Unfortunately, we are home again... The trip was an unforgettable experience!
The apartment (say house) in Cape Town was a big surprise, a beautifully converted fire station. The people at Waterkant Village were very friendly and helpful. Upon arrival in the evening, we immediately went to the store for toothbrushes because one bag had not arrived.
The apartment in Hermanus was fine but actually too far away from the village. For Africans probably wonderful such a gated community but it could have been a little closer to the village for us. Unfortunately, no whales were spotted along the coast and the weather was so bad that no boats went out to sea, but the route there (along the coast) was more than worth it! Between Cape Town and Hermanus also visited Stellenbos, a lovely little town to wander around.
Then Saint Lucia. Lovely place, nice cottages (especially one with a huge "deck" we could all sit on), nice people, saw a lot. Nice barbecue in the garden. Separate were the roadside fires: the whole sky turned red every night and we could hear the crackling and smell the fire but no one cared because the distance was too great and there was a river between them. Seen many hippos but also impalas, pigs, monkeys etc. and a crocodile. We did a self-drive in Hluhluwe, was also a success, but not so much a success for the paint on the cars....
On to Hlane. The road there (MR16) in Swaziland was bad, lots of "potholes. That did cause some delays but that was totally made up for by the Ndlovu Camp. Around five o'clock the kerosene lights were lit, fires stoked and we had a nice dinner in the restaurant. This is definitely recommended! (so don't go cooking yourself!) The hippos sat two meters away, separated by two barbed wires watching us. Very unusual. The game drive immediately "yielded" a lion. Very unusual. It was a nice place to make a stopover on the way to Sabie.
Here again a fantastic accommodation. The panaroma route is beautiful only a little more vast than expected. Not too bad because it turned out to be a very nice round trip. Also spent a day rafting (at Induna in Hazyview), was great fun! People in the hotel were very nice and helpful. Again, we were very far from the village and everything had to be done by car but that was not to spoil the fun.
Then to (as far as we are concerned) the highlight: Shindzela. What a great place, nice people, fantastic drives. The first afternoon drive immediately a leopard! And on the last morning two lionesses in pursuit of a herd of buffalo! Sam was the driver and Giani the "spotter. Together a great team that allowed us to see the Big 5 but also a very small chameleon. And a hot water bottle in the bed at night, what a service. The mandatory rest between breakfast and lunch was also nice. Just enjoy reading a book or playing games. And much to the relief of the children: Whats apping because there was actually Wifi! One point to note, though: at checkout, 180 ZAR p.p. was charged as a fee. Maybe mention it in the information because then you can take that into account. Unfortunately, our time there was much too short but we will definitely return there!
Finally, Kololo. What houses, what luxury! Delicious (but way too much) food and drink. The Welgevonden Gamedrive was again very informative and we saw the rhinos from very close range (two meters). The Kololo drive also yielded new animals such as the blesbuck. But we didn't do the other two drives because the were (how blasé) a little "drive-tired. The road to Kololo does deserve to be mentioned in the quotation because the 30 km dirt road is very bad. It took us an hour!
What else:
- We noticed that every time (without exception) we had wonderful beds which is nice for my father and husband with back problems.
- Your itinerary was excellent, especially the route to Shindzela and Kololo.
- The people at the accommodations were all friendly and helpful.
- Some accommodations such as in Hermanus and Sabie could perhaps be sought closer to the village.
- Everything was top-notch, including the pick-up in Cape Town. The good man had to wait a long time because a bag of ours had not arrived and that had to be taken care of first.
- My father made a very nice trip, something he dreamed of for a very long time.
- We saw a lot of animals, sometimes from very close by (like an elephant in Hlane who didn't like that very much or the rhino in the same park but also the little chameleon in Timbavati).
South Africa is an amazing country with great people, delicious food, exciting animals... well what else should I write about it?
Thank you for the organization that allowed us to take such a trip!
Kind regards and once again our thanks,
Jacqueline Koolen