Afrikan Majik Safaris

14/11/2017

Mission accomplished!!!! Our brief stay at Tshukudu yielded the desired result, Shaz's cheetah fix. Otherwise the place was less than I expected given how many people have recommended it to me over the years. The staff and lodge were lovely, typical african style travellers expect. Lunch was cold and the evening meal was acceptable, certainly not exceptional.
The lodgings however were much less than I expected. Only a standard room I know but we were in a row of 4 rooms in a brick and iron roof building, it was clean and quite acceptable but might as well have been a motel on the road. For $250pppn I would expect at the very least and individual unit with a thatch roof, that's african.
The game drive was less than productive, we found lions because they were radio collared. But hey poor game drives can happen anywhere, that's game driving.
Back in Pretoria overnight with half a day to kill before we head to the airport and home. YAY, NOT!!!

12/11/2017

Travelling back to Limpopo province hopefully for Sharon's cheetah fix. We've taken the back roads this time through Lydenburg and Orhigstad, shorter and much more scenic. Passed through the quaint town of Dullstroom, looks anything but dull. The whole main road is lined with shops, restaurants, curio stalls and local produce. Will stop a while on the way back.
The mountain had its hat on yesterday, barely visible today. Pleased we did the Panorama Route last week, would be rather wet and cold today.
We stayed overnight at Little Bush, a small private lodge owned by Stephan and Susan Kemp, local builders. Pretty little lodge, great grounds and very loud frogs, especially since it rained overnight.
Off to Tshukudu overnight then back to Pretoria tomorow

12/11/2017

What's a fella gotta do to get the salt lick???

12/11/2017

Two nights in Pilansberg in the North-West Province. Lots of game on our drive and unfortunately also 2 poached Rhinos, what's wrong with these people!!!!! Nice to see the pilansberg centre shop and cafe humming, sometimes its there, sometimes not. GREAT MENU.
Our accommodation here was tented but the whole place needs a bit of a revamp. The communal bathrooms have been done however, much nicer. The bar had virtually no stock, had to buy booze at the shop in the camp, how silly is that?? The menu was somewhat uninteresting and what was interesting wasn't available.
We also visited the Harlequin Markets in Hartbeespoort on the way out, again lacking due to the economy, lots of closed stores.
Then up to Namboomspuit to Limpopo Ceramics.

12/11/2017

12/11/2017

For those who think hippos are just big, ugly and crabby, check out Jessica hippo in Hoedspruit. Quite the sweetie. Her skin feels like rubber. She's something of a character and the subject of several dozen tv specials. Even Jude felt the need to give her a peck on the nose.

11/11/2017

Back to Moholoholo rehab centre and Forest Camp, one of our favourites. Great staff and food in a stunning location at the base of the Drakensburg mountains, what a sight to come home to. Some old and new faces at the centre but a great stay as always.

Then onto the Panorama Route through the mountains and Blyde River Canyon. We made a stop at the Three Rondavels but no-one was up to Gods Window or the Bourke's Luck Potholes this trip.

Lunch at Harries Pancakes in Graskop before the long drive back to Pretoria.

03/11/2017

Last day in Kruger, departing tomorrow for Hoedspruit and Moholoholo. We drove from Mopani north to Shingwedzi then back via the old back roads. Not a lot of game but nice scenery and an interesting drive.

Gotta cook dinner now since we can't buy any decent food in camp:(

02/11/2017

Another day in Kruger, lots of game and some lions to see. Unfortunately all of the restaurants at the camps are closed due to contract breaches and they have some horrible bush kitchen serving the worst food I've ever had, virtually inedible. We had to leave the park this morning and travel to Phalaborwa to get some groceries to see us through the next two days. Will have to reconsider staying in Kruger and maybe stay outside and come in daily, albeit more expensive.

Ah well, ALL PART OF THE EXPERIENCE as Shaz keeps saying

31/10/2017

Kruger National Park. We started the day at Crocodile Bridge Gate after overnighting at Tambarina Guesthouse and Restaurant in Komatipoort, great meal as always.

We've had quite a successful day with rhino, wildebeest, giraffe, impala, kudu, waterbuck, buffalo, wart hogs, hippos, elephants and oh yeah, a leopard. The area between Lower Sabie and Skukuza camps was positively crawling with hundreds of elephants.

31/10/2017

Transiting Swaziland to get to Kruger Park from Kwazulu Natal. We made a stop at Ngwenya glass factory en route to collect some handmade glassware.

The factory produces a large range of glasses and glassware from recycled glass collected by the locals. A wonderful local enterprise and one we soundly support.

Beautiful individual glassware at half the price it sells for in Cape Town or other stores.

30/10/2017

A rather uneventful couple of days in iMfolozi-Hluhluwe Game Reserve. Poor weather meant rather limited game viewing although we did get some good rhino and giraffe sightings the following morning prior to our departure.

Overall Hilltop Camp was looking rather tired, the chalets are becoming quite dilapidated. The restaurant was definitely below par, the central table of cold cuts, cheeses, etc has been removed and the food was not up to their usual standard. Quite disappointed, they need to improve if we are to continue going there.

27/10/2017

Departed Cape Town early morning for our return flight to Joburg and pickup our hire car. Left immediately to travel the 5hrs to Pongola, which took 7 hrs thanks to road works and slow traffic, for our overnight at Shayamoya Game Fishing Lodge, one of our regulars. Turned out to be braai night, yum.

Had a great french toast breakfast prior to our departure to Tembe Elephant Reserve, again one of our favourites, run by locals for locals. The temperature on our arrival was 40.2 degrees, stinking hot. Had some good game sightings none the less. Elephants, lots of Nyala and lions.

Next day was brilliant, warm and sunny, again good game viewing including a lion kill, one less baby Nyala in the world.
Today raining and cold, miserable viewing except finally a large group of giraffes.

Now arrived Hilltop Camp in iMfolozi-Hluhluwe Game Reserve, we're sitting in the clouds hoping for a fine day game viewing tomorrow. HERE'S HOPING.

22/10/2017

Day 2 Cape Town. Started the morning early with a taxi ride to the waterfront then onto the ever reliable Hop on Hop Off bus for the trip to Table Mountain, Jude totally STRESSING OUT!!! Played the disabled card with Shaz and jumped the queue, much to Jude's disgust as she thought she had more time to prepare. She braved the cable car with eyes tightly shut the whole way but made it, GO JUDE!!!. What can one say about Table Mountain??? We had a beautiful fine day, warm and sunny, couldn't have been better. After a rather dismal cup of coffee we headed back down, eyes jammed shut again all the way down.

Back on the bus to Camps Bay for a great lunch at ZenZero, Shaz into the crayfish. Then back to the Waterfront for our harbour cruise, nothing to write home about. Now sitting in our apartment having a couple of sherbies.

22/10/2017

First day in Cape Town after a very squeezy and uncomfortable flight on Kulula, that's what happens when you fly budget. Booked into our really comfy apartment near the waterfront.
Spent the evening at the V & A Waterfront, busy and bustling, so much to see. Will be back tomorrow.

19/10/2017

Three Monkeys Cafe in Victoria Falls. Really cool little cafe built around an old railway car outside the market area. Great atmosphere and excellent staff. Food was terrific but unless you're hungry you might want to consider sharing, the serves are HUGE!!!!

19/10/2017

Shearwater Elephant Safari. Operated by the company since 1999 using elephants rescued as babies during the drought, hand raised and then outgrew their "pet homes". The elephnts were too tame to be returned to the wild so have been given a home here and are used to operate the safaris and raise money for several wildlife projects.

They are kept in an enclosure overnight, come out in the morning for the morning ride and are then unsaddled and released into the bush during the day. They come back for the afternoon ride voluntarily, in fact the reserve is not even fenced so they could leave if they wanted.

We enjoyed a largely relaxing ride through the bush, our elephant was a little unruly and naughty. Afterward we were treated to interaction with the elephants and then a great breakfast before returning to Victoria Falls.

All in all a great experience, would recommend it to anyone.

18/10/2017

Victoria Falls. We set off early morning for our guided tour of the falls after a great breakfast at our hotel. Being the end of the dry season not all of the individual falls were active but this actually made those that were easier to view and photograph, less mist. Didn't even need our ponchos. The forest walk was somewhat less interesting given it was so dry but we still spotted a couple of bushbuck along the way.

The falls walk is approx 1.7kms both ways ending at the Victoria Falls bridge, forming the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The bridge is used for bungy jumping, we can hear the hollers from the hotel, some happy, some not.

18/10/2017

The Kingdom at Victoria Falls, our hotel for our 4 day stay at he falls. The hotel and grounds are amazing, not everyones cup of tea but for us the rustic and ancient architectural style is right up our alley. Great staff, reasonable rates, good food and a location within walking distance of the falls and town make this a great location within the falls area. There are only a few hotels within the direct town area with easy access, most others are out of town, and most are considerably more expensive.

Greatly enjoying our time here.

17/10/2017

Day one of our South Africa tour unless you count yesterdays 13hr flight from Sydney to Joburg, rather forget despite being in Business Class.

We caught our flight from Joburg to Livingstone, Zambia this morning. A little turbulence before landing did nothing for Jude's confidence. The company who booked our Vic Falls leg suggested strongly that we fly into Livingstone and then transfer to Vic Falls because the flights were cheaper. After paying $US80pp for double entry Zambian Visas and then waiting in line for over an hour to get our Zim Visa, remarkably short time according to our guide, I think I prefer the straight to Vic Falls airport option for future trips, and will tell them so:(

Anyway, we've arrived safely at the Kingdom Hotel, ot the most luxurious in town but character to spare. We've spent the evening on a Zambezi River cruise, the bulk of which was taken up watching 4 bull elephants on the shore and later playing in the river. Quite a special sighting.

17/10/2017

14/09/2017

Elephant Safari Camp is located within the Okavango Delta and operated by Delta Rain safari company from Sitatunga Camp in Maun, Botswana. The camp is accessed by a lengthy poled mokoro ride through the delta.
The accommodation is tented, quite basic and not for those who only do "glamping".
Food likewise is quite basic, one could actually lose weight staying here.
Activities offered include game walks, mokoro tours, canoeing and fishing.
Not the most glamorous of camps but we loved the isolation and serenity it offered. Nothing quite like sitting under the awning and watching a subtropical storm brewing in the distance or lying in bed listening to the deafening thunder they produce. Great place to read a book and forget about the rest of the world.

14/09/2017

Changa Safari Camp offers upmarket luxury accommodation. In comparison to Rhino Camp the staff and atmosphere are very formal. The accommodation is tented, glamping I believe is the term😎 Loved the outdoor showers, but there's one inside as well in case outdoor bathing isn't your thing. Food is outstanding and plentiful. Drinks are included in the accommodation package which is quite unusual.
Game driving and boating facilities are much more modern than those offered at Rhino, although nothing can make the roads within the park any easier to traverse, they are horrendous.
Overall a beautiful and classy camp although the strictly formal atmosphere is really not my thing.

14/09/2017

Rhino Safari Camp on Lake Kariba was like a home away from home. The atmosphere in the camp was relaxed and welcoming, very informal. The camp is unfenced but moving around during the day is generally quite safe, guests must be escorted at night.
The accommodation consists of chalets built on the lake edge with half walls all around leaving the room exposed to fresh air at all times. The overhanging eaves provide shade from the dun and protection from the elements for the most part, a bit breezy at times😊 The beds have mosquito nets to protect from the bities though so its all good.
Being west facing Rhino Camp offers some of the most spectacular sunsets.
All meals and activities such as fishing and game driving are included in the accommodation package. Phone and internet availability are sporadic at best so sit back, relax and forget the rest of the world exists.

16/05/2017

Afrikan Majik offers an exclusive personalised tour service for game safaris, diving and fishing tou

26/11/2016

Imfolozi-Hluhluwe Game Reserve

Hluhluwe (Shoosh Looie) is located in Kwazulu Natal, about 2hrs north of Durban on the N2 highway. From Johannesburg it is around an 8hr drive on the N4/N2. The park was created from the conjoining of the Imfolozi and Hluhluwe reserves, and in contrast to Kruger consists of largely hilly terrain, hence the name of the main camp Hilltop. The reserve is home to a diverse array of wildlife, landscapes and scenery. A large and panoramic reserve, Imfolozi is located in the southern part of the greater Hluhluwe Imfolozi National Park. Covered in undulating grasslands, forested mountain slopes and acacia bush, the park contains an array of wildlife and boasts the Big Five as well as a proud and successful history of rhino conservation.

Accommodation at Hilltop ranges from self-catering 1-2 bedroom chalets with private facilities to 1bdr rondavels with communal bathrooms and kitchens. The chalet provides buffet style meals and bar facilities. For those wishing a more "earthy" experience there ia the tented camp at Mpila and bush lodges like Gqoyeni providing more bush-based accommodation surrounded by the incredible landscapes of the Imfolozi wilderness.

The Centenary centre nearby the Nyalazi gate houses a large curio centre, a small cafe and "bomas" used to house rhino being relocated which are at times open to the public.

18/11/2016

A taste of Tembe Elephant Park through the eyes of Toursim Manager/Director, Tom Mahamba

18/11/2016

Tembe Elephant Park.

Tembe is a shining example of local initiative, developed jointly by locals and investors from Durban. The park provides employment for many of the local people in an area of extremely low employment, providing opportunities that would have otherwise not have been available locally. This alone in my humble opinion makes it worthy of support. It is out of the way, a long drive up Jozini hill along the Mozambique border, but worth the effort.

Tembe is open only to 4WD vehicles so those in 2WD are met at the gate by a guide. Cars are left in a safe parking area and transport to the lodge provided in open game viewing vehicles. We are met at the entrance by the beautiful staff serenading us with local songs, and a welcome cold drink and refresher towel.

The common area consists of the recently refurbished dining area, sheltered sitting rooms and the bar/reception lapa. There is a pool and the staff provide a massage service for those wanting complete relaxation. A fire is set in the evening and local dance groups visit some days.

Accommodation is safari tented located within the surrounding bush. Some are quite a walk making them quiet, secluded and private. The tents vary in size with most of the originals having a double and single bed, and indoor bathroom. The more recently constructed tents have 2 queen beds and stunning outdoor bathrooms. I know I've said it before, love the outdoor bathrooms.

Tembe offers game drives morning and afternoon. 4WD vehicles are free to drive through the park throughout the day. Those taking the morning drive wake early for a light breakfast prior to departure. The drive is around 3hrs with a drinks break en route. On return a full breakfast is served.

The afternoon drive is at 3pm after a 2pm lunch. a 3-course dinner is served on return at around 7.

Tembe is not the cheapest stop on our tour but is great value given that it includes accommodation and 4 meals daily. Park entry, drinks and massages are billed separately. Everyone I have taken here wished we could stay longer.

12/11/2016

Shayamoya Game Lodge

Shayamoya is located south of the Golela border post between Swaziland and South Africa, just before the junction with the N2 highway outside Pongola. The lodge offers high quality accommodation in wooden chalets overlooking the Pongolapoort dam. The chalets have tea/coffee facilities, a bath and outdoor showers, love the outdoor shower. It is our regular overnight stop between Swaziland and Kwazulu-Natal.

Shayamoya also offers fishing in the Pongolapoort Dam, evening rivers cruises and a hunting camp. Breakfast and dinner are offered at the main lodge with full bar facilities, and a boma bar for the outdoor braai (barbeque) once weekly. Wi Fi is also available at the boma.

The accommodation and service at Shayamoya is top class, hence the reason we stop there almost every trip.

11/11/2016

Ngwenya Glass Factory, Swaziland

Swaziland presents a convenient shortcut between Mpumalanga Province in the north east of South Africa and Kwazulu-Natal on the east coast. The border crossings are simple and straightforward, and the roads are very good. Transit through Swaziland takes 3-4hrs driving directly through but with stops will likely take most of the day. The main highways travel on the eastern and western borders of Swaziland giving quite different perspectives of the kingdom. The eastern road travels through largely farmland and cane fields whilst the western is more rugged and mountainous.

A must do on the western route is the Ngwenya Glass Factory. Here visitors can purchase hand blown glassware made from locally sourced recycled glass at a fraction of the price charged at stores throughout South Africa and indeed the world. Ngwenya is a shining example of local industry employing local people, supporting the local community and recycling an otherwise wasted resource.

Visitors to the factory may view craftsmen hand blowing the glassware sold at the factory. It also has a small cafe making it a great lunch stop on the transit through Swaziland. There are also several other small local craft stops on site.