Death of Tshukudu Game Lodge Founder and Son

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

………aka Fawlty Towers.

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

As I galloped along the water’s edge of Oyster Bay Lodge’s own 3.5km beach, I couldn’t help letting out a “yeehaa”.

I was supposed to stay just one night at Oyster Bay Lodge, but arriving at dusk and leaving early morning on a media tour, just wasn’t enough. So, being a safari tart, I asked if they wouldn’t mind if I stayed another night. They thought I was a chancer, which I probably am, but a quick google search of yours truly showed that I am a real travel writer, and no novice. I’m so glad they agreed, because otherwise I would have missed my “yeehaa” and all the feelgood that is still running through my veins after a perfect beach ride. I would have also missed chatting to owner Hans Verstrate, who is a man that makes you search into your soul and question yourself.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to buy into ‘Green Tourism’, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, about an hour and a half from Cape Town, should be on your list. It has been winning Responsible and Environmental Tourism awards since 2000.

When the exuberant owner of Grootbos, Michael Lutzeyer, told me the story of how he slowly but surely acquired pieces of land he couldn’t afford, to create his own spectacular, ocean-facing, private nature reserve, I was inspired. It made me wonder if I too could kick-start my dream in the same way and find my own piece of paradise. Then I realised I would never have sufficient hyperactive energy, such a driven work ethic, or the ability to talk my way into or out of anything, in the way that Lutzeyer can and does.
Read the rest of this entry »

Here I am, gobsmacked, at Elandsfontein Private Nature Reserve, about an hour north of Cape Town along the West Coast.

It’s so blimmin’ nice here and I hadn’t expected it. Sonqua Manor - the accommodation on the Elandsfontein reserve - is a full-on safari lodge of the best sort, in an area where good taste is not usually a driving factor. (Nearby lagoon-side Langebaan town is a prime example of bad taste houses in a beautiful setting).

But Sonqua Manor isn’t like that. It’s got safari style in abundance, allowing the gently undulating, fynbos wilderness to take centre stage. Completely open to the view, the lounge and dining areas have no front wall, which forces you to stare out to the low bush and a horizon of blue sky.

There’s a constant hum of insects, frogs, birds and bees, with the occasional antelope, buffalo, zebra or ostrich breaking the blurred outline of the bush. I keep looking up from my screen to admire it and to see what bird is chirping so loudly or whether the leaf-mimicking bug has moved. Then  pop! my laptop battery goes - oh what the hell, do I really have to work right now?

Read the rest of this entry »

Maun is the gateway town into what is perhaps the ultimate safari area; Botswana’s Okavango Delta. But only a couple of years ago the choice of accommodation in Maun was pretty dire. So why stay in Maun you might think? Well, firstly it is the only town for many miles, secondly after a long international flight and an internal flight from a major airport like Johannesburg, you may reach Maun at an inopportune time to take your final flip into the Okavango Delta. Or thirdly, you may just be so exhausted that you need a night or two to recover before flying into the Park on a 6 or 8-seater light aircraft and paying top Dollar prices while staying there.

In which case, I would recommend staying in Motsentsela Tree Lodge, or just ‘Tree Lodge’ as it is known. It is only 15km outside town on 200 hectares of mixed bushland, dotted with springbok and zebra and other non-threatening animals. You can wait a day or so before you come face to face with something capable of eating you in the Delta itself, by which time you will be awake and ready to witness the great beasts of Africa.

Read the rest of this entry »