TEA Newsletter - Summer 2009
It’s been a busy summer season for TEA.
Firstly we are launching our new website this month. We have taken a lot of time and effort in conjunction with our web designer, Roland, to make sure our clients have the best information at their fingertips and we have tried to make the site as easy to navigate as possible.
We hope that the site is interesting, and if you have reached this page, we haven’t made too bad a job of it!
Secondly as the busy season got underway, Bev and Kirsty under their Green Weddings banner had the privilege to plan and coordinate a wedding for Nicole Fox, a well known South African celebrity. The eco-wedding was a success with over 250 trees donated to Trees4Schools and over R 50,000 donated to Unicef.
Green Weddings were reported in the South African YOU Magazine and the girls made an appearance on the popular TV show Top Billing.
All of the accommodation and transportation was organised by TEA, with a large number of guests coming in from destinations around the world.
SAFARI SPECIAL
Every year, before the summer season gets underway Ian, Bev & Kirsty try to take some time out to sample the accommodation offered to their clients.
Last year just prior to December the team visited 4 game reserves – 3 in the Eastern Cape and 1 in Mpumalanga
The great thing about going on safari is that you really get the chance to switch off from the hustle and bustle of life, and just kick back and enjoy nature. The location of all the lodges are in exactly the right setting, out in the bush with every luxury convenience, but just a step away from Africa in the raw.
KAREIGA PRIVATE GAME RESERVE
The first of the reserve visits was at Kariega Private Game Reserve, in the malaria free Eastern Cape, at their stunning 5* River Lodge. The team enjoy this reserve immensely and the service and friendliness of all the staff and rangers is truly noteworthy!
This is the 5* offering from the reserve (other options are 4.5* Ukhozi Lodge and the 4* Kareiga Lodge) and is just a wonderful and unique experience.
The deck over the Bushman’s River, where you can sit and have lunch on your arrival (and from where you can cast a line and maybe catch a fish!) is just bliss on a sunny day.
The accommodation is in free standing thatched chalets, which are extremely spacious and seem to have the largest beds in Africa!!
As always, the game viewing was excellent at this reserve and the lion viewing here was stunning. Speeding down the river on the safari launch is also an exhilarating way to start a game drive!
To add to the fun was enjoying the game experience with Ashley Taylor Dawson, who was enjoying a break in filming from Hollyoaks with his girlfriend Karen. (Ashley was the only one to catch a fish on this visit!)
SHAMWARI PRIVATE GAME RESERVE
Moving on the team then stayed at the world famous Shamwari Private Game, also in the malaria free Eastern Cape. We stayed at Riverdene and Lobengula Lodges
This time we had Kristy’s daughter Lea in the party who we had recruited to try out the children’s facilities at Riverdene!
The stay was awesome, the children’s play facility and children’s staff were a big hit, in fact it was difficult to get Lea to take any notice of us at all as she was having such a ball!
Lobengula was wonderful – great rooms, lovely pool and dining area, and lunch was accompanied by the locals, the naughty Vervet Monkies and a few passing warthogs nibbling the grass!
We were lucky enough to visit the animal hospital at Shamwari where we fed a baby giraffe and Temba the baby elephant who was featured in the 15 Shamwari Episodes on Animal Planet!
We visited one of the 2 Born Free Centres and saw the rescued animals and heard the heartbreaking, but inspiring stories of their rescue and rehabilitation. The Foundation does much needed excellent work and the centres are great places to visit in between your game drives.
Again, the game viewing, as ever at Shamwari, was excellent - especially the herd of elephants with a whole clutch of tiny babies!
MADIKWE GAME RESERVE – NORTH WEST PROVINCE
Late September, Kirsty & her husband Alex made a visit to the Madikwe Game Reserve in the north-west of South Africa, a mere 40 km from the capital of Botswana namely Gaberone. Flying into Johannesburg, they decided to drive up to the reserve which was an experience in itself – Johannesburg traffic is a nightmare! The journey took just over 4 hours and in all honesty, flying into Madikwe is probably a better proposition even though more expensive. The reserve is 80,000 hectares, one of the largest in South Africa.
ROYAL MADIKWE
First port of call was Royal Madikwe. This is one of the best lodges you could ever expect to stay at, and is booked on an exclusive basis – no one else around except you and your friends!
Whilst it is certainly luxurious, it fits in so well with the complete African theme that you don’t feel any of it is over the top.
On arrival, ALL the staff stand on a grassy ridge and sing their welcoming songs to you and it is just so special. Your hosts Riaan & Stephanie then invite you down into the lodge where Alex & Ian were separated by a friendly Cape Cobra! It’s Africa!
Welcome drinks and time to freshen up, laze by the pool which overlooks a watering hole, followed by our first game drive in the late afternoon.
The game viewing in Madikwe is awesome, but what really gets to you is the vastness of the whole area. It’s far less hilly than many reserves and so you actually get to experience the African feeling of openness.
Having seen lion, elephant, buffalo and an array of antelope, on their return journey to the lodge they were extremely fortunate to encounter 2 honey badgers – a rare sight indeed.
2 nights were spent at Royal Madikwe and in the evenings, special attention to detail was spent in creating a wonderful African feel to the whole experience and it turned out to be all that everyone hoped it would be. Our thanks to all the staff members at Royal Madikwe.
MADIKWE HILLS
A short journey through part of the reserve took us to another excellent lodge called Madikwe Hills. Whilst not an exclusive lodge, you certainly get the feel of being in Africa with a touch of special comfort. The rooms are spacious and well laid out with inter leading wooden walkways to move around the lodge.
A special feature here is a place called Little Madikwe. This is part of the lodge but is a private family area with 2 en suite bedrooms with a large lounge/rest area in between. With its on pool, game ranger, and butler, this is an excellent place to stay families and if 3 bedrooms are needed, then they ‘annexe’ one of the other suites close by.
Again, our game ranger and tracker were excellent and for only the second time in the 7years that our ranger had been in Madikwe, we saw the BIG 5 on one game drive! The leopard sighting was exciting as it was getting late when our ranger heard over the radio that a leopard had been seen in the hills not to far away from where the party was. Our ranger gave us the option – carry on lazily driving around – or go on a FERRARI Safari!!! Hold onto your hats if you ever hear this term on your game drive – man its fun! Needless to say the leopard was spotted – with a cub in its mouth as a bonus.
Again, 2 nights were spent at Madikwe Hills and thoroughly enjoyable and a place where many of our clients have been to and enjoyed.
also took time out to visit MADIKWE SAFARI LODGE run by andBEYOND group (formerly CC Africa). There are three safari camps here, all offering excellent accommodation. Prices are slightly cheaper than some of the other lodges which probably reflects the difference in layout and comfort but not in service.
All in all, the 4 day stay in Madikwe was fantastic and is highly recommended as a safari destination. It costs a little more to get there than say the lodges of the Eastern Cape, but definitely worth a visit especially if it’s your second or third time to South Africa.
NKOMAZI GAME LODGE, MPUMALANGA
Bev & Kirsty were then thrilled to be invited to visit the new Nkomazi Game Lodge situated on the banks of the Komati River located in the Mpumalanga.
They were both taken by the extreme beauty and diversity of the game reserve and loved the fact that it is malaria-free – so no worrying about precaution! They also agreed that this would be the very perfect place to celebrate your wedding or renew your vows.
The truly five star tented lodge overlooks the Komati River, and the reserve is known as “the place of water”. The reserve offers rolling savannahs & spectacular rock formations – a totally unique landscape & one that leaves you longing to return.
Each tent has an extra large king size bed, air-con, en-suite shower and outdoor bath & private plunge pool. The décor is extremely tasteful with the perfect African flair, and much thought and care has been taken with every detail.
Come and visit this enticing reserve located in a valley where first life began …
Definitely worth a visit!
KWANDWE GAME RESERVE – MELTON MANOR, EASTERN CAPE
During December Ian and Bev visited Kwandwe Private Reserve as guests at Melton Manor and had a wonderful time at this stunning lodge.
Melton Manor is ideal for friends and families travelling together, being available for exclusive use for groups of up to 8 adults. The whole lodge is just brimming with the most beautiful and eclectic décor. The rooms are huge, the bathrooms stunning and the food and wine flows! The staff at Melton Manor live up to the 5* standards and anything you need gets delivered very quickly.
A very cool way of being woken up in the morning for the early morning drives is the lovely tray of tea/coffee and rusks delivered to your room through a serving hatch by your ranger!
The game viewing was awesome – sighted on the first game drive were a pride of lions, two beautiful cheetah, giraffe, rhino and lots of the usual smaller game. On the second drive we got up close and personal with lions (just after a kill) and a large group of buffalo. Absolutely amazing.
For these and a many other handpicked game reserve experiences,
please complete our website enquiry form or contact us at sales@exclusively-african.com
