I took a long drive into the North Western part of the Waterberg, signs warning me of owls on the road at night and the tarred road flanked by six-foot game fences. Signage becomes important when you self-drive into a new area and I found my destination easily, I did not know what to expect – my job was to assess the venue for what it was from start to finish. A truthful site inspection means having no prior opinion of a place, keeping an open mind and taking it all in…
If you are a golfer, you need to read this blog, if you are a nature lover; you too need to read this blog because I went to a launch of a golf and safari package. Being a person who loves water, I cannot understand how people can justify building a golf course on a game reserve when it takes thousands of gallons of water to keep the greens in top shape? Most of my family are golfers and everyone of my family members are animals lovers and support nature conservation in their own way, as I’m sure you do…Now, to get back to the site inspection…
Reminding myself to keep an open mind, I entered through the large entrance and greeted by a well-spoken gate guard who directed me to reception. Upon arrival I parked my vehicle and entered the reception area where I was registered and given my schedule of events. I went to the locker rooms to change into my horse-riding clothes and was pleasantly surprised by the space offered in the lockers as well as the cleanliness of everything.
I sipped on a welcome fruit juice whilst I waited for the jeep-jockey to take myself and another rider to the stables. There I was met by the groom, Cosmo and the Horse guide, Suzette. I was given a lovely horse and ready to get going but had to wait for a few other riders who had been delayed. The joy about a horse safari is that there is no squeak from the suspension, no smell of diesel fumes and no grating of the gravel under the tires; it’s almost as good as taking a safari on foot. We enjoyed walking through the bush on horse back and within minutes our horse safari brought us sightings of giraffe, impala, waterbuck, eland, kudu and numerous birds. It was so natural that the insects did not stop buzzing, nor did the crickets stop singing. However, on our return we rode through an old blue-gum plantation which may be beautiful to some, but to me, these are alien trees that do not belong in a reserve and then a little further I heard traffic – the trail was too close to the road and my mind drifted to The Chyulu Hills in Kenya with 275,000 acres of wild Africa around you, teeming with wildlife, without more than 20 tourists, no traffic and having riding with Mt. Kilimanjaro as a backdrop… Now that’s a horse-safari hard to beat!
I love horses and nature, none-the-less, my heart was happy and we returned to reception with enough time to shower and rinse off that horse-tack smell before the presentation.
A very interesting presentation was given by representatives of Limpopo Tourism and Parks and the owners of the four golfing resorts, highlighting the golf courses and various activities offered adjacent to the resorts or within the reserves on which the resort is built. The golf package offered is a very good price and the experiences of the various golfers I interviewed later in the boma, gave me a good indication of how little the world knows about the TRUE safari experience.
We enjoyed a delicious meal whilst I worked my way around the other invited guests, who were members of the media, tour operators and pro-golfers of different nationalities, all here experiencing this Golf safari launch!
Whilst taking a walk back from the ladies room, a short distance away from the boma, I chatted to a lovely lady from Ireland who commented on the noise, our conversation went something like this, “I cant believe how loud it is”, ‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘it must be because everyone is making themselves heard across the tables!’ “No!” she said, “I meant the insects!” So there you have it my friends, I am so used to night sounds, I did not consider the song of the insects as loud and my new acquaintance was so used to the sound of Ireland, that the African night sounds amazed her…
I left the boma and went to my lodging for the night, again not knowing what to expect! It was huge! The double-head shower extended from wall-to-wall, the oval bath tub was enormous, the king-sized bed looked bigger – there was so much space and I realised why they had been graded as five-star.
I awoke before sunrise to experience what the early morning was like out in this part of the Waterberg Bushveld and enjoyed a quiet time before bird calls were drowned by the sound of a Jacuzzi – which may have been wonderful for the people making use of the lavish extra, but for me, I wanted that peace, the kind I felt at Amakhosi in Zululand.
So I packed my bags and headed to the spa for breakfast and a spa treatment! The spa facilities are exceptional, calming and the staff polite and well-trained. Whilst I waited for my treatment, a dung beetle made its way towards me and I realised, it is only in Africa where nature and a spa can interact with one another! The full back massage was exactly what I needed and a treat I most definitely enjoyed and whilst I prefer un-diluted pure surroundings, lodges hidden in nature where it is more about the eco-systems, people, sights and natural sounds, there is a strange place for beauty treatments in the bush!
In conclusion, the site inspection went well because I realised I can only be passionate about one thing and that is nature, I may write bits and pieces about the extras that come with a safari experience such as a spa treatment, excellent cuisine, the people of that area and their culture or perhaps a golf course, but my heart lies with the real thing – wilderness and the heartbeat of Africa!
