| | Timeless Africa Safaris Newsletter - December 2010 | | |  | | | | | | | | | Dear friends of Timeless Africa Safaris, | | | | | As 2010 draws to a close, we look back on a very special and memorable year for this beautiful country of ours. Visitors from far and wide attested to the fact that there was never a dull moment, especially during the FIFA Soccer World Cup.
| | | | We have been busy checking out new places to visit and stay, as well as adventures beyond the comfort zone. Read further and check our website for exciting developments. | | | | | In this issue of our newsletter, we feature Madikwe, an excellent game reserve on the Botswana and South African border. We also feature our regular natural events diary for the next four months.
| | | | Also read about the amazing experience of climbing Kilimanjaro and a luxurious visit to the Serengeti. | | | | | Thank you for your support during this year, we look forward to being of service to you in the New Year and for many years to come!
| | | | The TAS team wishes you and your family a healthy, peaceful and successful 2011.
With warm regards, | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | Marco Van Embden - Cape Town | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Kilimanjaro | | | | About five years ago I had this crazy idea that I wanted to climb Kilimanjaro. Why? I was looking for a challenge and I wanted to experience Kilimanjaro as a glacier but my concern was that the glacier was melting so rapidly with global warming, that in the next few years the ‘’highest mountain’’ in Africa was not going to be as it was 20 years ago. In December 2009 I met my partner in crime, Rod Allen, and together we started planning, training and motivating each other for this exciting adventure. Seeing as we were going to be in East Africa to climb Kilimanjaro, it made sense to visit the largest intact caldera in the world – the Ngorongoro Crater as well as the endless open plains of the magnificent Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. | | | What a feeling when you arrive at the start and there are just masses of porters, luggage and climbers all waiting to start this climb. The thing that amazed me was the weight the porters carried up on their backs and shoulders, not just strolling up but sometimes jogging past us, while we walked ‘’pole, pole – slowly, slowly’’. | | | | The diversity of terrain was interesting – rain forest, bush shrub land with fynbos and proteas, desert landscape then volcanic shale on the summit as nothing much grows there due to lack of oxygen. | | | We walked between five hours on the first day to 15 hours on the last day….long days on your feet and walking ‘’pole pole’’ as we tried to acclimatize over the next few days. Summit day finally dawned. We were woken at 1 am in the morning and rolled out of our sleeping bags to heavy darkness and bitter cold outside. | | | This for me was one of the most challenging sections of the climb as you walk for four hours in the dark following the light of your head lamp, my body was cold and stiff, my fingertips were freezing and I just couldn’t seem to warm them up, there was cold wind coming off the glacier and it went straight through me even though I was bundled up with warm clothes. But as the darkness changed slowly to daylight, the most beautiful sunrise appeared and I started to believe there was a reason to continue walking – keeping the goal of summiting at Uhura Peak in the forefront of my mind. | | | As we got to Shira Point which is still about 30 minutes from Uhura Point, most of the group decided they had had enough and were going to turn back. Rod looked at me and said there was no way he was coming all this way to turn back now, even though he wasn’t feeling well with altitude sickness. | | | We then continued with our porter, Honest, who was amazing and kept pushing us and encouraging us to go ‘’pole pole’’. To eventually stand on the summit, at an altitude of 5895 m, the highest point of Africa and the tallest free standing mountain in the world was totally mind blowing and a goal finally reached - even with a fuzzy headache ! | | | But this wasn’t the end of our travels….the next day we flew from Arusha to the Serengeti arriving at the Singita Grumeti Reserve with its green lush rolling plains. As we drove towards Sabora Tented Camp, a huge herd of Topi, Zebra & Wildebeest were making their way onto the plains. What an amazing experience…animals as far as the eye could see! I didn’t want to leave Sabora Tented Camp it is reminiscent of a bygone era…each canvas tent offers opulent luxury complete with antique mahogany travel chests, Persian rugs and silk curtains, signifying romance, exploration and intrigue! The following day we got up early and played a game of tennis on the clay tennis court with ball boys who seems to appear from nowhere to assist us. We then had lunch at Fara Fara Camp overlooking a large waterhole before arriving at Sasakwa which is situates on the hill overlooking the Grumeti plains. I heard that they offered horse riding safaris, so jumped at this wonderful opportunity and went for a 3 hour horse ride on a lovely horse with an armed guide. Can you believe that we sat on our horses 15 meters away from a herd of Buffalo, then galloped with wildebeest and zebra, the horses trying to race them – I could have leant over and touched the zebra we were so close – felt like I was flying! Rod, did the adventurous thing and went mountain biking and luckily didn’t come across any lion. | | | We arrived back in South Africa…tired, excited, challenged and realizing that we are privileged to life in such an amazing country – Africa! | | | | Kirsty Gordon - Clent Services Manager, Timeless Africa Safaris | | |  | | | | | | |  | | Madikwe Magic – A personal visit | | | Ominous and magnificent cloud formations move stealthily high in the African skies as we head north on a wet November day towards Madikwe Game Reserve | | | We are headed to one of the few malaria-free game reserves in South Africa, Madikwe Game Reserve – a place I have wanted to experience for a long time. | | | The Reserve is situated on the Botswana border, 90 km north of Zeerust, just four hours' drive from both Johannesburg and Pretoria, and is one of South Africa's prime safari destinations. It is a Big 5 game reserve covering some 75,000 hectares. The heat strikes us at full force as we emerge from the air-conditioned car at the lodge about 20 minutes later. | | | On the afternoon game drive later we come across elephant, buffalo, a very scarce and endangered wild dog pack – for which Madikwe is famous - and finally we stop at a watering hole and watch hyenas frolic in the water. But the piece de resistance was to happen shortly on the way back to the Lodge. It was the foul smell carried to us on the wind that told us we were in the right place. | | | A massive male lion had minutes before taken down a blue wildebeest and we were there to watch it feast. | | | | | | The smell was pungent and the sound of those massive teeth ripping through bone and raw flesh was a bit much for a couple of guests on the vehicle. Then we suddenly heard that spine-chilling laugh behind us and emerging from the darkness the hyenas came at the lion from all directions – at least five of them. | | | They made a valiant attempt to grab his dinner away from him but a couple of nasty snarls chased them away quickly. Moments like these make Madikwe a remarkable place to visit and experience luxuary game lodges combined with fantastic Big Five Game veiwing. | | | | Luxury Safaris Lodges in Madikwe Game Reserve | | | Etali Safari Lodge – 5 star | | | Etali Safari Lodge is built in harmony with nature under the vibrant African sun. Etali is an exclusive, intimate haven, where body and soul are rejuvenated in surroundings created by people who understand luxury. Susan and Koos are the owners of this magnificent lodge, they live on the property and are very hands on with guest needs and requirements. | | | Accommodation at Etali Safari Lodge is sheer bliss in any one of their eight luxurious air-conditioned suites, each set apart for total privacy in its own bushveld domain. | | | Enjoy the tranquillity of the wellness centre where they specialize in traditional massages from around the world dating back thousands of years. Etali offer African hand and foot rituals as well as sensory facials experiences where all the product houses are in line with nature. Or you can joy the sheer pleasure of a massage on your own sundeck in the heart of the African bushveld. Therapeutic in itself. | | | | Jaci’s Lodges – 5 star | | | Jaci’s Safari Lodge and Tree Lodge offer you an exclusive wildlife adventure. They have taken the utmost care to create an environment in which you can relax and put your feet up, amid all of the luxury you would expect of a five-star bush lodge. | | | Jaci’s provides the opportunity for the perfect family safari as well as introducing children to the wonders and enjoyment of the African bushveld. Children of all ages are welcome at Jaci's and are especially catered for. The game drives are educational, informative and deliberately shorter, to keep younger children engaged. Children aged four years and under are specially accommodated with their own “jungle drive”. | | | | Madikwe Hills – 5 star | | | Traversing over 75 000 hectares, Madikwe Hills Private Game Lodge is situated on a hill, in the heart of Madikwe. Ingeniously set amongst boulders and age-old Tamboti trees, the lodge offers visitors the utmost in luxury and hospitality, where you will find yourself enchanted by a world of intrigue and majestic beauty. | | | Madikwe Hills consists of a Main Lodge with ten suites, and a private camp, Little Madikwe Hills, accommodating twenty-four guests in total. | | | On warm evenings, you may be treated to a three course meal in the heart of the bushveld. As you complete your evening game drive, they will be enticed by the essence of a burning fire, to arrive to a hurricane lit “dining room” in the bush. | | | With the finest in cuisine and service excellence, guests will enjoy an unforgettable feast under African starlit skies. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | December - Flamingoes | | Lake Nakuru National Park on Lake Nakuru, around 160km north of Nairobi, Kenya's capital. Open to guests since 1968, Lake Nakuru National Park was originally meant to protect the flocks of flamingo. Over one million flamingos make their habitat here.
| | | An absolutely outstanding feature of Nakuru is the vision of a vast, pink blanket around the edge of the lake in the form of the stand. | | | The greater flamingo has a pink bill with a black tip and the lesser flamingo sports a deep carmine bill and has deeper pink plumage. Ornithologists have described it as the most fabulous bird spectacle in the world. Besides flamingoes, Nakuru is home to other water birds including a variety of terrestrial birds numbering about 450 species in total. | | | | For more information on Lake Nakuru National Park click here. | | | | | | | | | | January - Loggerhead turtles | | | November to January is turtle season. On the northern beaches of KwaZulu Natal Coastline (South Africa) both Loggerhead and Leatherback turtles come ashore to lay their eggs, up to nine times in that period, laying between sixty and one hundred eggs on each visit. Seven weeks later the eggs hatch and the newly born scramble to the ocean. | | | | For more information on the northern beaches of KwaZulu Natal Coastline click here. | | | | | | | | | | February - Wildebeest calving | | | February marks the start of this great migration, preceding the long rainy season when wildebeest spend their time grazing and giving birth to approximately 500,000 calves within a 2/3-week period, which starts abruptly and is remarkably synchronized. Few calves are born ahead of time. The few that are six months out of phase, few will survive. The calving grounds of the eastern Serengeti happen to be outside the hunting territories of most of the predators, such as hyena, cheetah, hunting dogs and lions although some losses to these predators can occur. | | | Each year around the same time the 'Great Wildebeest Migration' begins in the Ngorongoro area of the southern Serengeti of Tanzania; a natural phenomenon determined by the availability of grazing. It is January to March when the calving season begins - a time when there is plenty of rain, ripened grass available for the 500,000 zebra that precede 1.5 million wildebeest and the following 100,000 plains game. | | | | For more information on the Southern Serengeti of Tanzania click here. | | | | | | | | | | | March - Kalahari Desert | | | Botswana's Kalahari Desert abounds with game and migrant birds following the rains. The best time to visit the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is during or after the rains - January to April - when the grazing is at its best. | | | The birding at this time of year is excellent - the resident species have been joined by migrant birds, and raptors are particularly well represented. The people of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve are the hunter-gatherer Bushmen or San peoples. One of the oldest peoples in the | | | | For more information on Botswana's Kalahari Desert click here. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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