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<We arrived on our first day of our South Africa Rainbow Route safari at our hutted camp deep in the Lotheni valley surrounded by beautiful mountain peaks of the Vergelegen and Lotheni area. As we arrived it started raining and the evening left us hoping for sunshine the next day.

The following morning breakfast was served at 8am as we enjoyed the sun rising over the peaks. After breakfast we geared up, filled out the mountain register and set off up Jacobs Ladder. The sun was shining as we crossed the river over the hang bridge and into the sloping foothills of a peak called Sheba’s breasts. On our right just across the river a big herd of eland stare at us as we take photos and enjoy the scenery.

Eventually we cut away from the river and reached Jacobs Ladder, a waterfall that drops into a series of 3 fantastic pools. With our swim gear on we headed to the bottom pool first. The water was refreshing after the hike thereafter we made our way to the second pool, the best of the 3, as it is deeper and better for swimming. For those that were not swimming there was a natural shower around the corner to help them cool down.

Great times and photos taken we all returned to camp with some laughs and smiles on our faces. What a great day in Africa.

Following on from the SOS weekend that Sunway Safaris runs with the Adventure Company, we received this lovely letter from one of the girls who was on the trip.

What a lovely experience for these teenagers.

Returning from a South African Rainbow tour I was asked what the game viewing was like in the various game reserves that we visited. After seeing the big 5 twice in 2 days in the Kruger national Park I thought that it could not get any better. I was wrong.

After a really slow day of game viewing in Mkuze we decided to go and sit in one of the hides to see if our luck would change and that it did. After 15min a large white rhino bull came down to the water for an afternoon spa treatment. On his back with his horn in the mud he gave us a wallowing shoe like I’ve never seen before. Covered in mud he decided it was time to move on.

Not even 10 min later we had 2 rhino bulls, a cow and a 3month old calf join us for a drink. Whilst watching them we saw movement in the bush not far behind them, another 2 cows both with calves in tow joined the party.

White rhino are the more sociable of the 2 rhino species we get in Africa, but it is very seldom you see 3 cows all with calves under the age of 4 months at the same time having an afternoon drink.

What an experience we had, which none of us could stop talking about until the end of the tour.

Every year The Adventure Company together with Sunway Safaris plan a weekend for 20 underprivileged teenagers from the Ennerdale SOS Children’s to Pilanesberg National Park to give them the opportunity to see and learn about South African Wildlife and also the different career possibilities in the tourism industry. The children were accompanied by 3 caretakers and 4 Sunway guides (Albert, Dirk, Maxwell and Larissa).

We had the chance to meet the Restaurant Manager of the Bakgatla and 2 rangers who took their time to explain to us, how they got into their positions and what each position entails. The teenagers asked many questions starting from the studies they would need to complete to get into the different positions and the biggest challenges in the different jobs to the wildlife in Pilanesberg.

On day 2 in Pilanesberg National Park and we left for an early morning game drive. Once everyone was awake and ready to go, we entered the game drive area and they were looking intensely for animals. A little later we already saw 3 rhinos with 2 young babies, near the rhino’s several black-backed jackals were playing in the grass. The children got really exited about these sightings especially when we stopped at a picnic site and asked them to go out of the truck and sit down to observe a waterhole. At first the landscape seemed to be baron, without any wildlife, when we discovered a hippo coming out of the mud very close to us. The children couldn’t believe their eyes and started to ask lots of questions, about why the hippo is making itself so dirty and if it really will manage to come out of the mud completely because it looked very slippery.

After this exciting moment 27 happy and hungry people went back to our campsite for a big brunch and to talk again about the great morning we had just had.

A great weekend was had by all, knowledge was shared and fun times experienced. The children appreciated the opportunity to learn about the different career options in the tourism industry and to learn more about wildlife and South Africa in the process.

The teenagers and caretakers really appreciated this weekend and want to send a big THANK YOU for this exceptional opportunity to The Adventure Company.

Having read every online review written about and having been to Sossusvlei many times, I still find myself largely unprepared for the size of Dune 45, which takes my breathe away literally and figuratively.

So named for easy referencing and not for its distance in kilometers from Sesriem Canyon as is commonly believed, it is the most popular dune and at 170meters it is the most accessible dune in Sossusvlei.

On my last trip through Namibia we were really lucky as we were the only people around in our red safari truck. We had the dune to ourselves at 5.30am, an early start in order to reach the summit in time for sunrise, the best time to view Sossusvlei as the air is still mercifully cool.

As I reach the top, too exhausted to utter a word I drop in an ungainly heap at the spot where the rest of our group has been waiting patiently for me, watching me as my lungs bursting and chest exploding whilst I plod up the dune.

The view was incredible and once I got my breath back and looked around to absorb it, it took my breathe away again!

I recently returned from a tour of Mozambique beach and bush. We left Johannesburg and travelled almost 600km to Mkuze Game reserve. We arrived quite late in the afternoon, checked in and went for a late afternoon game drive. At the waterhole we were lucky to see 4 white rhinos drinking water and wallowing in the mud. In the eyes of the tourist it was spectacular to see those big animals throwing themselves in the mud and playing like young kids pushing each other around.

While watching this one lone elephant bull arrived at the waterhole in an unfriendly manner and tried to chase the rhinos away. The rhino’s stood their ground and challenged the elephant. It was fascinating watching 2 of the big 5 sizing each other up.

Eventually the elephant realised that he was fighting a losing battle, he became a bit more friendly and joined the rhino in the drinking and wallowing act.

These animals are after the same things to survive, friendliness definitely goes a long way to maintain the peace.

It was early in the morning in the Lower Zambezi while on a recent Trade Route safari, with 10 people in our group canoeing down the Mighty Zambezi River. Two people per canoe (all couples).The local guide called us together for a short briefing before we started. After that we started canoeing down the river with a lot of excitement. One couple was struggling because it was their first time – the lady was paddling towards left and her husband was doing the same, they were turning around in circles. We swapped partners, the lady and I went together and her husband teamed up with the local guide. After about 500m or so, a big hippo appeared straight ahead of us. Everyone was shaking nervously because we are all aware of how dangerous these animals can be when agitated. The best solution is to move away calmly.

My partner and I were at the back and we were all in a single file. My partner started to focus on the hippo and forgot about paddling, the canoe turned and she started paddling backwards to get away – a very natural reaction. The hippo disappeared and the rest of the group who had made it to the island already were watching on.

The excitement was high because we were struggling to get in and the rest of the group was laughing, busy videoing and taking photos. We made it there safely in the end, from lunch time on we were the joke of the tour.

Safety always comes first but afterwards a little humour goes a long way.

Bongizwe

21 days through four different countries from Cape Town to Victoria Falls is an experience of a lifetime for someone coming to Africa for the first time. With cooler weather in South Africa to dry hot days in Namibia and southern Botswana to the humid and sometimes extreme temperatures of the delta and Zambia. On our recent tour we had some great experiences that gave our trip that “WOW Factor” for our guests.

In Etosha, northern Namibia we had amazing game viewing with 22 lions (5 of which were cubs) in 2 game drivers. The elephants also gave us a good showing with a few old bulls and a large family group having a swim and a mud wallow at one of the waterholes that surround the pan.

We also had the pleasure of sighting a black rhino bull as he wet his lips after a very hot day under the African sun. Unfortunately after having tracked a young leopard for an hour or so we lost the tracks in the Mopane woodland to the east of the pan.

Etosha pan once used to be a vast lake fed by the Kunene River which decided to change its course thousands of years ago. It now stands dry for most of the year getting baked by the sun. When water does grace its beds the pans surface has a wide variety of water birds migrate to its vast openness to breed.

On a perfect Zululand-spring day on our latest South Africa Rainbow Route Safari we were hot and hungry as one is at 11 o’clock , we were hastily making our way back to camp to enjoy a fry up in the shade of one of the acacias next to our kitchen.

We had seen everything in Kruger earlier in the tour- everything except big cats, the holy grail of the African bush. And to be honest, the clients’ candle of hope was seriously flickering by now! When I rounded a bend in the road and saw a male cheetah gorging himself on a freshly killed kudu youngster I had to concentrate to keep my own excitement in check!

The cheetah and the dead kudu were right next to the road!! I eased our tour bus slowly down the road until we were mere meters away from this amazing predator. The cheetah paid us no attention whatsoever, and continued to feed for another minute or so, giving everybody ample opportunity to take some really unique pictures.

The cheetah had eaten most of the kudu’s shoulder, so when it stood up to find a shady spot to digest his meal, we slowly followed him down the road. It was only when he eventually lay down that we saw his brother, perfectly camouflaged under a tree a few yards away.

We spent an hour with these cheetah brothers, who often team up to make hunting and defending their territory easier.

Needless to say, the brunch tasted so sweet!

Yours in guiding

CJ van Blerk