Sabi Sand

Welcome to my August newsletter.  Boy was I lucky with the weather in Great Britain recently. It was absolutely stunning for the entire week I spent there attending a family wedding.. Certainly much better than the weather I left behind in the so called Sunshine Coast, as my wife Jacky pointed out with more than a hint of envy upon my return.

I travelled to London via South Africa in both directions in order to look at four game lodges that I had not previously seen in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve adjacent to the Kruger National Park.
All were fantastic and all had a unique atmosphere. Firstly there was Lion Sands, with it's views over the Sabie River. Lovely rooms, tastefully furnished. Great food and very professionally run. Check out the tree houses on their website. http://www.lionsands.com/

Lion Sands accommodation

Lion Sands lounge

Next I moved on to Mala Mala, probably one of the most famous of the reserves in the Sabi Sand area. The rooms have fantastic views over the Sand River, which is more open in nature than the Sabie River and consequently it is easier to view game as they come to drink at the water's edge. The rooms here are massive, the largest of any of the four lodge in which I stayed. Again the food was absolutely beautiful and the place was impossible to fault.  http://www.malamala.com/

The rooms at Mala Mala are enormous.

The view of the Sand River from my private deck at Mala Mala.

Next came Londolozi - another famous lodge, and probably the most upmarket of the four. Again, I had a beautiful room, though it did seem a little small after the one I had at Mala Mala. It was a little over-furnished too I thought. The food there was glorious and the staff, as in all the lodges could not do enough for the guests. I did however get the feeling that Londolozi is primarily a resort and wildlife viewing is a bit of an afterthought.  Having said that, there was some nice wildlife viewing to be had without leaving the lodge. Again, there are great views over the Sand River with it's pods of hippos and herds of elephants which come to drink in the late afternoon. http://www.londolozi.com/en/?gclid=COaog9nM2LgCFYQhpQod0U0AFg

Over furnished room?  Londolozi

My private plunge pool. Londolozi

Finally. on the way home I had time for two nights at Nottens Bush Camp. I guess this was the most rustic of the four, and the rooms really didn't look that great from the outside. However, inside they were large and more than comfortable. The only power available in the room was one socket in the corner which serviced the emergency telephone, but this socket could be used for charging batteries etc. Lighting in the room was with lovely oil lamps and this really added to the charm of the place.

Nottens Bush Camp accommodation

The food here was perhaps a step down from the haute cuisine of Londolozi, but was fantastic nonetheless in a home made wholesome kind of way. I loved it. The other thing I loved about Notten's Bush Camp was that they had so many staff who had been there for more than ten years. My guide Joseph had been there for thirty years and he really new his stuff. http://nottens.com/

UP CLOSE WITH THE WILDLIFE OF SABI SAND

So, what next? On August the 6th I leave for Africa once again. This time to escort a really lovely group of people to see the great wildebeest migration in Kenya and Tanzania. This proved to be a very popular concept and I will certainly be repeating it in 2014.

NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
Fancy a cruise? A serious cruise?  Here's a great deal on a Round the World trip on The Norwegian Star.  Prices start from $6499 per person twin share, and lets face it you can barely get a decent round the world airfare for that these days, let alone accommodation all meals and entertainment too.
http://ucango.com.au/offers-1/whip-around-the-world

Okay, that's it for now. See in you September when I'll start to organise next year's Great Migration Safari.