While on my recent trip to South Africa we spent two days driving around the Panorama Route and Blyde Canyon and then did a safari in Sabi Sands. Here is a recap of what we did, what we liked, and what we would change.
Hoedspruit airport is the gateway to this part of the country. There are flights daily from both Johannesburg and Cape Town. It is a very small regional airport. Incidentally, it has a pretty good gift shop. It was also a wonderful surprise that my friend from Spoken Light photography was able to rent an extra camera and lens from africaphotographic at the airport so he didn’t have to lug too much equipment across the world. He was very happy with their equipment and the convenient process!
Sable Tours picked us up at the airport, drove us around the Blyde Canyon area, and drove us to and from our safari. To be honest, I am not sure if I recommend them or not. They were reliable and one stop shopping for all of our transportation needs. But the first day of our driving tour was not great and the provided box lunches were horrible. Our guide the second day was phenomenal, and both our transfers to / from Sabi Sands were great. I guess I would recommend them but make sure you have clear communication as to what you are seeing and not seeing if doing a driving tour.
Blyde River Canyon is the third largest in the world and considered the greenest. It is breathtakingly beautiful. We had 1 ½ days to explore the canyon with Sable Tours. Our group was unanimous that this is where we would cut if needed. The drives were long. In retrospect, we would have gone immediately to our camp the first day, hung out in the wild, and done an evening game drive. We would have then done one full day in the Canyon reserve that included Blyde River Canyon river cruise, the “potholes”, the “Three Rondavels” and Graskop Gorge.
We stayed at Rukiya Safari Camp for two nights. And while we stayed in some really luxurious and exception places while in South Africa, this was my favorite. Others in my group would choose Abbey Guesthouse in Johannesburg but I loved Rukiya. It was a perfect mix of nature and luxury – pampering and rustic. And getting up in the morning to watch the waterhole with a cup of tea was one of my favorite memories. The staff is friendly and accommodating. The food is superb!
We opted to do a safari in Sabi Sands private reserve rather than Kruger. Based on my research beforehand and what we were told while there, I am so glad I made that decision. Kruger is an open park and far busier. This means more vehicles will crowd the animals both stressing them out and making for a less pleasant viewing. We were also told the vehicles are not allowed to go off road. Sabi Sands and Nkorho Bush Lodge were AMAZING!!! We saw the Big 5. We saw more leopards and lions than I can count. Our guide, Pieter, and our tracker, Chris were professional, experienced and personable. After three days, they felt like friends. In fact, that is true of the entire Nkorho staff. It is the type of place you hug everyone when you leave! And did I mention, the food was outstanding. I had to skip dinner twice because I was so full from eating all day! We were there three nights, which is 6 game drives. That was about right. I would have enjoyed one more night but didn’t need it, and two nights would not have been long enough.
(All of the photos were taken by me with the iPhone. If you think these are great – wait until I post some from Spokenlight!)
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