South African Safari

We started our trip in Johannesburg at my friend, Vicki's parents' house, drove to Pilansberg/Sun City for some game drives and casino action and then flew to Kruger National Park to finish our trip with a safari adventure.

Quick Tips:

South Africa is still a relatively dangerous place. Leave your valuable watches and jewelry at home. It's best not to be a target.

Best Way To Get Around:

Buses and taxis are not recommended for tourists. And walking around the cities is asking for trouble. The safest option is to rent a car from the airport. Even if it's only a short journey.

Driving is an experience as well. Remember it was a British colony so drive on the left. There are vendors at most of the stop lights trying to sell everything from newspapers to limes to soup ladles. Carjacking is a common occurence in some parts of South Africa so we were advised to leave plenty of distance at junctions between our car and the car in front in case you need to get away quick. Also, never stop at red lights or stop signs at night. Hearing all this before we arrived had us all on edge. However, we had our South African friend at the wheel and felt quite safe in her hands. Of course, we were still constantly checking to make sure all the doors were locked.

Bakubung means "people of the hippo". A series of small buildings surround the hippo pool in a horseshoe shape.

Driving up to the lodge, you realize you are in the middle of the bush and on the edge of Pilanesberg National Park. Impala and wildebeast are seen grazing along the road. When we first arrived in our room, we went out to the patio to find three Vervet monkeys hanging out on the wall separating our patio from the next. They had jumped up to the second floor balcony, snuck into someone's room and stole the little milk cartons from the tea tray. They didn't seem to mind us watching them and even let us get pretty close. The gate around the hippo pool was at the end of our patio. It also housed several warthogs and guineafowl. The hippo pool was in a distance but with binoculars, we could see at least one hippo's eyes peaking out of the water.

Our room was a standard hotel room with all the amenities you would expect: TV, phone, mini-bar, tea maker, ac, etc. It was clean and well-appointed. Apartments were also available for families and many activities are provided on site such as volleyball, tennis, a pool and a playground. The hotel can help you plan activities such as game drives, hot air balloon rides, trips to Sun City and excursions to the nearby lion park.

Dinner was served in the main lodge. There are two sittings, 6pm and 8pm, and all meals are included in the price. Dinner is always buffet style and you can choose between the carvery and the barbecue or a mixture of each. There was loads of food to choose from but don't forget to leave room for dessert.

Umlani is located in the Timbavati region of Kruger National Park. It is an unfenced safari lodge which means that animals can and do come right into camp. If you are after luxury, Umlani is not for you. It is rustic but comfortable. There is no electricity in the camp so guests are given flashlights and gaslamps. I enjoyed that part of the experience more than I thought I would. The only problem is that no electricity means no TV or radio and we were all very anxious to hear about the September 11 attacks which occurred while we were there.

Umlani has only 10 huts in the camp giving it an intimate feel. The huts are simple and cozy. The bed is draped romantically with a mosquito net. There is a bathroom behind the bed on one side and a sink behind the bed on the other. An outdoor shower is attached at the back of the hut. That would have been lovely if it was warm and sunny. But we arrived during a freak cold spell. Plus the water is heated by a donkey boiler. We had to ask several times to have the fire in it stoked and eventually resorted to doing it ourselves. Still I somehow managed to be the only one with a cold shower every day.

Meals, drinks and game drives are all included in the rate. And hats off to the chef! Every meal was delicious. Guests take their meals together at one table with the camp managers and the one white ranger for a home-like experience. However, we were surprised and disappointed that the black rangers and staff were not invited to dine with us. Evidence of the apartheid which remains. On return from the evening game drive, everyone is invited to sit by the boma (campfire) for a drink and a chat before retiring to the dining room. Lunch is taken in the bar, a hut overlooking the river and a water hole on the hill. A great place to spot baboon, impala or even a buffalo herd.

20 years ago, thousands of animals including the Big Five (Lion, Buffalo, Elephant, Rhino and Leopard) were relocated to this area to create Pilanesberg National Park. Because many of these species are not endemic to the area, the purists call it "just a big zoo". In fact, the 5 baby male elephants caused havoc when they were first brought in because they had no adult elephant to keep them in line. Since then, the park learned its lesson and has relocated entire families.

Although you can drive your own car through the park we opted for the guided tour in an open safari jeep which I highly recommend. Our ranger could spot animals from far away and very hidden. We never would have found them on our own. She was also able to give us some info on each species. As we drove into the park, hundreds of baboons were hanging out by the lake and walking along the wall of the dam. A little further on there was a wildebeast and kudu. Then some zebras grazing with impala. An elephant rustling through the bush. A female rhino and baby. A fight between two male elephants. Several hippo swimming in the lake. Regal giraffes drinking at the water hole. As the sun went down, the ranger had two bright spotlights at the front of the jeep. Dusk is a great time to see many animals. We even woke up a baby and mama rhino sleeping by the side of the road.

Don't forget your camera and your binoculars though!

OK, so it's not a real beach. But there is sand and there are waves. This man made beach is part of the mammoth Sun City resort. It's a great place for soaking up the sun as waitresses bring drinks right to your towel. I spent most of my time in the wave pool which alternates between gentle rolling waves to enormous tidal waves. There is a horn signalling the change so you have time to get the kids out of the pool before the big one comes.

Surrounding the wave pool and beach are several waterslides, the Lazy River, a volleyball court and an adventure playground for the kids. We spent hours on the waterslides. We even braved the giant waterslide with the 90 degree drop. Beware, it's not for the faint hearted. Our video has me screeching the entire way down.

There is a food court with mediocre fast food. If you've had enough sun, you can always head for the resort's entertainment center. There you'll find carnival games, video games and even slot machines.

Staying at the Umlani Bush Camp, we were taken on 2 game drives a day. We followed a strict itinerary. Our rangers, Foreman and Andries, would wake us at 5am for the morning drive. We'd be back by 10am and relaxed or snoozed until lunch at 2pm. The afternoon game drive left at 4pm with sundowner drinks half way through. We'd return to the camp around 7pm and sit around the boma (campfire) before dinner. Since it was an early start, it was an early night too.

There were so many spectacular things to see on the game drives. There were so many giraffes regally strolling through the bush munching on tree tops. We stopped to watch some bull elephants and were chased away by one. We walked 5 lions tearing at the meat of a giraffe they had killed. And the next night we watched 2 hyenas carry away the remaining bones from that kill. There were 2 lions lying hidden in some grass. There was a leopard guarding the tree in which she hid the half eaten carcass of an impala she had killed. There was a herd of hundreds of buffalo stopping for a brief drink at the water hole. At one point, we got off the jeep to track a rhino.

It was an amazing experience of a lifetime!

The morning after our first game drive, we had a hot air balloon ride booked through our hotel. Grudgingly, we were up before dawn and taken to the middle of the park where the balloon was being unfolded. The captain said he would normally have the balloon all blown up for us and ready to go but he was concerned about the weather. After watching the skies for a while, he agreed to go and had his assistants start blowing up the balloon. The basket held 10 people - 2 pilots and 8 passengers. We started our trip by floating low above the park. This gave us a close up view of the animals from above. We hovered over 5 lionesses in a tree and saw a small stampede of buffalo. Then the pilot brought us higher above the park so we could see for miles and miles. Our ride was cut short because the pilot was concerned we wouldn't make it over the hill. He went for a crash landing in the bushes instead. That was the best part! He instructed to take the crash position crouching inside the basket. As we came closer to the ground, we were dragged across small trees and bushes until finally coming to a stop. It was all harmless and fairly routine but a great adventure. The pilot's assistants drove up in the truck to pack the balloon away and we were escorted to the traditional champagne breakfast in the bush. The balloon ride was expensive ($150) but so worth every penny!