Riding on the Range: Horse Back Safari and South African Wildlife

This has been another exceptional day. I awoke at 6:30 to the sound of an employee of Ant’s Nest Lodge bringing coffee into my room. That’s my kind of wakeup call! I showered quickly and headed down to breakfast where our table had been set with a variety of freshly baked croissants, cereals, fruit, yogurt, and the old fashioned English breakfast of beans on toast- delicious!

Our morning activity was a horseback safari. You can get so much closer to animals on horseback than you can in a vehicle or by simply walking. Carmin explains that this is because the animals feel like you must be less of a threat if another animal trusts you. I can only describe our horseback safari experience as magical. Ant (the owner) guided us through the property which is over 50,000 acres. We came upon a gathering of giraffe and followed them for quite some time. Ant helped us flush them out of the trees into a clearing so we could view them better. At one point, we were literally sitting in the middle of an open field with zebra to one side of us and giraffe to another. It was incredible! Not only were we seeing and experiencing these animals in their natural environment, but we were almost a part of their herd. It was great to watch the giraffes run. They’re so graceful, which is in direct opposition to what I would have thought they’d look like when running. After a few hours we spotted a herd of eland before Peter radioed Ant, telling him he’d just seen white rhinos about one kilometer from where we were. It wasn’t long before our horses were standing in front of the massive, horned animals. My goodness, they were amazing. Their horns are actually made of fibrous hair! I love the way these animals look because they’re so otherworldly – they have massive bodies and smaller feet (in comparison) plus their ears are shaped just like tulips. We were able to approach them both on our horses and on foot. Dan even dared to get in front of the rest of us to snap some photographs while Carmin and I followed Peter – one of our guides (with his Jack Russell Terrier, Josh, always at his side).

After we spent a while watching the rhinos we were whisked away by jeep to a hilltop lunch with a spectacular northerly view. Thunderheads were moving in so Ant radioed the lodge to bring a covered vehicle. Our lunch was delicious! We ate baked potatoes, pork chops and eland sausage – all cooked on a bbq (or as they say it in South Africa – a brie) over an open flame. The wind grew fierce and before long the storm had reached us, large drops of water struck as we quickly put the dishes away and headed for the lodge. What a gorgeous site it was – rain falling over the rolling green hills, the bright blue pool below erupting in a visual symphony of rainfall splashing onto the surface.

We were all free to do our own thing for the next three hours. I took the opportunity to relax in my room’s enormous tub which I filled with bath salts and bubbles. By 4 PM the rain had subsided and we all met for tea and sweet bread before heading out on our evening jeep safari. It wasn’t long before we’d spotted giraffes again. Carmin was on her mountain bike pursuing them when Ant radioed to make us aware he’d spotted rhino, so we headed out to meet him. Both Dan and Carmin hopped on bicycles this time and Dennis got some truly lovely shots of my traveling companions with those massive grey beasts.

Helen, Peter, and Ant drove us to the same area we’d been the evening before to watch the sunset and have a drink. In South Africa, a “sun downer” is a drink taken at the time the sun sets in the evening. Tonight it was made even more special because some giraffe crept from the surrounding bush toward the clearing where we were sitting. It was a lovely evening but not yet over. The air had gotten quite chill from the rain, so we wrapped ourselves in blankets or pulled on our jackets on the way back to the lodge. Upon arriving, I discovered that the fireplace inside my suite was blazing and dinner was nearly ready to be served. We all gathered outdoors with Ant and Tessa (his wife, co-owner, and decorator extraordinaire) who joined us for wine around a bonfire they’d built and a delicious dinner in a private area of the lodge. It was fantastic as we had lamb, creamy scalloped potatoes, and cheesecake, all accompanied by South African wine and delightful conversation.

Our morning tomorrow begins with a horseback ride to see sable antelope, which are bred on this property followed by brunch before we head to our next safari adventure a short (2 or so hour) drive away.