Manyeleti: Daily life in a safari camp

When I wrote about my five-night stay at the Honeyguide Mantobeni Tent Camp in the Manyeleti Game Reserve, I showed photos of the animals we saw. After all, it was the biology that drew me there. But of course it doesn’t hurt to have tasty food, comfortable accommodations, and, above all, two three-hour game drives a day with a good guide!

We had all that, and in this post I’ll show you something about the camp itself, the food, the accommodations, and the vehicles.  I will add that if you can splurge on something like this once in your life, do so. It costs no more than staying in a reasonable hotel in New York City, but with the benefits of seeing buffalo, rhinos, elephants, and a whole host of creatures, not to mention being soothed to sleep at night by the “location growls” of nearby lions.

I reserved about six months ago, as these places fill up quickly, and even though now (the winter in South Africa) the bush is dry and not verdant, it’s a good time to see the animals as they’re more visible. Plus you can count on no rain at all.

It’s about a 15-minute drive from the gate of the reserve to the registration building, itself part of a more luxurious feature of the camp complex: real rooms in a hotel-like structure instead of a tent. But as I was to find out, our “tents” were plenty luxurious.

From reception you’re driven to the lodge of your tent camp: the place where you come to socialize, eat, drink, and leave on the game drives. This is the nerve center of your stay:

It’s a lovely little lodge with a bar, a dining room, a fireplace, and even a wine cellar. Our tents are scattered outside.

Below: the main room of the lodge with the bar at the far end. Here you can sit and read, and there is internet (none in the tents).  In the foreground you can see my computer with picture I’m downloading to prepare a post:

The dining room. I always sat at the far end. Most of the visitors, it seems, come in large tour groups (there were, for example, many Italians, one of whom, to the puzzlement of the waitress, tried to explain that he wanted his pasta cooked al dente).  But there were some individual visitors like me, and we’d converge at the small far table.

There was a constant turnover of visitors, most seeming to stay about two or three nights. After five nights (and ten game drives), I was the longest-staying visitor when I left.

As I said, I was sad to leave. One of the reasons was the swimming pool, which was almost invariably patronized by a herd of elephants who came to drink. The group ranged from a single female (the matriarch, I think) up to 23 pachyderms.  As I worked writing my posts in the late mornings and afternoons, I could watch them.

Only a few people actually went into the pool, and mostly for photos (I didn’t as I had no bathing suit). It was largely a place to watch the elephants:

The schedule:

6:00 a.m.: The sound of a horn and faint drums wakes you up. I set my phone alarm as the wake-up call was barely audible.

6:30 a.m.: Game drive begins: there are coffee, tea, and rusks (an African favorite) in the dining room beforehand if you care to partake. Make sure your bowels and bladder are empty when you set out, as you are not allowed to relieve yourself in the bush!

9:30 a.m.: Return from game drive, wash up, go to your room if need be (I got my computer), and get ready for breakfast.

10:00 a.m.: Breakfast! Hot and hearty: just what you need after a long and sometimes chilly game drive (they provide coffee and rusks in the bush right before you drive back). Here’s the breakfast menu. Portions are copious, but if you’re really hungry you can have more.  I alternated between the “flapjacks” (made with corn and served with honey and bananas instead of syrup) and the “big five” breakfast if I was really hungry. It’s pretty much the Full English Breakfast, complete with baked beans, grilled tomatoes, and fried mushrooms:

There is also juice, toast, muffins, and fruit Here’s one of my Big Five Breakfasts, lacking the beans this time but with potato cakes:

Between breakfast and 2 p.m. you have about 3½ free hours, mostly time that I’d devote to writing my posts at a place where I could watch the elephants.

What about the lodgings? They were excellent. Here is my “tent”. It had a king-sized bed just for me, as well as a bathroom, a couch, and places to store belongings, which are perfectly safe.  This is tent 2F, which I’d recommend:

You have to unzip three zippered flaps to get to your bed; this keeps out mosquitoes, baboons, and other pests.  The “living room”, behind the entrance flap.  You can see the bed to the rear:

My bed. The nights were cold, but there was a heated mattress pad and a comforter that kept me very cozy and warm at night. During the morning game drive they make up your bed and tidy your room. During the evening game drive, they put out the mosquito netting, which completely encompasses your bed. (Although it’s not the wet season, my doctor still prescribed malaria pills for me.)

The bathroom, open to the outdoors at one end, has two sinks, a flush toilet, and two showers (not in stalls) with hot water. Now that is luxury:

The showers, which drain into wooden planks. It was a delight to take showers open partly to the elements, but you have to zip the bathroom flap shut at night to keep the baboons out of your tent (no food allowed in tents, either). You’re advised not to leave your toothbrush or any other personal articles in the bathroom, as the baboons can climb in through the open part and steal them.

In the afternoons I’d work for a few hours, catching up on email and writing posts, all the while watching any elephants who came to the pool. (You’re not allowed to wander about on your own because of possible danger from animals.

At 2 p.m. lunch was served.  Here are some photos. The lunch menu was conveyed verbally, and there was always a choice of at least two main courses as well as dessert.

Ribs:

Dessert: meringue in a shell.

You could also buy wine by the glass or bottle, or order a drink from the bar. They weren’t free, but they were inexpensive and the selection was good. I rarely drink alcohol when traveling, so at best I’d have a cappuccino.

3 p.m.: The second 3-hour game drive begins.  The vehicles we used were converted Toyota Land Cruisers made suitable for driving over very rough roads. Each one seated ten people and the driver. The best seat was by the driver, and ours was the affable and knowledgeable Dan. Since  most people were in groups, they sat in the three seats behind, usually leaving me the prized front seat.

Here are our vehicles. Dan is in the driver’s seat in the left one. (They drive on the wrong side in Africa: a legacy from the Brits.)

A full vehicle setting off:

I’ve already shown you what we saw on our game drives. After all of them I saw every animal I wanted to see, and finished the Big Five on my very last day by seeing an African buffalo. On only one drive did we fail to see anything interesting, but if you want a good shot at seeing most of the iconic animals, I’d recommend a stay of at least four days.

About half an hour before we began the drive back to camp, we’d have a “sundowner”: drinks that we’d specify at lunch. You could have wine, beer, iced tea, gin and tonics, and some nibbles like nuts or chips.  I usually had iced tea or a beer. Here’s my favorite picture of Dan (one I’ve shown before): laughing as he prepared the evening’s G&Ts, everything kept cold in a cooler. I can still hear his laugh and his deep voice, saying “Yaaaaah” for “Yes.”;

Then came the long drive back to camp in the dark (usually at least half an hour). As Dan drove, he swept a powerful flashlight back and forth across the road, not only to see any animals in the road to avoid (we came across several hares), but also to catch the gleam from the eyes of any cats lurking in the bush. We didn’t see any, but I saw every big cat on tap: lion, leopard, and cheetah. I missed the smaller cats: the serval, caracal, and African wildcat. But a picture of a serval from a wildlife rehab center will be coming in a later post.

Home at 6:30, dinner at 7.  Some menus and photos (all desserts!). As you see, the food selection was wide, and except for an occasional tendency to overcook meat, the kitchen did well. As you see, they featured game, but I tended to avoid it after seeing the animals in the wild. (Yes, call me a hypocrite, because I’ve seen cows and pigs on farms but do eat them.ˆ).

It was dark in the dining room and my flash doesn’t work well, so you’ll have to be satisfied with photos of desserts. Stewed guava with vanilla ice cream:

And cake with whipped cream and fruit purée.

The temperature-controlled wine cellar in a glass-fronted room.

So those are the amenities of life in camp. I will miss it, and perhaps some day will visit again. But the day after tomorrow we go to Kruger for five days, and although the accommodations are simple bungalows, the important thing is that I get the chance to see animals again.

Maybe one like this: