A Wild ride through South Africa’s
Private Reserves Written and Photographed by Deborah Gilbert
Jaw dropping and soul inspiring may seem cliché descriptions,
but I know exactly how these feel both in body and spirit after
my journey through the private game reserves of South Africa.
I have been on safari in Tanzania, which is a true ‘Out
of Africa’ adventure of seemingly endless savannahs, Maasai
warriors, wildebeest migration and the legendary Serengeti. It
feels almost like a major motion picture set with your guide as
director and tour agency as producer.
But South Africa’s private game reserve safaris are like
an independent film. The scenes are constantly being re-written
and your guide is both director and producer making changes to
the storyline or cast, while also looking out for your well-being
with meaningful warnings, such as “look out for that branch,
it has thorns!” It’s personal. It’s up-close.
And it is unforgettable.
My first private reserve indoctrination began at Phinda, an ecological
goldmine of seven bio-systems located within Maputaland in northern
KwaZulu-Natal, after which I made my way to three more –
all with their own distinct wild personalities - MkuzeFalls, a
rugged landscape of steep hills and thick acacia forests near
the Zululand Coast, the legendary Mala Mala, a pristine tract
of wilderness and the largest privately-owned reserve in South
Africa located in the Mpumalanga Province, and the classic lowland
bushveld of Ngala adjacent to South Africa’s famous national
park – Kruger.
That first morning at Phinda before setting off into the bush,
via our six-passenger open land rover with a tracker’s ‘jumpseat’
sitting on the front bumper, our guide Brandon Ford instructed
us not to stand up in the vehicle, and of course, not to get out.
He informed us the animals are habituated to the vehicle’s
form and know it’s not a threat. Ford then attached his
rifle onto the front dash, flashed an award-winning smile and
with an ebullient chuckle said, “Let’s see what we
can find this morning!”
At every reserve memorable moments revealed themselves around
a bend, on plains covered with verdant grasses, atop a thicket-encased
hill or a ridge tiled in slabs of sandstone. The world seemingly
stopped on its axis when we spotted a bull elephant; its steel
grey hide draping and emphasizing mammoth proportions dwarfing
the backdrop of acacia and mahogany trees. We were so incredibly
close that as it gazed at us, with ears flapping and trunk swinging,
I closed my eyes and inhaled its musky scent feeling like I was
allowing ancient Africa to enter my soul through that one breath.
And when Ngala guide Ray Hume gestured to a tree at least a football
field away in the distance and said his tracker, without binoculars
no less, had spotted ‘something in it,’ get ready
for a thrill ride courtesy of a four wheel drive jeep, rocks,
thorny bushes, tall trees and pitted terrain as Hume makes his
way towards that tree where upon approach a leopard; its brilliant
gold background dotted with black gem-like spots then begins to
descend the tree immediately changing our thrill ride into an
electrically charged odyssey as it circles thorn covered thickets
and climbs onto granite rocks and termite mounds posing majestically
while searching for the impala herd in the distance.
A stirring portrait reveals itself in a dry sand riverbed - a
sleeping white rhino with a row of oxpeckers jockeying for position
on its back. The unabashed joy at watching a lion pride lazily
feed on a giraffe carcass while the cubs frolic and play fight
just 20 feet away. And before we even knew what was happening,
our Mala Mala guide Andrew Batchelor, drove into the midst of
a 400 plus herd of buffalo where posturing bulls and curious cows
got very up-close and personal.
However, nothing is more heart stopping than seeing, and hearing,
the exploits of a rare phenomenon – the night hunting cheetah
at Mkuze Falls. Under the cover of darkness our guide Daan Raath
casually maneuvered onto a grassy field stopping near a wildebeest
herd. Then he pointed out a cheetah lounging approximately 50
feet to our right. As we were trying to assimilate the wildebeest
herd and cheetah, Raath nonchalantly remarked, “Let’s
cut the lights and just sit here for a bit.” Suddenly a
loud whooshing sound crossed directly in front of our vehicle
– next the terrifying cries of a wildebeest calf break the
silence – completing the cycle of predator and prey.
The guides didn’t just focus on the ‘Big Five’-
elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and rhino, they found indescribable
delight in showing off the small terrapin in its puddle of muddy
water home and the dung beetle diligently rolling its ball of
dirt into enormous proportions to impress a potential mate, to
the medicinal values of plants and trees, and enticing the adventurous
to sample a piece of fruit that may suck up all the saliva in
your mouth. And the lilting melodies of the Spectacled Weaver
announcing a riverbank covered in nests dotted with hundreds of
the small black and yellow birds.
Of course, the African ‘sundowner’ on a private reserve
is enjoyed out in the bush, a time to climb out of the jeep and
feel nature under your feet. The guide adds the finishing touches
to your cocktail as kaleidoscopic colors paint the skies before
changing into a rich midnight velvety blue scattered with dazzling
twinkling stars.
A psychic once remarked that Deborah
Gilbert would live a long life, so she is making sure
to explore all of her passions while trying to survive in
this rough and tumble world. Traveler, Writer, Friend, Music
Geek, Wine Sampler, Pet Lover… and whatever she stumbles
into next.
