South Africa
Cremin

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 3

      Day 3 - Pt 1 : The long/not winding road

      January 21 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      We are both less than impressed with our 06:15 alarm call. It’s a necessary evil though, as we’ve a long drive ahead of us. After our Las Vegas / California road trip in 2021, I reflected that somewhere around 4 1/2 to 5 hours should be the limit of what we attempt in a single day. I’m testing the reaches of that today, with a drive of 4 and a bit hours down to Umzolozolo, the safari lodge that will be our overnight stop. We’re both a bit more organised than we give ourselves credit for, and are ready to check out by 07:30. We’ve done a decent job of rinsing the hotel bars and restaurant while we’ve been here. We’re both pleasantly surprised to find that our total sundries bill is a shade over £70.

      I’m not normally a fan of motorways, and typically much prefer the road less travelled, to the one infested with idiots that make the average journey a pain in the ass. Today though, we’re covering a shade over 400km, and have a relatively narrow arrival window - after 12:30, but before lunch at 13:00, so motorway it is. We head off at a steady 120 km/h (the speed limit) on the mighty N3 between Joburg and Durban. The car intermittently beeps at us, and it takes us longer than it strictly should to figure out that this is the automated toll pass letting us know we’ve passed a toll point, and have been automatically charged. Further down the road, there are toll booths to pass through, but closer to Joburg, it’s a highly efficient automatic system. Driving down the N3 evokes memories of a similar trip 20 or so years ago, LONG before the advent of average speed controls and electronic toll gates, of 160 km/h cruising speeds to shorten the mammoth distances between stops, of a fairly lax attitude to the so-called alcohol driving laws… Our journey today is a somewhat more sensible affair. Highway driving in South Africa is, it turns out, a much less stressful experience than the UK. For a start, there are WAY fewer vehicles on the road. Secondly, the roads are pretty simple and straight (pardon the pun) forward. There are stretches where the road disappears in a straight line into the horizon 20-30km away. Some find the lack of corners at best boring, and at worst stupefying. I am not amongst them. After 2 hours, we’ve covered more than half the distance.

      We leave the highway maybe 20kms from our lodge. After 10 of those kilometres, we turn off onto a dirt road, which takes us deep into Nambiti private game reserve. The road is, well - let’s not call it names. It’s a rocky, slippery track, with hidden pot holes and the occasional ditch. We’re in a small Suzuki. The two do not mix brilliantly. We take it fairly steadily, but there are still a couple of hairy moments. We’re both pretty pleased when we arrive at the park gate. Parking up, we’re met by our driver, Lymon, who drives us the last couple of clicks to our lodge.

      Oh. My. God. This place is freaking amazing. Our last safari experience in South Africa was at Kruger, a place I’ve visited many times, and which I love. It’s intentionally targeting the mass market, with accommodation options from as little as £10 per night. It’s usually self-catered, with a small cafe and restaurant for those not fussed with cooking. Kruger has paved roads, and you’re as likely to find folks driving themselves around the park as taking an organised game drive. One of the big rest stops in Kruger will likely have 200-300 people staying at any one time, and there are 10+ such big rest stops across the park. Umzolozolo has 5 rooms. On arrival, we’re greeted by the team singing a song of welcome in Zulu. We’re welcomed by name by every member of staff, wherever we go. They even spell Vicki’s name correctly. We grab a much deserved drink, before tucking into a fabulous lunch. We’re taken to our room, which is spectacular. An incredible view over the game park valley, a stunning plunge pool, a bathroom that is quite a lot bigger than is strictly necessary, an outdoor his and hers shower… We have a couple of hours before our afternoon game drive. I spend some of it in the plunge pool. We’re conscious that our game drive is three hours long, and there’s not always a great place to use the bush bathroom, so we’re somewhat parsimonious with our liquid intake. I reason that wine is a dehydrating agent, so it’ll probably all be fine…

      Lymon collect us and our sundowner coolbox just before 16:00. We were asked earlier what we’d like to drink at the rest stop during our game drive. Savanna for me, G+T for Vicki. Another couple were due to join us in Lymon’s truck, but have decided to rest this evening (the guy is ensconced in a Premier League game…), so we have the luxury of our own personal driver. Lymon asks what we’d most like to see during our stay. Our last safari together in Kruger was great, but lacked one game experience - big cats. He nods, and we head off into the park.
      Read more

    • Day 3

      Day 3 - Pt 2 : The Circle of Life

      January 21 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      The roads towards the part of the park where the lions were sighted earlier today are pretty basic - very bumpy and rocky. The jeep makes short work of them, but in the back, we feel a little like we’re being thrown around at times. It’s still very hot, with hardly any breeze. Driving across the African plains is one of my very happiest places. En route to the North of the park, we meet some kudu - easy to spot from the white stripes across their back, and the amazing spiralled antlers the males have. Whisper it, but they’re also incredibly tasty… We see a herd of wildebeest (or gnu) alongside some mighty water buffalo and some zebra. In the distance, we can see some Waterbok. I’ve only brought my iPhone for photography, as:

      a) we’re only here for 1 night, and I typically only use my SLR for wildlife, so it felt a bit of a faff, and
      b) when I took my SLR out to charge its battery, it was covered in an as yet unidentified sticky substance, and I didn’t have time to figure out what it was, much less clean it ready for use.

      As a result, I’m conscious that my photos won’t do justice to the majesty of these amazing creatures, but we’re maybe a little less worried about that than we used to be…

      The two male lions we’re tracking have been spotted near Nambiti plains, having taken down a young giraffe. It sounds like they’re in a food coma, and readying themselves for a deep sleep. They may not move until tomorrow. We spend some time trying to locate them, but it’s ultimately fruitless. We elect to stop for our sundowners. Jeez - it’s the smartest bush bar I’ve ever been to. Previous safaris have been more of a toss a beer from the cooler / open it with your teeth type scenario. Here, Lymon sets up a small table for us (part of the jeep’s optional equipment apparently), and lays out some snacks for us - dried mango, chilli corn kernels, some drowoers (a kind of dried boerewors sausage), and some nuts. Vicki’s gin and tonic is poured in front of her and she’s given the choice of lemon or lime. Lymon says we can use the bush bathroom (behind the truck), which we do. It’s incredibly civilised for the middle of the African bush.

      Lymon suggests we take another look for the lions, as he’s had some intel in from the network of rangers across the park. We head back to the spot we were looking earlier, and find another truck parked up, who have figured out where the boys are, but they’re not visible in the long grass. We can see long stems of grass moving as the lions roll around in their slumber, but it’s not exactly a Kodak moment. Tracking them down has taken quite a chunk of time, and trucks are supposed to be out of the reserve by (around..) 19:00. We head back towards Umzolozolo at a brisk pace. We quickly see a large, female giraffe. Lymon is all but certain that this is the mother of the youngster killed by the lions, desperately looking for her child - it’s a reminder of the brutality of the circle of life…. In the distance, a thunder and lightning storm is kicking off. Huge forks of lightning around 20km to the West of us. As we drive back to the lodge, it feels like we might just be aiming for the eye of the storm. Happily we’re not, but it provides us with some entertainment as we bundle across the rocky terrain.

      Arriving back at the lodge, we freshen up, and have dinner. The food is amazing. I have venison for my main course, which changes daily depending on what local antelope are available. Tonight it’s Eland, which is the largest antelope in Africa, and compares with the Canadian Moose in size. It’s delicious eating though, with a much finer flavour than the Kudu I ate in Johannesburg. Vicki’s Kingclip fillet is delicious as well. We’re eating outside in a boma - a generic Swahili word for an enclosure. There’s a raging fire in the centre of the boma, and our fellow guests and we are seated around it. It’s a spectacular little piece of Africa. It’s trying to rain, but we never get the sound and light show of the thunderstorm that we feared. We manage one more glass of wine in the bar after dinner, but we’re both tuckered after a long and busy day. We’re back in our cottage before 22:00, and asleep before 23:00. We’ve an even earlier alarm call in the morning…
      Read more

    • Day 296

      Elefanten zum Abend

      June 24, 2017 in South Africa ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

      Stand der Vormittag im Zeichen der Raubtiere, so steht der Nachmittag im Zeichen von Elefanten!
      Nach Frühstück, Relaxen in der Sonne, Mittagessen und wieder ausruhen nehmen wir die Nachmitagssafari in Angriff. Wir pirschen uns per Landcruiser durch die tolle Landschaft, beobachten Antilopen, Strauß und Co. und machen eine lange und entspannte Sundowner-Pause inmitten afrikanischer Landschaft. Auf den Fotos wirkt es vielleicht kitschig - wir fühlen uns einfach nur fantastisch: Mit einem Glas Wein in der Hand - mitten in Afrika - der Sonne beim Untergehen zuzusehen, ist soooooooo schön!
      Und es wird noch schöner: Wir trennen uns von der Sonne und begegnen einer Herde Elefanten mit vielen Jungtieren in allen Größen. Auch sie sind ganz entspannt, fressen genüsslich, schlendern umher, gucken mal bei uns vorbei und wandern dann im allerletzten Abendlicht in schönster Ruhe zum Wasserloch. Als sie so in einer Reihe am Rand des Wasserlochs entlang marschieren und ihre Silhouette sich im Wasser spiegelt, fehlen uns die Worte! Es sieht aus wie gemalt und ist nicht zu toppen - was kann schöner sein?! https://1drv.ms/v/s!AiUv8teodO-roUWigJykpmds6cM6
      Als wir von der Safari zurück kommen, brennt in unserem Bungalow schon ein wärmendes Kaminfeuerchen. Das ist prima, denn trotz aller Sonne ist Winter und nach Sonnenuntergang wird es sofort richtig kalt.
      Letzte Überraschung des Tages - wir zwei bekommen ein Private Dinner mit Kerzenschein und Kaminfeuer im Gartenhäuschen der Lodge - was für ein Hochzeitstag!👫
      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Cremin

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android