A Call in The Wild

Staying at Moditlo Private Game Lodge was a new experience for everyone.  They had never been to a 4 star property where every luxury from soaker tubs in the room, butler service and spa treatments were at your disposal while in an unfenced hotel literally open to the wilderness. 

We had been warned that when at the room, or sitting on the deck, to keep windows and doors closed so as not to encourage unwanted visitors.  Baboons, it seems love to forage in unsuspecting guests suitcases, dashing off with everything from glasses to cameras and cellphones. Chuckling about this, I visualized a cheeky monkey wandering off into the bush with someone’s underwear on their head! 

Fortunately, we were not bothered by them.  One did attempt to steal some fruit off the breakfast table one morning. The solution?  A staff member placed a cushion with the image of a lion on it facing outside.  This was enough to scare the baboon away!  Who knew?  The occasional quiet antelope would be found munching beside the path, but unlike other guests who claimed to have had a pride of lions near their doorway, we did not see anything menacing.

During the daytime, it’s safe to walk between the guest rooms and main lodge providing you stick to the boardwalk that has been constructed along the river embankment and is elevated across the river itself to the main buildings.  It’s a dry creek bed so no water is around, and elephants, baboons, antelope and  the occasional buffalo can be seen walking along the creek.  

Nighttime, as I mentioned in a previous post, is another story.  Everyone in the camp is under strict instructions to be escorted to and from their rooms by one of the staff members.

We had returned from our evening game drive elated at having seen the last of the Big Five – a herd of rhinocerous at a distant watering hole on the property beneath the breathtaking backdrop of the Drakensberg Mountains and a setting sun. 

Charles, one of the porters walked us back to our rooms in the dark and we told him the time we wanted to be picked up again after freshening up.  I asked him to come for me at 7:30 pm, giving me about 40 minutes to get ready.  Some of the others in the group went straight to the bar to enjoy a drink or two before dinner at 8:00 pm.  

I was ready at 7:25pm,  so opened the louvered blinds on the door to be able to see out when he was coming.  I’d been given a nice bottle of wine as a gift for my birthday, and decided to take it with me to have with everyone at dinner.

At 7:30 pm, I glanced outside.  Pitch black, except for my little deck light.  I waited.  At 7:35 pm I carefully opened my door and stepped on to the porch, eyes darting through the underbrush to see if there was anything out there, shadowy shapes, bright eyes staring back at me, listening for sounds.  All I could hear was the occasional laughter and merriment of people enjoying cocktail hour across the bridge in the lounge! 

By 7:40 pm I was pacing.  Why was no one coming for me?  What a ridiculous system!  It’s obvious now they have forgotten to come for me.  What do I do?  I could brave it, and run down the path in hope nothing was out there, but what if there was?   I could open my bottle of wine……

I didn’t want to use the Emergency Buzzer, after all, it wasn’t a real emergency.  But I was missing valuable time with my friends!  Damn it, where is Charles?

I stepped out on the porch again, wielding my bottle of Merlot like a weapon, in case something surprised me.  I paced under the little light, feeling really annoyed now.

I gingerly stepped down a few steps to the pathway to see if I saw a bobbing flashlight with Charles coming toward me.  Darkness.  And more laughter from the lodge!

“HELP! Is anyone coming to get me?”   I yelled out into the wilderness in the direction of the lodge.  Feeling brave now, I yelled it again.

A rustle in the bush.  I jumped, and scurried back to my room, fumbling with the lock on the door. I stood inside, watching out the window, willing someone to come.

It was now 7:50.  I was really mad now.  Frustrated at not knowing how to get someone’s attention,  I was just about ready to push the Emergency button when I saw a bobbing light.  It was Charles, practically running down the pathway towards my room.

“Charles” I yelled.  “What happened? did you forget to pick me up?”

“Yes Madam” said Charles, smiling.  “I was asked to do something in the kitchen and forgot the time”.  “Not to worry”, he said, “you haven’t missed dinner.  Your friends are waiting for you”.

When I arrived at the dining room, still seething, Grant said he had asked Donald, our butler nearly half an hour ago, to send someone to fetch me.   Seems, something had occurred in the kitchen that required attention.  As all the staff do multiple jobs around the lodge, they jumped to attention when asked and in so doing, forgot their guest was still in the room.    

Oh well, it is Africa.  Everyone was smiling.  It just meant I had some catching up to do…….

Post script

In my report after the trip was finished, I put in a suggestion to management regarding retrieving guests after dark from their rooms.  Hopefully it is taken seriously!  

Birthday Safari - Timing is Everything

Moditlo Private Game Lodge –

“Set within the Blue Canyon Conservancy at the foot of the famous Drakensberg mountain range, Moditlo is in close proximity to the Greater Kruger National Park. Pronounced 'mo-di-tlo', this popular retreat and bush-getaway takes its name from the herds of majestic elephants that roam the whopping 36,000 acres of African bushveld that make up the reserve. “

Because of our late arrival yesterday, our evening safari was cut short somewhat, so great expectations for today’s foray out into Kruger National Park for our full day safari!                                                                                          

After a delicious meal and wine, of course, we all retired relatively early on September 8^th once we heard our wake up call in the morning would be 4:30 am! 

Let me tell you a bit about Moditlo.  This private game lodge is very nicely appointed with natural elements and modern conveniences.  It’s also wide open to the bush. Not fenced. Wild animals roam freely. It’s not uncommon to see beautiful brown eyed antelope quietly grazing out your window or on your porch. 

 It’s also been reported that a pride of lions was relaxing next to one of the guest rooms one evening.  There is a strict rule that guests are not to leave their rooms or the lodge after dark without being accompanied by a staff member.  So, when you get a wake up call for 4:30 am, you get washed and dressed and wait until you are met by a staff member to walk you to the lodge for coffee and rusks at 5:00 am before departing on safari.

A brisk knock on the door wakes us out of a dead sleep.  It’s 4:30 am.   I had set an alarm on my cell phone too, just in case.  I leapt out of bed, and went to turn off the alarm.  My phone indicated it was 3:30 am.  Weird, I thought, maybe it’s wrong?   Grant and I got washed and dressed and awaited our 5 am pick up.

My cell phone says now it’s 4:00 am.  We are really confused.  Did we get an earlier wake up call? Did everyone in the group?  I would have called to check at the reception desk, if there had been a phone in the room.  Safari lodges often don’t have phones, TV’s etc. which is generally nice as you feel really “in the bush”. However, at 4:00 am confused over a departure time for a safari, it would have been nice to clarify things with someone at the lodge.  Oh well, it’s Africa I reminded myself again, and we both lay down on our beds dressed in full safari gear, boots and all.  Grant managed a “oh by the way, happy Birthday” before closing his eyes.

We must have dozed, because at the real 5:00 am, another brisk knock on the door told us our escort was here to take us in the dark to the lodge for coffee.  Sure enough, everyone in our group had been wakened up an hour earlier than was scheduled!  No one was too amused.  We drank our coffees in silence.

A driver and vehicle was coming to pick us up at 5:30 am to take us to Orpen Gate entrance to Kruger.  When no one showed up by 5:40 am, it was discovered by our guide that the driver had gone to the wrong lodge! I can’t believe it!  A quick scramble and discussion ensued and we managed to secure a ride from one of the staff at the lodge to take us to the gate.  Another late safari.  Several grumbles. How could this happen?

By now, the sun has risen, our driver sped us to the gate where we transferred to two open safari vehicles.  We were only a mere 20 minutes late from our original departure time, although we’d been up for hours by now!

Our luck began to change for the better rapidly. 

One of the “goals” of many people who go on game drives is to see all of “The Big Five”.  These are the traditionally hunted big game of Africa;  Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhinoceros and Buffalo.  Now, of course, people are encouraged to “hunt them” with cameras.  There is never a guarantee you will see all of them, sometimes you don’t see any of them, but there’s so much more to see in the bush,  and timing has to be right as animals do roam miles and miles in a day I keep reminding people.

Within 10 minutes of being in the park and in spite of obvious extensive drought, we spotted a small herd of Cape Buffalo!  We saw giraffes loping across the road, herds of impala, vultures at the remains of a kudu that had likely died of starvation from the drought, more kudus, some cheeky baboons, wildebeest, zebras and then…..a pride of lions.  We sat and watched in quiet amazement as they languished under a tree in the shade, obviously satiated from an overnight kill.

By the time we stopped for a bite of breakfast, we’d seen two of the Big Five and plenty more!  Smiles on everyone’s faces now!

Our guide and driver was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable with eyes like a hawk.  We also discovered that Donna, on our vehicle was also a great animal spotter!  Driving past a small thicket, she suddenly screamed “Leopard!” She had spotted a tail wagging….and it was attached to something spotted. Probably one of the most elusive animals to find, this leopard was sleeping lazily in amongst some thorn bushes and scrubby trees, barely visible.  Her camouflage of spotted fur kept her carefully hidden as the sun dappled on the leaves and branches.  We stopped and aimed our telephoto lenses on her, hoping for a sudden rise of the head, or better, her getting up all together.  Alas, in the 38 C heat, likely feeling safely concealed, she occasionally flicked her tail and remained stationary.  We got some shots of her to prove our siting which was enough to satisfy the group.

By now, with the sun high in the sky and the heat rising from the dusty plain, many animals had sought whatever shade they could find, which, believe me, wasn’t much.  We saw a few elephants tearing out trees and roots in attempt to find something tasty to eat.  A large Secretary bird strutted by as if off to a meeting in her high heels.  Zebras grazed with their pals the wildebeest in the background.

We stopped at a rest camp for a bite of lunch and a cold beer and got out of the heat for a bit before heading out for the afternoon. And then we hit the jackpot!  Donna had eyed a solitary lion standing under a tree off in the distance.  We got the binoculars out and to our amazement and that of our driver guide, it was a White Lion! In 18 years of doing safaris in Kruger, our guide Louis had never even seen this. We were awestruck.

  We were also lucky enough to see a herd of elephants who had found a rare watering hole and were enjoying throwing mud on each other’s backs, a crocodile being watched carefully by some tortoises, a solitary female lion, more kudu, impala and lots of pretty birds.  It had been a great safari, only missing one of the Big Five, the rhinoceros.    But, there’s still tomorrow………….

Our fabulous day on safari was topped off by a fun evening in the bar at Moditlo enjoying birthday drinks before being treated to a delicious barbeque (braii) dinner in the Boma at the lodge.   We sat at our tables in the reed enclosure with an open fire in the middle of it enjoying our meal and wine when all the staff suddenly came in singing and dancing as only the Africans know how to do.  I was presented with a huge chocolate cake for my birthday and we shared it with everyone that night.  A great time, a memorable birthday.  

I can’t help but wonder if we’d been on time in the morning, would we have seen the animals we saw? Guess we’ll never know…………….

     

A happy group.  Don't ask about my shorts......that's another story!

Setting Out on Safari - Stuff Happens

When I began planning our tour to South Africa late last year, I knew I wanted to have the dates of our trip coincide with my milestone birthday somehow.  Turning 60 is a big deal. I really wanted to do something special.

In previous trips to Africa, some of my most favourite days were spent on a game drive in the bush. So, I decided to time a stay at a game lodge during the weekend of my birthday.

The weekend began rather badly.  Our group was ready to depart the hotel in Johannesburg for the 6 hour drive eastward travelling from the high veld to the low veld through what I remember to be stunning scenery. Everyone was excited, as it was their first time venturing out on a true safari.

Louis, our charming Afrikaans guide who accompanied us on our journey, happily told me that we were to expect a larger coach, a 19 seater Sprinter, an upgrade to what had originally been booked.

Moments later, a vehicle towing a luggage trailer pulled up.  Not a Sprinter.  Seems there had been a last minute change.  Not too concerned, we loaded the bags in the trailer and boarded the bus.  Off we went down the highway.

With on- going interesting commentary from Louis we left the metropolis of Johannesburg and headed out beyond the suburbs, into Mpumalanga province.  The rolling countryside was brown from drought, we passed through a few small towns, slowly descending the Escarpment into the lowvelt.  Mpumalanga means land where the sun rises in the Zulu language.  It’s largely agricultural.  Oranges, avocados are grown here.

We stopped to top up with gas and have a rest break, before continuing toward Kruger.  About 20 minutes later, chugging up a hill, literally between Nowhere and Nowhere else at 11:30 am, the coach died. Stopped dead on the highway.  The frantic driver attempted to get it started, checking all the things that could cause a breakdown – oil, battery, etc. But we weren’t going anywhere.

After a lengthy conversation in Afrikaans between Louis and the driver, and then with me, a phone call was placed to dispatch and another vehicle was to be driven out to rescue us.  It would take about an hour. 

Within minutes the Highway Patrol stopped to check on our situation and said they would tow the vehicle out of the road and on to the shoulder.   

It was hot.  About 35C.  We had water with us, and now we are all standing by the side of the highway watching the vehicle being towed up the hill.  A beautiful horse and her foal were frolicking in a nearby pasture, a scenic distraction t least. As the group leader, my concern was for the well-being of the people, as well as knowing we had a timeline in terms of arriving at our Game Lodge in time to check in and have some refreshments before heading out on our first game drive before sunset.   A few people were upset at the delay, but most treated it as just part of the adventure.

About an hour and 10 minutes after breaking down, a replacement coach screamed up to us. Yeah! We had been rescued and could get on our way without being too late.    

Thinking we could make up some of the time by taking a shorter route proved to be our next problem.  We wound our way on country roads at imposed slower speeds, behind country vehicles and through small towns.  After a couple of hours driving, Louis phoned the lodge to warn them we were much delayed.  They assured us we would have our game drive, but by now had missed lunch.  We stopped at a service station to refuel and pick up some snacks and refresh with a cold beer!

Finally, as the sun was descending lower in the sky, we turned off on to the dirt track toward Moditlo Private Lodge, arriving to a warm welcome from the Manager and Staff.  We were greeted with cool cloths, a cold drink and taken to our rooms for a quick change before climbing on board the open land rovers for our first evening game drive.  A bit rushed, to be sure, but we had made it.

I reminded everyone, “this is Africa, stuff happens.  It’s how it gets resolved that counts”.

Next Chapter – Birthday Safari