Lowveld road trip. An overview. Part 2

Travel & Things has been on the road for the past two weeks, this is Part 2 of a two-part overview of the lodges that we stayed at.

The final 3 lodges were less than an hour from each other, thus we did not have to ‘hare’ around and waste time travelling between camps.

In fact, Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp are about 2km apart…which makes sense as they a sister camps and run by the same company, Sun Destinations.

The final destination was a lodge in Hoedspruit, less than an hour from nThambo Tree Camp. Stopping there gave us a ‘rest’ day and allowed us to leave after an early breakfast, thus getting home mid-afternoon.

What we did not count on was the drop in temperature, from +34C in Hoedspruit, to +10C in Johannesburg. Not only that, but we drove through a massive downpour that started in Springs and followed us almost all the way to our home in the western suburbs.

A new experience for my wife and me… Africa on Foot, in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve.

Although there are game drives in the afternoon, the camp promotes morning walks that give guests the opportunity to experience the bush on foot. An experience for my wife who has not done many before. (This activity will be covered comprehensively in an upcoming post)

A quote from their website: ” Africa on Foot specialises in walking safaris in the big five Klaserie Private Nature Reserve; a wildlife-rich region in the heart of the Greater Kruger. The Klaserie shares unfenced borders with the Kruger National Park which means predators and other wildlife roam freely throughout”.

There are two types of accommodation, those with indoor showers and those with outside facilities. In both cases, the sleeping arrangements are the same, and although this bungalow might look small from the outside, the interior was spacious and more than met our requirements.

The bed and linen were sublime and once again I enjoyed a nap between lunch and the afternoon game drive.

I am so glad to see that polyester/mix linen is no longer the industry standard. Decerning guests are making certain that cotton is the go-to of choice for most private lodges. The only quibble that I have is that the majority of lodges use bath towels and not bath sheets. Just my quirk, as I like to wrap myself up after a shower.

The entrance to the heart of the lodge. The dining room, lounge and bar area can all be found here. A cool escape from the heat of the Lowveld morning.

The lounge area, with interesting decorations and furniture. The use of thatch and leadwood is a tribute to the designer’s minimalistic feel, yet keeping the lodge firmly rooted in the ground on which it sits.

I find thatch almost meditative and I have been known to count poles rather than sheep when trying to fall asleep…even in a public space.

This fascinated me! Standing proudly in the middle of the property on the top of a small hill is this shower.

I don’t understand the need for it as all the accommodation has one, but then again there is a swimming pool nearby, so perhaps this is for the use of those who have taken the plunge and discovered that the water is colder than expected?

Healthy lunch/light lunch is a great option, given that a large dinner awaits those returning from the game drive.

I never have understood the need to ‘freshen up’ after a drive, I just want to be led to the dining room, seated and served dinner. For me, bush time means early to bed as it is always early to rise.

The use of succulents and dead Leadwood is a tribute to the landscaper that works on the property. There is something iconic about using indigenous succulents that makes a property authentic.

Sunset and the camp changes… Lights come on and although there is an electric fence that surrounds the camp, elephants can be heard feeding not too far away and lions vocalizing in the distance was a nightly occurrence.

Sun Destinations nThambo Tree Camp was to be our final stop before heading back home. As it turned out we actually tacked on an extra destination after this one, so that we would not arrive home in the dark. But more of that later.

Quote: “All 5 chalets are positioned on stilts at level with the trees so game watching can be enjoyed constantly. The small size and privacy of nThambo means that activities are flexible and exciting night drives can also be conducted”.

Not quite a treehouse, but certainly accommodation on stilts. This was the first sighting of where we were going to be spending our final two bush nights of the trip.

The interior belies the fact that the accommodation is actually off the ground. Although, looking through the floor slats can be disconcerting.

There is a bedroom, bathroom with shower and toilet and a wide deck that runs outside the bedroom and faces a 180-degree view of the open plains and the various game species that use both the space and the waterhole to cross in front of all the chalets.

The lounge/bar area of the main building. There is also a deck with loungers and umbrellas and a splash pool that seems to be a favourite drinking spot for the elephants after dark. On both evenings we were in camp, the elephants arrived either individually or as a small breeding herd and they were somewhat dismayed to find the pool empty.

To clarify, it had been used and left muddy the night before (by elephants, not guests) we arrived and as there was an issue with the pump, it was only refilled on the morning that we were leaving.

Sunset with the roof of the owner’s house visible in the fading light.

As I was to discover, there was a duo of lions that liked to sleep here and there vocalizing kept me awake as I lay in the darkness and wondered if I would find them under our accommodation. As it turned out, there was nothing but the sound of their roaring was loud enough to make me believe that they were closer than they actually were.

That being said, some of the international guests slept through their performance and when questioned in the morning had not heard them at all!

The main building as seen from the front. Pool on the left and dining room on the right.

The aforementioned dining room. I do enjoy it when all the guests are seated at a common table as you can chat and interact with those who can a do want to chat. It is amazing the variety of professions/careers/jobs are uncovered when you ask…and I tend to like to know what it is that my fellow safari participants do. As I have come to discover, there is always at least one medical professional, other than my wife.

Breakfast. Although it contains neither bacon of eggs, as far as I am concerned this could still be a contender for a Breakfast of Champions. There are those who might differ…

We added an unexpected final destination on the trip We spent our last night at this Lodge in Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate…