🙂 Glamping in the bush with hyenas!
🙁 The mystery of the stolen blankets …
After a fair bit of research we found this excellent and affordable private reserve option: Bateleur Safari Camp … rustic camping with a combo of bush walks and game drives – PERFECT! For the less adventurous, they also have a lovely camp with more luxurious rooms and a swimming pool. Our camp was located deep within the Timbavati Private Game Reserve. On arrival we were greeted by Brad and Alan Mc Smith who would be our Guides.
Alan is rather famous for his Elephant Whisperer skills – take a look at this video clip!!
We agreed that Brad would be more suitable for the younger lot and we paired up with Alan whose knowledge of the bush is second to none.
Our accommodation for the next 3 nights were these tents. We had loos with a view and shower curtains. we even had hot water from a donkey fire: The principle of the donkey is that hot water rises (like hot air) and as the fire warms the water, the warmer water will be what comes out of the top pipe. We had an open air kitchen and all our food was cooked on the fire – Amazing. We had a communal area around the boma and fire where we chatted and enjoyed our meals.
We settled in quickly and headed off on our first drive / walk. We headed in separate directions as only 8 people are allowed per bush walk. We soon found spoor and started to track… some lion tracks … but she remained elusive. The kids found a nice zebra.
We met up for sundowners and a magnificent sunset.
The next morning it was REPTILE time!
We had great fun on the game drive…
We dropped in at the local hyena den and were greeted with adorable cubs
We got back to camp and learnt some bush skills – like making a fire from kindling…. and a hearty lunch followed by a nap.
That night we sat around the camp fire and drank far too much wine… Paul decided that he was “KING OF THE HYENAS” which he loudly proclaimed…. and you wonder why the Guides have to wait until all the guests are asleep before they dare to go to bed in a camping situation like this?!
The next morning we headed off another drive – great elephants sightings in the water.
We hopped out on our walk – we could see the huge elephant prints in the sand. Social spider nests. More cat tracks – leopard this time. Stunning wild flowers. Baboons grooming each other and an ancient San rock painting – magnificent.
We met up with our group at the designated sundowner spot…divine…the chaps had set up a Boma and fire next to a waterhole which was very busy with buffalo – fortunately they were across the water from us – pure heaven on earth…we could smell them and hear them snorting while we sipped our wine recounting the exciting events of the day. What a special final evening..
We were up at the crack of dawn for our final drive and walk…as always the bush delivers until the end…
We hopped out of the vehicle and did a walk with Alan. We saw a curious giraffe and then came a cross a breeding herd of buffalo ahead of us and he signalled to be very quiet and walk in single file – Once they clocked us and realised that we were not a threat we passed straight by them as they continued grazing ignoring our presence!
What an amazing end to an amazing stay. The only quirk was that all the blankets disappeared – there were thirteen of us and only four of us had retained our blankets…. when we were getting ready to leave I decided to check all tents to see whether I could solve the mystery … and I DID! ONE Tent had NINE blankets in it … I won’t divulge who the culprit was … but NOT Fair on all of us that froze every night and had to wear several layers to bed – especially as we ad repeatedly asked for a blanket amnesty! 🙂
A great trip and highly recommend Bateleur Safari Camps for a rustic adventure in the bush.
