Sabi Sabi - Little Bush Camp - June 2013

Everything has been going like clockwork since our 4 hour delayed departure in Vancouver about 3 weeks ago.  But this morning we’ve hit a minor snag.  The written instructions given for catching the flight to Sabi Sabi for our 4 day safari is “Federal Air are in the process of changing their flight times.  Please be at the kiosk by 8am as the flight may depart at 9am”.  Well guess what – we get to the terminal early and the flight will depart around 11am instead – how’s that for scheduling.  Fortunately, the waiting area is really nice so we aren’t uncomfortable in the least bit.

We finally do depart as scheduled(?) for our short, 1 hour flight to Sabi Sabi and the private game reserve.  Then a 20 minute jeep ride from the air strip to the bush camp along a compact dirt, dusty and bumpy road.  Our driver tells us to be on the lookout for some elephants that were in the area that morning.  Our necks were craning but we didn’t see any along the way – only some zebras, a couple warthogs and elands just off on a hill side to get us excited about being here.

We are spending 2 nights at the Sabi Sabi Little Bush Camp and 2 nights at the Sabi Sabi Selati Camp.  It is part of private game reserve, the larger area known as Sabi Sands where the animals roam freely between here and Kruger National Park.

At Little Bush Camp we have a wonderful private cottage (there are only 6 units in total) with our own jacuzzi on the balcony, overlooking a small, fairly dried-up river bed.  We spot elephant tracks in the sand, immediately giving us another measure of comfort we have come to the right place to see animals in the wild.

Our daily safari routine:

Wake up at 5:45am by a knock on the door by our ranger

Morning safari – 6:15am

Back at the lodge for breakfast at 9:30am

Lunch – if you are so inclined from 1pm to 2pm

Meet for the afternoon tea 3pm

Evening safari – 3:30pm

Back at the lodge for a 3 course dinner at 6:30pm

Hit the hay at 9:30pm

 

We can promise you that at the end of 5 days on this schedule you feel as if you do need a chance to catch your breath.

 

Food is in abundance – in fact we are fed at every opportunity possible.  Early morning snack before safari, snack while on the safari, huge breakfast, huge lunch (which we often skipped), afternoon tea snacks, sundowner snacks and finally dinner.  Hopefully this is to keep their guests happy rather than fattening us up for some later wildlife kill – Ha!  So forget about staying in shape.  We are basically bouncing around in a jeep, our senses heightened looking for animals and the good news - we love it.  It is truly an amazing experience. 

There is a laundry list of animals we are seeing – up close and very personal.  For example, we almost ran over a male lion’s paw while it was sleeping.  He raised his head momentarily to look at us and then headed back into ‘la la land’ ignoring us completely.

 

In the evenings, when it is dark, we are escorted back to our rooms for safety reasons.  It is certainly appreciated since there was a leopard nearby that nearly tried to ‘crash our dinner party’ the first evening.  He came to the lodge but staff ‘shooed’ him away.  However, he did spend the night under the window of one of the staff’s room.

 

The night sky is spectacular since there are no city lights to dim our view of the stars.  Our guide, Steve, pointed out the Southern Cross to me and 2 adjacent points which when dots are connected and bisected we can find true south.  The nights are clear so I spend every evening gazing at the constellations in awe.

 

Our 2^nd night, we are serenaded from dusk until dawn with the roar of a male lion, about 1-2km away.  The next morning’s safari ride was geared to finding this lion but unfortunately, no such luck.  He has moved on to another part of the game reserve which is inaccessible to us.  That being said, we are off-roading with the Range Rover through all types of terrain, driving over trees, bushes, you name it.  Nothing seems to stand in our way as our guide and tracker do anything to get us within arm’s reach of wildlife. 

The animals are oblivious to the jeeps of people as the noise is just part of their environment - something that took 2-3 generations for the wildlife to completely adapt to.  An aside - we have been told that predators have eyes at the front of the face and prey are on the side.  Does this mean I can look a lion in the eye and scare him away?  Technically yes, but I’m not willing to put the theory to the test.

 

Some unique experiences while at Little Bush Camp searching out wildlife and the Big 5 (lion, leopard, cape buffalo, rhino and elephant).

 

Finding a female leopard in the dark – we could only get a head shot as she was sitting in the grass, possibly preparing for an evening prowl(?) as she didn’t stay long before heading off into dense bush.

 

Walking through the bush with giraffes – rule of thumb, as we learned, the guides only off-road for one of the Big 5 so we ended up hiking for a better view.

 

Being spied upon by monkeys at breakfast.  These monkeys show up every morning for a handout which guests do not aid and abet.  So the monkeys resort to other tactics.  When staff have their backs turned, they literally race through the dining area grabbing a bun or two off the buffet table before escaping into the trees.

 

Photographing Kudus by day and then having a kudu steak for dinner that night.  So how does this work in the world of animal conservation?  It was explained to us that there are kudu farms, akin to cattle ranches or chicken farms, where the animals are bred for their meat.  You can find the meat at your local supermarket.  We did agree that the meat is tender and delicious when cooked to perfection.

 

Racing off on an early morning safari on the ‘hunt’ to see some wild dogs that have been spotted on the reserve.  It is rare to see these dogs as they travel at a fast pace, about 15km/hour.  Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful as they headed off the reserve before we could catch up to them.  So we settled for some zebras and rhinos instead.  Trust me. I’m not complaining.

 

Going for a nature walk with our Ranger, Steve, who explained some of the smaller insect life and plants that are also present and play a vital part of the ecosystem.  I was particularly fascinated by the termite mounds and the role they play but it is just too lengthy to explain in a blog.  Of note, the Ranger carries a loaded rifle whenever they are in the reserve and out of the jeep – so yes the weapon was with us on the hike.  Their motto is ‘shoot to kill’ for the safety of all guests, but fortunately, they have never had to resort to this measure.

 

Just a bit about our guide (or Ranger as they are called), Steve.  He is typical of staff in this position – often young, has completed extensive training and has a passion for nature, and wildlife in particular, which he constantly shares with us.  Steve confided that he has wanted to be a Ranger since he was 5 years old and he is excellent in his current position.  The job itself is demanding time wise – they work 42 days on and then 14 days off.  If their services are not needed for guiding (too few guests), they are still required to help out with maintenance or other duties.  And yet, Steve has so much enthusiasm for his work despite the demanding schedule.

 

The Ranger drives the jeep and together with his ‘side-kick’ Tracker, this team scouts the environment looking for clues as to the whereabouts of the various wildlife.  The Tracker is often a person from the nearby local community and has developed his skills since birth, although I think there might be some training provided as well.  The Tracker has a prominent seat out the front of the jeep to facilitate his searching capabilities.  Try as we might, Gilbert and I were unable to spot wildlife before the Tracker, they are that good at what they do.

 

After 2 days of enjoying the company of Steve and his Tracker, Heaviness (yes that is his birth name and no he isn’t heavy), it was time to change camps and move to the Selati Camp, about 25 minutes away.