If you get lost on your way from the main gate at the R40 to the Chacma Bush Camp site, you can always stop and ask one of the locals how to get there.
This particular heron was most specific in its directions to me…
“Just keep going that way”.
A warm and welcoming arrival area. The staff who come out to greet arriving guests, or to say goodbye to those leaving, are both friendly and professional.
Bags are taken to the accommodation, and the guests are directed to the lounge, where welcome drinks await, and the inevitable paperwork is signed.
And if you time your arrival correctly, you will be able to enjoy a delicious lunch.
But a word of caution: Pace your food intake, as there is high tea before the game drive, followed by a plated dinner on your return.
Oh, and don’t forget the sundowner snacks while out on the drive.
Almost ready to head out for an afternoon of game viewing.
This pool attracts visitors like the waterhole in front of the camp attracts herds of elephants and often buffalo. On one of my several visits to this camp, I found a leopard enjoying a drink under the cover of darkness.
Aside from doing laps in the pool to burn off the extra calories, use these stairs to climb to the top of the koppie(small hill) just behind the camp.
It gives you an eagle eye view of the surrounding bushveld and makes it easier to see species that are on their way to the lodge waterhole.
AND, it gives you part of your daily step count, if you need those.
Both the elephant and I were waiting for some sustenance.
Although there was water in the waterhole, the elephants prefer fresh water and will become quite rowdy until the valve that feeds this waterhole is opened.
Then the individuals get to fight over who has seniority to drink first.
Luckily, that is NOT an issue amongst the guests.
Whoo are you?
This Spotted Eagle Owl kept a close watch as we drove past it.
Did you know?
Unlike many owls, the Spotted Eagle-Owl has adapted brilliantly to urban life. You’ll find them in parks, gardens, golf courses—even nesting on buildings in places like Johannesburg.
So the next time you are in a park in an urban environment, and you think you have seen one of these, you most likely have.
No afternoon drive is complete without a sundowner drink and snack stop.
The snacks vary from lodge to lodge, with no specific standards.
That said, there is usually biltong and dried wors. Try explaining those delicacies to international guests. Dried fruit of some description. Usually mango or banana.
And either crips or peanuts, or both!
If I look carefully at this image, I can definitely see peanuts and crisps, and I am assuming that the other containers contain the meat and the dried fruit
Drinks orders are taken before leaving camp, so that everyone is catered for.
Can you think of a better place to stop and marvel at what the bush can provide by way of a backdrop?
Time to head to bed.
I have said it before, and I will repeat it here…there is something special about being surrounded by a mosquito net when you slip between the fine linen and comfortable pillows that Chacma Bush Camp supplies.
And DON’T get me started on how comfortable the beds are and how, on a dark, cold winter morning, I have to fight with myself to stay in bed rather than head out on a drive.
But I have to say that going out usually wins. Unless it is raining.
There is no need to watch wet Impala watching me watching them!
When I first heard this African Barred Owl calling, I scanned the koppie looking for it. This went on for some time until I realised that both it and a partner were in this Aloe RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.
I could almost feel the disdain of the owl quering why it had taken so long to spot it.
Fun fact: At around 20 cm tall, it’s one of the smaller owls in southern Africa—but it behaves like a much bigger bird, often standing its ground when confronted.
And that was what I discovered as it sat patiently until I eventually spotted it.
Sometimes even predators have to choose their battles.
In this instance, the elephants TOTALLY ignored the lioness, who was watching them cautiously.
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