Kruger and Sabi Sand

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Autumn 2015 The state of Australian beef Farm Management Deposits and end-of-financial-year planning Meet the Graeme Acton Beef Connections participants

It’s a wild life Anything can happen when you’re on the prowl in Kruger National Park and Sabi Sand, two of South Africa’s great wildlife reserves WORDS: RODERICK EIME

He creeps through the long grass, stopping every few metres to survey the scene. His laser-like eyes pierce the fading light as he patrols his territory.

Even though we’re in big, beast-proof 4WDs, there’s no disputing whose turf we’re on. The three spotlight beams crisscrossing his path do not distract him from his mission as he stalks through our midst, almost at arm’s length, on his nightly round.

We watch, transfixed, as the adult male leopard goes about his predatory business. This is a ‘gold’ wildlife sighting— the sort of experience every one of us has travelled to enjoy.

Here in Sabi Sand, which is adjacent to famous Kruger National Park (NP), more than 20 private lodges share 65,000ha of wild African veld (bush). Safaris take place at dawn and dusk when the animals are

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most active. Our lumbering 4WDs amble along dirt tracks while all around us the great megafauna of South Africa roams free, much as it has done for hundreds of thousands of years.

Guides and rangers are in contact by two-way radio, being careful not to encroach on one another’s animal sightings, allowing each vehicle generous viewing time. Within just a few hours, we pass a herd of mother elephants and their calves frolicking in a dam, giraffes grazing on the foliage of tall trees, and a pride of lions encamped at a crossroad, which forces us onto a bumpy bypass.

Elsewhere in Sabi Sand there are buffaloes and birds aplenty, as well as rhinos, all forms of antelopes, including kudu and nyala, and flighty springboks.

One of our safaris takes us into Kruger NP, where we see the fabulous cheetah

in a fast-paced patrol, outwitting the wily hyenas as they track and stalk their own prey. Hippos and the rare and endangered African wild dogs can also be spotted if you’re lucky.

Most visitors to this vast and wild region find themselves in a plush safari lodge located within the Sabi Sand reserve.

On this occasion, I’m staying at the acclaimed Ulusaba Private Game Reserve, the private lodge of Virgin supremo Sir Richard Branson, where we were treated to moonlit bush dinners featuring classic South African cuisine, including biltong (dried meat strips) and juicy steaks locally sourced. The lodge is perched high on a rocky outcrop with stunning views in all directions over the arid and scrubby ‘lowveld’ plain.

Unlike many other lodges in Sabi Sand and Kruger NP, Ulusaba has no protective

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perimeter fence, instead relying on its citadel-like location for protection. But the steep, rocky slopes are not always a sufficient barrier against the animals, which see the whole region as their domain.

On one occasion in the past, a couple walking to their room were stopped in their tracks by a leopard sitting in the middle of the path. Another time, communications to the lodge were cut when an inquisitive elephant dug up the fibre-optic cable outside the main office.

While most of the transport around Sabi Sand and Kruger NP is by modified 4WD, it’s possible to fly in and land on the local airstrips in 20-seat, twin-engine turboprop aircraft.

The Federal Airlines’ Beechcraft 1900 fly daily from Johannesburg or Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, near Nelspruit. From there you can link to pretty much anywhere in South Africa, even Cape Town by direct flight, with South African Airways.

Just 2.5 hours by air from Kruger NP, Cape Town is one of the world’s greatest cities to visit. Located at the foot of Table Mountain, its proximity to wineries, gardens, historical sites and seaside communities makes it a fulfilling place to explore.

From my base at the swank urban resort One&Only Cape Town, which is located at the iconic Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, I set out in all directions to see key attractions such as infamous Robben Island, verdant Stellenbosch Gardens, and remote Cape Point Lighthouse where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet.

Of course, no trip to Cape Town would be complete without venturing to the top of Table Mountain on the cable car; however, fickle weather often thwarts visitors’ best intentions.

The wispy cloud that so often obscures the plateau is called the ‘tablecloth’, so when the clouds clear, my advice is drop everything and go!

World-renowned Kruger National Park covers almost 2 million hectares of wilderness.

It’s home to more species of large mammals than any other African wildlife reserve, including the Big Five: lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino. There are no fences between Kruger NP and the adjacent Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, which is famous for its stunning safaris with knowledgeable guides.

The best time to visit is May to October when it’s drier.

For more information on South Africa visit southafrica.net.

For Sabi Sand visit sabisandgamereserve.co.za.

For Kruger National Park visit sanparks.org/parks/kruger.

Autumn 2015

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