Our suspicions about some of the displaced Kruger Park staff staying at Satara where confirmed today. A gentleman walked past to empty the rubbish from his chalet and H asked him. He said he was actually one of two staff that looked after the Timbavati Picnic Spot which is on the Timbavati River north of Satara. He said when it flooded he was moved to Satara as he lives in a compound at the picnic spot. He said there really isn’t much damage to the picnic spot except that the solar panel that drives both the electricity and the water pump was washed away. He also said they have not finished re-grading the roads to the picnic spot and he said you would need a 4×4 like ours to get there now. But nevertheless he is keen to move back because he has to do any job they ask him to do at Satara whereas he much prefers a defined job of looking after the picnic site. He said there is also too much socializing and beer drinking happening at Satara and he would prefer to be in his own place just watching TV instead.
We packed up and were on the road just around 6am. It is about a 2-hour drive to the gate and on route H got her 10th lifer of the trip – Harlequin Quail. We also matched our best ever trip count of 234 before we exited. The route we took once we exited the park was via Hoedspruit (where we usually fly into when we fly up), then Gravelotte, Tzaneen, Magoebaskloof, Moria, Polokwane and finally Bela Bela. Gravelotte was once had the largest emerald mine in the world (in 1950s & 1960s). Tzaneen is where a significant amount of South Africa’s mangoes and avocado come from (40% of total supply of country) and they produce (incredibly) 90% of SA’s tomatoes. It is also where the majority of papaya come from. H called the place ‘my area’ because I am big mango, papaya and tomato lover.
Magoebaskloof is a renowned birding area and our plan was to take a detour onto the dirt roads to see if we can see any of the specials. The whole area is beautiful and worth a visit if you are ever in this part of South Africa. H described it as being in Sri Lanka. I am worried again because to my knowledge she has never been in Sri Lanka so not sure how she knows what Sri Lanka looks like. But according to her, that is what Magoebaskloof looks like. Our dirt road detour didn’t produce any lifers but did give us a number of additional trip birds and we now have a new record for a trip of 238 birds currently. Hoping to add some more tomorrow still as we continue to head home. The dirt road became more and more 4×4 like as we drove. At one point the road was very muddy and the whole Landy was moving sideways and not forwards and my heart missed a beat or two. But this car is incredible and it just transferred all the power to the two left wheels and no problem we were out. Some additional mud under the car but absolutely nothing to be concerned about at all.
The next town was Moria which is the home of ZCC (Zion Christian Church) which is the biggest denomination in South Africa with around 6 million members. Every Easter about 1 million members descent to Moria (now called Zion City Moria) for Easter services and blessings. The whole area is owned by the Church as it’s founder purchased 3 farms which are today still owned by the Church.
This was also the point where the usual SA traffic (minibus taxis) and poor driving (driving 40 km/h in the right hand lane) started up. From Zion City Moria through to Polokwane we had to deal with the poor driving but fortunately at Polokwane, you bypass the city entirely and get onto the N1 which is a 2-lane freeway. The N1 is actually the road we will take back to Cape Town (which is 1715 kms on the N1).
Our overnight stop though is at Keleo Safari Lodge just outside of Bela Bela. The website definitely makes it look better than it is. Not to say that it is shabby – it isn’t. It is just empty. I reckon we are the only guests here. I am not sure how they are surviving. They have upgraded us into a massive room (it has a lounge, really nice bathroom, desk and porch. Pity though that the massive pool right in front of us is half full and likely a mosquito infestation. While there is a pub, it isn’t opened yet and all the furniture is still in plastic (and H says a guest review from December said the same thing so the furniture is there but the bar isn’t open). And while everything in the room is pretty new, the aircon is about 10 years old and rattles constantly. They are going to need to work on a few things, though I can see they are trying hard.
It is also nice to have WiFi and connectivity that isn’t very slow finally. And to have a bath and really get off the bushveld dust. Dinner confirmed that it is just H and I staying here. When H asked about when they opened they said May but the first guests were in December only. But they are excited for Valentine’s Day as they have multiple guests booked. It can accommodate 56 guests so I am hoping for their sakes that there trade starts picking up soon. For dinner they tried hard to be accommodating to us and asked whether we would prefer to eat in our room or come to restaurant. We chose restaurant and when we got there they had rose petals over the table. But then again, no napkins at all. And that probably sums up the place. Looks very nice and they have done a fabulous job on their website but not quite up to scratch. Pencil lines on bathroom tiles, no plug next to H’s bed to plug the bedside light into (though there is a bedside light), no napkins at dinner, half-full and green swimming pool, no way to get from rooms to restaurant unless you walk across the lawn which is strewn with blesbok poo etc etc. But as I said, the staff are very pleasant and they are trying really hard. Dinner was basic but very nicely cooked (H had a burger and I had lamb chops).
Until tomorrow … P & H
