The first little taste of safari
on Sep 17, 2024Embarking on a safari is probably on a lot of people’s bucket lists. As you plan your adventure, it’s essential to consider various logistical aspects to ensure a smooth experience before getting lost in the world of excitement and joy. Arrival and departure are probably the most important factors, and not always knowing the best ways possible can be mind boggling. However, there are multiple convenient ways to reach our reserve from major cities across South Africa. Flying into one of the nearby airports is by far the easiest and have quite a few pros to it. Let’s have a look at these.
As you arrive in either Cape Town or Johannesburg, the easiest and quickest way to get to us is flying, luckily, we are situated perfectly to make it possible to fly into Skukuza Airport, where we pick you up from the airport and transfer you to one of our pristine lodges.
Now depending on which lodge you are visiting, be it Selati Camp, Bush Lodge, Little Bush Camp or Earth Lodge, you will have your first taste of safari on your way to the lodge from Skukuza Airport.
Coming from Skukuza Airport, which is situated inside the Kruger National Park, we drive for a very short distance inside the National Park, where we then exit and enter the privately owned reserves bordering the Kruger National Park with no fences or form of division between the two, forming the Greater Kruger National Park.
As we are already using our safari vehicles to pick you up from Skukuza Airport, you immediately get the safari feel of what is lying ahead. Depending on which lodge you are visiting, the drive time will be different, but nevertheless you will have between a 30-60 minute mini game drive, settling you into the activities for the next couple of days. As this is not just a transfer as many would describe it and also not just any road we take to get you to the lodge, the road we take is everything but the normal road a normal transfer vehicle would use. You are not only driving to the lodge from the airport in a safari vehicle, but also already in a Big 5 area, home to many different species, from birds to mammals.
During this drive you already can see general game like impalas, blue wildebeest, zebra and giraffes, and then also the possibility of starting your safari experience on a high note if you are lucky enough to spot one of the Big 5 on the way.
As we are driving through the bush it is important to make use of all your senses, become part of our natural system and appreciate the beauty of nature we surround ourselves with, this will all enhance your experience and you might just spot an animal before anyone else.
This all before you have even arrived at the lodge on seen your room.
Now if this is not enough, we also have our own Private Airstrip on Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, where you can fly into from Johannesburg, or by means of a hop from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP) if you are connecting from another flight. As you land in our reserve, you are only minutes away from your lodge, again depending on which lodge you are visiting. With great sightings and encounters on our reserve, you immediately have the opportunity to spot animals as you arrive, sometimes even from the airplane as you approach our airstrip. This again makes it a very accessible and comfortable way of travelling to and from our reserve.
The African bush is always unpredictable, and you never know what is around the next corner, but this will already start on your way to the lodge where you will be staying, before heading out on your first official safari.
As guides driving these roads frequently when doing pick-ups and drop-offs, we have seen numerous species, including the Big 5 plus cheetah and wild dogs, and this all only while taking you from point A to B. You never know what is waiting for you while out in the bush, some days might be quiet and you might not really see any animals, but other days are very busy again and you might even see more animals than on some of the safaris.
The focus point is that this is not just a ‘transfer’, if you want to call it that, that you will never forget, but rather the start to and end to a magical experience filled with joy and excitement in the good hands of the whole Sabi Sabi family.
Being transferred from either Skukuza Airport or our private airstrip on our reserve, you are already in the hands of qualified guides that have been living in this environment for years, surrounding themselves with this job every day of their lives, any questions or concerns you might have can already be shared and answered.
Maybe you have been with us for a couple of days but haven’t had a good giraffe or elephant sighting, the trip to the airport is another chance that this might happen and you may finally get that sighting you have been waiting for.
Now, of course there are other ways of reaching our reserve as well which will be just as pleasant, but seeing the vastness of the area from above truly is something you don’t want to miss. And where else in the world will you be picked up from an airport in an open safari vehicle where you can immediately start looking for animals to tick down on your list. It truly is an experience like no other.
At Sabi Sabi we pride ourselves as professionals that do a job we love, because if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. This statement is used quiet a lot, but for us doing our dream job every day is the perfect definition of this quote.
Hopefully everyone that is reading this is already planning their trip to come and visit us in one of the most beautiful parts of South Africa and experience a truly wild safari holiday like no other. We hope to welcome you soon to our home in the bush and share our love and passion.
Blog by Ruan Mey (Earth Lodge Ranger)
