[Read Part 1 of our Chitwa Chitwa Safari]

It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

The morning started with a lion. Then another. And another. And another.

Of the Big 5, lions scare me most. So needless to say, I was cowering on the lap of another passenger as four lions, three females and one male, walked right up to us in the game vehicle. Watching them slink past us, stop and stare into our eyes, yawn and stretch and then slink off down the dirt path in front of us, regal as only a lion can be, was all the more mesmerising because of that fear. What a way to start our second day at Chitwa Chitwa Game Lodge…

We stopped for morning coffee and muffins somewhere in a flat clearing and huddled around the warmth of the vehicle’s bonnet. By the time we arrived back at the lodge for breakfast, we’d spotted giraffe, impala, and a beautiful leopard female sleeping in a tree, her limbs hanging over either side of the thick branch. Her stomach was fat with breakfast and the early sun shining onto her face as she cat napped, undisturbed by the two game vehicles of spectators below. We’d had eight leopard sightings in two days, three in a tree… not too shabby.

Breakfast was served under the thatch roof of an open air dining area near the lodge, a short distance from the dam. Hornbills skirted the edges and hippos harrumphed loudly in the water. A herd of elephant – the greatest I’ve ever seen – waded up to the water’s edge too, for a morning sprinkle. It’s great to be able to do absolutely nothing in the bush for those few hours after breakfast. We lay on our decks, played Scrabble and swam in the private plunge pools, crocs’ eyes glinting at us from not too far away. You don’t have to go very far at Chitwa Chitwa to see wildlife.

Food is a big deal at luxury lodges. You eat a lot. And well. In the afternoon, a game vehicle picked us up and took us into the bush, where below a giant tree an ox bow of tables had been set up, covered in white linen for us to dine at. After our meal, we were back on the vehicle tracking wild dog, feeling a bit wild ourselves, what with several glasses of wine and G&Ts in our system.

Eight dogs approached us in the middle of the dirt path, panting and perky eyed. They were on a mission. We followed them, branches whacking us in the face, into the thick bush where the dogs chased after a buck before disappearing wholly from our view.

You know it’s a good safari when even your boss, who has been on just about every game drive possible in southern Africa, is still awake and snapping pictures of the sightings on his iPhone.

After cleaning up in our rooms, we met for pre-drinks at the bar. The bar area is lavish with a big fireplace and an even bigger drinks menu. Dinner was a civilised affair around a long table on the deck outside – we flew through the soup of the day, mussels in a creamy garlic sauce, fillet and pork chops, with mashed potatoes and veg, and berry pavlova. Post-dinner drinks was less civilised. Owner Charl started cleaning out his supply of Jägermeisters and plonked shot glass after shot glass in front of us.

The next morning included a lot of time spent horizontal on the couch. Luckily, the couches are quite luxurious. From whatever angle you experience it, though, Chitwa Chitwa has it all.

“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”

- Jon Krakauer, ‘Into the Wild’

Whose idea was it to take the Creative Team on safari together? I’m pretty sure our boss David Ryan was wondering this as we all bustled down a dirt road beating our chests like silverback gorillas and howling at the hidden moon.

Rhino Africa's Marketing Team

This was my first safari in the Sabi Sand. My first open game vehicle drive. My first G&T. The five of us – four boys and one girl, me – were here to film and write about the Chitwa Chitwa Game Lodge, our five star safari lodge for the weekend, and enjoy a team-building safari experience while at it.

And team build we did – just watch the film:

We flew up from Cape Town and arrived at Chitwa Chitwa, in the north of the Sabi Sand, after a long drive from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. We were ushered almost immediately into a game vehicle.

There’s something about the smell of the African bush that always stirs something in me. In an open game vehicle you can get right up close to it all. Sniff Africa in – the mix of grass and animal dung, mosquito repellent and sunblock, the bush after rain or with morning dew, the campfire smoke that lingers on your khakis.

We embarked as the sun was setting and the light golden orange, making the elephants a weird salmon pink colour and the impalas little balls of fire stotting madly across the veld. It was rutting season, when impalas start acting very out of character, uttering loud grunts and hopping like pogo sticks in a competition for territory.

Our first Big 5 sighting was a giant elephant bull shaking her flag-like ears at us while her babushka huddled underneath. We drove into a small clearing in the thicket, the tracker in the seat in the front slashing obstructing branches with a machete, and came face to face with about ten elephants.

You have to force yourself to put down the camera sometimes and actually just take it all in. There’s nothing more real and startling than staring a wild animal that big in the eye.

As the sun set further and our camera ISOs went up, we spotted a crash of rhinos in a dry river bed. Rangers like to take you up really close until the fear of death shocks even our noisy team into silence. As Tristan, our guide in green, did. Rhinos are spectacular creatures – with the largest backsides, despite living off grass, leaves, twigs and shrubs. Thanks to our excellent guide and tracker, we also spotted a flap necked chameleon – about the size of two fists – in a bush and let it amble across our heads before returning it to nature, as well as a tiny pearl spotted owl in a tree.

While our heads whipped around continuously, wanting to spot everything we could, Tristan dished out bite-size chunks of information about the wild. Like, did you know, in the beginning when man gave names to all the animals, the Venda named nyala after onions. Onions.

Once night had fallen, we stopped at a spot by the dam with a view of the lodge in the distance. It’s one of the biggest lakes in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. With the light of the moon illuminating it, you can see pods of hippos in the water, only a few metres from your feet.

A table had been set up with canapés and drinks and another vehicle was waiting, with Angela Ciuchini, Chitwa’s Marketing Manager, and Charl Brink, owner of Chitwa Chitwa. Charl is your typical camel man, rugged in his khakis with Grizzly Adams stubble.

We put down our cameras and jumped out of the vehicle. It’s probably one of the most spectacular times on a safari, gathering under the stars in a circle, throwing around witty quips with friends, G&T in hand, and when conversation drops all you hear is the sound of the bush, leopards and lions roaring around you and crickets adding the soft background tracking. It seems a bad idea, really. If I was a lion, I’d be very excited stumbling upon a herd of tipsy human meat.

Leopard Central

The leopard roar perked up and Tristan herded us back into the vehicle to find the source. There he was – a giant Tyson male leopard staring down a tree with a very dead impala between his teeth. We sat very still in the dead of night as the leopard weighed up how to get his dinner up the tall tree without dropping it. He made one nifty jump and was up in a branch in no time, digging in wholly unselfconsciously as we snapped and clicked away beneath him. The tracker shining the torchlight on the big cat’s face, we could see everything, canines, whiskers and all. It was by far a highlight.

As was the moment Salaeyxe, one of the male’s wives (leopards are about as monogamous as our President), came snooping below on the ground to grab a scrap he had dropped.

Shoot to female leopard darting up another tree, shoot to hyena below picking off the scraps, shoot to a very excited and nervous creative team in one measly open top vehicle surrounded by the circle of life.

Meal Time

We headed back to the lodge for snacks in the main lounge area. The interior design at Chitwa Chitwa is out of this world. Very textural and bold, a mix of masculine (like Charl) and feminine (like Maria, his very passionate Italian wife who is responsible for the incredible decor). The canapés the friendly waiters handed out to us looked just as good. We dined in the boma, sitting in an ox bow over candlelight under the stars, sharing stories about the bush and “this one time in Africa when…”.

Starting with celery and carrot soup, moving onto cheese souffle and lamb, finished with a pecan pie dessert, washed down with a delicious Backsberg Cabernet Sauvignon, we were as stuffed and ready for bed as a leopard after an impala kill.

Zzzzzz

The videographers, Barend and Ryan, and I stayed in the Charlsy Suite, while David and Ross had their own Chitwa Suites. Being the girl, I got my own bed while the boys cuddled. We stayed up a while longer – for you’re only here once – doing timelapses on the deck of our rooms, drinking more G&Ts, listening to the nighttime bush noises, petrified about what would manifest in front of us at any moment, particularly the hippos, and looking forward to another day of game drives in the new morning.

What more can I say to make the others in the office green?

READ PART 2 HERE!

My room for the night!

How To Get There

Chitwa Chitwa is located in the north of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, which forms part of the vast Greater Kruger National Park Area. The nearest airport is Hoedspruit, which receives daily flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town. From here you are transferred by light aircraft or road. The lodge is a five to six hour drive from Johannesburg and makes a suitable self drive destination.

Should you be interested in finding out more about Chitwa Chitwa and the Sabi Sand or in booking a trip here, please feel free to contact one of our well-travelled consultants today! It’s an experience you don’t want to miss.

“And wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile.” – Alexander Pope

The Cape Winelands is one very suave gentlemen. It’s the cufflinks on Cape Town’s tuxedo. Take a date here and you’re bound to win him or her, or it, over. A friend met me for lunch at Spier Wine Estate, my accommodation for the night, and even we ended up frolicking around together by the river. Platonically, of course.

Spier is about a 45 minute drive from Cape Town in Stellenbosch, South Africa’s second oldest town, after Cape Town, founded in 1679. It is a four star wine estate featuring three restaurants, a wine cellar and tasting room, and endless rolling green lawns to picnic on. I arrived at 10h30 and began drinking at 11h00.

DID YOU KNOW: The Western Cape is the largest wine producing region in South Africa and produces about 1,000,000,000 litres of wine annually.

The sky was blue with wispy clouds and the lawns begging to be frolicked on. The outside terrace of the Spier Hotel Restaurant the perfect place to recline with the morning paper and a glass of Spier Creative Block 2: Sauvignon Blanc.

And then a glass of 21 Gables Chenin Blanc…, and then a Merlot from the Spier signature…, and then back to Creative Block, which the connoisseurs among us would describe as: “Beautifully clear with a distinctive green tinge. Hints of gooseberries, crushed nettle and grapefruit with lively acidity.” The Creative Block 5 is a particularly delicious Bordeaux-style blend.

I’ve dined at Spier before – at the African inspired Moyo Restaurant where people in traditional African garb sang and danced before us and people painted our faces with little white dots at our tree top tables – quite different to the usual dining experience.

The new Eight Restaurant offers something more contemporary. The food is healthy and fresh from the farm on Spier’s plot. And you need all the health you can get when glugging back so many bottles of vino. Their farm also provides many surrounding restaurants with produce, such as Majeka House‘s Makaron Restaurant.

My friend and I enjoyed the quinoa and pan roasted vegetable salad which is delicious, served with fresh farm bread. Their other meals, wafting past us on white plates to the other patrons outside, looked just as tasty – such as the chicken pie, sesame chicken salad, courgette souffle and Cape hake fish cakes.

Those little yellow treats are butter. Do not pop directly into mouth!

We followed the meal up with a romp by the river. The immense gardens and bridges traversing the river provide a great playground and one particularly ideal for picnics, with little ones included. Spier provides already-made picnics, with choices for children, vegetarians and raw foodies. Bookings are essential. Their new deli, Eight To Go, offers several tasty take-away options to line your stomach with!

On sunny days you can chill by the pools down at your room and enjoy more wine, if you can manage, on your private terrace. There’s plenty more to get up to here, though, so best not overindulge too soon. Although, if you do, there are golf carts with friendly drivers willing to chauffeur you around from place to place. Definitely a highlight for me.

Go on a segway tour of Spier

Things To Do At Spier

• Segway Tours of the Vineyards – Tour the vineyards with friends on the Segway PT (Personal Transporter), a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicle, and glide through the farm.
• Heritage Walk – Meander through the estate and learn more about Spier’s natural and social heritage on the walk, and more about their related projects.  The walk takes you through the protea garden and avenue of indigenous coral trees.
• Wine Tasting – Sip Spier’s award-winning wine paired with innovative food at their new tasting venue, on the banks of the Spier dam, overlooking the Helderberg mountains.
• Art – Spier’s walls are adorned with great and creative artworks that you can view in the public spaces.
• Dine – Select either Moyo, Eight, Eight to Go, or the Spier Hotel Restaurant & Wine Bar for your dining experience.

I stayed in a standard room for the night – it’s convenient, with WIFI, airconditioning and satellite TV, and a big fireplace to snuggle in front of with that deviant Merlot while you munch the complimentary Spier chocolates. The rooms are fairly simple but comfortable with a big bath to pop bubbles in. And not the champagne kind. For a more luxurious experience, you can also stay in one of the other options – the Superior Rooms or Suites.

Fancy a trip to the Cape Winelands? We can arrange a tailor-made tour for you that includes several destinations and accommodation options in the Winelands region. Go on a guided tour or self-drive. See the Cape Winelands tour options on our website or contact one of our expert travel consultants to start planning your journey.

“You have to have it in your blood, you have to grow up with the soil underneath your nails, the smell of the grapes in the air that you breathe. The cultivation of the vine was an art form. The refinement of the vine is a religion that requires pain and desire and sacrifice.” – A word on wine making, “Bottle Shock” (2008)

A few of us from Rhino Africa popped in to Londolozi Game Reserve this weekend past to have a look at their upgraded Founders Camp. Earlier this year, flooding struck the Kruger and Sabi Sand regions of South Africa. Torrential rain swelled rivers, such as the Sand River, which runs through the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Several lodges in the reserve took quite a beating.

While floods create great destruction, though, they often tend to bring with them new life. Such is the case for the 14,000-hectare Londolozi Game Reserve.

Founders Camp experienced great structural damage, especially to the lower deck, forcing temporary closure of the camp. After extensive renovations to public areas and rooms, the camp re-opened last month with a bang!

Watch the video!

Take a look at the new deck and rooms here in our latest video:

The refurbished chalets have brand new decks, refurbished bathrooms, outdoor showers, raised private plunge pools and salas, each enjoying exceptional elevated river views.

The public area has been relocated and transformed into an elevated dining sala with a spectacular 270-degree river view made from exquisite Grappa Hardwood. The look and feel is modern and minimalist; luxury in the bush at its best.

Where is Londolozi?

Take a look at our map of the Sabi Sand below. Interested in taking a closer look? Contact one of our expert travel consultants for more information on the Sabi Sand and Londolozi and to start planning and booking your trip.

Kingsley Holgate – Africa’s Greatest Modern Day Explorer

This was the claim echoing in the forests of Table Mountain National Park last night. That Kingsley Holgate is, without doubt, Africa’s greatest modern day explorer. This 67 year-old explorer and humanitarian has also been described as “the most travelled man in Africa” by Getaway Magazine. Sitting in a camp chair around a crackling campfire across from Kingsley, or “The Beard”, or “King” for those more familiar with him, your heart sort of stops. Or hangs there in your chest, suspended in silence. Until someone hands you a Captain Morgan and Coke…

Kinsley was in town – Cape Town – yesterday in support of World Malaria Day. I was lucky to catch him in person at a media event as he took time out from his current African expedition supporting malaria prevention and education.

Kingsley and his team are currently doing the year long Great African Rift Valley Expedition, which started in October last year. It’s a world first humanitarian, 12 month, 9 chapter odyssey penetrating remote regions from its northern point in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa through Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi, to its most southern point near Gorongoza in Mozambique.

A few years back, I travelled with Kingsley and his son, Ross Holgate, in jam-packed and muddy Land Rovers with folks from the Endangered Wildlife Trust to track the elusive wild dog. It was one of the greatest trips of my life, all twenty two years then. Our journey started in the Kruger National Park and passed through the wild bush of Mozambique in the Parque Nacional do Limpopo, both parks making up the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.

For four days, we 4x4ed down thick muddy paths, over giant tree roots through villages, dodging herds of cattle, past kilometres of bush and game. Being behind the wheel was exhilarating, but chatting with Kingsley around a fire as the African sun set over our makeshift campsite in the bush… I was more on the edge of my seat than ever before.

A trip to Africa with Kingsley Holgate teaches you a lot about how to deal with border crossings, locals, translation problems, endurance, vehicle issues – e.g. getting Landies out of thick mud, and much much more. It’s also a dangerous undertaking in that returning to city life becomes unthinkable. Worse than the week the film Into The Wild premiered at cinemas nationwide.

Now, in my hometown Cape Town, I found myself face-to-face again with this legend as he hugged me in greeting. Kingsley is a big man. He’s somewhat like a bear, which in Native American lore, they describe as “as free in spirit as the great wind; and grander than its mass. To match that magnitude is the quality of unpredictability in the bear. A massive animal who forages seemingly peacefully in the woods on berries and bush.” Great yet humble…

Kingsley started his world famous African expeditions out of a passion to see Africa, learn more about her, meet her people and travel her lands. It became obvious, after he and his family and other travellers were struck down by malaria so many times, that something had to be done about this stubborn female Anopheles mosquito.

“It’s like a thud to the heart,” says Holgate, “when you get to a village and a mother is screaming, not knowing what to do, her child dying from malaria – 2 days by dugout to the nearest clinic. I know what it is like, I’ve had malaria well over 40 times and when you think these lives can be saved by a simple mosquito net.”

Hence the campaigns to raise money for mozzie nets and the Holgates’ endless travels across Africa disseminating nets to disadvantaged local villages. The King didn’t stop there. His philanthropy has extended to spectacles, stationery, books and soccer balls.

Our campfire conversation under the trees included people from Cape Union Mart and the media, as well as people who’ve had the luxury of travelling with King in the past, and his son Ross – a beefier, younger version of King, with decidedly less man fur.

Usually you can find Kingsley’s wife Gill alongside him, the perfect husband-and-wife team. But at last night’s event it was just father and son… and a bucket loads of Captain Morgan – official sponsors of the Holgates’ adventures.

Kingsley and I chatted about his trips and experiences, run-ins with everyone from strange farmers living in the desert to child soldiers in CAR (Central African Republic), a landlocked country in Central Africa.

“One of the greatest joys of expedition life,” he said, “is the characters you meet. The magic happens when you stray off course, give in to the pace of Africa, and mix with the characters.”

He’s experienced every kind of reaction to his humanitarian efforts out there in deep Africa – from dancing, shouting crowds of hysteria to silent nods of appreciation. “The cultural differences of the different tribes we encounter and give to are fascinating. Sometimes you get tears and praise and sometimes just the bow of a head. You can’t do this job for the praise,” he said.

Kingsley talks and I get goosebumps.

I don’t talk much and he probably prefers it that way – he has a lot to share. The chances of experiencing half of his stories in this lifetime are slim, so I shut it, sip my rum and listen, on the edge of my camp chair. For the times when King isn’t in town, there are his books. Next up is “Mamma Africa”, still in writing, but soon to be flying off shelves in bookstores.

Nothing, however, beats seeing Africa play out in The Beard’s eyes before you, and having a man who has touched the hands of everyone, from mamas fighting malaria in desolate African villages to African legends like Yvonne Chaka Chaka, squeeze yours as you part ways once more.

You can’t help but leave an encounter with The Beard and not long to take off on the dusty open road in the African wild – far away from electricity and schedules. Luckily, we at Rhino Africa are heading off on safari in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve tomorrow – certainly not the cross-continental trip that Kingsley is used to, but Into The Wild all the same!

Ready, set, go!

Take a look at the malaria-free safaris section on the Rhino Africa website! Contact one of our expert travel consultants for more information or to book a trip to one of these areas.

A Word On Malaria

Kingsley is a dedicated ambassador for the United Against Malaria (UAM) campaign. The UAM campaign aims to raise global awareness around the subject of malaria, and bring about a large-scale commitment to ending the disease. Malaria threatens half the world’s population and claims 655 000 lives each year. 90% of those are in Africa, where a child dies from malaria every minute. Yet, malaria can be effectively prevented and treated, and in the last decade alone, global malaria deaths have been reduced by 38%. Ending malaria will improve maternal and child health, education and will significantly reduce poverty in Africa.

Have your UNITED AGAINST MALARIA Bracelet yet?

The UAM campaign are selling multi-coloured UAM beaded bracelets that signify the united fight against malaria (on sale in Cape Union Mart stores). The bracelets are made by disadvantaged communities in South Africa. Proceeds of sales of the bracelets go toward these communities and malaria nets. By purchasing the UAM bracelet at a cost of R30, individuals and organisations are contributing towards the purchase of life-saving mosquito nets for thousands of people across sub-Saharan Africa who cannot afford to buy their own. The sale of one bracelet can protect a child from malaria for up to 5 years.

Over the years, we at Rhino Africa have planned several romantic and exotic honeymoons in Africa for couples from around the world. But we don’t just do honeymoons. No siree. We have expert wedding planners too!

Take a look at the South African weddings section of our website for more information and inspiration. There is little more inspiring than Khalil Gibran’s writings on Marriage…

Marriage

Then Almitra spoke again and said, ‘And what of Marriage, master?’
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

We specialise in weddings in Southern Africa but really Africa is your oyster. As the Afrikaans say ‘”‘n boer maak ‘n plan” (a man makes a plan, or in this case, probably a woman). If you’ve been to South Africa you’ll know how beautiful and unique the landscapes are – there’s everything you could hope for: beaches, oceans, rivers, mountains, vineyards, cities and countryside. And you can do just about anything too – helicopter rides, catamaran cruises, cable car rides, vintage car drives and horse riding.

Combine these with your special wedding day and you are bound to have an occasion to remember forever.

Our Wedding Division is headed up by Kirsty Marmarellis – wedding planner extraordinaire. Kirsty has many years of experience in arranging weddings in Africa under her garter. She has so far assisted with the planning of almost 1000 weddings including the stunning celebrity nuptials of Countess Victoria Spencer in Cape Town in 2005.

“I am a romantic at heart. There can be no greater job satisfaction than combining my love of planning a romantic occasion with my passion for African travel. Planning an itinerary is such a pleasure when I know that each couple ends up falling in love with this country. My responsibilities have included travel reservations, consulting, sales, marketing and function coordinating. I have planned functions varying in size from 10 to 1000 people.”

- Kirsty Marmarellis

Our Role

We can organise everything – from the cake to the photographer to the photographer who jumps out of the cake. Your special day is safe in our hands! We offer bespoke wedding and travel planning for couples who live overseas. We choose locations with extreme care, using our extensive travel knowledge, so you can relax and enjoy your wedding and honeymoon without stress. Each wedding is tailored to your requirements, style and budget. Whether the ceremony is private or there are hundreds of guests, we give all clients the same personal service and unrivaled attention to detail.

 Wedding Ideas

• Winelands - Definitely my favourite choice, the world famous Cape Winelands offer a selection of fantastic hotels and guesthouses. Many estates are steeped in heritage, offering gabled Cape Dutch farmsteads with stunning vineyards. We often recommend La Residence in the Franschhoek valley.
• Beach Ceremony - Cape Town, in particular, has several great beaches, many up there with the best in the world. For your wedding day, the beach will be dressed up as you like – select your own floral arch, flower choice and any hired equipment, such as chairs, umbrellas and more.
• Cape Point – Say your vows in a private setting in Cape Point, with its beautiful scenery, surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and a few inquisitive penguins.
• Forest or Garden Wedding – The Western Cape has many stunning forest and garden settings that create a magical atmosphere – not least of which is the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
• Luxury Yachts – Cape Town offers a vast array of luxury yachts catering for up to 60 guests. Many smaller yachts allow for an overnight experience.
• Safari Lodge – South Africa boasts a huge selection of fantastic game lodges. Spectacular settings and an opportunity to enjoy a safari experience with your family and friends.
• Mountain Ceremonies -  If you like Mountains, we’ve got Mountains. Table Mountain offers a unique setting, with breathtaking views over the city and coast, but there are many other spectacular ranges in South Africa such as the Drakensberg.
• Sea Views – Tintswalo Atlantic lodge is the ideal venue for an intimate celebration, at the base of Champman’s Peak near Hout Bay. The Twelve Apostles Hotel is another great option, with views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Visit the Honeymoon Travel section on our website for more information about where to go in Africa after the big day… At Rhino Africa we’ll help tailor-make the perfect wedding and/or honeymoon suited to your needs, interests and budget.

Contact one of our expert travel and wedding planners now to chat about the options available and to start planning your big day!

Look at all the pretty pictures! Sometimes writing about a destination just won’t do it justice. Sure if you’re a master of the pen and your descriptions rival those of the Bard himself, that’s perfect. Unfortunately our esteemed writer and resident master of the written word, Tamlin is currently out of the office. This leaves the task to me and I’m still struggling too, to, two learn the difference, if you get my drift. So instead I’ve put together a visual feast showcasing the Indian Ocean Islands. The Indian Ocean is the third largest body of water in the world and nestled in its warm waters are some of Rhino Africa’s most romantic destinations.

Find out more about the Indian Ocean Islands on our website here.

Discover Madagascar, land of Lemurs and chameleons and find out about travelling to Madagascar on our website. If you’re looking for further reading, David Ryan wrote a great series of posts about his trip to Madagascar, right here on the Rhino Africa Safaris blog.

Situated in the western waters of the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa, the Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands scattered across the deep blue sea. Find out how you can book your trip to the Seychelles with Rhino Africa Safaris on our website.

Mention the word Mauritius, and travellers picture a palm-fringed oasis in the Indian Ocean, while those who have been here heave a sigh of contentment. Discover more about this fantastic island getaway on the Rhino Africa website.

If you’re looking for an idyllic honeymoon destination or just want some time out on a secluded and luxurious island retreat, the Maldives is the perfect destination for you, find out all about travel to the Maldives on the Rhino Africa website.

Other great Indian Ocean Island destinations include the eclectic Zanzibar Island and in Mozambique you’ll also find the Bazaruto and Quirimbas Archipelagos. The best thing about all these fantastic island destinations is that they are very easily combined with a safari in the Kruger National Park or elsewhere.

Contact Rhino Africa to book your own trip to any one of these fantastic destinations.

“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” ~Leonardo Da Vinci 

Tedious long haul airplane flights, sitting in one position for hours, can be painful. Very painful. Especially with the addition of crying, kicking children and loquacious passengers when you just want to sleep. But there are ways to make the hours fly by and to make the most out of them.

For example, take your iPad or laptop along and get some work done, or finish that game you’ve almost mastered. Do the things you enjoy but never have time for – a good old crossword puzzle, reading that book you have lined up, or start penning your own novel. Take a small camera and shoot the clouds flying by out the window. There are things to help make the flight more comfortable: snacks, loose shoes, a light blanket, or a fluffy – non-squeaky – toy if you’re the one with the children.

We’ve compiled a list of items some of our travel consultants and marketing team members take along on long flights to ease the journey. See below and let us know in the comments section what your essential items are!

What We Take With On Long Flights

Ingo Brüggemann, Manager of German Division (Rhino Afrika)

• Lip ice
• Earplugs
• Sleeping tablets
• Noise-cancelling earphones

Apps you must have on your iPad before you travel on a plane:

• Zinio – with travel magazines and guides for your destination
• Flight track – to actually make your flight
• Prince of Persia (silly little game to kill hours…)
• iMovie – to cut and edit your holiday movies while in the air
• Shrek Forever After- Kids’ Book HD – when travelling with toddlers

Sian Bester, Travel Consultant

• Compression pants or socks – prevents sausage toes
• Good book, like Bryce Courtenay’s White Thorn

Tamlin Wightman, Copywriter

• Robert Downey Jr
• Magazine – National Geographic Traveller or Rolling Stone
• A very big book, something thrilling or humorous and not about planes crashing on a deserted island
• BB gun in case of naughty children (in an ideal world…)
• Heavy-duty sound-cancelling headphones with a sticker across them, reading “I am a convict. Do not talk to me”
• Furry neck pillow, water, chewing gum
• Pen and notebook; cellphone; camera to shoot the scenes out the window

Ross Bowers, Communications Manager

• Times 2 Crossword Book
• iPod (with a few 8 out of 10 Cats podcasts on it)
• If we were allowed to – 2 litre bottle of water – those little thimbles of water in economy are useless.

Geraldine Symington, Travel Consultant

• I like to take an additional pair of socks with since my feet are always cold on the plane

Barend Van Der Watt, Videographer

• Long flights never have good entertainment so I always pack my iPad, loaded to the brim with good TV Series or movies,  eMags and eBooks.

Ryan Rapaport, Videographer

• Audio book – Harry Potter preferably
• Good headphones
• Neck pillow
• Compact camera in case anything bizarre happens on the flight

Samantha Myburgh, Travel Consultant

• Sleeping tablets – 2 double G&Ts to wash the tablets down with…
• Jersey
• Toothpaste and toothbrush; eye gel
• I-pod and Kindle if no in-flight entertainment
• I-phone for photographs
• Flat, open shoes that are easy to get on once my feet have swollen like balloons after the long flight!

Craig Harding, Social Media Manager

• Book. Nothing beats having some reading at hand, these days you could take a Kindle but since I don’t have one yet I always take a book. I’m always finding plane ticket stubs in the back of books on my shelf, testament to them having travelled.
• Chewing Gum. Sometimes I get really sore ears adjusting to the altitude on takeoff and landing. Sucking on a  sweet or chewing gum helps
• Jersey. No matter the weather outside, inside the plane undoubtedly the air-con will be turned on full blast and my shorts and t-shirt won’t cut it
• While we’re on the subject, can the airlines please wake up and allow us to use our phones in flight mode already. So many times I’ve been listening to music on my phone and been told to turn it off! No plane has ever crashed because of a game of angry birds!

 Read More

• Tips on what to pack for your safari or adventure
• Tips on techie gadgets to take with on your travels
• 10 African Travel Tips

Contact one of our expert travel consultants to start planning your African adventure and to chat about the great destinations and lodges we recommend.

“After one taste of French food… I was hooked. I’d never eaten like that before, I didn’t know such food existed. The wonderful attention paid to each detail of the meal was incredible to me. I’d never really drunk good wine before, and knew nothing at all about it. It was simply a whole new life experience.”

- Julia Child

“Six course meals are a sham,” a colleague at Rhino Africa told me as I bragged about my dining experience at La Mouette restaurant in Sea Point, Cape Town.

We were in the office kitchen and I was loudly praising La Mouette’s Autumn Special – a six course tasting and wine pairing menu. “They’re a sham because the portions are so tiny yet you pay an arm and a leg!” The colleague rambled.

The Courtyard

I explained to him that it’s the French way. Nouvelle cuisine (a form of cooking from the mid 20th century) emphasises lightness and decorative form. When it comes to food of such quality in taste and presentation, to have anything more than a mouthful or two of each dish would be too much goodness. The point is to slowly savour and get a whiff of heaven – not to overdose in its clouds.

La Mouette, meaning seagull in French, was named after the seagulls often seen riding the breeze in Sea Point. Offering modern French cuisine with a distinctly Mediterranean flair, La Mouette is situated on a corner of Sea Point Main Road, a road up from the beachfront.

Chef and owner Henry Vigar walks to work along the Sea Point promenade, breathing in the cold ocean air every morning before work. It’s obvious that he’s an inspired man, whether it’s the ocean doing the trick, his wife, Mari, with whom he works, or his simple passion for fine food – or all of the above.

La Mouette Team

The Vigars own and manage La Mouette. Chef Henry brings to the table vast experience in the restaurant industry, having worked in Australia and France, and a number of UK based top-ranked and Michelin starred restaurants. The couple renovated what was once an old Cape Mayor’s house in Sea Point with adjoining, but separate rooms, five fireplaces, a beautiful dark wood staircase, and a fountain and courtyard outside.

Two friends and I started inside by the fireplace surrounded by several other couples and families. The first dish, the truffle and cheese croquettes with smoked tomato aioli, paired with Graham Beck Brut, was the best of all the courses to come – the pièce de résistance. It even managed to shut up my very talkative dining partner. Well, for a few seconds, as her eyes rolled back in her head and she uttered rather lewd “aaaah” sound effects at the table. We thought we’d better move our “ménage à trois” outside as our volume tended toward maximum, and the Autumn night outside was rather lovely.

Truffle and cheese croquette (left) | Butternut squash ravioli (right)

Ice in the wine? Sacré bleu!

We picked a table in the dimly-lit courtyard, looking out at the fountain, under the stars. Quite magical really. A bit Parisian-like. Step outside the gates, and the main road of Seapoint is quite a rude awakening, but there in the courtyard bounds of La Mouette, with the ocean in the not too far distance, it’s all European elegance and Cape Town joie de vivre.

The butternut squash ravioli with sage brown butter and shaved pecorino went down far too quickly, along with the Elgin Ridge ’282′ Sauvignon Blanc 2011 the friendly waitress brought us. The service is tough to fault, from the waiters to the host and Henry’s business partner, Gerrit Bruwer.

A Spanish looking woman in a tight-fitting red dress left her silverfox partner and fox-trotted up to the fountain, as our next course (roasted line fish with a chickpea, tomato and baby spinach ragout served with a barrel-fermented Villiera Chenin Blanc 2009) arrived. I guess she was taken by the music playing inside and the romantic flair of the place, and maybe the wine.

Domaine Grier Vineyard in France

I don’t blame her, the wine is excellent, especially the Domaine Grier Syrah 2006 (served with confit shoulder of beef, sweet corn polenta and tomato gremoulata – tasty, although not my favourite). But then, I’m a red wine girl and a sucker for all things French. The Domaine Grier is made from grapes grown on a wine farm in the south of France and is a product of a union of two families – one French, one South African (read more here).

I clutched the red, while I’d permitted earlier glasses to be carried off to the kitchen half-finished, and received a spoon with a single warm choux pastry doughnut, lemon curd and coffee Chantilly. It was delicious and, as Goldilocks would say, tasted just right with the Syrah. We were hoping for a few more truffle and cheese croquettes, but no one got our hints.

Choux pastry doughnut, lemon curd and coffee Chantilly (left) | Chocolate orange macaroon, chocolate financier, orange puree, marmalade ice-cream and cointreau syrup (right)

The Autumn Special ended on a sweet note, with chocolate orange macaroon, chocolate financier, orange puree, marmalade ice-cream and cointreau syrup, paired with Graham Beck ‘Rhona Muscadel’ 2008.

Some might think it a sham that the dishes on six course menus come in such small portions, but you have to admit the presentation is exquisite, like the streets of Paris at midnight (watch Midnight in Paris if you’ve yet to visit it yourself, like me…). And by the end of my La Mouette dining experience, I felt, well… like Goldilocks, or as the French like to say Boucle d’or (sans les trois ours).

Enjoy the ala carte menu and cheeses

La Mouette Restaurant

Address 78 Regent Road, Sea Point
E-mail reservations@lamouette.co.za
Tel +27 (0) 21 433 0856
$ La Mouette’s Autumn Special 6 course tasting menu costs R165; R330 with wine. La Mouette also has an excellent ala carte menu with a selection of starters (ranging from R45 to R95), mains (from R100 to R145), side orders, and desserts and cheeses (from R45 to R65).

Been there, done that, got the Big 5 T-Shirt?

Even if it’s not your first time in Africa on the back of a game-viewing vehicle, photographic safaris offer a unique way to encounter the bush – through the lens of a camera.

No matter what your level of photographic prowess, a luxury safari to Africa will provide you with countless opportunities to capture the perfect photograph. There are many luxury lodges that offer specialist photographic safaris for amateurs and professionals alike.

At Rhino Africa we can plan the perfect experience for you. Simply contact one of our photographic safari experts today and visit our website for more information.

Specialised Safari Vehicles

• Londolozi Private Game Reserve

Londolozi has custom built a completely unique, specialised photography vehicle. A standard Land Rover was modified and fitted with adjustable bucket seats that can swivel 180 degrees, allowing guests maximum flexibility to achieve unusual camera angles and to create exceptional images.

Equipment for personal guest use includes:

• stills and video camera
• camera support arms and tripods
• night vision goggles
• individual scorpion torches
• e-reference book (loaded with over six reference books including birds, trees, mammals and stars)
• star laser pointer
• “sound safari” equipment designed to amplify the sounds of the African bush

This is a complete experience, backed up by highly trained rangers and some of the best big cat viewing in Africa.

• Cheetah Plains in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve has also created a specially-designed vehicle with swiveling seats and control arms, custom-built into a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser. In addition, you’ll be accompanied by an on-site professional photographer to give you all the instruction and help you need.

Highly Trained Guides

Private Game Reserves and safari lodges such as Londolozi, Singita, Lion Sands and Royale Malewane employ some of the most highly skilled rangers and trackers in the world. Many of the rangers take a special interest in photography and their skills are of invaluable assistance on your photographic safari. A ranger who knows how to get the best shot will make the effort to place you in the perfect position to get your back-lit portrait of a leopard. The neighbours are going to be very impressed!

• Ulusaba Private Game Reserve is Sir Richard Branson’s private reserve and offers Photographic Safari packages that include a professional photographer’s assistance and guidance.

Why not hire a private guide for the duration of your safari? Read more about using a private guide here.

Don't try this at home!

Hide & Seek

Often the best way to get the photograph you’re looking for is to lie in wait. Many lodges throughout Africa have magnificent waterholes where animals congregate. These are often viewable from your private deck, or even from your plunge pool! Quite a few have gone the extra step and built hidden hides where you can sit comfortably and wait for the action to happen right in front of you.

• In South Africa in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Lion Sands Private Game Reserve has several hides where you can get up close to the wildlife.

• In Botswana, the bird watching is unsurpassed. There are many lodges here that are particularly recommended for bird watchers, such as Duma Tau, Xigera and Jao Camp. Duma Tau has an amazing hide particularly known for its close up elephant sightings.

Birdwatching in Lion Sands

Birdwatching in Lion Sands

On the Water

In the Okavango Delta, Botswana, traditional dug-out canoes called mokoros allow you to silently glide close to animals on the bank (and in the water). Bird watching from the mokoro is particularly good and the slow, steady movement of the boat is conducive to taking great photographs.

In the Chobe National Park and along the Chobe River, motorised boats are the preferred method of travel and allow you get to up close to elephants, hippo, crocodiles and much more. Many of these boats have built-in camera arms to stabilise your equipment and take the weight off your arms.

Game viewing in the Okavango Delta

Use Your Feet

Sometimes the best way to get close to an animal is on foot. Many lodges in Africa allow you to get out of the vehicle and walk right up to the wildlife. At Sanbona in the Western Cape, you can get near to cheetah and rhino on foot.

Sanbona Wildlife Reserve

At most of the private game lodges in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, your ranger can take you on a bush walk. While on foot you’ll be presented with entirely different photographic opportunities and you will see things you wouldn’t be able to see from the back of a vehicle.

Zambia is one of the best countries to go on a walking safari and nowhere is more suited to a walking safari than the South Luangwa National Park. Here you can spend nights in luxury at five star lodges and in the day you will travel by foot to the next lodge for the following evening’s rest. Along the way you can expect close up encounters with elephant, giraffe and other African wildlife. You will be clicking away at every opportunity!

Walking safari in South Luangwa National Park

The best way to get started is to speak to one of our African safari experts for free, no-obligation advice. Who knows, you might be the next wildlife photographer of the year!