SHAMWARI GAME RESERVE SAFARI – MARCH 30TH TO 31st – PART I

To say our overnight safari to Shamwari Game Reserve was an emotional/spiritual/physical experience for me would not be an exaggeration. 

There’s so much to say so I’ll start at the beginning….sort of. 

We specifically booked the world cruise 2019 because it was going to Africa.  We were booked for 2018 but it was going the same route as 2016, so, when we saw the itinerary for this year, we said, “Africa…let’s do it” so we immediately cancelled 2018 and booked 2019.  We also knew that once we were going to Africa, we’d have to go on a “safari.”  When the excursions were listed online, we originally booked a 4-day safari, thinking it would go to Botswana, a country I’ve fallen in love with because of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith.  After discovering that we would have a “view” of Botswana from our balcony in a lodge in South Africa, we cancelled that excursion.  I had no desire to “view” Botswana from a distance.   After going through all the offered excursions with Carolyn, our travel agent, Shamwari Game Reserve seemed like the perfect one for us.  It would be an overnight stay leaving Durban and returning to our next port, East London, South Africa.

A few days before the excursion, Princess invited us to meet our fellow travelers to Shamwari and to provide us with other information regarding our overnight stay and the itinerary. We were also provided with a picture of the electrical outlets that would be available at our lodge.  We learned there would be four other people with us, including our Assistant Cruise Director, Tobi, from England.  According to the plan, we’d leave Durban upon arriving in port, head to the airport, fly to Port Elizabeth and then be transported to Shamwari.  The following day we would be transported to East London where we’d meet our ship.  It sounded easy but it would later remind me about flying home to Seattle.  What should take about an hour from airport to the front door is never the case.  We arrive at the airport, wait for our baggage, wait for our driver, drive to the ferry terminal, wait for the ferry, get on the ferry, cross the Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island, take a taxi and finally reach home.  It’s always a seemingly endless trek home.  Very similar to our trek to Shamwari.

We were warned ahead of time that Durban is not one of the safest ports we’d be visiting and it was suggested that we not take any valuables or wear any jewelry.  Urban legend or truth, we were told about four women, carrying the neon-blue Pacific Princess cloth shoulder bags off the ship (why you would wear these cloth bags off the ship advertising you’re on a cruise is beyond me – we either return them to the cabin steward or use them for dirty laundry …. but, hey, that’s just us) and were promptly mugged once outside the port area.  Not taking any chances, I wore my imitation-FitBit watch and my thinnest wedding band, leaving behind my ever-present white gold cuff earrings on the ship. 

Because we were up so early for our excursion, we were actually able to see the pilot board our ship to sail us into Durban.  Pilots from every nearing port board cruise ships in order to guide them into port.  Some require special navigation skills while others do not.  In either case, Durban was no exception.  

Upon arriving in the port of Durban, we met our fellow travelers early in the morning and eventually had a face-to-passport inspection with immigration authorities in South Africa.  (I won’t repeat my frustration with some people in the United States who don’t value borders or see the necessity to know who’s coming into our country.)  We boarded a bus and were taken to the airport.  Our itinerary hadn’t noted the airline or flight we’d be taking, but, apparently, we were supposed to be on a commercial flight, but, because we had encountered some bad weather traveling to Durban and expected to arrive later than we did, Tobi speculated that our commercial flight was cancelled and a private plane was chartered to accommodate our arrival.  I believe there were sixteen of us flying to Port Elizabeth, an almost 2-hour flight with some passengers going to a different game reserve.  We were escorted from our bus through security to our gate and taken by another airport bus to the chartered plane where we boarded our Raytheon Beech 1900 C Airliner.  At that time of the morning, there were very few people at the airport which was extremely bright and clean.  (I love signage.) 

On the Way to the Airport 

Co-Pilot

Pilot

Tobi

I’ve been on small planes before and am never crazy about them because of the claustrophobic feel of them, but we all survived.  Bottles of water, soda and juices were available as well as bags of dates and chips, including tomato-flavored potato chips, something that seems to be very popular in these parts – and something we never bothered to taste.  I brought our own bags of nuts and fruit and power bars for the road.  Upon arriving in Port Elizabeth, we said good-bye to the passengers heading in another direction and we met with Lizl, our guide, and Mongo, who would drive us to the Shamwari Game Reserve about an hour and a half away.   It was lovely to get off the plane because the wind was blowing and I was able to breathe some lovely cool, fresh air – the first since we left the southern part of New Zealand. 

Lizl’s main interest is conservation and she talked a lot about the endangered African penguins that inhabit Croix Island, off the coast of South Africa, near Port Elizabeth.  The roads were beautiful on the way to Shamwari, lined with palm trees, with green hills in the distance, and extremely clean.  Shamwari means “friend” and is now owned by Dubai World but originally started by Adrian Gardener.  Ninety percent of Shamwari is surrounded by other game reserves.  There are eleven official languages in South Africa and Lizl was fluent in Afrikaans, having been born in S.A., and English.  Our driver was part of the Xhosa tribe whose language has the clicking sounds for the letters X, C and Q.  It’s a difficult language to learn because of those sounds.  

Changing from farming to gaming is not easy and it requires an environmental impact study to determine whether there is enough food, water, etc. to sustain a game reserve.  Electrified strained fences are required for certain types of animals – the scary ones – while zebra, for instance, would not.  There are game auctions in Africa to enable farmers to purchase herds of zebra, rhino, buffalo – all of which must be disease-free.  One buffalo could cost as much as 69 million African Rand.  A reserve that has a lot of elephants may sell some to another reserve, but the buyer would have to pay for transport which could make the cost prohibitive.  There has to be a balance between predators and prey.  While Shamwari is a private game reserve, the national parks are government run and must have indigenous animals only.  According to Lizl, we were likely to see lions, rhinos, buffalo, giraffe, zebras, wildebeest, antelope and cheetah;  leopards are nocturnal and it was not likely we’d see any at Shamwari.  

Shamwari is the southernmost big game private reserve in Africa and is malaria free.  Although we received a prescription from our doctor against malaria, we opted not to bother, and as I’m writing this over a week after our return, we experienced no problems whatsoever.  Shamwari stretches along the Bushman’s River, halfway between Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown.  The 18,000-hectare (100 sq. miles) game reserve dates back to the time when game roamed freely in the Eastern Cape.  It has been awarded a number of international awards for its efforts in conservation coupled with tourism.  It also has a complete wildlife research team as well as its own anti-poaching unit, ensuring an ecological balance prevails on this reclaimed piece of wilderness.  Poaching remains a problem in some parts of Africa and some countries have instituted a shoot-on-sight policy – of poachers, not animals. 

Although initially booked into the Lebongula Lodge, we were “upgraded” to the Eagles Crag lodge presumably because of a wedding party staying and attending a “destination wedding” at the reserve.  (We would later find out that the bride’s friends came all the way from Copenhagen, Ireland and somewhere else in Europe for the wedding.)  Our arrival at the lodge reminded me of many of the Hercules Poirot adventures we’ve read about and watched over the years on television where the manager of the hotel in some foreign land would greet his guests upon arrival at the steps of the front door of the hotel.  That is exactly what the lodge’s manager, Ladonna, did, wearing a wonderfully welcoming smile.  Having been up since about 5:30 a.m. and it being after 1 p.m., we were a bit weary and hungry.  But before heading into lunch, we were given a little bit of an orientation of what to expect during our stay.  It was also necessary to sign a “waiver of liability”.  I’ve sworn off activities which require me to sign my life away, but I made an exception at Shamwari.   If there was anything negative to say about the Eagles Crag lodge it would be the bugs.  Either gnats or fruit flies (they didn’t bite), there were probably hundreds of them in and around our suite.  Bugs don’t usually bother me and although they spotted the white walls and white bedding, I could imagine some people not being too happy.  But, we were in the middle of a game reserve in South Africa and once we got into bed, none were under the covers.  Fortunately, I’m not arachnophobic so the biggest spider I’d ever seen that appeared in the morning over our bathroom’s double sinks didn’t bother me either.  

The long-awaited lunch was, indeed, scrumptious.  Lots of different and wonderful tasting delights that were enjoyed by all. Three trays of all the items on the menu, together with two different varieties of freshly baked bread and condiments, were placed on the table for two guests to share.  Water or other drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, were available. I love the way they served the sugar. Not crazy about the calamari but loving everything else, we were fully sated by the time we were shown around the lodge facilities which included a library/boardroom, executive lounge with fireplace and big screen tv, relaxation retreat with hydro bath, steam room and sauna and gift boutique, and escorted to our respective stand-alone suites.  I cannot even begin to describe the luxurious surroundings we found ourselves in once we opened the huge front door of our rooms with the old-style type metal key attached to a wooden block carved with the name “Shamwari”.  Each suite had a private plunge pool and deck, tea and coffee making facilities, electronic safe (for the valuables I didn’t bring with me), en-suite bathroom, in and outdoor shower facilities, private mini-bar, air conditioning (which we didn’t figure out how to use), hair dryer and ceiling fan.  (The key would be brought to the front desk and placed in a basket when we left the lodge and retrieved when we returned.)  Our escort gave us a “tour” of our suite – yes, a tour, that’s how big it was – and left us to lament the fact we’d be here less than twenty-four hours.  I had our travel agent check the prices of this lodge and was informed that a junior suite cost $1600 a night – and we were NOT in a junior suite.  Both Michael and I agreed that we’d never been in a more luxurious hotel ever before. 

On our bed was a “Safari Kit” that included a plastic bag and a packet of Kleenex in the event it was necessary to go to the bathroom in the bush.  It also included hand sanitizer and small jars of body balm.  There wasn’t much time before we had to get cleaned up, but Michael was able to rest his eyes for all of about 12 minutes in front of the pool, before we joined our group in the lobby for afternoon tea and meet our park ranger, Kiegan, for the first of two game drives at 4 p.m.  

Having enjoyed lunch not long before our departure time, we passed on any further refreshment and boarded our spacious luxurious (as far as I’m concerned) three-tiered game-viewing Toyota vehicle with individual bucket seats and overhead canvas covers.  Although the vehicle seated ten, there were only six of us plus Kiegan.   In between the seats on each tier was a removable box containing blankets if needed.  We were on the lowest level of the vehicle behind Kiegan so, without any glass in front of us, by the time we got back to the lodge, I thought my face and eyeglasses would resemble an insect-splattered windshield from the feel of it driving in the sometimes very breezy early night air – but it didn’t.  

Our first sighting was of Impala.  They’re graceful antelope that were first introduced into the reserve as food for the scarier animals;  they’re prolific breeders and they eat anything and everything.  Their rumps are marked with vertical black lines called tick lines because the hide is so thick in that area that ticks cannot bite them.  As a result, their hides are flawless.  

At this point, I’m going to apologize to some of God’s other four-legged creations because, with an untrained eye (as mine) in a moving vehicle, so many are indistinguishable from a distance.  We would point out various animals along the roads we were traveling – “something at 2 o’clock” – to which Kiegan would immediately identify no matter how far away they were.  These included, waterbuck, bushbuck, eland, kudu, springbuck, waterbuck, scrub hare, and springhare.  Warthogs are easily identifiable and although everyone else thought they may be the ugliest animal in the world, I thought the babies were awfully cute.  A yellow mongoose was also spotted along the road. 

Termite mounds are scattered throughout the park.  From the pictures, they’re huge and and Lizl previously told us that only one-third of the mound is actually showing.  They grow about one centimeter a year and, if memory serves me, she said the queen can be as big as 15 centimeters long.  I have to bing that one.  Aardvarks, which we didn’t see, like to poke around the mounds and if they do, one of these little guys out of millions will spit out an acidic fluid from its pointed snout to discourage any further exploration.  To humans, the acid tastes very citrusy and the lingering taste can last all day long.  

Kiegan introduced us to the “blue bush” or “renosta” which is used in the treatment of stomach ulcers and cancer. 

Our first encounter of the “big five” were two rhinoceroses.  Kiegan asked what we thought it was and I said, of course, a “white rhino.”  He asked “why?” to which I replied, “it’s the color.”  I was wrong.  They were misnamed many, many years ago by the settlers to this area.  “White” rhinos have square mouths because they’re grazers.  “Black” rhinos are hook-lipped and definitely have a “little man syndrome” and more aggressive.  They don’t see very well but they do have a great sense of smell and hearing.  So, while Kiegan was able to drive pretty close to them, they weren’t concerned about us at all, even if they couldn’t actually see us.  We posed no threat to them.

I should point out that we were given very strict instructions upon entering the vehicle and beginning the game drive.  Under no circumstances were we to stand or talk too loudly.  No flash photography was permitted because it could cause night-blindness for some of the animals.  Questions were invited and we were encouraged to discuss anything about the animals.  They’re very used to these vehicles but they’re used to people sitting; standing would present a threat.  Also completely verboten was reaching out and touching the animals.  As I’ll mention later, some of the animals walked so closely to the vehicle that we could’ve easily reached out and touched them.  The rangers are completely familiar with the habits of these animals, when they’ve eaten, when they’re thirty, when they’re hungry and safety of the visitors is a big concern (even if we did sign waivers of liability).  One of the passengers behind me had already kneeled on the seat to face backward to take pictures and Kiegan warned him, specifically, that if he did it again, he would immediately leave the area.  There’s always one person in the group that doesn’t follow the rules. 

And, next, our sighting of a most magnificent creature – the elephant.  This was a bull elephant “in musth” which means he had, according to Kiegan, a heightened state of testosterone.  From what I read, it was seven times his usual.  What it must be like is a combination of all my favorite testosterone-laden movies starring Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Liam Neeson together with John Wick and Equalizer movies, times 1,000!  It was evident from the penile drippings and the secretion is so strong from uric acid, that the inside of the rear legs can actually turn white.  While he actually looks like he’s urinating, he’s just marking his area.  Kiegan said this glorious animal weighed SIX tons and ate, what we converted to be, 750 lbs. a day of vegetation.  He spends 20 hours a day eating and because of their weight, they sleep standing up, resting two legs against a tree.  They’re feet contract and expand, depending on the ground they’re walking on.  

I experienced my “epiphany” as this beast walked towards our vehicle.  My eyes watered and I felt a sense of awe and awareness of the wonderment and greatness of God in his creation of such a beast.  The physical closeness of this animal was overwhelming.  I sat quietly as he walked slowly and silently right in front of us.  Having just witnessed the tiniest of termites and then seeing the unbelievable enormity of this elephant, each perfect in its existence, confirmed, once again, the undoubtable existence of God.  

Kiegan and other rangers throughout the park communicate with one another with short wave radio. They’re continuously talking with one another reporting on animal sightings.  What is most amazing is the fact that there are no signs or road identification throughout the reserve, but the rangers, obviously, know this park like the backs of their hands.  Kiegan received a report and, after following the elephant for a short while as he looked for the ladies, Kiegan took off in a hurry, driving much faster to reach something -  at that point we didn’t have a clue.  The wind was blowing in our faces and I was holding onto the box to my right and the handrail on my left, as Kiegan maneuvered the left and right turns to get somewhere.  It was already about 5 p.m. and the weather got a bit chilly in the bush.  Even though my olfactory sense was on high alert as a result of the many different animal odors I smelled along the roads, I enjoyed being outdoors without heat and humidity wearing me down.

We came to a 4-way intersection and stopped.  Kiegan told us to look to our right and, there, a little bit of a distance away, were two of the three cheetahs that reside in the reserve.  They also approached our vehicle, oblivious to our existence, and continued past our rear.  They were brothers and they mother had been killed a few months back by a lion.  Their father lived in the reserve, but because of their territorial instincts, they would eventually kill their father.  Only at that time will the reserve introduce a female into the reserve.  I thought they would compete against one another, one becoming the more dominant, but Kiegan said they would eventually both mate with the female.  Watching them at the sign was really special and, after a few minutes, a herd of, I believe, springbok caught their eye and they stealthily moved along down the road, only to be somehow recognized by the herd as being a danger, probably by their scent, which caused the herd to run off.  After resting for a few moments, the  brothers continued on their way in search of dinner.  

It was getting close to sunset and Kiegan suggested we stop for a congratulatory drink after our animal sightings.  He drove to the top of a ridge, brought out champagne, water and juices for everyone, together with olives, crackers, sausage, and wasabi nuts.  We all watched the beautiful sunset as we discussed our close encounters with the animals.  

On our way back to the lodge, we met a few graceful giraffe that were having supper.  They, too, are oblivious to passengers in vehicles but stopped drinking from their watering hole when Kiegan stopped the vehicle and walked away.  There was also a herd of elephants with their babies walking along and, sometimes, blocking the road.  I probably shouldn’t say “blocking the road” because, after all, it is their home and our vehicle was actually trespassing.  Further along the way and as it was getting dark, we encountered another rhino on the road who didn’t seem to be pleased to see us.  He quickly moved to the side of the road and we were on our way.  

Arriving at our lodge around 7 p.m., we were greeted by one of the staff who gave us warm, fragrant moist hand towels and by Kingston, another of the staff, who offered us a lovely tasting drink served in a demitasse cup of milk, star anise, cinnamon and caramel.  A lovely end to our first drive and the start of a once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience. 

MICHAEL’S OBSERVATIONS:  It was good.   Just kidding.  Not known for my literary eloquence, I like to sum things up in a concise and limited fashion.  But this experience on the reserve was a mind blower.  Strange as it seems, I found it difficult to distinguish reality from fantasy and by fantasy I mean my experience of many visits to Disneyland, enjoying my favorite ride, which was the Jungle Boat.  What caused this unique experience was the overwhelming visual topography of this area.  Shamwari is just under 100 sq. miles and between its borders there are no fences or signs telling you “elephants up ahead” or “beware of lions” or “giraffe crossing.”  No stop signs, no traffic lights.  This was jungle.  So, observing these zoo creatures in their natural habitat was a little overwhelming for my meager urban brain.  The first day of this adventure rose to the top of my all-time favorite travel experience.  For months I had been joking with my friends and family about the things I would encounter in South Africa – cannibals, headhunters, etc. – and those silly thoughts quickly disappeared as I took in the beauty of these creatures in their natural habitat.  All I can say is, “Disney’s Jungle Ride will never be the same!”