Lalibela Game Reserve - a photo essay

There are some truly awesome game reserves around Port Elizabeth ranging from the epic Addo Elephant National Park to excellent private game reserves with top class lodges.  Playing right in that space is Lalibela Game Reserve between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown.  Lalibela is home to the Big 5 as well as other predators like cheetah, hyena, jackal & lynx on 7500 hectares with visitors staying in one of three excellent lodges.  I spent a night with the Damselfly in late 2012 and did a couple of posts on PE Daily Photo but for some reason uploaded this and forgot about it.  While going through the drafts folder to look for something to post today I found it right at the bottom and just can't let the opportunity go by to show you this beautiful place.  My apologies.  So here is Lalibela in a photo essay.  

 

Mark's Camp is Lalibela's family friendly camp with four twin rooms on one side of the lodge and 4 family rooms on the other.  My favourite part of the lodge is the walkway leading down to the swimming pool and deck next to the waterhole.

 

 A different view of the walkway, this time looking towards the pool deck from the lodge.  The waterhole is on the left of the deck.  Do you now get why I like this so much?

One of the very S P A C I O U S rooms at Mark's Camp

 

High tea before the afternoon game drive.  Just the temptation is an absolute sin but its a case of have food, will eat.  Plus how can you say no to a spread like this? Absolutely divine.

Watching elephants close by with the full moon rising over the horizon.  Game drives is always a highlight for me and I will go on each and every one on offer while at a game reserve. 

Returning to the lodge after the afternoon / evening game drive with a crackling fire welcoming you to the lodge.  The decor around the lodge is authentically African and not plastic Africa like I've seen at some lodges before.  Just what every international visitor wants.

Good food and friendly people, essential components of a good game reserve along with knowledgeable rangers, memorable animal sightings and a comfortable lodge.  This was lodge manager Charmaine waiting for us with dinner us on our return from the game reserve.  Any close up pictures of this would be deemed food porn. 

Ranger Terry was excellent on both game drives finding the animals and getting us in the best possible position for prime game viewing. 

 

Disclosure:  We were invited to Lalibela Game Reserve and stayed on a complimentary basis while our transport was for our own account.  I received no additional remuneration to write this post and all views expressed are my own.

Place of Glory - the KidZ edition

Going anywhere with the KidZ in a car, and that includes the local supermarket a couple of blocks from home, more often than not result in a back seat battle of some sorts.  When those back seat battles start to take on epic proportions and I'm forced to stop in a cloud of dust on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere to threaten them that I will be kicking them out the car and leave them just there, then you know this dad has had enough.  But enough of our domestic driving problems.  What were we doing on a dirt road and where were we going, the travel minded amongst you ask?  We were heading towards the 5 star Kuzuko Lodge situated in a concession area in the northern section of the Greater Addo Elephant National Park.  It was the first time we've taken the KidZ to a major game reserve and lodge and that was probably why they were so hyped up in said back seat in the first place.

The lodge is situated on top of a hill with beautiful views across the valley covered in Karoo bushveld.  Guests are accommodated in 24 luxurious chalets, each with its own private deck.  It was on this private deck I sat just before bed time looking up in awe at the milky way overhead, seen like you don't see it in the city.  A great white line across the sky made up of millions of twinkling stars.  But I digress.  The spacious chalets feature an en-suite bathroom with bath and walk in shower, all the other amenities that normally come standard with such a lodge (in this case also with free WiFi), a twin or double bed and a foldout couch for children with a maximum of two children under 12 years of age allowed per chalet.

From the reception area we were whisked to the lodge in a game viewing vehicle and after a welcome drink had a quick tour of the facilities before being allowed to settle in and relax.  The KidZ loved the view from our private deck but it didn't take long for them to discover the Wii connected to the big plasma television in the main lounge and they were out under our feet, joining a couple of other kids in a game of Wii tenpin, golf and tennis.

Three o' clock meant it was time for the pre-game drive  high tea which was so much more than scones, crumpets and cucumber sandwiches.  To be honest, I would rather have Kuzuko high tea than a full on lunch any time.  The Wii was like magic for us as the KidZ had to sit still and eat if they wanted to go back playing, but a magic trick it sure was. Eat you here, eat you there and poof... they were gone.  Ok, so I'm not one who's big on televisions at game lodges, but this one was keeping the KidZ busy, giving the Damselfly and I some time by ourselves.  But if you want to relax you go to a spa, which Kuzuko has one of by the way as well, and before we knew it it was time for our afternoon game drive.

Ranger Romeo met us at the open land cruiser with the Damselfly and Drama Princess taking up the middle seat and Chaos Boy and I going on the back, often bouncy trampoline seat.  Romeo did warn us that it's behind the wheels, but I would endure the little bit of extra bounce for the benefit of having an uninterrupted view (and photo opportunity) behind me in case of a good sighting.  After a couple of Cape Mountain Zebras and Kudus, our first Big 5 sighting presented itself.  Kuzuko's two male lions, Kalahari and Matt was having a siesta in the late afternoon sun.  There was a moment of panic by Drama Princess which we thought was because we got too close to the lions, but turned out to be the vehicle taking a bump through a ditch.  The lions themselves didn't scare her at all.  A brilliant sighting like this early on boded well for the rest of our stay

 

Romeo was the perfect ranger.  He's knowledge was outstanding but he didn't bore us with all the details unless we wanted to know.  Ours weren't the only children on the vehicle and he switched from giving us serious info to joking with the kids, mixing it up just enough.  Then word came through, although it sounded like he knew it already, that another member of the Big 5 was hanging out in a valley on the other side of the lodge. So off we went hopping along the uneven road to look for the biggest of the Big 5, Loxodonta africana, or the African Elephant.

The herd was making their way down the valley when we found them.  One of the highlights of the drive happened next.  A young bull browsing a little way away from the rest of the herd didn't see them move off and suddenly found himself all alone.  He threw a bit of a tantrum and went running down the road after the others.  Made me think of the kiddies rhyme about the piggies with the 5th piggy running "wee, wee wee" all the way home.  Romeo slowly made his way around the herd for us to get a better view - in the process "treating" us to a mock charge by the matriarch - and for the next 20 minutes or so we sat and watched these magnificent animals go about their peaceful way.  We even had Saracen, the local dominant bull, give us a walk by.

With the sun heading towards the horizon at a leisurely pace, Romeo drove us to an open area where approaching animals could be seen from a distance for our sun downers.  With cold drinks for the kids, beers for the adults and snacks all around, the African sun set over the horizon in brilliant oranges and yellows.  My favorite time of the day and my favorite part of the game drive.  A time to really take in the surroundings, enjoy the smell of the veld and watch the end of another day.  With dusk turning to darkness, Romeo turned the nose of the land cruiser back towards the lodge and we all knew that dinner was calling. 

Dinner was a scrumptious affair of four courses for the adults and, impressively, a separate menu specially catering for children.  The main menu started with an entreé of roasted tomato soup and followed by a starter of Bobotie or Green Salad.  The main meal was a choice of Karoo Lamb Shank (which I had and I nearly chewed my lips off, mouth watering stuff), East Coast Sole or Blue Cheese Chicken.  Dessert, for those who still had space was Tiramisu or Bread and Butter Pudding.  The KidZ's choices off the kiddies menu were pizza - ham, biltong and cheese - for Chaos Boy and grilled hake and chips for Drama Princess.  I had a taste of the fish and kinda wished I could have had a full portion of it while Chaos Boy wasn't going to share his pizza with anybody.  Not even for a taste.  Kudos to Kuzuko for catering for children separately.

 

Never being one to miss a game drive, and I'm happy to say that the clan all felt the same way and we got up early the next morning for the 7am morning game drive.  Word was that the lions made a kill during the night and that they were still in the area so we headed straight in their direction, this time with Chaos Boy riding shotgun and being on the lookout for anything and everything.

Once again we weren't disappointed with Kalahari and Matt sleeping off their meal in the morning sun with Matt only getting up when we blocked his sun.  Like before Romeo maneuvered the vehicle so that we could get some striking photographs before heading on in search of another big cat.  This one being the world's fastest land mammal.  The cheetah.  Kuzuko has two male cheetahs, Batman and Robin, both who wear radio collars for when guests go on cheetah walks and they need to be found quickly.  We didn't make use of the signal to find them, preferring to do it the hard way.  Ironically enough they seem to have found us rather then the other way around as somebody looked back and saw them casually strolling down the track after the vehicle. 

 

Our last major sighting and the third of the Big 5 to be spotted was Cape Buffalo.  Probably the most underestimated of the Big 5, buffalos live in herds and can be extremely dangerous when threatened.  The buffalo was also the animal we got to see the closest with one old bull literally rubbing himself up against the land cruiser's back bumper.

The game drive was followed by a hearty breakfast back at the lodge, but this also meant that our visit was nearly over.  The KidZ gulped down their food and went to play a last game of Wii sport while we were in no hurry to leave behind this little spot of paradise, taking our time and enjoying the view, trying to imprint it on our minds.  Then it was time to go, pack our bags, say our goodbyes and head on to our next destination.

Kuzuko showed that they can proudly carry the right to be called a Place of Glory.  Visitors and guests can look forward to a stunning lodge and suites, designed for comfort and don't look over the top like some lodges I've seen before.  The food is good and the rangers, in our case Romeo, knowledgeable, friendly and, like the rest of the lodge, accommodating and patient with children.  One word of warning though.  Don't come to Kuzuko expecting to see huge herds of animals.  Kuzuko is situated in the southern part of the arid Karoo which means less water, less grazing and subsequently smaller groups of animals.  It doesn't mean that the quality of the sightings we has was less.  On the contrary, the sightings along with the unique beauty of the Karoo meant that we left happy and with some stunning photographs.  As for the KidZ, they want to know when we'll be going to a game reserve again.
 

Disclosure:  We were invited to Kuzuko Lodge and stayed on a complimentary basis while our transport and drinks were for our own account.  I received no additional remuneration to write this post and all views expressed are my own.

What's in a star (grading)?

What's in a star? Well, lets first see what is a star?

a. A self-luminous celestial body consisting of a mass of gas held together by its own gravity in which the energy generated by nuclear reactions in the interior is balanced by the outflow of energy to the surface, and the inward-directed gravitational forces are balanced by the outward-directed gas and radiation pressures.

Eish, that's a bit heavy. Let's just say its the twinkling points of light in the night sky.

b. An artistic performer or athlete (also often sommer any everyday person) whose leading role or superior performance is acknowledged. Alternatively one who is highly celebrated in a field or profession.

That is slightly closer to what I am aiming at.

c. A graphic design having five or more radiating points, often used as a symbol of rank or merit.

Now we're getting very warm.

So what am I trying to get to? In the case of this post, star grading of tourism establishments in South Africa.

In this day and age with everything getting more and more expensive and everybody feeling the pinch ever so slightly (or more than slightly in a lot of cases), finding real value for money is a priority.  This is also true in the tourism sector and specially when it comes to accommodation.  Now value for money doesn't necessarily mean cheap.  Paying R200 for accommodation is cheap, but landing up in a room with cockroaches swimming backstroke in the bathtub, somebody's dirty tissues in the bin, a cigarette butt in a glass (and its a non-smoking room!) and stains and hair in the bed doesn't mean you got value for money.  I would probably say its a disgusting rip-off and the place should be closed.  But how do you know when you book, doesn't matter if its cheap or not, what kind of quality you will get and if it is value for money?  By checking if an establishment is star graded.  And not just a couple of hand drawn stars by the owner's six year old niece, but the genuine thing as can only be awarded by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa.  

The relaxed courtyard area of the four star Winchester Mansions Hotel in Cape Town

 

The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA) is a business unit of South African Tourism and the only officially recognised quality assurance body for tourism products in South Africa.  The TGCSA has over 50 qualified Grading Assessors who carry out grading assessments in all nine provinces.  The star grading done by TGCSA is recognised the world over and is only awarded once an independent quality assessment is completed and approved.   

A room at the four star Winchster Mansions in Cape Town

Don't think once an establishment received their star grading they can just let go of their standards and slip into that cockroach backstroke establishment I mentioned earlier.  Nope, not at all.  Every establishment has to be reassessed on an annual basis to make sure they maintain their standards.  This assures me and you, as consumers, that the quality of what we book is up to scratch.  What you pay for it is your own choice as each place decided their own price but nobody forces you to go with the most expensive place you can find on the net.

Sharing with new friends - One of the dorms in the four star Atlantic Point Backpackers
in Cape Town

All establishments that get graded receives on of five star gradings. One, two, three, four or five stars. Duh! LOL!  An establishment that receives 1 star is very basic in the facilities that they offer while 5 stars means a place that offers all the bells and whistles all wrapped up in ribbon.  Who can receive 5 stars I hear you ask?  Well, anybody really and not just that plush 10 storey hotel with its beautiful sea views, spa and in-house restaurant that has its own Gordon Ramsey trained chef.  There are grading criteria for all the different types of accommodation meaning that anybody, and that includes hotels, lodges, country houses, guest houses, bed and breakfasts, self catering establishments, caravan parks and campsites, backpackers and even conference facilities, can receive a five star grading if that is what they strive to.

The pub at the four star Atlantic Point Backpackers in Cape Town

 

When grading is done a number, and I mean number as in a whole long checklist, of criteria is taken into consideration.  The whole building and all its facilities, the rooms, bathrooms, breakfast (and dinner) quality and presentation, floors, ceilings, lighting, aircon / heaters, beds, bedding, towels, televisions, room fridge, coffee making facilities, furniture and even the hangers in the wardrobe to just mention a few.  Lets not forget service as well.  Service plays a very big roll in the grading process.



Stunning mountain and ocean views from the pool deck
at the four star Ocean View House in Cape Town

I've mentioned what we as consumers will get when we book a graded establishment, but what does the establishments themselves get.  First and foremost they get graded and receive their stars in the form of a plaque and a certificate to display at Reception.  That really should be enough, but wait, there is more.  Said in my best infomercial voice. 

Graded establishments have direct access to millions of global travellers through TGCSA's strategic online partnerships with booming travel sites like TripAdvisor.  You may say that anybody could be on TripAdvisor.  True, but TripAdvisor automatically displays an establishment's star grading if they are graded. 

They also benefit from huge savings on Search Engine Optimisation, as all Graded Establishments automatically receive top results on Google Search.  I'm still a little green about SEO's so contact them if you don't get it cause they will explain it to you better. 

Being graded also connects them with potential travellers through TGCSA close business association with South African Tourism and the huge Investments they make.

There are other advantages for establishments as well.  Read more about them all here.

In the lap of luxury - One of the rooms at the four star Ocean View House in Cape Town

 

Why do I know all of this?  I was lucky enough to be invited on a blogger trip to Cape Town, along with two other bloggers, by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa.  The purpose of the trip was to get the TGCSA message out a bit more via social media.  Each of us three bloggers stayed in a different four star establishment and we got to compare, tweet and write about our experiences.  @Ethekwinigirl stayed at the four star Winchester Mansions, @ShellsPemBroke at Ocean View House and yours truly, @FireflyAfrica - for those who didn't know my Twitter handle - at the four star Atlantic Point Backpackers.

 

Disclosure: I visited Cape Town as guest of the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa during a fully hosted blogger tour.   I received no additional remuneration to write this post and all views expressed are my own.

Bucklands Game Reserve - Boutique Guest House

The area from Port Elizabeth eastwards is big game country and one of the new (game reserve) kids on the block is Bucklands Private Game Reserve.  After visiting them recently on the Mini vs Maxi trip I have to honestly say that calling them a kid doesn't do them justice though.  Bucklands are situated about 35 kilometers north of Grahamstown next to the 45000 hectares The Great Fish River Nature Reserve.

Bucklands was launched in 2007 by Terry and Michele Stewart and their family with the Luxury Tented Camp opening in 2009 and the Boutique Guest House in 2010.  The reserve consists of 5500 hectares and includes the properties known as Bucklands, Lower Bucklands and Schrikwaters Poort.  It was decided not to introduce lion and elephants at this stage, but the reserve does have white rhino and buffalo along with giraffe, zebra and a wide variety of antelope and smaller animals.  On our evening game drive we even saw Aardwolf which I have only seen once before, but more on that in a later post.

On our visit we stayed in the newly restored Bucklands Boutique Guest House.  The accommodation is situated in the original homestead which was erected in about 1872 by Alf Buckley.  Attached to the house is double storey fort which is thought to predate the farm house itself.  As there are now exact records on the fort, the assumption is made that it was built as part of a military outpost on the frontier defence line, serving as protection between Fort Brown and Double Drift. 

The first floor of the fort is taken up by one of the four bedrooms at the lodge while the ground floor is used as a sitting room away from the formal lounge.  Some of the interesting features of the fort section of the lodge are the thick fortified walls with the original gun slits in them.

The lodge itself is stylishly furnished and decorated using very dark wood and leather.  The one thing that really impressed me was that it wasn't over done as you often find at lodges, so it didn't look "plastic" Africa.  It had a colonial, yet modern kinda simplistic feel.  Homely in many ways.  You weren't afraid to sit down and get comfortable without somebody looking at you with a raised eyebrow. 

The four luxury en-suite bedrooms are all individually furnished with the honeymoon suite having a four poster bed.  I'm not sure about the other rooms, but mine had a clawed bath in it which the Damselfly would have loved had she been there.  Returning from dinner, which included homemade venison pie, I even had a warm water bottle in my bed.  And that is exactly where I spent the rest of the evening relaxing, listening to the jackals calling in the distance.

More posts about Bucklands coming over the next couple of days...  

Tugela Gorge

One of the must do's when you are in the Drakensberg is the day hike up the Tugela Gorge.  On my matric (final year at school) tour nearly *mumble mumble* 20 years ago we did part of the hike and it was at the top of my list of things to do while we were in the Drakensberg.  The hike is about 5km long up to the actual gorge and runs parallel to the Tugela River below.  Another 1km of rock hopping takes you right up to the top of the gorge with superb views of the Tugela Waterfall and the Amphitheatre above.  From there you return to the parking area by following the route back over the same distance.

It rained the night before our planned hike and the Damselfly and Drama Princess decided that they rather wanted to relax around camp which meant that it was only me and Chaos Boy taking on the mighty gorge.  As we started Chaos Boy was still a bit unhappy that he had to go along, but as soon as he saw how the little streams flowed across the trail and he could hop from stone to stone all the moans were forgotten.  He may prefer lying in bed playing PlayStation over being outside, but offer him an adventure and he is game for it.

After a couple of hundred meters of ambling through a patch of indigenous forest we crossed a side tributary of the Tugela River on a wooden bridge.  Looking at the water rushing downhill I realised how much rain we actually had.  From this point I also realised that the low cloud may mean that we won't see the surrounding area in its full splendour.
 

One of the very distinctive landmarks you get after about 2,5km on the trail is the Policeman's Helmet.  Chaos Boy didn't really get why its called that until I explained to him the helmets worn by the British Police.  I did say that the helmet looked more like a head and even pointed out the face to me.  So far so good.

The path follows the contours of the mountain side.  It takes you around the open areas with mostly low mountain vegetation and into valleys covered with indigenous forest.  In the photo you can see a family that was a couple of hundred meters in front of us walking along the mountainside path.  The path is quite straight forward to follow with what must  be spectacular views on a clear day.  Not that it wasn't spectacular when we were doing it. Don't get me wrong.  Its was still breathtaking.

In each of the valleys as you walked through the forested parts there is a waterfall which, as Chaos Boy put it, looks like a shower.  The night's rain meant that these waterfalls were cascading down in all their glory and it made for a super sight.  We  also had to walk through the streams below the waterfalls as all the stepping stones were under water.  These streams gave us a perfect opportunity to keep our water bottles full with refreshingly cold mountain water.

Two hours and five kilometers after we started we reached the gorge itself and climbed down we where at the spot where all the rock hopping started.  Disappointment struck and it struck hard.  In the gorge you have to cross the river a couple of times before getting to the gorge's chain ladders which takes you up to the foot of the Tugela Waterfall.  Unfortunately all the rain meant that the river was in flood and too strong for us to get through and higher up.  This meant that we would not see the waterfall on this day as it is only visible once you round the corner.  We also couldn't see the Amphitheatre above us due to all the fog.  Oh well, it will have to wait for another time.  We had a quick picnic lunch on the rocks before returning back on our tracks to the car.

A couple of days later we moved on to Drakensville Holiday Resort about 30 km away from Mahai.  It was a nice clear day and driving along the road away from the mountain you could see the Tugela Waterfall cascading down the Amphitheatre in the distance.    It drops down in five free-leaping falls over a total of 948 meters making it the second highest waterfall in the world. Would have been nice to look up at it from from the foot of the Amphitheatre, but like I said, it would have to wait for another time.  I think next time we will come in winter when there is snow on the mountains and less rain.

Dias Cross at Kwaaihoek

During our December holiday at Cannon Rocks, one of the things that I really wanted to do was to visit the Dias Cross at Kwaaihoek. Bartholomew Dias was the first (known) European to discover what is today known as South Africa. He left Portugal and travel down the west coast of Africa searching for a seaway to the East. He rounded Cape Point without knowing in a storm and first set foot at Mossel Bay in 1488, where he planted a stone cross. From here he sailed on to present day Port Elizabeth and planted a cross on St Croix Island in Algoa Bay. By this time the sailors wanted to turn back home, but he persuaded them to sail for another three day. The point where they turned around on the 12th March 1488 is today called Kwaaihoek. The remnants of this cross were rediscovered in 1938 by Prof. E. Axelson and transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. This lead to a replica of the cross being erected on the spot.

As there is quite a lot of walking involved, the Damselfly decided that she and the Rugrats would rather spend the morning by the pool than to trek along with me across the dunes and back along the beach. She did drop me off at the closest spot to the point as possible. From here the first part of my journey took me through some coastal bush before the path spewed me out on what is the far eastern section of the Alexandria Dunefields. Hitting the dunes I took a moment to contemplate, but as my lift would have been back at camp already, I pressed on.

After about half and hour of following the footsteps of a couple of people that had already made the journey earlier the morning, I crested the last dune, took another sip of water (by now it was starting to get hot) and headed towards the rocky outcrop on which the cross is situated. The spot really stands out from the surrounding coastline which is mainly sand.

Leaving the cross behind my journey took me west along the beach and into the wind. Looking back at the outcrop you can see why sailors called the spot an false island as it does look like an island in the distance. But the pool was calling and the day was heating up, so I didn't daddle and headed towards home. About an hour or so later my journey ended at the Boknes main beach from where I called the Damselfly to come and pick me up. She couldn't quite believe that I was done already, but when I walk I don't stroll. I walk to get there and only stop to take photographs (and to take in the scenery. Or breath in the fresh air. Or to take photographs. Oh, I've said that already.)

Unfortunately the cross was badly vandalised a year or so ago. It is thought that the vandals were trying to get to the metal skeleton of the cross to sell it as scrap metal. That is so sad. So as you can see in the second photo of the post, the cross doesn't have an actual cross at the top. There are also a couple of other features as well as a bronze plague missing. Above is a photo of the replica of the Dias cross that stands on Market Square in Port Elizabeth to show you what it is supposed to look like. Also follow this link to see a pic of the whole cross in Port Elizabeth.

GPS: 33°43'6.06"S, 26°37'24.09"E