Phinda, Londolozi, Ngala Tented, Sept. 2006, trip report
Nov 11th, 2006, 05:02 PM
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Phinda, Londolozi, Ngala Tented, Sept. 2006, trip report
Many apologies for the late trip report.
Well . . . it’s hard to take in all that we experienced on our first trip to Africa and I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. It was just fabulous and exceeded all of my expectations. I was well prepared thanks to the great advice and trip experiences I’ve read on this board.
We flew the day flight from BOS to LHR, arriving in the evening, got a good night’s sleep, enjoyed the next day before going back to Heathrow for the evening BA flight to JNB.
The flight was much more pleasant than I had expected and we arrived on time after seeing our first African sunrise from the plane window.
We booked the trip through CCAfrica and visited Phinda (4 nights), Londolozi (2 nights), and Ngala Tented (3 nights).
We were met by a CCA representative, who handed us our trip materials, and transferred us to the Federal Air terminal. We had to wait a couple of hours for our flight to Phinda, but the time was pleasantly spent sitting outdoors, in the small but well-tended garden, drinking coffee and juice. It was heavenly to rest and get organized and to be outside after the long plane ride.
There were just four of us on the flight to Phinda, which was a bit more than an hour long.
I will divide the report by Lodge and then under each lodge, by accommodation and game-viewing. That way all of the veteran safari goers can skip to the animals, while others can read about the less essential (but lovely) parts of the trip.
PHINDA
Photos at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...1ia3k&Ux=1
Accommodations, food, etc:
We were welcomed at Phinda Forest Lodge with ginger-spiked lemonade as we signed our waiver forms. The reception area located about halfway from the road/track to the dining area, has seating, the gift shop, two computers for internet access, and bathrooms. We were then taken to our amazing cottage, room 16. It was the last one on a meandering path through the sand forest. The photos on the website don’t do the room justice. There is a front covered veranda with two chairs and a table. The mini-bar/refrigerator is also on the veranda built into a counter. There are also two pairs of high Wellington boots sitting upside down on pegs, for rainy days. We had one day where it rained mid-day, not interfering with either drive.
The room had a couch, coffee table, small desk and chair, closet, shelves, and safe, along with the bed and side tables. What makes it all special is the walls, or lack of—the walls are all made of glass so you have an unobstructed view to the sand forest. The rooms are spaced far enough and angled away from each other to insure privacy. There are blinds that are drawn for you at night. The bathroom had an enclosed WC, double sinks, beautiful tub surrounded by a shelf with candles on one side, and a separate shower with a frosted glass wall. Shampoo, conditioner, cotton balls, insect repellant, and bottled water were all provided. In addition there were three jars of mint/candies on the coffee table.
We arrived in time for lunch and were served spinach gazpacho with a platter of grilled shrimp, mushroom salad, pea pods with tofu, and lettuce and basil. This was a typical lunch at Phinda—about four or five different selections, including meat or fish, and salads.
The dining veranda overlooks a meadow where often nyala and impalas grazed.
Dinners were held either in the Boma or on the dining veranda except for our fourth night when we were surprised with a bush dinner—barbeque, bar, bathroom, torches, beautifully set tables, all greeted us after our game drive. It was magical. Dinners usually included a choice of about three entrees, salad, bread, starch, vegetables, and, of course, dessert. The food was excellent, with the lunches and their interesting relishes chutneys, and sauces having a slight edge over the dinners.
We would have our wake-up call at 5:30, meet at the dining veranda for coffee, biscuit, or bread. The same routine with the afternoon drive at 3:30-4:00.
We were quite fortunate to be placed in a vehicle with two women from California who turned out to be the best of travel companions. We were all new to safaris, and were willing to see whatever animals we could see. We ate most of our meals with them and some other people who later joined us.
The atmosphere at Phinda, created by those that work there, was incredibly warm and welcoming. Almost everyone we came in contact with was from the local area and many had worked at Phinda from its opening. I had read all of the CCAfrica website and was impressed by their commitment to conservation and to the local communities. From what I saw at Phinda, the website was not hype but a true representation of their commitment. The staff is proud of their Zulu heritage and delight in explaining their ways to you.
Well . . . it’s hard to take in all that we experienced on our first trip to Africa and I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. It was just fabulous and exceeded all of my expectations. I was well prepared thanks to the great advice and trip experiences I’ve read on this board.
We flew the day flight from BOS to LHR, arriving in the evening, got a good night’s sleep, enjoyed the next day before going back to Heathrow for the evening BA flight to JNB.
The flight was much more pleasant than I had expected and we arrived on time after seeing our first African sunrise from the plane window.
We booked the trip through CCAfrica and visited Phinda (4 nights), Londolozi (2 nights), and Ngala Tented (3 nights).
We were met by a CCA representative, who handed us our trip materials, and transferred us to the Federal Air terminal. We had to wait a couple of hours for our flight to Phinda, but the time was pleasantly spent sitting outdoors, in the small but well-tended garden, drinking coffee and juice. It was heavenly to rest and get organized and to be outside after the long plane ride.
There were just four of us on the flight to Phinda, which was a bit more than an hour long.
I will divide the report by Lodge and then under each lodge, by accommodation and game-viewing. That way all of the veteran safari goers can skip to the animals, while others can read about the less essential (but lovely) parts of the trip.
PHINDA
Photos at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...1ia3k&Ux=1
Accommodations, food, etc:
We were welcomed at Phinda Forest Lodge with ginger-spiked lemonade as we signed our waiver forms. The reception area located about halfway from the road/track to the dining area, has seating, the gift shop, two computers for internet access, and bathrooms. We were then taken to our amazing cottage, room 16. It was the last one on a meandering path through the sand forest. The photos on the website don’t do the room justice. There is a front covered veranda with two chairs and a table. The mini-bar/refrigerator is also on the veranda built into a counter. There are also two pairs of high Wellington boots sitting upside down on pegs, for rainy days. We had one day where it rained mid-day, not interfering with either drive.
The room had a couch, coffee table, small desk and chair, closet, shelves, and safe, along with the bed and side tables. What makes it all special is the walls, or lack of—the walls are all made of glass so you have an unobstructed view to the sand forest. The rooms are spaced far enough and angled away from each other to insure privacy. There are blinds that are drawn for you at night. The bathroom had an enclosed WC, double sinks, beautiful tub surrounded by a shelf with candles on one side, and a separate shower with a frosted glass wall. Shampoo, conditioner, cotton balls, insect repellant, and bottled water were all provided. In addition there were three jars of mint/candies on the coffee table.
We arrived in time for lunch and were served spinach gazpacho with a platter of grilled shrimp, mushroom salad, pea pods with tofu, and lettuce and basil. This was a typical lunch at Phinda—about four or five different selections, including meat or fish, and salads.
The dining veranda overlooks a meadow where often nyala and impalas grazed.
Dinners were held either in the Boma or on the dining veranda except for our fourth night when we were surprised with a bush dinner—barbeque, bar, bathroom, torches, beautifully set tables, all greeted us after our game drive. It was magical. Dinners usually included a choice of about three entrees, salad, bread, starch, vegetables, and, of course, dessert. The food was excellent, with the lunches and their interesting relishes chutneys, and sauces having a slight edge over the dinners.
We would have our wake-up call at 5:30, meet at the dining veranda for coffee, biscuit, or bread. The same routine with the afternoon drive at 3:30-4:00.
We were quite fortunate to be placed in a vehicle with two women from California who turned out to be the best of travel companions. We were all new to safaris, and were willing to see whatever animals we could see. We ate most of our meals with them and some other people who later joined us.
The atmosphere at Phinda, created by those that work there, was incredibly warm and welcoming. Almost everyone we came in contact with was from the local area and many had worked at Phinda from its opening. I had read all of the CCAfrica website and was impressed by their commitment to conservation and to the local communities. From what I saw at Phinda, the website was not hype but a true representation of their commitment. The staff is proud of their Zulu heritage and delight in explaining their ways to you.
Nov 11th, 2006, 05:03 PM
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Game drives:
OK, this is really why we were here but it was nice to feel welcomed and cared for, before our first drive.
Our guide was Thulani. He is 32 years old (birthday was while we were there) and has worked for CCAfrica for 12 years, the last six as a ranger. We had good guiding throughout but Thulani was fantastic. He instinctively knew how long to stay at a sighting, how to park the vehicle for people to take the best photos, and, with the tracker, find the best game he could. He also knew about plants, birds, and the stars, and we learned a lot from him.
On our very first drive we saw a cheetah resting after a kill. His impala was hidden close by behind some bushes for him to return to later. We stayed some time with him. We moved on to see five more cheetah who were at a distance from us on land that recently had been burned back so we couldn’t go closer with the vehicle. There were 3 males, one female, and the mother. On our return to camp we went near Vlei Lodge and saw a small herd of elephants drinking from the plunge pool of room #6. Our ranger noticed the maid in the room, moving about in the light. He radioed in to tell them to call her and shut off the light and be still. About one minute later the lights went out and the elephants continued their drinking until after dark. We heard that she had to wait in the room until the elephants had all left. We also saw giraffes, nyala, zebras, and guinea fowl. Not too bad for our first ever game drive.
I will touch upon the highlights—we took a long bush walk one morning in the middle of our drive. It was good to walk for more than an hour, and we were able to see some of the smaller creatures, plants, and birds. Back in the vehicle we saw our first (of many) white rhinos, male nyalas posturing with one another, their manes upright, and a brief visit to a lounging lion pride—mother, two sub-adult males, and one sub-adult female.
We took the river cruise in a smaller boat because the water levels are low and had a productive drive both going to and from the river. On the way there we stopped to watch a big old bull elephant who was feeding on the new tree growth near the river. He had a difficult time trying unsuccessfully to knock down some trees and settled on eating what leaves he could reach. He had only one tusk, and had been relocated to Phinda from the Sabi Sands.
The cruise was a good experience but not productive for seeing animals. There was a crocodile, and submerged hippos. I am not a birder, but I can see how Africa could turn you into one. We saw African fin foots, brown-hooded kingfisher, and African darters. On the way back on the night drive, our fabulous tracker/spotter recognized 4 cheetahs at quite a distance, rhinos and wildebeests on the runway, genet, and white tailed mongoose.
It seemed as though the “marsh” area was the most productive for sightings. We saw small herds of zebras grazing with wildebeest, giraffes in the distance. This is also where we saw more lion activity.
The highlight was watching 7 lions at sunset (large male, older female, young male and 3 young females) slowly stretch, sniff, and set out to find their evening meal. They slowly made their way towards some of the wildebeests. We would ride ahead and park to watch them come by. At one point there was a baby rhino and mother between the lions and the wildebeests. We all held our breath as the lions approached. Then one of the female lions started to poke and jump up as if to push the rhino. It was a bit like watching the schoolyard bully demonstrating what can be done. Then the lions continued on their way. It was dark by now and we were sitting in the vehicle at the far side of where the lions were headed. Our ranger decided to turn on the spotlight (they used the red filter) to check on the lions’ location—well . . . turns out that one of the females was about 6 feet from the vehicle headed right towards us. That gave us all a start, as she nonchantly walked around the front.
We spent a couple of hours watching them and finally left because it seemed clear that our continued presence was probably going to interfere with the hunt. It was a fantastic experience.
Our only leopard sighting was one evening as we were on our way to see a big male lion. The spotter suddenly said “leopard” and we stopped and backtracked. The young skittish male leopard had been lying out in the open but retreated into a thicket when we turned around. We saw him only through the bush branches at first. He then disappeared and we drove around the other side and, since it was now dark we all tried to pick out the leopard where we thought he would be. Red light shining, our eyes scanning, when suddenly we realized that he was actually in full view--watching us.
Our last morning brought us to a new part of the reserve where they recently acquired traversing rights. It was here that we saw three of the black rhinos. They seemed a little shyer around vehicles than the white rhinos and kept their distance.
We saw many more animals at Phinda than I would have imagined. They have 3 resident lion prides, about 16 black rhinos, and 7(?) leopards. The leopards are a problem because they get out, jump the fence, and are sometimes retrieved, but other times shot by irate farmers. They are collared.
Miscellaneous.
The only optional side trip that we took was to go to Sodwana Bay. We flew there, and were picked up by a Phinda vehicle that drove us the 20 minutes to the beach. The water was pretty rough, but we did a bit of snorkeling and swimming, had a fabulous lunch, and just as the wind started to pick up, left the beach in order to get back for our evening drive.
They take good care of you at Phinda and really make your stay special. The bush dinner and, our last morning, the bush breakfast (arranged by our guide) were great experiences. We were able to dine with our guide 3 out of the 4 nights we were there, which added a lot our getting to know him and the reserve. Our vehicle was always the last one back from the game drives and one of the first ones out.
Next up: Londolozi.
OK, this is really why we were here but it was nice to feel welcomed and cared for, before our first drive.
Our guide was Thulani. He is 32 years old (birthday was while we were there) and has worked for CCAfrica for 12 years, the last six as a ranger. We had good guiding throughout but Thulani was fantastic. He instinctively knew how long to stay at a sighting, how to park the vehicle for people to take the best photos, and, with the tracker, find the best game he could. He also knew about plants, birds, and the stars, and we learned a lot from him.
On our very first drive we saw a cheetah resting after a kill. His impala was hidden close by behind some bushes for him to return to later. We stayed some time with him. We moved on to see five more cheetah who were at a distance from us on land that recently had been burned back so we couldn’t go closer with the vehicle. There were 3 males, one female, and the mother. On our return to camp we went near Vlei Lodge and saw a small herd of elephants drinking from the plunge pool of room #6. Our ranger noticed the maid in the room, moving about in the light. He radioed in to tell them to call her and shut off the light and be still. About one minute later the lights went out and the elephants continued their drinking until after dark. We heard that she had to wait in the room until the elephants had all left. We also saw giraffes, nyala, zebras, and guinea fowl. Not too bad for our first ever game drive.
I will touch upon the highlights—we took a long bush walk one morning in the middle of our drive. It was good to walk for more than an hour, and we were able to see some of the smaller creatures, plants, and birds. Back in the vehicle we saw our first (of many) white rhinos, male nyalas posturing with one another, their manes upright, and a brief visit to a lounging lion pride—mother, two sub-adult males, and one sub-adult female.
We took the river cruise in a smaller boat because the water levels are low and had a productive drive both going to and from the river. On the way there we stopped to watch a big old bull elephant who was feeding on the new tree growth near the river. He had a difficult time trying unsuccessfully to knock down some trees and settled on eating what leaves he could reach. He had only one tusk, and had been relocated to Phinda from the Sabi Sands.
The cruise was a good experience but not productive for seeing animals. There was a crocodile, and submerged hippos. I am not a birder, but I can see how Africa could turn you into one. We saw African fin foots, brown-hooded kingfisher, and African darters. On the way back on the night drive, our fabulous tracker/spotter recognized 4 cheetahs at quite a distance, rhinos and wildebeests on the runway, genet, and white tailed mongoose.
It seemed as though the “marsh” area was the most productive for sightings. We saw small herds of zebras grazing with wildebeest, giraffes in the distance. This is also where we saw more lion activity.
The highlight was watching 7 lions at sunset (large male, older female, young male and 3 young females) slowly stretch, sniff, and set out to find their evening meal. They slowly made their way towards some of the wildebeests. We would ride ahead and park to watch them come by. At one point there was a baby rhino and mother between the lions and the wildebeests. We all held our breath as the lions approached. Then one of the female lions started to poke and jump up as if to push the rhino. It was a bit like watching the schoolyard bully demonstrating what can be done. Then the lions continued on their way. It was dark by now and we were sitting in the vehicle at the far side of where the lions were headed. Our ranger decided to turn on the spotlight (they used the red filter) to check on the lions’ location—well . . . turns out that one of the females was about 6 feet from the vehicle headed right towards us. That gave us all a start, as she nonchantly walked around the front.
We spent a couple of hours watching them and finally left because it seemed clear that our continued presence was probably going to interfere with the hunt. It was a fantastic experience.
Our only leopard sighting was one evening as we were on our way to see a big male lion. The spotter suddenly said “leopard” and we stopped and backtracked. The young skittish male leopard had been lying out in the open but retreated into a thicket when we turned around. We saw him only through the bush branches at first. He then disappeared and we drove around the other side and, since it was now dark we all tried to pick out the leopard where we thought he would be. Red light shining, our eyes scanning, when suddenly we realized that he was actually in full view--watching us.
Our last morning brought us to a new part of the reserve where they recently acquired traversing rights. It was here that we saw three of the black rhinos. They seemed a little shyer around vehicles than the white rhinos and kept their distance.
We saw many more animals at Phinda than I would have imagined. They have 3 resident lion prides, about 16 black rhinos, and 7(?) leopards. The leopards are a problem because they get out, jump the fence, and are sometimes retrieved, but other times shot by irate farmers. They are collared.
Miscellaneous.
The only optional side trip that we took was to go to Sodwana Bay. We flew there, and were picked up by a Phinda vehicle that drove us the 20 minutes to the beach. The water was pretty rough, but we did a bit of snorkeling and swimming, had a fabulous lunch, and just as the wind started to pick up, left the beach in order to get back for our evening drive.
They take good care of you at Phinda and really make your stay special. The bush dinner and, our last morning, the bush breakfast (arranged by our guide) were great experiences. We were able to dine with our guide 3 out of the 4 nights we were there, which added a lot our getting to know him and the reserve. Our vehicle was always the last one back from the game drives and one of the first ones out.
Next up: Londolozi.
Nov 11th, 2006, 05:30 PM
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CW: this report is coming at a perfect time as I was just looking for info on Ngala. Sounds like you had a great time at Phinda, thanks for sharing your excellent detailed report and the wonderful pictures -- I really liked the black rhino and the cheetah pics.
Looking forward to the rest, especially your game sightings at Ngala.
Looking forward to the rest, especially your game sightings at Ngala.
Nov 11th, 2006, 06:06 PM
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PB,
Am working on Londolozi, and will try to get to Ngala in a day or two. We loved Ngala Tented, and, though the wildlife was different in it's abundance from Londolozi, it had more of a wilderness feel to it, and more of a feeling of anticipation and excitement for the game viewing.
CW
Am working on Londolozi, and will try to get to Ngala in a day or two. We loved Ngala Tented, and, though the wildlife was different in it's abundance from Londolozi, it had more of a wilderness feel to it, and more of a feeling of anticipation and excitement for the game viewing.
CW
Nov 11th, 2006, 07:16 PM
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Hi Hari,
Thanks for the welcome back. I sense I had a different experience from yours at Phinda. I'm not sure how much of it was due to my first "safari" time. But after going to two other camps, I did appreciate the Phinda experience.
More to come. I don't want to drag it on, so will get to it in the next few days.
Then I can start planning our next trip.. You are a good salesman for Lebala and Botswana!
CW
Thanks for the welcome back. I sense I had a different experience from yours at Phinda. I'm not sure how much of it was due to my first "safari" time. But after going to two other camps, I did appreciate the Phinda experience.
More to come. I don't want to drag it on, so will get to it in the next few days.
Then I can start planning our next trip.. You are a good salesman for Lebala and Botswana!
CW
Nov 11th, 2006, 08:23 PM
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CW,
Glad you enjoyed your time at Phinda. Haha, yes.....i'm returning to Botswana in June (Lebala and Zibalianja). Perhaps, Bots should be your next visit?
Will look forward to reading about Ngala and how you think the experience compares to Londoloz.
Thks
Hari
Glad you enjoyed your time at Phinda. Haha, yes.....i'm returning to Botswana in June (Lebala and Zibalianja). Perhaps, Bots should be your next visit?
Will look forward to reading about Ngala and how you think the experience compares to Londoloz.
Thks
Hari
Nov 12th, 2006, 02:18 AM
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Thanks for the report and photos CW it sounds like you had a great time. I am off to Phinda, to stay at Forest Lodge, in May as part of our wedding//honeymoon trip and your report has got me even more excited!
Looking forwards to reading about the rest of your trip.
Looking forwards to reading about the rest of your trip.
Nov 12th, 2006, 04:25 AM
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Glad you had a good experience at Phinda.
I had a horrific one where our guide instructed the driver to back under the elephant electric fence in the sand forest. Out guide was also extremely green and it showed. Rode roughshod over huge bumps without warning. While the place was gorgeous we didnt get the same sense of warmth at Phinda as we did at Londo.
I had a horrific one where our guide instructed the driver to back under the elephant electric fence in the sand forest. Out guide was also extremely green and it showed. Rode roughshod over huge bumps without warning. While the place was gorgeous we didnt get the same sense of warmth at Phinda as we did at Londo.
Nov 12th, 2006, 09:17 AM
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Welcome home. Your report on Phinda was a real treat to read. You had some fabulous game viewing. The lion and rhino encounter is a rarity. Must have been exciting. I think I'll request Thulani for a guide. Thanks for the advice! Looking forward to the next installment.
Nov 12th, 2006, 05:07 PM
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Thanks for your kind comments.
Lynn, I think Thulani is a treasure. He had interesting stories about growing up, that as the oldest, his mother taught him to cook so that he could cook for his siblings when she was working. I think he started out at Phinda by working in the kitchen.
mancfi: you'll be well taken care of at Phinda. You'll have a great experience.
emdee: It's so interesting that we had completely opposite experiences. It shows what a difference a person here or there can make.
On with the report:
Just want to add to the Phinda sightings: genet, white-tailed mongoose, baboons, and many, many birds, including brown-hooded kingfisher, African fine foot, and African darter.
Londolozi
We transferred by air to Londolozi, the flight took a little over an hour. We were in a six-seater (including pilot and co-pilot), and I sat in front with the pilot to leave my seat in back for sending on supplies.
Just before landing at the Londolozi airstrip we saw a small herd of elephants. They looked so small from the air! We stayed in Founder’s Camp, and the ride from the airstrip was short—about 10 minutes.
We had originally planned on staying 3 nights at Phinda, 3 Londolozi, and 3 at Ngala Tented. Londolozi had only 2 night available during our dates so we added the night to Phinda.
Game viewing:
Sandros was our ranger, and Life was our tracker. We set off and spent most of our time with a female leopard who was looking for her second cub. She was near the drive riverbed, calling out for the cub, who somehow had gotten lost a day or two before when she was off hunting. As she was sitting in the brush, a hyena came quite close, waiting and watching as a small herd of impala went by, the leopard stalking them but not moving in. She did not find her cub, and it was heart-wrenching to see and hear her call. Sandros told us that she wasn’t a very good mother, as she had lost cubs in the past.
Next morning we set out and saw a male leopard, whose territory was in the eastern part of the reserve, but he was going west, further than he had been seen before. We followed him for some time, until our way was blocked and he slipped off. Leopards are amazing to watch, and, at least at Londolozi and I assume throughout the Sabi Sands, are mostly impervious to the vehicles. Even though I know they are cats—it’s incredible how much my domestic(?) cat is like the big cats.
We also saw lots of giraffes and general game on our drive. The nyalas of Phinda were replaced by the impalas. The giraffes are wonderful. They seem to be one of the few animals that acknowledge your presence. Behind the tree branches, they stop and look at the vehicles with curiosity. On the way back to camp we saw hippos in the watering hole, but as was the case throughout our trip, we saw no hippo yawn, nor any out of the water.
The afternoon drive, again was stupendous. We spent time with a large herd of buffalo and watched them walk down the side of the Sand River. At one point we were in their midst as they walked around our vehicle. They were so close, we could have reached out and touched them. Shortly afterwards, we saw a large herd of elephants that seemed to be crossing the river. Sandros positioned us so we could see them crossing but in the end, only half went across and the other half stayed and played in the water on the other side. Either way, we had a terrific view.
On our way to find some lions, as the sun was setting we saw a mother and young rhino near the airstrip joined shortly by the father(?). As it was almost dark we came to see the tailless lioness and her two male cubs. She lost her tale to a hyena. She was definitely on the move, chasing a hyena that was following them. The cubs were extremely playful with each and with her.
Next morning, our last Londolozi drive, Sandros and Life left us for a bit to track the female leopard who had lost her cub. They had no luck, and we took off to Singita to see lions feeding at a buffalo kill. On our way we stopped for elephants, one of whom was in a playful mood. He was nibbling on a tree nearby, and as soon as we started up to leave, drove a few feet, he made as though he was going to charge us. Our ranger stopped—the elephant stopped. This was replayed a few times in the same way. Great fun.
We arrived at Singita and found an old lioness feeding on the buffalo. There were five or six young lions, who had already eaten, lying in the track—dirty but full. The lioness, we were told, was 8 or 9, and had only one big tooth left. We stayed for awhile and drove around the kill to find the sleeping male lion who deigned to briefly raise his head before going back to his snooze.
Can’t say enough about the quantity of game in the Sabi Sands. For someone who wants to see game, and who only has a few days, it’s the place to go.
Lynn, I think Thulani is a treasure. He had interesting stories about growing up, that as the oldest, his mother taught him to cook so that he could cook for his siblings when she was working. I think he started out at Phinda by working in the kitchen.
mancfi: you'll be well taken care of at Phinda. You'll have a great experience.
emdee: It's so interesting that we had completely opposite experiences. It shows what a difference a person here or there can make.
On with the report:
Just want to add to the Phinda sightings: genet, white-tailed mongoose, baboons, and many, many birds, including brown-hooded kingfisher, African fine foot, and African darter.
Londolozi
We transferred by air to Londolozi, the flight took a little over an hour. We were in a six-seater (including pilot and co-pilot), and I sat in front with the pilot to leave my seat in back for sending on supplies.
Just before landing at the Londolozi airstrip we saw a small herd of elephants. They looked so small from the air! We stayed in Founder’s Camp, and the ride from the airstrip was short—about 10 minutes.
We had originally planned on staying 3 nights at Phinda, 3 Londolozi, and 3 at Ngala Tented. Londolozi had only 2 night available during our dates so we added the night to Phinda.
Game viewing:
Sandros was our ranger, and Life was our tracker. We set off and spent most of our time with a female leopard who was looking for her second cub. She was near the drive riverbed, calling out for the cub, who somehow had gotten lost a day or two before when she was off hunting. As she was sitting in the brush, a hyena came quite close, waiting and watching as a small herd of impala went by, the leopard stalking them but not moving in. She did not find her cub, and it was heart-wrenching to see and hear her call. Sandros told us that she wasn’t a very good mother, as she had lost cubs in the past.
Next morning we set out and saw a male leopard, whose territory was in the eastern part of the reserve, but he was going west, further than he had been seen before. We followed him for some time, until our way was blocked and he slipped off. Leopards are amazing to watch, and, at least at Londolozi and I assume throughout the Sabi Sands, are mostly impervious to the vehicles. Even though I know they are cats—it’s incredible how much my domestic(?) cat is like the big cats.
We also saw lots of giraffes and general game on our drive. The nyalas of Phinda were replaced by the impalas. The giraffes are wonderful. They seem to be one of the few animals that acknowledge your presence. Behind the tree branches, they stop and look at the vehicles with curiosity. On the way back to camp we saw hippos in the watering hole, but as was the case throughout our trip, we saw no hippo yawn, nor any out of the water.
The afternoon drive, again was stupendous. We spent time with a large herd of buffalo and watched them walk down the side of the Sand River. At one point we were in their midst as they walked around our vehicle. They were so close, we could have reached out and touched them. Shortly afterwards, we saw a large herd of elephants that seemed to be crossing the river. Sandros positioned us so we could see them crossing but in the end, only half went across and the other half stayed and played in the water on the other side. Either way, we had a terrific view.
On our way to find some lions, as the sun was setting we saw a mother and young rhino near the airstrip joined shortly by the father(?). As it was almost dark we came to see the tailless lioness and her two male cubs. She lost her tale to a hyena. She was definitely on the move, chasing a hyena that was following them. The cubs were extremely playful with each and with her.
Next morning, our last Londolozi drive, Sandros and Life left us for a bit to track the female leopard who had lost her cub. They had no luck, and we took off to Singita to see lions feeding at a buffalo kill. On our way we stopped for elephants, one of whom was in a playful mood. He was nibbling on a tree nearby, and as soon as we started up to leave, drove a few feet, he made as though he was going to charge us. Our ranger stopped—the elephant stopped. This was replayed a few times in the same way. Great fun.
We arrived at Singita and found an old lioness feeding on the buffalo. There were five or six young lions, who had already eaten, lying in the track—dirty but full. The lioness, we were told, was 8 or 9, and had only one big tooth left. We stayed for awhile and drove around the kill to find the sleeping male lion who deigned to briefly raise his head before going back to his snooze.
Can’t say enough about the quantity of game in the Sabi Sands. For someone who wants to see game, and who only has a few days, it’s the place to go.
Nov 12th, 2006, 05:10 PM
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Londolozi accommodations etc.
We stayed at Founder’s, # 3, just up from the pool. Beautiful room, though looking a wee bit worn, amazing glass walls in the bathroom, and a nice, though hot mid-day, veranda looking out over the Sand River. Our waiter was terrific and the food was great. Like Phinda, the lunches seemed more interesting than the dinners.
Our two days/nights there coincided with the camp manager leaving and a new camp manager starting out. This may have accounted for some minor confusions, we were told we were to go with one guide, and were placed with another, the lunch time given was at odds with the routine, and the room hairdryer didn’t work in any of the room plugs. (I did ask about the latter, but after a couple of futile attempts, it wasn’t worth pursuing.)
We enjoyed our first dinner, which included our ranger and the others in the vehicle. For the first day there were six of us—ourselves, a lovely young couple from London, and two people doing a pre-trip scouting tour for an “adventure” travel group. This is where our ranger, with his 18 years of experience, showed his people skills.
The woman from the travel company, on our first and second drive, jumped into the front seat next to Shandros (the seat normally reserved for the tracker when cats are spotted), leaned over to him, looked back at us and said “I’m sitting here because I’ll have lots of questions.” She sure did, and most of them showed that she hadn’t done even any rudimentary reading about a safari experience. Our ranger was in a awkward position, balancing his visitors’ wishes and needs with those of travel company representatives who would be bringing at least two different groups to Londolozi in October and November. He handled it well, but their presence and her incessant mindless chatter distracted from the drives. On our second drive when we finished by walking back to camp, she had to be chastised more than once to stay in line with the group. She kept hanging back and whined “but I want to get a picture of all of you walking.” Enough said. Happily they stayed only one night.
We did visit the small village on site where some of the employees live, and we bought some handicrafts at their shop.
In conversations with staff we were told that when the change in managament from CCAfrica back to the Varty family, that employees would be given the choice to stay at Londolozi or to continue on with CCAfrica at another camp.
Not sure I’d return to Londolozi, though I can see going back to the Sabi Sands, especially for the leopard sightings.
Photos for Londolozi at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...0hrrt&Ux=1
We stayed at Founder’s, # 3, just up from the pool. Beautiful room, though looking a wee bit worn, amazing glass walls in the bathroom, and a nice, though hot mid-day, veranda looking out over the Sand River. Our waiter was terrific and the food was great. Like Phinda, the lunches seemed more interesting than the dinners.
Our two days/nights there coincided with the camp manager leaving and a new camp manager starting out. This may have accounted for some minor confusions, we were told we were to go with one guide, and were placed with another, the lunch time given was at odds with the routine, and the room hairdryer didn’t work in any of the room plugs. (I did ask about the latter, but after a couple of futile attempts, it wasn’t worth pursuing.)
We enjoyed our first dinner, which included our ranger and the others in the vehicle. For the first day there were six of us—ourselves, a lovely young couple from London, and two people doing a pre-trip scouting tour for an “adventure” travel group. This is where our ranger, with his 18 years of experience, showed his people skills.
The woman from the travel company, on our first and second drive, jumped into the front seat next to Shandros (the seat normally reserved for the tracker when cats are spotted), leaned over to him, looked back at us and said “I’m sitting here because I’ll have lots of questions.” She sure did, and most of them showed that she hadn’t done even any rudimentary reading about a safari experience. Our ranger was in a awkward position, balancing his visitors’ wishes and needs with those of travel company representatives who would be bringing at least two different groups to Londolozi in October and November. He handled it well, but their presence and her incessant mindless chatter distracted from the drives. On our second drive when we finished by walking back to camp, she had to be chastised more than once to stay in line with the group. She kept hanging back and whined “but I want to get a picture of all of you walking.” Enough said. Happily they stayed only one night.
We did visit the small village on site where some of the employees live, and we bought some handicrafts at their shop.
In conversations with staff we were told that when the change in managament from CCAfrica back to the Varty family, that employees would be given the choice to stay at Londolozi or to continue on with CCAfrica at another camp.
Not sure I’d return to Londolozi, though I can see going back to the Sabi Sands, especially for the leopard sightings.
Photos for Londolozi at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...0hrrt&Ux=1
Nov 14th, 2006, 11:27 AM
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Ngala Tented Camp
We left Londolozi at about 1:00 pm for our short flight to Ngala Tented Camp. The airstrip is about 40 minutes from camp. I think it is much closer to Ngala Main Camp.
We were 8 people on the flight, including two couples (one British, one South African) traveling together with one couple’s two older-teenage children. It turns out that these two couples, along with a third (American), who couldn’t make the trip, had been at Londolozi on 9/ll, got to know each other then in the aftermath of the tragedy, kept in touch and have since had a few reunion trips together in South Africa. This was at least their second visit to Ngala.
We were greeted with damp cool towels on our arrival, walked by a couple of ever-present warthogs grazing on the grass, and escorted to the dining/bar area as our luggage was whisked to our awaiting tents. Ah . . . the tents. They did have canvas walls and mesh screening, but there the tent comparison ends. They had a small deck in front with two comfortable chairs, a beautiful bed covered with cushions—backed by a fairly large and long table that held the bedside lamps (switch on the cord so easy to turn off at night), two sinks, enclosed WC, ample storage for both hanging clothes and shelves for everything else, a writing desk and chair, and nice tub with views to the enclosed outside shower. I could have lived in that tent forever.
The dining area was open on one side to the then dry Timbavati River, and the bar/lounge area was up one level with a nice outdoor verandah overlooking the river. Camp office, gift shop, and internet access was downstairs from the bar area.
Ngala has only six tents and a bit more relaxed and flexible style than Londolozi or Phinda. The meal schedule was entirely dependent on what you wanted, and what made more sense given the guests’ departure and arrival schedules. As one person said to us “it’s YOUR vacation, after all.”
Game-viewing
For two of the three days we spent at Ngala, we shared the vehicle with a couple and their two 20-something and 30-year-old daughters. The family travels together once a year. They were intent on seeing a leopard and our guide Phill and tracker Adam did everything in their power to find one, but the leopard remained elusive. Adam loved tracking leopards and would leave us sometimes for awhile to go off by himself tracking. Adding to Adam’s frustration was that he could see that the leopard had crossed Adams’ footsteps between the morning and afternoon drives.
That first afternoon they even spotted drag marks from a kill on the road with some remains—they followed the trail, again to no avail.
While not seeing leopards we did see a very shy white rhino, ample giraffes, zebra, buffalo, grey duiker (saw red duiker at Phinda), impala, wildebeest, single lions, and, investigating what looked like an annual vulture outing, found a dead giraffe, who from all appearances died a natural death. Heading towards the vultures, we passed a hyena with bloodied fur around his mouth crossing the road. While we were near the dead giraffe another hyena came and almost disappeared into the animals stomach cavity while feeding. In the next few days, though we didn’t return there, we learned from others who checked that it did not seem as though any lions came to feed.
Besides the ever-present warthogs in camp, there was a bushbuck that hung around near our tent, # 1, right at the edge of the brush between camp and the river. One night upon being escorted back to our tent, there were 3 or 4 buffalo right between our tent and the one next to us. We had to wait to go in until the guards were able to get them moving away.
At a small water hole we found a small group of old bull buffalo, hanging out, drinking. I then saw for the one and only time, a giraffe slowly approach the water hole, reposition himself numerous times, and then ta-da, finally take a drink. Then he would go through the whole maneuvering again in order to take another sip.
On our last two games drives, we were the only ones in the vehicle. These two drives turned out to be the best. We saw two large breeding herds of elephants and a large 200-300-head herd of buffalo near an area called the big dam. It is a year-round source of water in the reserve. We watched them for some time come away from the water, climb the dam, and go down into the bush on the other side.
Our last drive—a morning one—set us off to find the leopard. We had a quick sighting of a black-backed jackal. A few minutes out, and the radio buzzed. The word was that a lion pride was feeding on one of those buffalo we saw the previous day, up by the big dam. So it was decision time—go back and look for the leopard or go to the lions. It was our call and while I think the ranger and guide would have loved to track the leopard, we decided to go see the lions. So Phill turned around and was heading at a pretty good pace towards the lion kill when we passed two adult lions—male and female sitting near the road. Phill drove ahead a bit to stop so Adam could get into the vehicle from the front look-out seat. Just as he was about to stop, there were two younger male lions sitting right by the road. WOW. So we went ahead yet again—Adams climbed into the vehicle and we returned to look them over.
These were new lions to the area—three male interlopers who had taken up with an older female. That female had been on her own for sometime after her pride had died. She seemed to be still evaluating these new guys to see if they will stick around. Evidently until quite recently, Ngala had a large pride of about 26 lions. The pride broke into roughly two groups—for reasons that may include the birth of new cubs, its big size, and the appearance of the 3 new males.
We then headed out to the kill where we saw at least three cubs and about 7 or 8 lions feeding on the buffalo. The cubs were a first for us. They were old enough to be feeding on the carcass. We watched for a long time before returning back to camp and packing up to leave.
In addition to these sightings we saw, for a second only, a bushbaby on one of the night drives returning to camp.
We left Londolozi at about 1:00 pm for our short flight to Ngala Tented Camp. The airstrip is about 40 minutes from camp. I think it is much closer to Ngala Main Camp.
We were 8 people on the flight, including two couples (one British, one South African) traveling together with one couple’s two older-teenage children. It turns out that these two couples, along with a third (American), who couldn’t make the trip, had been at Londolozi on 9/ll, got to know each other then in the aftermath of the tragedy, kept in touch and have since had a few reunion trips together in South Africa. This was at least their second visit to Ngala.
We were greeted with damp cool towels on our arrival, walked by a couple of ever-present warthogs grazing on the grass, and escorted to the dining/bar area as our luggage was whisked to our awaiting tents. Ah . . . the tents. They did have canvas walls and mesh screening, but there the tent comparison ends. They had a small deck in front with two comfortable chairs, a beautiful bed covered with cushions—backed by a fairly large and long table that held the bedside lamps (switch on the cord so easy to turn off at night), two sinks, enclosed WC, ample storage for both hanging clothes and shelves for everything else, a writing desk and chair, and nice tub with views to the enclosed outside shower. I could have lived in that tent forever.
The dining area was open on one side to the then dry Timbavati River, and the bar/lounge area was up one level with a nice outdoor verandah overlooking the river. Camp office, gift shop, and internet access was downstairs from the bar area.
Ngala has only six tents and a bit more relaxed and flexible style than Londolozi or Phinda. The meal schedule was entirely dependent on what you wanted, and what made more sense given the guests’ departure and arrival schedules. As one person said to us “it’s YOUR vacation, after all.”
Game-viewing
For two of the three days we spent at Ngala, we shared the vehicle with a couple and their two 20-something and 30-year-old daughters. The family travels together once a year. They were intent on seeing a leopard and our guide Phill and tracker Adam did everything in their power to find one, but the leopard remained elusive. Adam loved tracking leopards and would leave us sometimes for awhile to go off by himself tracking. Adding to Adam’s frustration was that he could see that the leopard had crossed Adams’ footsteps between the morning and afternoon drives.
That first afternoon they even spotted drag marks from a kill on the road with some remains—they followed the trail, again to no avail.
While not seeing leopards we did see a very shy white rhino, ample giraffes, zebra, buffalo, grey duiker (saw red duiker at Phinda), impala, wildebeest, single lions, and, investigating what looked like an annual vulture outing, found a dead giraffe, who from all appearances died a natural death. Heading towards the vultures, we passed a hyena with bloodied fur around his mouth crossing the road. While we were near the dead giraffe another hyena came and almost disappeared into the animals stomach cavity while feeding. In the next few days, though we didn’t return there, we learned from others who checked that it did not seem as though any lions came to feed.
Besides the ever-present warthogs in camp, there was a bushbuck that hung around near our tent, # 1, right at the edge of the brush between camp and the river. One night upon being escorted back to our tent, there were 3 or 4 buffalo right between our tent and the one next to us. We had to wait to go in until the guards were able to get them moving away.
At a small water hole we found a small group of old bull buffalo, hanging out, drinking. I then saw for the one and only time, a giraffe slowly approach the water hole, reposition himself numerous times, and then ta-da, finally take a drink. Then he would go through the whole maneuvering again in order to take another sip.
On our last two games drives, we were the only ones in the vehicle. These two drives turned out to be the best. We saw two large breeding herds of elephants and a large 200-300-head herd of buffalo near an area called the big dam. It is a year-round source of water in the reserve. We watched them for some time come away from the water, climb the dam, and go down into the bush on the other side.
Our last drive—a morning one—set us off to find the leopard. We had a quick sighting of a black-backed jackal. A few minutes out, and the radio buzzed. The word was that a lion pride was feeding on one of those buffalo we saw the previous day, up by the big dam. So it was decision time—go back and look for the leopard or go to the lions. It was our call and while I think the ranger and guide would have loved to track the leopard, we decided to go see the lions. So Phill turned around and was heading at a pretty good pace towards the lion kill when we passed two adult lions—male and female sitting near the road. Phill drove ahead a bit to stop so Adam could get into the vehicle from the front look-out seat. Just as he was about to stop, there were two younger male lions sitting right by the road. WOW. So we went ahead yet again—Adams climbed into the vehicle and we returned to look them over.
These were new lions to the area—three male interlopers who had taken up with an older female. That female had been on her own for sometime after her pride had died. She seemed to be still evaluating these new guys to see if they will stick around. Evidently until quite recently, Ngala had a large pride of about 26 lions. The pride broke into roughly two groups—for reasons that may include the birth of new cubs, its big size, and the appearance of the 3 new males.
We then headed out to the kill where we saw at least three cubs and about 7 or 8 lions feeding on the buffalo. The cubs were a first for us. They were old enough to be feeding on the carcass. We watched for a long time before returning back to camp and packing up to leave.
In addition to these sightings we saw, for a second only, a bushbaby on one of the night drives returning to camp.
Nov 14th, 2006, 11:28 AM
#19
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Ngala accommodations and miscellaneous
I already described the tents. We were served coffee and a biscuit in our tents in the morning with our walk-up call. It was a nice way to wake up and get ready for the drive. Unfortunately one morning the baboons must have had the same opinion. When we returned from one of our morning drives, the camp manager met us and told us that the baboons had trashed our tent. We had a long leisurely breakfast, and upon returning to the spotless tent, it would have been hard to see that anything had happened, except for the multiple teeth holes in my tube of Tom’s orange/mango toothpaste, and what look like bite marks on my trashy read-on-the-plane book. (So my copy of the Devil wears Prada has become a special keepsake.)
Our second evening there we were treated to dinner in the dry riverbed. We were escorted out the back of the dining tent, to a huge bonfire surrounded by chairs. We all sat (12 guests, manager and two rangers) at one long table. It was a lovely time especially being with some extremely nice people. The gathering broke up about midnight but a few kept the bar open much later. Only one person missed the next morning’s drive.
The staff at Ngala was terrific, and the camp manager and the guides were very knowledgeable.
Photos from Ngala Tented:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...1&y=2b6sh5
I will include one more segment with some general comments, conclusions, and things I just plain forgot to mention. And again, thanks for all of the information I garnered here and also, for reading this far.
I already described the tents. We were served coffee and a biscuit in our tents in the morning with our walk-up call. It was a nice way to wake up and get ready for the drive. Unfortunately one morning the baboons must have had the same opinion. When we returned from one of our morning drives, the camp manager met us and told us that the baboons had trashed our tent. We had a long leisurely breakfast, and upon returning to the spotless tent, it would have been hard to see that anything had happened, except for the multiple teeth holes in my tube of Tom’s orange/mango toothpaste, and what look like bite marks on my trashy read-on-the-plane book. (So my copy of the Devil wears Prada has become a special keepsake.)
Our second evening there we were treated to dinner in the dry riverbed. We were escorted out the back of the dining tent, to a huge bonfire surrounded by chairs. We all sat (12 guests, manager and two rangers) at one long table. It was a lovely time especially being with some extremely nice people. The gathering broke up about midnight but a few kept the bar open much later. Only one person missed the next morning’s drive.
The staff at Ngala was terrific, and the camp manager and the guides were very knowledgeable.
Photos from Ngala Tented:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...1&y=2b6sh5
I will include one more segment with some general comments, conclusions, and things I just plain forgot to mention. And again, thanks for all of the information I garnered here and also, for reading this far.
Nov 14th, 2006, 11:50 AM
#20
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CW,
Excellent trip report. Could you speak a bit to the costs involved? I'm particularly interested in the costs of the air transfers. I've done some preliminary budgeting on a South African safari, but the costs of air transfers has been bit ambiguous for me.
Excellent trip report. Could you speak a bit to the costs involved? I'm particularly interested in the costs of the air transfers. I've done some preliminary budgeting on a South African safari, but the costs of air transfers has been bit ambiguous for me.
