11 March 2025
The adventure began today when Bob picked us up at 11:15. We were on the way to the airport within 5 minutes (with a small detour to Costco for a return 😊). We got checked in at Delta Sky Priority, cleared TSA (Markus got “randomly” selected for additional screening), and waited at the gate.
Unfortunately, our flight was delayed by ~30 minutes, but we didn’t care since we had no connection in Atlanta. Flight time was just under an hour, and we retrieved our bags and made our way to the hotel shuttles. We waited only 15-20 minutes before the shuttle arrived and delivered us to the hotel. There was an evening reception with complimentary beverages – we opted for wine – and cheese, crackers, and trail mix.
For dinner, we were undecided between the Marriott (down the street) for a burger and a Caesar salad or the on-site restaurant at the Embassy Suites. Markus talked with a couple that were just finishing their dinner, and they were very complimentary of the food. So, we chose to stay at the hotel for dinner – Margherita pizza and a Caesar salad with a bottle of wine. We brought half of the pizza and the salad back to our room, along with half a bottle of wine. We will finish the wine tonight and have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Accommodation: Embassy Suites Atlanta Airport
12 and 13 March 2025
We started Wednesday with breakfast – cooked to order omelets! They were quite good. After breakfast, we returned to our room and hung out for the balance of the day until it was time to return to the airport. We caught the 6:00 shuttle and were checked in by 6:15. A quick story about our shuttle driver. We were talking about our trip and I told her that we were going to Africa to celebrate my 60th birthday. She told me that she thought I was so much younger – I took that to mean that she probably thought Markus was a cradle robber!! 😊
Unfortunately, I lost my headphones on the flight from Daytona yesterday, so we stopped by Delta “lost and found” on the off chance that the cleaning crew turned them in and didn’t just trash them. They hadn’t been turned in, so we stopped in the electronics shop in Concourse E to buy a new set. At least the ones that I lost weren’t expensive!
[An interesting aside: when I went to Delta lost and found, the lady that helped me brought out a big bag (think large 13 gallon kitchen trash bag size) of headphones. There were at least half a dozen (probably more) of “on ear” headphone sets and 25-30 sets of AirPods. I was astounded that there would be that many left behind in a single day – even in an airport as busy as Atlanta! The Delta staff member also checked the “laptops and tablets” bag just to be sure my headphones weren’t in there. She didn’t bring that bag out, so I have no idea how many devices of that type were left behind. The things we don’t know (or even think about)!]
A couple of additional comments about Atlanta. Delta is testing a new “digital ID” program, which we opted to participate in. No boarding passes or IDs required – just your photo that is taken at check-in. Super easy process through TSA. Also, there was a power outage when we arrived at check-in, which meant that the Plane Train wasn’t operating. We had to walk from check-in at Concourse T through Concourses A to E. It took us 25 minutes and we were quite warm when we arrived at the American Express Centurion Lounge. At least it was conveniently located right next to our gate! We had a light meal (the chicken soup was excellent!) and a glass of wine while we waited for boarding.
Boarding was on-time and although the flight was delayed about 20 minutes, the flight time wasn’t quite as long as originally projected (14 hours 30 minutes versus 15 hours 10 minutes). The food was pretty good – chicken for dinner, a turkey sandwich for a snack, and a frittata with yogurt and fruit for breakfast. The breakfast seemed a bit strange since it was 6:00 in the evening in Johannesburg when they served it, but I guess for most people, they were just waking up. As for us – we were able to get some sleep on the plane and arrived feeling reasonably well.
We got through immigration without delay, picked up our bags, stopped at duty free for a couple bottles of wine (South African Sauvignon Blanc) and started the walk across the street (actually a tunnel under the street) to the hotel. We were completely inundated with “ambassadors” wanting to help us with our bags and to our hotel. Some of them were quite persistent and we had to repetitively fend them off. We successfully ran the gauntlet and got to hotel check-in. While we were completing the check-in process, we were offered a hot towel and a bottle of sparkling water – so nice! Our room is a junior suite and is quite spacious – and nice! There are no ice machines (an American thing!), so we requested a bucket of ice, and it was delivered within 10 minutes. We didn’t have any Rand currency, so we tipped in USD – with apologies, but the staff member didn’t seem to mind.
NB: It has been 31 hours since we woke in Atlanta yesterday morning – we are starting to feel it!
Accommodation: Intercontinental Johannesburg Airport (2 Nights)
14 March 2025
Our room was really dark, and the bed was super comfortable, and we enjoyed a great night’s sleep. We had coffee – Nespresso! – when we got up and finally meandered over to the terminal in search of an ATM and food. With the exception of a granola bar with our coffee, it had been 21 hours since we last ate.
After we got Rand from the ATM, we perused the restaurant offerings. There were quite a few options but, in the end, we chose the Airport Craft Brewers. Markus and I each had a chicken sandwich; Markus had chips (fries) and I had a side salad. We also had beer and bottled water. The food was excellent and there was a lot of it! We both had to deconstruct our sandwiches since they were so big, and we still weren’t able to eat all of our food. The best part was that the total bill, including tip, was R515 or about $28. So cheap!
After our meal, we went in search of a bottle of wine to take to our room. We found a Woolworth’s with a food hall that also sold beer and wine. Our tasks accomplished, we returned to the hotel and got our stuff sorted for tomorrow and the start of our safari adventure!
15 March 2025
It was a long day today. We were awake at 5:30 but didn’t get out of bed until 6:30. We had our Nespresso coffee, while waiting for our room service breakfast to be delivered at 7:30. It arrived on the dot! Markus got an omelette with toast, and I had a scrambled egg wrap. The toast was served with extra jam and honey in cute little jars – we brought them with us. 😊
Bushlore was scheduled to pick us up at 9 o’clock. They were a few minutes late, arriving at 9:10. It took about 25 minutes to get from the airport hotel to the depot in Pretoria. After completing the paperwork, which seemed ridiculous – as if we were buying the vehicle, not simply renting it – we got our briefing on all the ins and outs of the truck. There was a lot to know. And we’re experienced at this rooftop tent stuff! Unfortunately, there was an issue with the locks on the back door – the one that opens into the camper. The key did not work so we could not have secured the camper when we weren’t in it. The “expert“ was able to change out all four locks and provide us with a brand-new key that functions perfectly. Our transportation over the next 45 days – and our home for a good portion of the time – is a Toyota Hilux 4×4 double cab bush camper. Check out the specs here.
Before we hit the highway, we tried to make a quick bathroom stop at the Mall of Africa in Pretoria, but as we were headed into the parking garage, our vehicle hit the height measurement bar, meaning that we were too tall to enter. Markus ended up having to back all the way out of the garage. At least other people that were entering the garage were understanding of the situation and got out of our way. Without any further delay, we made it to the N1 and were headed north. The N1 is a toll road, and, similar to our turnpike has service areas along the way. We stopped at a couple of these service areas for a short break and finally arrived at Vaalwater just before 4:00. We shopped at the Spar Supermarket and got enough supplies for dinner tonight, breakfast tomorrow, as well as a few staples – and, of course, wine.
From the market, it was only 30 km to our destination at Matamba Bush Camp. The last part of the trip was on gravel/sand road, so it was a little bit slower going than on the tarmac. We arrived at 4:45, but didn’t know which campsite we were assigned to. A quick phone call later and we had an escort. We passed 5 giraffes in the quarter mile to our campsite, but as we were being escorted (and we didn’t know where we were going), we didn’t have the opportunity to stop and take pictures. They were magnificent animals! We bought a bag of firewood from our escort. It was only Rand 30, which is about $1.50. We got our camp set up and enjoyed watching a beautiful female kudu with her baby. We opted for a rotisserie chicken and rice for dinner. Given that this was our first night setting up camp, we didn’t want to have the additional burden of having to cook. After dinner, Markus got a fire going and we sat and enjoyed wine by the fire light.
A little more about the Bushlore depot. The place was huge and was an absolute whirlwind of activity. The number of spare parts that they must have to have on hand is just mind-boggling. In addition to the locks for our vehicle, we had to have a tiny little part for the air compressor to deflate and inflate the tires, the strap for the awning had to be changed out, and finally there had to be a sticker above the tires in the front to indicate the appropriate pressure (not PSI because they don’t call it that here). All of these “parts” were readily on hand. Also, there were vehicles everywhere and there must have been 5 or 6 vehicles that were being picked up during the timeframe that we were there. And of course, everybody was going through the same briefing process – from setting the refrigerator temperature to operating the high lift jack to inflating and deflating the tires for different types of terrain. We can’t even guess at the number of people that work at that depot and Bushlore has numerous depots all across Africa. While we were waiting on the locks to be changed, we were talking to a 65ish couple from California. They sold their home six years ago and have basically been living on the road ever since. They spent 10 months in Australia last year, where they bought a camper and toured the entire country. They have been all over the United States – also in a camper. And here in Africa, they are spending five months “livin’ the dream”! They were headed to Kruger and were advised not to stop in town to shop so they opted for delivery from Woolworths (a grocery store in Africa) right to the Bushlore Depot. We didn’t even know that was an option. Brilliant! And, to top that, the Woolworths’ driver offered to take the lady to the liquor store – for a tip, we’re sure!
Accommodation: Matamba Bush Camp forms part of an area known as the Waterberg Biosphere which is situated in the Limpopo Province. Matamba was originally established in 2001 when a cattle farm and a game farm were joined together to form a 400 hectare conservancy. There are about 60 kilometers of sandy tracks on the farm.
Wildlife Spotted: Baboons, Giraffe, Kudu with baby, Ostrich
Travel Distance / Time: 267 KMS / 4:15
16 March 2025
We were up at 6:45 this morning and started to pack up the camp. We had just about everything stowed within 30 minutes. Then we heated some water for coffee, had a bit of breakfast and were ready to leave the campsite by 8:15. We decided to do a 45 minute game drive in the reserve before we left. So glad that we did! We saw zebra, impala, giraffe, wildebeest, and eland. After leaving the park, we saw more impala, a troop of baboons, and ostrich.
Once we were back on the R33, the drive was pretty uneventful – although we did cross the Tropic of Capricorn. The roads were in good condition and we made it to Lephalale in good time. We stopped to fill up with gas and got right back on the road again. At this point, we were on a minor state road – Route 572 to be exact – and the first 30 to 35 km were fine. After that, the road deteriorated significantly, and we had to slow our pace substantially. The tarmac was essentially gone and what was left was pitted sand. The last 125 km of our journey was on these types of roads – which is why it took us so long to drive only 300 km. We did encounter a police stop near Maastroom. Not sure what the purpose was, but we spoke with the officers about our destination. One of the policemen told us we were lost if we were going to Platjan. He said it was far away – he estimated 70 km. They took down our registration and drivers license details and we moved on.
70 kilometers and 1.5 hours later, we got to the border at Platjan. We cleared immigration and the vehicle check in South Africa then did the same in Botswana. We followed our driving directions for another 28 km (and another hour) and arrived at the east gate of the Limpopo-Lipadi Wildlife and Wilderness Reserve. Longwope Farmhouse was located only a further 2 km from the gate. Our host, Ronel, was not here when we arrived but one of the staff members called her and we got everything set up for this evening and for tomorrow. She said that the game drives can be challenging because there has been so much rain recently and the animals have plenty of places to graze and for water. But we are hopeful for tomorrow!
We took showers in the late afternoon and went to sit by the fire. It was a beautiful! evening. Dinner was bacon and spinach quiche to start, followed by salad, Botswana beef fillet, and potato wedges. Dessert was a beautiful custard with a brownie (served warm). We are the only guests staying at the farm so it felt like having a private chef!
Over dinner, Ronel was telling us about a poaching event that happened in 2018. Poachers used a gyro-copter to come from South Africa. They killed two adult rhinos – a bull and a cow – and chopped off their horns. They left a calf untouched and fortunately, it survived. Due to anti-poaching efforts, there have been no poaching instances since that time.
Accommodation: Longwope Farmhouse (2 Nights; D, B & B)
Wildlife Spotted: Baboons, Eland, Giraffe, Impala, Kudu with baby, Ostrich, Warthog with 2 babies, Wildebeest, Zebra
Travel Distance / Time: 312 KMS / 6:00
17 March 2025
This morning, we were awake a few minutes before our 5:30 alarm went off. At 6:00, we were waiting for our guide for the morning game drive and rhino walk.
We spent a little more than an hour driving through the bush in search of wildlife – we saw giraffe, zebra, jackal, and impala, but the real highlight was a beautiful leopard with her cub. Even our guide, Moses, was excited!
We were scheduled for a rhino walk beginning around 7:30. We didn’t really know what to expect, but it turned out to be unlike anything we could have imagined. The rhinos (there are 29 of them) at Lipopo-Lipado are monitored 24/7 by the Anti-Poaching Unit (APU) and the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). We joined the anti-poaching squad on their daily mission to track each and every rhino. Walking through the dense bush with 3 APU staff (2 of which were experienced trackers) in front of us and 2 armed BDF men behind us, we collectively followed the tracks – prints and dung (warm dung implying that the rhinos have been through recently) – of three rhinos until the rhinos were found. It was difficult to see them through the thick bush, but the APU got us close three times. Unfortunately, photo opportunities were limited, but we got to lay eyes on them, nonetheless. Throughout the process, we learned that the rhinos are dehorned every year, have been micro-chipped and SmartParks technology supports the effort to discourage poaching and keep the rhinos safe. We imagine that the presence of the Botswana Defence Force, which are armed with automatic weapons, helps too!
Moses picked us up from our rhino walk and we went to a nearby watering hole for a coffee break. Then, we returned to the farmhouse for brunch of omelettes, bacon, sausage, beans, toast, and yogurt. Everything was delicious! After brunch, we retreated to our patio and got to work on this blog and pictures. As we were sitting there, Markus looked up and saw an elephant! We started to watch the farm watering hole (an old cattle trough) and over the course of the next hour, we watched 25 to 30 elephants come and graze in the area and drink at the watering hole. It was an incredible show!
We should note that the farmhouse is fenced for the protection of guests. There are very dangerous wild animals in the reserve outside of the farm, including lions, leopards, elephants and rhinos.
Moses picked us up for our evening game drive at 4:30. We were out about an hour and hadn’t seen anything! Then, we saw a herd of impala, followed by a herd of zebra, then a herd of wildebeest, followed by a bull giraffe with four cows. It was remarkable that the male giraffe was so much bigger than the females. We stopped for a sundowner refreshment and while there, there was a message on the radio that a female guide had run over a tree stump and the vehicle was immovable. So, Moses decided to respond. On the way to help the damsel in distress, I spotted a rhino – I was so proud of myself because even Moses had missed it! The animal was really skittish and by the time we backed up to have a better look, it had bolted.
We got to Simone (the guide that got stuck on the stump) but another guide had already responded and had the truck up on a jack. The plan was to drive it off of the jack and the stump at the same time. That plan didn’t work. After about 15 minutes, all had decided that the best plan was to call the anti-poaching guys for a saw to trim the stump. We didn’t stick around to see what happened, so we didn’t know the outcome – but assume that, eventually, the vehicle was freed.
From there, Moses hightailed it back to Longwope – with the spotlight out the whole way – in search of leopards! We didn’t spot any and we returned to the farmhouse just after 7:00. We took 15 minutes to refresh and then sat down for dinner, which was mushroom and onion cream soup as a starter, and chicken with rice and vegetables for dinner. Dessert was an ice box cake, but I was so full that I could only eat a couple of bites. Uncharacteristically, Markus ate his entire dessert!
After dinner, we sat by the fire for about an hour, and then had to call it a night. We have another early morning tomorrow!
Wildlife Spotted: Elephant, Giraffe, Impala, Jackal, Leopard with cub, Rhino, Wildebeest, Zebra