Safari in Amakhala Game Reserve

Saturday 16.01.2016

Shortly after 9am, we roll through the electric gate of the Aardvark. We didn't have breakfast here, as we would have had to pre-order it the day before. Although the (Swiss) owner was much nicer than his (French) wife, I don't need to come here again.

We are allowed to enter the main gate without a day ticket because we only want to go to the restaurant. Next to the restaurant, there is a waterhole where you can observe the animals from a lookout point.

Warthog

About 200m further, there is a hidden covered shelter, where the view is practically only 30cm above the grass. We can't bear to leave the constantly visible animals and the pleasant shady location, but we reluctantly tear ourselves away at 12.00pm after observing plenty of kudus and warthogs. Their sight is simply soothing - there were no lions in between either.

Kudu

We take the R342 to the east. This road divides Addo into north and south halves. In the northern part, you can go on horseback rides and 4x4 car tours, which is why most tourists stay in the freely accessible southern part. We still see plenty of animals in the park from the road.

Unfortunately, the R342 becomes a super bad gravel road just behind Paterson, so we turn around after about 300m and turn onto the N10 at the intersection in Paterson, which leads us to the N2. Like almost everywhere else, the N-roads are in top condition and with the help of the directions, we find our way to the Amakhala Game Reserve. The real adventure is about to begin!

The Amakhala area is about 200 sq km in size and there are nine lodges here, with ours, the Hillsnek Safari Camp, being the smallest with only four luxury tents.

We drive through the main gate and can park after 200m of bumpy road. Immediately, a safari jeep with a ranger named Justin is waiting for us. We have to leave our car here, quickly load everything we need into the jeep (don't forget any lenses and take a jacket + sturdy shoes anyway!).

We climb into the jeep and the view from this elevated point is already great. We drive for about 15 minutes on a very rough road that can only be tackled with such a safari jeep at a slower pace than walking speed, holding on to the handrails. This is definitely not for people with back problems.

Just before the lodge, there is a group of elephants with young ones in front of us. Justin has to drive off the road and bypass the group off-road.

He tells us that we should come along to the elephants' bathing spot right after check-in, where he saw them just now. Ohhhh! We're excited!

Renzo, the manager of the lodge, receives us at the lodge shortly after 2.00pm. Wet towels are offered, a welcome drink is served, and we are in the open main house from the terrace of which you can look endlessly far into the Amakhala Game Reserve. Beautiful armchairs, wooden deck chairs, an 8-person table, and a small bar are available here. The small pool is located in front of the plains, an elephant trots into view from left to right - it's like a dream.

A boardwalk leads to our tent. It is completely hidden from the main house and the other tents, located on a slope with a wooden terrace and a gigantic view of the plains. There is another terrace on the side with a table and two chairs - if you want, you can have your meals served here.

Our tent

The room is very large. The walls and the partition walls to the bathroom and toilet are sturdy canvas walls with large mesh windows that can be closed with canvas covers. The floor is made of beautiful dark wooden floorboards.

The bathroom has a bathtub and a double sink with wonderfully scented soaps! That's decadent. The outdoor shower is simply fantastic - with hot water too.

The outdoor shower

On the desk in our room, there is coffee/tea and a complimentary bottle of wine and homemade cookies! There is also a fully stocked minibar in the closet - all included. Well, we pay 250 EUR/person per night here. But they have to bring all these decadent luxuries here. And we enjoy 3 meals a day, free drinks around the clock, and daily 2 three-hour game drives. Since the lodge is so small and they have two rangers here, the game drives are never conducted with more than 4 people.

We are completely thrilled!

http://www.hillsneksafaris.com/

Justin, who picked us up, is the head ranger of the entire Amakhala Reserve. Because each of the nine lodges naturally has rangers, and he is the boss. Our ranger is Brad. A mid-twenty-something deeply rooted in the nature of his country, with profound knowledge and a great love for nature - we feel super informed from the first game drive.

Lunch

But before we start, there is lunch. Very tasty, very nicely arranged, in pleasant company with Axel and Beate from Switzerland. Although Axel is German and Beate is Austrian. Alison and Ian are from Warwick in the UK, and Dalilah and Matteo are from Italy.

We sit with Axel and Beate in the jeep at 4.00pm, equipped with all cameras, as well as scarves and fleece jackets, socks, and sturdy shoes, ready for what is about to come.

The first stop at the already mentioned elephants' bathing spot is quickly reached. 5 animals - including young ones - are still in the water here. But when two adult elephants start to get a little stressed and try to push each other out of the Bushman River with loud trumpeting, Brad reverses out of the danger zone.

Suddenly, completely unexpectedly, a huge elephant appears next to us in the bushes, and Brad quickly reverses to avoid provoking the elephant into an unplanned action. Justin is informed via radio, as he is on a game drive with the other guests.

We drive on incredibly bumpy roads with this car monster that consumes around 4 liters of fuel per kilometer (!), and we hold on constantly. It is not possible to take photos of the really huge potholes as we would fall out of the car. However, there are many quiet photo stops, and Brad tirelessly explains plants and animals and has a trained eye for spotting animals even in the farthest distance. Binoculars are provided for everyone as well.

Within the extended 3.5-hour game drive, we see red hartebeest, waterbucks, wildebeests, plenty of warthogs, a giraffe with only one horn, which can surprisingly hide very well behind an acacia.

Then, as a highlight, we see two rhinoceroses (white rhinoceroses). We sit about 50m above the two rhinos in our jeep - they are not bothered at first. But when one of them starts moving towards us and grumbles, Brad retreats.

The white rhinoceros is truly remarkable. Together with elephants and hippos, they are the largest land mammals and the largest of all (still living) rhinoceros species. They are huge animals, measuring up to 3.80m in length and up to 1.80m in shoulder height. Their weight of around 2 tons (females) or 2.5 tons (males) is an average and there are large males that weigh over 3 tons.

With their horned upper lip, they tear grass from the ground, as they do not have incisors. On their head, they have 2 horns of different sizes. These horns are made of keratin and grow constantly throughout their lives, even if they have been damaged.

The front (larger) horn can reach a length of up to 1m, with females having thinner but longer horns. Their most important sense is their sense of smell. So if you want to sneak up unnoticed, you better have good eyesight because white rhinos can smell over distances of 700m. They also have very good hearing (we constantly see their small ears in motion). These two abilities are absolutely vital for survival because white rhinos can only see up to a maximum of 20m.

White rhinoceros

On the backs of the two white rhinos we are observing here, there are cape glossy starlings that sparkle in the sun.

Cape glossy starling

These medium-sized birds shine blue in the sun and have orange-yellow eyes. Brad does not disclose any information about the number of rhinos in Amakhala. No one should know or be able to read anywhere about the situation here. The fear of poachers is too great - they have no qualms about entering fenced areas to steal horns and leave the animals to certain death.

With the setting sun, we slowly reach our lodge through the vast plains. It is an incredibly beautiful sight of this vastness, this endless sky in the most beautiful colors, and you can only be grateful to be able to experience something like this.

The good spirits are waiting at the lodge with wet towels and a non-alcoholic cocktail, and the path to the main house is lined with these beautiful solar lamps in mason jars. By now, I have bought two of them for home.

I treat myself to a shower in our open-air facility behind the tent. The wind is a bit chilly, the warm water not very warm, but behind me, the monkeys on the slope are screaming, and the experience is great, and the dust from the 3.5-hour game drive has to come off too.

Dinner is served at around 8.00pm. We ordered the main course at lunchtime. Wine is served, the atmosphere is pleasant, and there are amusing conversations across all nations. It's simply amazing. But you should go to bed early, which I do at 10.30pm. Because the first game drive starts at 5.30am, and we will be woken up at 5.00am...