We are often asked, by families especially, to recommend a non-malaria game lodge. To put it simply, there are three non-malaria areas in South Africa which offer good ‘Big Five’ game-viewing:

Madikwe
Eastern Game
Waterberg

But to focus only on these areas leaves out arguably the primary game-rich area of South Africa, the Kruger National Park, which lies in a seasonal malarial area and the Mashatu game reserve which is considered very low risk. Also there is no escaping the risk of malaria if you want to go to Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Victoria Falls, Mozambique and of course East Africa.

The risk of malaria varies considerably – by season and by micro-area. We break up malaria areas into the following categories:
High Risk
Intermediate Risk
Intermediate Risk (Seasonal)
Low Risk

Intermediate Risk (Seasonal) needs some explanation. What this means is that the winters (between May and August) are sufficienly cold at night that there are usually very few or even no mosquitoes during the winter period but the area offers an intermediate risk during summer. Of course this can’t be guaranteed but it is a fair generalization. It is always necessary to check the latest information with your doctor.

Children and Malaria Areas
Each family has to weigh up their own priorities and I cannot influence that choice. As a general rule I wouldn’t recommend an Intermediate or High Risk area for a child under 6 years but if you are going to a seasonal intermediate/low risk area, that could be a different matter.

To protect against Malaria we recommend taking Malaria prophylactics, using inspect repellant liberally and covering arms and legs at least one hour before sunset. If this is going to be a problem for your family, then you should think twice, but don’t dismiss some of the prime wildlife areas of South Africa especially if you are traveling in July or August…

Your specialist safari tour operator, such as Cedarberg African Travel, will be able to give you seasoned advice about the relative malaria risks of different lodges.

In my last post, I was enthusing about a nine day fly-in safari which I just sampled in South Africa. It combines bush and beach lodges in an immensely relaxing way, flying from one lodge direct to another by small private plane.

We began the ‘bush’ part of our bush and beach fly-in safari with Rhino Post Safari Lodge and Rhino Post Plains Camp. Here you combine open vehicle game drives into the Kruger with a full-fledged walking safari. Have a look at our Bush and Beach Fly-in Safari with Isibindi to have a better sense of how it all works together.

Rhino Post Safari Lodge is a 16-bed lodge within a 12,000 hectare private concession in the Kruger National Park. The nature of a wilderness area is that there are no permanent structures, so Rhino Post Safari Lodge was built using natural materials of stone, wood, thatch and canvas to create an authentic bush ambience. Approximately 10km north-east of Skukuza, the concession shares a 15km boundary with Mala Mala in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, with game moving freely between the two reserves. Rhino Post focuses solely on game drives whilst its sister lodge, Plains Camp, and the sleep-out camp, focus on walking safaris. Usually clients stay at Safari Lodge before continuing to Plains Camp for walking safaris.

Rhino Post Plains Camp is the only private camp specializing in walking safaris in the Kruger. The concession comprises of environmentally sensitive areas previously unexplored, with huge diversity of both fauna and flora – an ideal setting for wilderness walking safaris. I really liked Plains Camp and would recommend this camp highly. Built in authentic pioneer tradition, Plains Camp has the feel of a 19th century naturalist’s bush camp. Mahogany furniture with brass hinges and leather straps, copper taps in the bathroom and various surveying tools and Africana memorablia complete the Out of Africa ambience. There’s an open sided mess tent with comfy chairs and books, a separate dining tent, open to one side, a small plunge pool for cooling off and four very comfortable en suite tents. After an early morning wake-up and an invigorating cup of fresh coffee in the lounge, you set off on foot. A walking safari affords the ultimate, close-to-the-wild experience, and a chance to focus on the smaller bush inhabitants including birds, insects and butterflies. 

The guiding is excellent. Fritz was our guide and he had a very pleasant manner – quiet, calm and confident. We were exceptionally lucky on our evening walk, encountering a huge herd of about 300 buffalo, and then later on enjoying drinks near a waterhole when a herd of elephant arrived to drink. However, as is usual on a walking safari, we mainly focused on the smaller aspects of the bush: why animals behave as they do, what trees are used for what purpose, which dung belonged to which animal and why, as well as bird-watching aplenty.
The heat of the day was spent at the camp, enjoying their small Africana book collection, our comfortable beds and the plunge pool overlooking the plains. Afternoon walks and sundowners completed a fulfilling bush experience before dinner back at the camp.

The Sleep-Out
You can also elect to sleep one night at The Sleep-Out. You walk from Plains Camp in the afternoon and arrive at the platforms in the early evening carrying a lightweight rucksack containing a change of clothes, a pillowcase, a sheet inner for the sleeping bag and refreshments. Four platforms (with additional guide’s platform) are raised 4 metres above the ground (safe from leopard). Each has a toilet and shower (on a level below the top platform). There is a tent with a mattress, sleeping bag with fresh sheet liner. Sundowners are enjoyed on the dining platform that overlooks a waterhole. The rumble of the elephant passing by or the roar of the lion at the waterhole are the only noises that might disturb guests in this peaceful wilderness. The following morning, you have a light snack before walking back to Plains Camp for a hearty brunch.

Though it is an adventurous option, you are with other people and it is fully guided. The only limitation would be your own attitude and tricky negotiation of the stairs if you need to go to the loo in the middle of the night!

In the last 3 posts I’ve mentioned some of our favourite Safari Houses (exclusive use safari lodges typically sleeping 6 to 10 people). Examples given were Phinda Zuka Lodge in northern KwaZulu Natal, Tintswalo Manor House in the Greater Kruger Park, Uplands Manor in Kwandwe Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape and Little Tuningi in the Madikwe Game Reserve. However these lodges are certainly not the only options. Why don’t you check out our website for more information on the following Safari Houses in South Africa.

However these are by no means the only exclusive use safari lodges for family safaris and vacations in South Africa. Below I give a couple of other options…

Top of the Range
Royal Suite and Malewane Suite at Royal Malewane, Timbavati Game Reserve, Kruger
Little Madikwe, Madikwe Hills Game Lodge, Madikwe Game Reserve
Nare Suite, Jaci’s Safari Lodge, Madikwe Game Reserve

Or more Moderate options
The Homestead at Kariega Game Reserve, Eastern Cape
White Elephant Bush Lodge, Maputaland, Northern KwaZulu Natal

If you want to discuss any of these lodges in more detail, why not email me at kate@cedarberg.co.za or have a look on www.cedarberg-travel.com

Continuing my blog about exclusive use Safari Houses which are perfect for family safaris or family vacations in South Africa. Today I’m going to talk about Tintswalo Manor..

Tintswalo Manor House
Tintswalo Manor House is a little gem of a place in the Manyeleti Private Game Reserve (with open borders into the Kruger National Park). The Manor House is a rather a grand name for a comfortable, rather than luxurious, private homestead in the bush overlooking an active waterhole. There are two reasons why I particularly like this lodge. Firstly it is not over-decorated and really does feel like home from home. It’s the sort of place that you and I might have if we owned a private lodge in the bush (!) – not at all pretentious with a relaxed feel about it. There are five bedrooms, one of which is accessed from the outside so that it’s ideal for a teenager or a nanny, wishing for more privacy. Another bedroom is only suitable as a children’s bedroom as its not en suite and is decorated in that way. The second reason is its reasonable pricing policy. It’s priced per person assuming a minimum of just four people, unlike most private safari houses which are priced per lodge. This means that it is still affordable even if only 5 or 6 people take the lodge, even though it can sleep up to 10.  

If you want more information about Tintswalo Manor or the luxurious Presidential Suite at Tintswalo Safari Lodge, have a look at www.cedarbergtravel.com or email us on kate@cedarberg.co.za

A few months ago I wrote about the Safari Houses of Zambia, where, for your African family safari, or for a party of friends, you take the whole safari lodge on an exclusive basis. However Zambia is certainly not alone in this respect. Over the next couple of posts, I’d like to highlight some of our favourite ‘Safari Houses’ in South Africa.

What I said in my previous blog still stands for South African Safari Houses: they are perfect for family vacations in Africa. These lodges usually come with their own ranger so that you have a private vehicle for your game drives and a private chef, sometimes even a house-keeper/butler as well. To myself “As you can imagine this leads to a much more relaxed and flexible South African family safari. No constant worrying about whether Johnny is making too much noise; no self-consciousness about an impromptu game of rugby on the lawn. You are free to choose your own game-viewing rhythm, heading out early one morning and taking it more relaxed another day. You can choose your own meal times and as importantly decide on what you all want to eat” This option is great for multi-generational family safaris where the grandparents may be joining children and grand children.

So moving on to some of our favourite family safari destinations in South Africa:

Four of our favorite South African Safari Houses are Uplands House, Tintswalo Manor House, Phinda Zuka Lodge and Little Tuningi. I will talk about Uplands House today.

Uplands House
Uplands House is part of Kwandwe Private Game Reserve in the malaria-free Eastern Cape. Uplands House was one of the original 19th century homesteads which was incorporated into Kwandwe reserve when it was returned to its natural bushveld. Uplands is an unashamedly Colonial experience with a gracious ambience which you’ll either love or find too retro for your personal tastes. There are three en suite bedrooms so it sleeps up to six adults or a mix of seven adults and children as one of the bedrooms can take an extra bed. It’s worth noting that one bedroom is definitely smarter than the others so it would work best for one family where the parents take the main bedroom.

Uplands House has proved so successful that Kwandwe Private Game Reserve has just opened a second private lodge or Safari House - Melton Mowbray Manor which, despite sounding to my mind like an English pork pie, is in reality a more contemporary take on the Safari House concept and is also slightly larger with four en suite bedrooms.

If you want to discuss this lodge in more detail, why not email me at kate@cedarberg.co.za or have a look on www.cedarberg-travel.com

I recently had the good fortune to spend a weekend at the Royal Malewane Lodge in the private Thornybush game reserve adjacent to the Kruger National Park. Royal Malewane Lodge is one of the most luxurious game lodges in the greater Kruger Park area and yet, as the weekend went on, I found that it wasn’t just the elegance of the lodge which was the drawcard. Rather it was the seamless mix of understated luxury, expert guiding, delicious cuisine, state of the art spa facilities and the friendly, personal service of the staff which makes Royal Malewane such a success.

Royal Malewane is clearly aimed at the discerning and well-travelled clientele. However what I particularly liked was that the service was delivered in a friendly and unassuming way so that everyone felt at home here very quickly. Our ranger was Juan Pinto, a level 3 SKS guide, with his tracker, Wilson who has attained the Master Tracker status. They made an excellent team: Juan was a fount of information and imparted this knowledge with quiet calm assurance coupled with a nice line in dry humour. As you’ll read later, our game-viewing experience at Royal Malewane (over four morning and afternoon game drives) was excellent, despite the slightly inhospitable weather.

Something I also really appreciated was Juan’s assistance with photography whilst on our drive. So many people have cameras which they really don’t know how to get the most out of, myself included, and Juan helpfully gave us a few tips on taking backlit shots of animals, how to deal with fading light conditions and sunset shots to name but a few examples.

Royal Malewane is exquisitely decorated, and unlike some recent game lodges, has not gone the ‘Manhattan meets the Bush’ route. This game lodge looks like a game lodge should look with a serene outlook and lots of quiet places to relax and read during the day. The suites offer unashamed luxury with four poster beds, (and a stool to climb into them), fireplaces, decadent bathrooms and wooden decks with a private sala. I can honestly say that I couldn’t think of anything more I would have wanted in my suite. Unique amongst the top lodges in South Africa, the Royal Malewane has two ultra-luxurious suites, the Royal and the Malewane Suites each with two en suite bedrooms and a large private sitting room and dining area. These suites have private entrance so that guests craving complete privacy can come and go as they please. If you take one of these suites, you have your own private chef, butler and ranger so you can really choose your own safari rhythm to suit you.

The food was delicious at Royal Malewane with lots of delicate flavours with options to eat before you left for your morning drive, a full breakfast on your return, lunch (if you could manage it), a plentiful afternoon tea and dinner. One particular feature of the lodge is that dinner is offered in a number of venues. For example, a romantic Bedouin dinner in the bush, with a selection of Cape Malay dishes, or a crystal dinner on the top deck. The Royal Malewane has recently won the Bush Banquet award for their alfresco culinary skills.

Of course I couldn’t resist trying out the Spa at Royal Malewane. This Spa is quite a unique selling point for Royal Malewane, with an extra length pool for swimming off the delicious food, several treatment rooms, an alfresco Jacuzzi as well as double Turkish baths for an indulgent coupley experience. What I also loved were the shaded ‘casetas’ where you can lounge on beds overlooking the pool, either before or after a treatment. I opted for a facial – one and a half hours of sheer bliss.

I was so relaxed afterwards that I half thought I might gently nod off on the game drive. However there was no danger of that as we embarked on one of the most interesting game drives that I’ve experienced. We headed to the far north of the reserve in search of cheetah which had been spotted in that vicinity. En route we came across three white rhino, including one baby, quietly grazing. After some adept tracking by Wilson and Juan, working in tandem with another Royal Malewane game vehicle, the three cheetah were located - camouflaged and resting after a hectic day of seeing off a rival cheetah which had strayed into their territory. We returned south, already feeling satisfied with our drive and stopped for sundowner drinks. I always enjoy learning about the constellations which are usually easily seen in the African sky but Juan went further. Producing a powerful telescope, he proceeded to show us Saturn, Venus, Mercury and various constellations such as Scorpio. Juan was adept at simplifying his extensive knowledge of the planets into easily digestible morsels, which was much appreciated by this novice star-gazer, and such was the interest generated that I’ve vowed to read up on it.

On continuing our drive, we happened on a large termite mound which was being used by hyenas as their hide. After watching the curious hyena youngsters practically sniffing the vehicle, we were continuing towards the lodge when we learnt that a pride of lions (that we’d seen earlier in the morning) had killed a young leopard cub. A female leopard had been escorting her two cubs when the lions had attacked, seeing the leopard as competition for scarce resources. By the time we got to the area, the mother leopard was very very wary. She had escaped from the lions but was guarding her dead cub from the hyenas who were also threatening her. It was a truly pitiful sight to see the tiny lifeless cub. However there was also no sign of the other cub. Had the lions taken him as well?

We would not know until the morning when on our final morning drive, we spotted the mother again and saw the other cub, alive and well, stashed high in a tree by his protective mother whilst she lay mourning her other cub. It provided a ray of hope after the sadness of the previous evening and made for the perfect end to a sublime weekend.

If you are thinking of a Family safari in Africa , and like the idea of children doing their own thing for part of the day, (so that you can slope off to your book or to the spa or more laudibly, on a game walk), then it makes sense to choose a safari lodge which actively welcomes children.

Lukimbi Safari Lodge certainly fits this bill. Lukimbi seems to have thought through the issues surrounding children on safari in a fair amount of detail, as I witnessed when I visited it with my family (husband Anton, and children Emma aged 10, Mark aged 7 and Torben aged 4). Lukimbi is in one of the private concessions in the Kruger. Though the Kruger National Park is an intermediate malaria area, the risks of malaria are dramatically lower in the winter months from May to August (when it is also the prime game-viewing time in the Kruger) so families shouldn’t just opt for the non-malaria areas if travelling during the northern hemisphere school holidays. The Kruger, along with the adjacent private game reserves of the Sabi Sands, Manyeleti and Timbavati, should definitely be on your short list.

In our experience, the staff at Lukimbi see children as equally important guests and have a thought-out programme for entertaining the children. Perhaps as importantly, a family-friendly lodge such as Lukimbi attracts families which means that there are usually other children around to provide ready-made playmates. This in turn makes the business of children eating earlier so much easier to manage, as they don’t feel that they are missing out on anything – very important with my children!

Usually younger children under six will be able to accompany their parents on game drives, (though this is not guaranteed if the child is hyper-active and unable to appreciate the possible dangers of the bush). In practice Lukimbi tries to put two families together in a vehicle so that your children’s needs and attention span can be more easily catered for. If there are several children at the lodge, they also organize special kids only drives which are enjoyable for children (and parents) alike.

When our children returned from their game drive (at 7pm or 7.30pm), they immediately had supper all together, then they headed to the children’s den to listen to safari stories and relax before bedtime whilst we got ready for dinner. Younger children can return to their room with a baby sitter if you wish, whilst older children can curl up in the den in sleeping bags to watch a dvd and fall asleep at their leisure.  (This play room/den is also supervised from 7am to 1pm and from 4pm until you take your children to bed. Games, wildlife movies and toys are available there. )

Activities for children includes game drives with their parents and other activities such as identifying animal tracks and making casts, face painting, bush treasure hunt, braaing marshmallows in the boma and bush movie nights for example. Special folders are provided on arrival for your kids to jot down notes on their drives, and mark off animal sightings.

What I particularly liked about the children’s safari programme at Lukimbi was that it had a sense of progression. If children stay 3 nights or more, your children (ideally 7 to 12 years) can participate in the Basic Tracker programme. See our Lukimbi entry in our website for more details.

The cheetah walk & stalk encounters at Blaauwbosch continue to be one of the highlights of a stay at Blaauwbosch Game Reserve.  

Blaauwbosch lies on the wide open Karoo plains of the Eastern Cape and is particularly known for its cheetah breeding project. Originally cheetah were relocated to Blaauwbosch from the Endangered Species Centre near Hoedspruit and released into the wild. Latest news on the cheetahs is that the dominant female cheetah and her four cubs are still together.  The cubs are about a year and a half now and will probably start leaving their mother to venture off on their own within the next six months or so to hunt independently. The other female is still fairly shy but has provided for some good sightings for Blaauwbosch guests. 

Shortly Blaauwbosch will exchange two male cheetahs with Lente Roode from the Endangered Species Centre.  This is a vital aspect of the cheetah conservation project as it strengthens the genetic pool on the reserve and indeed throughout South Africa. The cheetahs at Blaauwbosch are monitored on a regular basis. Recording their movement patterns and their feeding behavior provides data to use in the long term management of the cheetah species. This information is shared with Blaauwbosch guests during their stay

As well as the cheetah encounters, Blaauwbosch also offer open-vehicle game drives to view the wide variety of game on the reserve including lion, buffalo, elephant, rhino, cheetah, zebra, antelope, abundant birdlife and rare flora.

Blaauwbosch is located just 1¼ hours drive from Port Elizabeth in the open plains of the Karoo, which is the perfect terrain for the agile cheetah. It has just seven spacious air-conditioned suites, all exquisitely decorated in an elegant, romantic style with generous bathrooms, dressing area and verandas with views of the Eastern Cape mountains - even from the bath! The main homestead has an open plan design giving a modern, yet slightly colonial feel. It’s very spacious with open fires, lots of sitting areas and a well-stocked library (with internet access). Outside there’s a furnished covered veranda overlooking the large swimming pool with its partially shaded sun terrace - perfect for the hot summer afternoons.

I never knew that the northern part of the Kruger National Park would be so beautiful and diverse. Truly remote, the pristine wilderness area of Makuleke lies between the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers. The area is rich in history; filled with folklore of the early explorers and ancient civilisations. Here, Pafuri Game Lodge acts as a successful model for community conservation. Approximately 8% of the profits go straight back into the local community.

The region is also incredibly rich in biodiversity with more than 75% of the Kruger National Park’s bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile and tree species being found in an area no more than 1% of the total expanse.

We arrived in the early evening and were met by the friendly Pafuri staff. The camp lies on the northern bank of the Luvuvhu River and has 26 tents, six of which are family tents sleeping up to 4 people (or even 5 if pre-arranged). Pafuri is also accessible by air with an airstrip only 10km away or you can fly from Phalaborwa Airport with a private charter.

The tents are accessed by elevated walkways and are spread out on either side of the main lodge along the river bank. The decor is modern and colourful with an understated luxury.

On our first morning game drive, just as the sun starts to rise, we drove into a magical fever tree forest. The fever tree is an attractive, semi-deciduous tree. The characteristic, almost luminous, lime green to greenish-yellow bark is smooth, slightly flaking, and coated in a yellow powdery substance described by some as sulphurous.

We had our morning cup of tea at Crook’s Corner, where the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers and three countries, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique, meet. (Here Cecil Barnard hid on an island in the middle of the Limpopo in the ’20s to avoid being tracked down by pursuing rangers and police.) The ancient Limpopo River is now completely dry because of over-cultivation but we could just imagine the strength and might that the great Limpopo River once had…

That afternoon we passed enormous ancient Baobab trees and had our sundowner drinks with the spectacular views over Lanner’s Gorge. On our way back to the camp we were met by a full grown male leopard that seemed surprisingly unaffected by our presence. This is great news for an area that was not long ago affected by heavy poaching and I am sure that the predator numbers will grow to its former glory due to the huge success of the anti-poaching team.

After our final morning drive we left for Mashatu Camp and were sad to say goodbye to this jewel in the African bush.

We drove 3 hours to Pont Drift on the Botswana border where we were met by a Mashatu representative and transferred (35 mins) to Mashatu Main Camp for our 2 nights stay. Known as the ‘Land of the Giants’ the vast dry landscape of the Tuli region was in great contrast with Pafuri.

Mashatu Game Reserve in is a diverse wilderness of savannah, riverine forests, marshland, open plains and sandstone outcrops. The largest private reserve in Southern Africa, with the largest elephant population (almost 900) on private land in the world, Mashatu encompasses 65,000 acres along the western bank of the Limpopo River.

As we were having tea prior to our afternoon drive, elephants in their abundance met at the waterhole at Mashatu Main camp. However plenty of elephants are not all you’ll see on the game drives. A ranger and tracker in open four-wheel-drive Land Cruisers, will follow the spoor of any predator that they can find. I was highly impressed with the quantity and quality of the game viewing and our ranger was eager to please and had to rush from lion to leopard to cheetah within a short time on the drive.

Mashatu Main Camp has a large pool and the suites are luxurious and spacious with a double bed, single bed and a day bed, making it ideal for families or anybody that prefer the luxury of air-conditioning and all the other modern amenities one might need in the bush.

The next morning some of us went on a mountain biking excursion within the reserve which has become a popular adventure sport combining game viewing with the excitement of approaching wild animals in their natural habitat. Mashatu has many other additional activities on offer. Mashatu Walking Safaris with Paul Grobler lets you join in a morning or afternoon walk from the camp enjoying a delightful breakfast in the bush. A full day walking safari is also available for those who are interested. The Ivory Experience is lead by an elephant specialist, researching the ecology of the elephant population in Tuli. The Mmamakwa Trips are for those who are interested in the history of the area and learning more about the history of the area from the early Iron Age culture up to the more recent Boer war. The Limpopo Valley Horse safaris let you join on a morning or afternoon ride from the Fort Jameson’s on the Limpopo River (experienced riders only). The Predator Research Drive takes you on a research orientated drive giving a fascinating insight into the life of a leopard researcher.

In the morning, on our way back to the camp, lionesses and their cubs had just caught a blue wildebeest and as we approached a large herd or elephants saw the dead wildebeest and chased the lions away. The lions did return at a later stage and the cubs seemed so small and thin that I was glad that they had something to eat in the dry landscape that surrounded us!

Later in the afternoon we went to visit Mashatu Tented Camp. It is important to note that this tented camp is very rustic in style and amenities and cannot be compared with the luxury that you will find at either Mashatu Main Camp or Pafuri Wilderness Camp. However the feeling of being in the bush in an old style tented camp is a wonderful authentic experience.

These two wonderful camps, Mashatu and Pafuri are a unique combination and can be combined with a 2 night stay in the Sabi Sands area to make up a perfect safari for Southern Africa. You also may like to have a night or two at The Coach House Hotel and Spa en route from Mashatu to Pafuri. Contact mari@cedarberg.co.za for prices on these suggested combinations or any ideas to include these special places into your tailor-made itinerary.

Akeru was truly wonderful!
The lodge has a lovely atmosphere, a friend said it sounded like rustic luxury and I think this describes it well. I expected short game drives and lots of relaxation time but this was not the case. We were up at 5am and didn’t return for breakfast until well after 9am. A walk was then arranged followed by lunch and we were back in those land rovers by 4.45/5pm returning after dark at about 7.30/8pm for dinner. Having been on safari before I now realise how I was short changed in the past. Akeru really took care to ensure that we made the most of being in the park. The service was excellent, the food terrific and the game rangers incredibly knowledgeable so this was a real highlight.

*** Akeru Safari Lodge, Timbavati Game Reseve, Mpumalanga, South Africa