximately 40 minutes from Port Elizabeth Airport

Amakhala Game Reserve began in 1999 as a joint conservation venture and today has six independently owned lodges. All are owner managed by the descendants of the original families who arrived here with the British settlers of 1820.

Brothers run other veterinary safaris working with all sorts of African animals like elephant, cheetah, antelopes, etc, take a look at their website to find out more on www.brotherssafaris.com  or email; info@brotherssafaris.com

You don’t have to do yoga to go on a Southern Africa Yoga Safari, but it helps.

In a hidden location amongst giant sandstone rocks on the West Coast of South Africa near Eland’s Bay, Southern African Yoga Safaris makes use of a rocky retreat for a getaway with a difference. While doing your ‘Salute to the Sun’ or Tree Posture (seen here), you stare out and may meet the eyes of some of the antelopes or zebra that live in this nature reserve.  Or if you are very yogic, you may be looking inwards and finding the peace within.

Donkieskraal farm, used as the venue for the yoga safaris, is a perfect place for stilling the mind and finding inner peace. Yeah, I know it sounds very esoteric, but being tucked away in a place where you can almost feel the earth pulsing and where bushmen left  indelible marks on the rocks, thousands of years ago, is good for the soul.

So is the yoga, led by Cheryl Lancellas, whose long slim body is proof that yoga slows down the aging process. She’s been teaching various forms of exercise for many years, but it is yoga that she favours most. I can relate to this as I too have tried all sorts of exercise and thought yoga would be too slow for me. What was I thinking? It’s hard! It gets muscles really toned and limbs stretched, but more than that, it is a philosophy that helps you understand yourself better. I wish I had taken up yoga 30 years ago!

The Donkieskraal family farm grows mainly potatoes but they have set aside a great chunk of land for their nature reserve. Beside but not inside the reserve is where you find the accommodation, consisting of cave dwellings and tented rooms.

The first ‘cave’ started as somewhere for friends to stay. They used stone to deepen the natural cave and put in huge bathrooms and baths sunken into the natural rock. These are nice and cool in summer, when the temperatures are often into the high 30’s degrees centigrade.  The tented rooms are like other tented safari lodges, giving enough comfort to make the experience really special without attempting sophisticated décor. These tented rooms are big enough for a whole family with really comfy beds and huge bathrooms. 

There are various buildings incorporated into the rock, with barbeque braai areas, dining areas inside and out and the most beautiful natural rock swimming pool.

The Yoga Safari was a vegetarian affair, which at Sunday breakfast proved a little too basic, but Sunday lunch was a different matter. The spread of salads and baked mushrooms with butternut and all sorts of divine tasting things was enough to make me have seconds and think about thirds.

The practice is Hatha Yoga, with chanting, breathing and meditations to give a good experience of what yoga is all about. Cheryl also introduced us to a Shirodane hot oil therapy. The heated oil was suspended in a small put with a nozzle, which was slowly opened until it released a steady stream onto the third-eye area of the forehead of someone lying on the massage bed. It was, apparently, the most diving feeling.

Whether you can do yoga or not, this yoga safari is a lovely way for a family to connect, or for you to just connect with yourself.

Contact Cheryl at Southern African Yoga Safaris: cheryl@sayogasafaris.com, tel:     + 27 22 972 1636    .

These extraordinary leopard pictures were captured by photography student Casey Gutteridge at the Santago Rare Leopard Project in Hertfordshire. Copyright of http://solentnews.biz/. 

Seemingly unaware of the beast, the mouse diced with death when it tucked into the leopard’s lunch. The mischievous rodent grabbed at scraps of meat thrown into the African Leopard’s enclosure.  

 

 

Gutteridge said that even the keeper who’d thrown the meat into the enclosure had never seen anything like it before.  The project owner Jackie James added: ‘It was so funny to see - Sheena batted the mouse a couple of times to try to get it away from her food, but the determined little thing took no notice and just carried on.’ Sheena was brought in to the Santago Rare Leopard Project from a UK zoo when she was just four months old. She is one of 14 big cats in the private collection started by Jackie’s late husband Peter in 1989.