We travel with the whole family – my parents, brother and sister-in-law, my husband and our children – off to Africa. Wildlife safaris in South Africa and Botswana and a sun-drenched beach resort on Mozambique await us. Because we are with a rather large company, the choice for private villas is quickly made.
We start the trip quietly with a stay at AtholPlace Villa,an ideal start to the trip a 45 minute drive from Johannesburgairport. The next morning we leave early to get in time for the afternoon game drive atMhondoro Game Lodge to arrive. The traffic is with us and within three hours we are warmly welcomed at the main gate of the WellFound Game Reserve with a G&T (after all, it’s already 12.30 pm) and some snacks. We park the cars and continue with our safari vehicle to the lodge. Arriving at the villa there are two rhinos at the waterhole in front of the lodge. Even before we put our suitcases in the rooms we rushed the kids to the underground hide to enjoy this special sight. Once back in the villa we have time to take a good look around. WOW what a great villa, from every room we have a view of the waterhole!
Match selfies with animals
During our safaris we see something new every game drive. Our guide Ivan pays a lot of attention to also teaching the children a lot about the animals and the surroundings in a fun way. The children can ride every game, and are ready for another adventure in the morning with a smile! They proudly tell everyone what they have already seen: “Elephant, lion, cheetah, wildebeest, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, crocodile, zebra, impala, kudu and much more!” It has also become a competition to take a selfie with as many different animals as possible.
One of the evenings we can dine in the hide, which is an experience! During dinner, two elephants come to drink in the waterhole, which is special to observe them in the dark at such a small distance!
You don’t have to go on safari here
After three nights in Mhondoro, it’s time to say goodbye and continue his journey to Botswana. Arriving at the Platjan Border we park our car on the South African side of the border where we are then picked up by our guide and tracker from the Koro River Camp.
After about an hour we are there, the first tented camp experience for my family. What a camp! Located on the river seven ensuite tents with lots of privacy.
You don’t have to go on safari here, the wildlife comes into the riverbed and from your terrace you can see everything perfectly. We decide to spend our safari days at a somewhat calmer pace.
Unexpectedly we end up in a large herd of elephants
During our stay in Mhondoro but also during an earlier safari with our family two years ago we unfortunately never spotted a leopard. So we have a goal during our stay at Koro River Camp. And although our guide Moses says in advance: “It’s winter and the chances are slim”, we still hope that we will be lucky this time. During one of the game drives we see a prey hanging at the top of a tree. That must be from a leopard! On foot, our guide and tracker will investigate. Unfortunately, the leopard is nowhere to be seen. Hyenas lie under the prey waiting for it to fall down. We immediately make the plan with our guide to return in the evening.
Due to the dense mopane vegetation in this area it is quite a challenge for us to find the same tree in the dark. Fortunately, our guide and tracker are a bit better at it and they have also found in the dark the place where we saw the hyenas in the morning. Unfortunately there is nothing left in the tree and there is nothing left to confess, unfortunately just missed!
Since we travel with children and the family tent is further away from where we dine and sit at the boma we decide in the evening to go back to our tent not on foot but by vehicle. During this little piece we unexpectedly end up in a large herd of elephants that are on their way to the river (where our tents are also located). We may look at the herd in the dark and decide to drive with dimmed lights to our tents. What an experience for our girls! The porcupine that scavenged over our terrace that night completed the whole thing.
In between game drives we decide to visit a local school and the Timbo foundation bee project with the children.
We don’t get off before we see a leopard.
On the last morning of our stay at Koro River Camp we have one more early game drive. We jokingly said to each other, “Yes, the guide is smiling now, but he doesn’t realize that we won’t get off until we’ve seen a leopard”. And miraculously, after following the tracks, we finally spot a leopard! Wow, what a lovely ending to our stay in this special camp.
Festive meals and brilliant walks
After four days botswana we travel back to South Africa, to Tzaneen where we stay overnight and start the panorama route early the next morning. After a day full of beautiful views and a delicious lunch in the Forest Galley we drive on to Umsisi House,a private villa between Hazyview and Whiteriver where we stay for three nights. It is at a good distance from both the Numbi Gate for day trips to Kruger but also the Panorama route is within driving distance. We choose not to go to Kruger as we have already made our game drives this trip.
We have lunch at Graskop, take brilliant walks with the owner of the villa Paddy and have a laid back afternoon in Whiteriver. The owners Amanda and Paddy do everything they can to make the guests feel at home. Paddy is a great cook and the meals are a feast every day!
At the end of our stay at Umsisi House we hand in our car at Nelspruit airport and then travel to Mozambique by transfer to close our trip. We stay six days at the Machangulo Private Nature Reserve on Machangulo, a peninsula about an hour’s boat ride from Maputo with its own airstrip for guests wanting to fly in.
The stay at
Machangulo Beach Villa
is perfect for us as a family to let the impressions gained during the trip work on us. We have no phone signal, no wifi, just the vast beaches, the sound of the waves and our magnificent villa. Here you have time to really relax, we take long walks on the beach where we occasionally encounter a local fisherman.
The children enjoy swimming in the sea, building sandcastles, catching crabs and fishing with Jabulani, our home manager who makes our stay with his never-ending smile even more pleasant. We eat the best meals here, which Jabulani has just fished out of the sea when it’s all right.
Fully equipped, we return to Johannesburg by local flight from Maputo where we have one last night at the African Rock Hotel before getting on the plane back to Amsterdam full of new experiences.
