Tag: South Africa

Posted on

Singita – Place of Miracles

Our scheduled departure time was at noon, so we managed to get in one last morning drive. We didn’t see a whole lot of game, but it was a good time to sit in the open-air vehicles and reflect on the past two and a half weeks and what an incredible trip it has been.

As for our last camp: Singitia Lebombo was wonderful. The word ‘Singitia’ means “Place of Miracles” and while Singita owns several lodges, we selfishly feel that our lodge should be the one the saying refers to. The staff – from housekeepers to rangers and everything in between, all made sure that our visit was something we will treasure for years, but also a place we look forward to revisit.

Now we’re back on Federal Air, who so often have transported us within smaller airports in Africa. They are flying us from Singita Lebombo’s airport to Johannesburg. From here Adrian and Penny will fly to Durban to spend a few days with Penny’s sister Patty and her husband Bernard. The rest of the group is leaving Johannesburg for Dubai and later San Francisco at seven o’clock tonight.

Our trip has been fantastic, and it’s always with a combination of happiness and sadness that we leave Africa. We are very lucky to have seen such extraordinary places and that we as a family can travel so well together. 

Good dish!

Posted on

Last night in Africa

The morning drive on July 5 gave sight to a beautiful rhino. We have found such respect for this animal over the years, and feel incredibly sad that to this day it is being hunted for its horn. On average 1.5 rhinos are killed a day, and it’s a constant game of cat and mouse to try to secure them from poachers. What seems to be most effective is to move them to hard to reach areas, which are far away from Kruger. With Mozambique so close to Kruger, these animals are high on the danger list and several are gone already. It’s a complex problem and there are high sums of money driving the risk the poachers take.

Most of what we saw on the morning and afternoon drive were things we had already been lucky to encounter, but we did come across a pack of five lions including an eight-months old cub. They were very lazy and were enjoying dozing off in the sun. We let them sleep before their yawns became contagious.

Some of the downtime was used to teach our ranger about the word “dish”. It was very successful and we worry about the next group he is taking out, as he is likely to say “there’s some dish over there” or “good dish” when leaving a great viewing spot. We know… it would take a lot of time to explain and it’s a terrible inside joke started by John.

During the afternoon drive the kids went to the local school and did art projects, but later joined everyone else for sundowner in their own vehicle. John had brought a bit of lighting equipment from California and shot family portraits in the sunset. Maybe the Christmas card photo is already secured…? If the pictures don’t turn out alright, it’s certainly not because of the setting.

We tried to forget that it was our last night together – and at this beautiful location. Some also tried to forget that we had not seen the elusive leopard despite setting out to find one, often crossing long distances. It therefore almost felt ironic that a leopard was spotted close to camp in the early evening. We all drove straight home hoping to get a glimpse. All got to see it and could not believe how big of a fellow he was. At the time we saw it, the sky was pitch black, but Mr. leopard didn’t seem to mind that the tracker used a flashlight to light up the grassy area where it was resting. It was great to see leopard for more than the one second some of the group got to see in Zimbabwe.

Dinner took place outside and we enjoyed having the rangers join us. It happens at some lodges, and it’s nice to relax with them and talk about something other than wildlife and nature.  During dinner Sarah, Olivia and Chris got up to thank Adrian and Penny for their incredible generosity – obviously on behalf of all of us. The staff surprised them with birthday cakes – one each – accompanied by the local singing and dancing around the open fire pit. As usual the dancers in the family couldn’t resist joining and tried to follow both steps and words.

Posted on

In Search of the White Lion

The Singita vehicles held only six people, so before we left camp at 6:30 a.m., our group got split into four Land Rovers.  We had been warned that it would be quite cold on our drives, but we all felt warmer – or maybe less cold – than on previous drives. There was a bit of a cloud cover to hold on to the heat – maybe that helped. The warm water bottle and the blankets certainly did.

We had hardly left the Lebombo Lodge before we saw what seemed like an endless stream of quelea. Little known to many of us, this is the most prolific bird in the world – they even outnumber chickens. They flew by us in numbers surely in the 100’s of thousands and sometimes so close that we could feel the movement they made in the air. We saw them on three occasions and were at times certain it was the same birds just flying around us in the circle.

Singita recently posted a picture on Instagram of a white lion, and we were initially sad to hear that it had likely been chased out of the concession by other lions. We continued to look for it for two days, but couldn’t help feel a bit sad that so many people incl. day visitors to Kruger National Park were chasing a glimpse of the poor lion. Some of the rangers were worried that the color of its fur would make it a target for illegal hunting and so, while we were disappointed not seeing it, we also felt good about giving it a bit of rest and focused on something else.

There was plenty more to see. The elephants all seemed very calm compared to Matetsi, and couldn’t be bothered when we stopped to watch them eat or drink. The giraffes were also calm and even the zebras seemed less eager to run away than usual.

The morning drive included a walk on the river bank from where we watched both crocodiles and hippo. Later, we were lucky to stumble across three very well-fed lions and got some great pictures as they started to slowly move across the yellow grass.

Back at camp, most decided to skip breakfast and instead meet for lunch. We were served a legendary tapas-style lunch with eight different types of food and some soon felt like the three lions mentioned earlier…  David and Sandy decided to walk it off with a guided bush walk.

The kids stayed behind when it was time for the afternoon game drive. They instead had fun in the pool and later played monopoly. The rest of the group met for sundowners at a beautiful waterhole where the hippos were slowly gathering before making it up on land to feed on the grass during the night.

We got back to camp around 6:30 and listened as one of the rangers, Blaine, who took us through the history of South Africa and some of the neighboring countries. It remains very hard to understand just how much unrest the area has seen over the years, but Blaine remained optimistic for the future of the country. Adrian joined in at the end and talked and entertained us with memories of the country as it had been experienced by him, Penny and their four children.

Posted on

From Zimbabwe to South Africa via Zambia

David, Olivia, and John decided to leave the packing until later and left at 6:15 a.m. to see the Zimbabwean sunrise one last time. Few things compare to seeing that big African orange sun come over a hill ridge bringing a clean slate and a promise of a great day. Truly worth the ride in the nippy morning air.

Breakfast and packing was done by 9:00 and we departed Matetsi River Lodge for the last time. There were many people to hug and whom to say “See you next time”. The staff really was wonderful, and it was a privilege to stay at the Lodge and be so well taken care of. Maybe the staff felt the same way – some ran alongside our bus as we left, and every time we thought we’d left the staff behind, they’d pop up from somewhere else bringing a smile to our lips.

The transfer from Matetsi was fairly smooth all things considered, but we did have to unload all our luggage and change bus on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border. The only reason we had to cross the border into Zambia, was to catch a commercial flight to Kruger National Park. The Zambia border control still insisted on selling us visas despite the fact that we would be gone less than a couple of hours later. Cost: $750. Cash only… Nick wondered if we could pay with one of the 50 Billion Dollar(!) bills that street sellers were trying to sell to us and if the immigration office would have change for 50 Billion dollars…

We arrived well in time for our South African Airways flight from Livingstone International Airport. The kids devoured what could be ordered from the concession stand – the chicken sandwich was declared the winner of all things ordered. John and Olivia tried to find a lounge where complimentary drink could be had. This turned out to be a bit of a challenge, but eventually it was found, very well-hidden behind four completely empty and rather large lounge rooms. They stocked up on refreshments and for the second time the Priority Pass membership equaled free soft drinks and Wi-Fi.

It was critical that we left Livingstone Airport on time so that we would arrive at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport no later than 3:45. The is a strict rule in Kruger National Park, that cars cannot be on the road after 6:00 p.m., so counting backwards we would have to leave Mpumalanga by 4:00 p.m. given that the last flight was one hour long followed by a drive of similar duration. It all worked out perfectly and the many combined hours spent worrying where we would sleep if we got stuck in Nelspruit, turned out to be wasted – luckily so.

The drive from Kruger Airport to the Singita Lodge revealed many different animal species and a beautiful sunset. But arriving at the Singita Lebombo Lodge was something that we will probably never forget. Walking into the reception area was amazing with its stunning architecture and views of the nearby mountains, river and rooms. The lit pool looked very tempting and in general these lodges take such a beautiful presence at night with the way they incorporate light into the overall presence- often using candles, lanterns and open fire. We were all taken back by the beauty of the place and stood for a moment just to enjoy and appreciate just how lucky we were to call this place home for the next three nights.

After seeing our beautiful rooms, it was time to sit down for dinner. The kids with their saved-up energy were served in the entertainment room, and the teens got their own table. As it always happens on safari trips we’ve been fed delicious food at the lodges, but once the taste buds sprang into action, many of us agreed that this was the very best meal we had had on our trip. The open kitchen was a nice addition, allowing us to watch the chefs prepare the meals. The wine selection did not disappoint and the bartender, John, whipped up tasty drinks for those in the mood for an aperitif. All-in-all this was an incredible start and we went to bed excited of what the areas would look like at sunrise.

Posted on

Visiting Deadvlei

Yesterday’s travel from Cape Town to Sossusvlei got disrupted, but we managed to just touch in the Namibian desert before sunset. It was dusk by the time we had checked-in and we got a taste of how dark this place really gets while having dinner. The night sky was incredible to watch and a few got to visit the on-site observatory. The itinerary for the following day was to see the desert dunes and also to visit the famous Deadvlei with its dead trees. 

We set out early in the morning so that we were at the park entrance by 7:00. We enjoyed the closed vehicles and the included African massage, as the drivers call the seat movement that is a direct result of the gravel roads.  

Once at the dunes we we’re given a choice of dune to hike: Big Daddy or Small Daddy. Only David, Pia and Jilly ventured towards the 1,000’ Big Daddy while the rest chose the somewhat easier option. It was a very good hike up before – with a bit of hesitation – one could run downhill. A few elected to roll downhill. One of those that initially seemed like a good idea. 

At the bottom were the dead trees and is was rewarding to be among them in the midst of blue, orange, white and gray colors. Surprisingly hard to capture the color, but as everyone will know it’s possible and there is hardly a screen saver collection with respect for itself that doesn’t feature parts of this rather smaller area. 

We enjoyed a delicious brunch at the foot of Big Mamma but nobody had the energy to venture up despite the slightly smaller size of the dune.

We got back to camp around 2:00 in time for a siesta at camp. At 4:30 p.m. we left for a sundowner and munched on Oryx skewers while the sun disappeared in the horizon. Dinner was loin of kudo – some looked envious at the spaghetti Bolognese that the kids were served. 

Sadly a decent amount of cloud cover hid the impressive night sky and we had to wait another 24 hours before gazing and the International Space Station, satellites and galaxies.

Posted on

Seeing the Coastline From a Sidecar

It’s Sunday mid-day and we’re (finally) on our way to Namibia. Changes to our original flight schedule unfortunately meant a later departure, later arrival to Windhoek and what looks to be a rather late arrival at Camp. As such we we will spend the entire day traveling what is a fairly short distance. That the airport computer systems broke down did not help the situation and the Air Namibia employee checking us in had to hand write 20 boarding passes. Seating was on a first come first serve basis, but all managed to get good seating. 

Yesterday started with the arrival of 18 motorcycles with sidecars – one for each as Penny and Adrian decided to follow behind us in one of two buses picking the wanna-be motorcycle riders up at Kirstenbosch Gardens. It was quite something to seem them all arrive at the hotel. Tim, the owner, arrived first with his dog proudly sitting in the sidecar. 

We spent almost two hours on the winding roads around Cape Town and many were ready to continue for the rest of the day, but it’s going to have to wait until next time we come back here. 

As already mentioned the motorcycle ride ended at the Kirstenbosch Gardens where we had planned a walk through the new open air Boomslang overlooking the lush vegetation. The structure is designed to mimic the skeleton of a tree snake turned upside down and is very beautifully done. As with many other places of Cape Town, Table Mountain is never far away, and one could hike all the way to the top in approximately five ours from where we were standing. 

We quickly found ourselves in the two busses heading for the penguins at Simons Town. Beautiful drive that made up for what has turned into an extremely touristy spot. It’s always fun to see penguins, but the boardwalk is packed with people flocking to whatever penguin that comes a little bit close to the fence. 

Lunch was booked for 2:00 and we left the jackass penguins shortly after arriving. Yes, that’s actually their real name. Olivia had scheduled a beautiful private room at the Steenberg Winery, and we all enjoyed a delicious three-course meal before heading back to Cape Town. Many felt they had “sufficient” and we cancelled the planned dinner at Nobu. It instead became an early night for some, while a few others met at the hotel bar to wish each other a pleasant last night and good night’s sleep. 

Posted on

Zip-lining and Cheese

Busses departed One&Only at 9:00 in the morning. Five people headed for the wine country for wine, cheese and chocolate tastings while the other 11 had chosen zip lining as the activity for the day. 

About half of the zip lining group had already tried speeding across valleys and forest on a thin metal wire. Some in Hawaii, some in Costa Rica. The rest was not quite sure what to expect, but after the first ride all felt comfortable and couldn’t wait for more. There was a total of 13 legs and it took almost three hours from start until we were at the pickup spot for the 4×4 to take us back to camp.

The scenery was amazing and a big part of us enjoying every minute. 

Both busses were back at the hotel at 5:30 and we walked in just as Chris and Kara arrived from Santa Barbara. Despite a delayed start from Los Angeles they had found time to tour Dubai with the same guide as the rest of the family, and cruised around the city until 2:00 in the morning. 

Dinner was enjoyed at Gibson Burgers. Lively, hopping, loud and fairly expensive but the casual meal hit the spot and the walk back to the hotel made sure at least some of the calories stayed behind in Cape Town.

Posted on

Enjoying Cape Town at a Leisurely Pace

Looking at the weather forecast the day before it was clear to see the weather could prevent the planned Robben Island tour from happening, and shortly after 7:30 – in the middle of breakfast – word got to us that boat rides wouldn’t take place the entire day. Robben Island still remains unvisited by the Bellamys.

On a whim One&Only helped organize a couple of busses and most left for a couple of hours to see some of the typical tourist spots around town. The group came back at noon as David and his family had planned to tour University Cape Town in the afternoon. David spent three years there getting his bachelor’s degree so it was fun for him to show Sandy and the kids what he once called home.

The afternoon was spent casually exploring the waterfront while some went to the spa. At 7:00 we all went for dinner at the Old Biscuit Mill. Delicious pizza and full glasses that brought about  some good stories from Penny and Adrian’s early days in London.