| I'd say for most people, certainly first-time visitors, there | | | | displaying those fearsome tusks of theirs before |
| are two things they really want to include in a South | | | | continuing on our way. Down in a river bed, thick with |
| Africa holiday: Cape Town and safari. And why not | | | | scrub we almost drove straight past some giraffe. |
| – Cape Town is one of my favourite cities in the | | | | Five metres high and orange, yet somehow they blend |
| world, with its amazing location, great restaurants, | | | | magnificently into the bush! Heading back to the lodge, |
| excellent V&A Waterfront development and all of | | | | our ranger pulled over in the fading light and pointed up |
| the beauty of the Cape Peninsula right on your | | | | a stony slope towards a small group of about five |
| doorstep, whilst safari is a thrill I can never get enough | | | | impala. I love impala, I think their skin colour is gorgeous |
| of. No matter how many times I do it, or where I do it, | | | | and the proud horns of prime males are a wonderful |
| or whether it's a whistles-and-bells luxury safari or a | | | | sight; however they are just about the most common |
| super-affordable self-drive safari, I love every second, | | | | thing you see in the bush and I couldn't quite work out |
| anticipating the thrill of the next wildlife encounter. | | | | why we'd stopped to watch them in the gloaming. |
| | | | | Then I saw it, a twitch of tawny fur, the top of an ear |
| So the obvious question becomes how to combine | | | | tuft: it was a cheetah, stalking the impala. What |
| Cape Town with a bit of safari. Key safari destinations | | | | followed was fifteen minutes of exquisite torture as |
| are the Eastern Cape, The Madikwe and the mighty | | | | the cheetah inched closer and closer to the impala, |
| Kruger. But these are all quite a journey from Cape | | | | displaying incredible patience, skill and camouflage. |
| Town: what if you don't have the time or inclination to | | | | Eventually it had worked itself into a small clump of |
| head that far in search of your big game? Well, I may | | | | scrub about 5 metres from the closest impala. |
| have the answer, provided in the form of a lovely | | | | Excitement in the game drive vehicle rose to fever |
| surprise from my wife. | | | | pitch – all of us, ranger included, were certain we |
| | | | | were about to witness a dramatic chase, and in all |
| We were in South Africa last year on a brief holiday, | | | | probability a kill (I've never seen one before). However, |
| choosing the wines for our wedding; so we were | | | | anyone who owns a cat will tell you they are perverse |
| based in and around the Cape Region. Being a brief | | | | and occasionally frustrating creatures, and this cheetah |
| holiday I knew we didn't have the time for a bit of | | | | was no exception: for some reason he decided not to |
| safari so I was delighted to find Rachel had sneakily | | | | pounce, but to slink off into the darkness. Who knows |
| booked us a night at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, about | | | | why, but the whole build-up was still hugely exciting and |
| 3 hours' drive from Cape Town. | | | | a real highlight of the trip. |
| | | | | |
| I'll admit to being slightly sceptical at first. I'd always | | | | The following morning whilst out on drive, we were |
| been a bit sniffy about the various game reserves | | | | lucky enough to find Sanbona's most mythical animals, |
| close to Cape Town: it's not traditional "big game" | | | | the white lions. A recessive gene causes their fur to |
| country. That's not to say it hasn't been in the (distant) | | | | be much paler than normal lions and caused them to |
| past, but being the first area settled by Europeans, all | | | | be regarded as divine by indigenous people. Prized by |
| the indigenous big game was shot out many, many | | | | hunters, and very rare anyway, they survive through |
| years ago. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The | | | | rebreeding projects such as that at Sanbona. Studies |
| first thing that struck me was the size, and isolation of | | | | suggest they are just as effective at hunting as their |
| the reserve. I really like to feel like I've got a slice of | | | | normal cousins, contrary to received wisdom that |
| wilderness to myself, and Sanbona delivered this in | | | | suggests their colour makes it easier for prey to spot |
| spades. It's 54,000 hectares in size. It's difficult to put | | | | them. Anyhow, the ones we saw looked pretty |
| this into perspective, but I'll try. It's over 200 square | | | | healthy and we were able to follow them for quite a |
| miles, which makes it about a third bigger than the Isle | | | | while as they bimbled along one of the paths. |
| of Wight, and it only has three small lodges on it. So | | | | |
| you've got a reserve bigger than the Isle of Wight, | | | | So all in all we had some pretty good game viewing, |
| which you're probably sharing with fewer people than | | | | especially as we were only there for about 24 hours! |
| live on your street! If you like wilderness, you can't fail | | | | The one major animal that eluded us was the elephant. |
| to be blown away as you drive across the reserve, | | | | There is a herd on the reserve but despite covering a |
| seeing valleys and ridges unfold all the way to the | | | | lot of their usual territory we didn't see them. I'm not |
| horizon, all of them given over to conservation and | | | | entirely surprised by this: although I joked earlier about |
| reverting to their natural state. | | | | not being able to spot the giraffes, they are at least |
| | | | | slightly camouflaged – elephants are the biggest |
| Moving onto the game, it should be pointed out that | | | | land animal and are a completely different colour to the |
| Sanbona is billed as a wilderness experience as much | | | | surrounding bush. Adult elephants have no predators |
| as a game experience. It's not like a private reserve in | | | | so they have no need to blend in. And yet I can |
| the Kruger or somewhere similar, where high game | | | | recount numerous occasions where I've been in a |
| densities and decent numbers of vehicles out on game | | | | stationary game drive vehicle less than 20 metres |
| drive mean you're going to almost be tripping over the | | | | from an elephant and not spotted it. They can, when |
| Big Five. Sanbona makes you work a bit harder for | | | | the mood takes them, but very quiet and move |
| your game: there's less of it about, and there are less | | | | incredibly gracefully, like grey ghosts. Clearly they were |
| people on the ground looking for it. Still, we saw more | | | | in this sort of mood whilst we were at Sanbona! |
| than enough game to keep me happy. It started with | | | | |
| the Verreaux's Eagle that was soaring above the | | | | As promised, now a little about our tented suite. I loved |
| ridge outside our tented suite (more on the suite later!): | | | | it – all the thrill of being under canvass but with great |
| a nice sighting. Out on game drive we spent a bit of | | | | comfort and luxury as well. Nestled at the base of a |
| time with a nice herd of eland. They are an amazing | | | | cliff home to, as we've seen, Verreaux's Eagles as |
| animal that doesn't really get enough attention on | | | | well as some baboons, and with a dry river bed |
| regular safaris. The largest antelope in South Africa, | | | | running under the raised deck (and plunge pool!), it really |
| they can weigh up to 840kgs – as much as a | | | | felt like we were deep in the African bush. Not so |
| smallish black rhino, and they can vault a 2 metre | | | | deep that the chef wasn't able to rustle up a truly |
| fence from a standing start. They were venerated by | | | | superb evening meal though. |
| the indigenous San people and feature heavily in their | | | | |
| rock art, which dots the reserve. | | | | I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Sanbona, and now |
| | | | | when I'm asked if it's possible to combine Cape Town |
| We spent some time parked on the shores of a dam, | | | | with a convenient safari destination, I know exactly |
| watching a couple of hippos grunting, snorting and | | | | what the answer is: Sanbona! |