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We enjoyed South Africa so much last time we decided to go back. This time we didn't venture very far from Cape Town so we only had one flight in and one out. |
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We started our holiday at Botlierskop Private Game Reserve and did camping. Only told Jonathon we'd be camping after I'd booked it so it was too late for him to object! |
The holiday didn't get off to a good start courtesy of British Airways who had decided to sell our seats to somebody more important (despite our having booked about 9 months ago). This meant that we were bumped out of business class onto World Traveller Plus. Still better than the people who were the bottom of the domino chain who were left behind in London with no seat at all! Compensation and a refund of the difference really doesn't make up for not having flat beds and having the start of the holiday spoilt. They did redeem themselves on the way home as they upgraded us to First Class - very nice!
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It was a fairly long drive to Botlierskop but Jonathon managed to stay awake even if I didn't!
We were camping but in luxurious style - the walkway to our tent is in the photo below
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Botlierskop was wonderful. Nothing was too much trouble. They seemed to be able to cater around every kind of allergy and the whole team is really friendly and helpful. Their main aim in life seems to make sure the guests have a great time. |
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Our tent had a huge 4 poster bed - the curtains served as mosquito nets but we didn't need them as we didn't have any mozzies. It also had an en suite bathroom with a bath. The shower was outside at the back so it was good to have a shower and look up to the sky.
You could also see our tent from the river (we enjoyed a river trip one day). Each tent is far enough away from the others that we didn't get disturbed at all..
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Botlierskop means bottle top and is named after a rock formation on top of a hill overlooking the farm.
The view from the tent on a morning was really pretty.
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We often saw horses outside our room, enjoying the grass. Little did we know when we first arrived that we'd end up riding two of them!! Jonathon's horse was called Fred and mine was Sambok. They were lovely quiet horses and we walked all the way up to the top of the Botlierskop hill so had lovely views.
This was a first for Jonathon so we stayed at walking pace for most of the time and enjoyed the views, the sunshine and getting remarkably close to some of the animals.
I've blended the animal photos in with the others below rather than showing them separately.
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When we weren't out and about spotting animals, we saw a lot of the dining room! They certainly believe in feeding you a lot at Botlierskop and the food was delicious.
We also spent happy moments relaxing on the patio. They had a novel way to light the campfire - with a can of propane and a massive blow torch. They used the same method to light the fires inside as well. Very efficient but "Don't try this at home"!
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At some point during our stay, on a lovely sunny afternoon, we went out on a small boat for a ride down the river. The bird photos are in the bird section and the views were lovely. |
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On a couple of evenings we went out for a lion drive. The lions are kept separately from the other animals. They were reared by humans and Botlierskop "adopted" them some time later. As a result they have not learned how to hunt nor have they any parenting skills. They are brother, sister and another lioness. |
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As you can see, the lions were pretty content. They'd just eaten quite a lot of cow (died on a local farm) so their tummies were full and they didn't need to think about anything much. They opened their eyes occasionally to have a look at us but that was about it. They were slightly more lively the second visit as the male had decided to attack the cow again while the lionesses watched on.
A bit of history about the lions. They were reared by CARE after they had been abandoned by their mothers. They outgrew their enclosure at CARE and were looking for a new home when someone mentioned Botlierskop where they could live without fear of hunters. They moved to Botlerskop in October 1999. Although they had names when they were at CARE they are no longer known by these names - they are not pets but animals who live in the wild to the best of their abilities with a bit of human assistance as required re food etc.
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The photo above left shows the black tips on the lioness's ears. These are used when hunting as "indicators" rather than growling so they don't scare off their prey but alert the other lionesses to the fact that they need to take notice. |
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The first morning was an early game drive so off we went before sunrise (this was a holiday???). It wasn't particularly cold, the air was fresh and the scenery was lovely |
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The following views were taken over the few days we were at Botlierskop so you can see the changes in the weather.
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On the right is the view on the way up to Botlierskop Hill when we were horse riding ... |
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... and this is what it looked like from the top. |
When the sun came up, it brightened everything up. |
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By sunrise we'd seen our first few animals. Botlierskop was set up to protect Black Impala - rare but not protected as they are the same species as the brown Impala, just a different colour. There were quite a few of them here.
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While we were there some of the Black Impala were being moved out to other farms, an auction etc. so we saw the helicopter with the vet in trying to dart them. The order was for 40 and they'd caught about 10 by the end of the first day of 3 and all 40 by the end of the second day.
The vet would dart them, a pick up truck with 2 men would come and collect them (the pick up had a nice straw bed in the back for them), take them to a big white truck where a second vet was waiting to wake them up and check them out. They then spent the night in a boma (open air barn type enclosure) before being transported off.
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As well as Impala, there were several other kinds of antelope - first of all, Bontebok with their white faces and behinds. |
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Not sure why this Bontebok was all on its own but it provided a good scenery opportunity with Mossel Bay and the ocean in the background. |
The Eland were very shy but we managed to get a couple of photos, some from the horse ride. |
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The Waterbuck are very distinctive with the white target on their bums! |
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There were also a few Kudu |
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On our very last day, one our very last game drive we were lucky enough to spot two more species of antelope. First, the Springbok - the national animal of SA |
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Our second "new" species was the Nyala, really pretty animals. We'd gone into a different part of the park as Stuart knew that they sometimes hung around in that area and ... there they were! |
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Moving away from the antelope and onto other animals, there were Giraffe - 2 male and 2 female. The two males looked like they were the best of friends, all cuddled up together but ... |
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... what they were really doing was shoring each other's lower halves up before they beat each other up with their necks. It's called necking so a bit different from the meaning we're used to. |
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You can tell which the males are for various reasons but one is that they have no hair / fur on the top of their horns. This is rubbed off when they're fighting. The photo above right shows the giraffe's blue tongue - very strange looking!
There were also Cape Mountain Zebra. One standing on his own, an old male, then a few others - males and females. |
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Some of the Zebra were very curious when we stopped for a drink during one game drive so came to have a nosey at what we were doing and whether there was anything available for them! |
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As I mentioned above, we went into a different part of the reserve on the last morning . The Zebra there were Burchell's Zebra, less stripey legs but still a white tum. |
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Wherever you find Zebra, Wildebeest tend not to be far away. Sure enough, there was a herd of Blue Wildebeest. |
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These animals might look a bit prehistoric but not as old as the White Rhinoceros. Their name was originally Wide Mouthed Rhino but this was corrupted over the years to White Rhino. They constantly munch the grass, like close cropping lawn mowers. They don't like long grass as it takes too much chewing! |
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The family consisted of Mum, Dad and 2 daughters. Mum's the one with the really long horn.
This little wagtail got a lot closer than I would like to be.
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This male Rhino lived in a different part of the park. He was quite grumpy and trotted off. This was the first time we'd seen a Rhino at Botlierskop do anything but eat! |
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While on our horse ride, we saw a couple of tortoises - one large and one small. the smaller one disappeared in the grass very quickly but I managed to get a photo of the larger one. |
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The tortoise was fairly dinosaur-looking and the Cape Buffalo look pretty historic as well with their huge horns. One of the females was clearly not impressed when she heard Stuart's voice (Stuart was our excellent guide). Stuart explained that he'd been one of the team to dart the buffalo recently and she must recognise the voice. These are such unpredictable animals you always stay well away from them but with the additional problem of recognition and evil eye we made sure we were all safely fastened in the safari truck. |
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One of our favourite animals is the elephant and we were lucky enough to get very close. These elephants are looked after by keepers, recognise their voices and commands. The "baby" was imcredibly cute. |
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Mum looks like she's giving Baby a cuddle above but a few seconds later she was gently edging him away from that area because she wanted to play in the dust that he'd found.
Then the dust made her ears itchy so she had to have a scratch!
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Just as with the lions, the elephants have a history too. Sam and Tsotsi arrived at Botlierskop in June 2004. Tschima (means Surprise) was born in August 2007. Sam and Tsotsi grew up in Zimbabwe but in September 2003 the place where they lived was invaded and the animals were moved. In 2004 they were taken to Botlierskop to continue the educational programme started by their previous owner. Sam and Tsotsi earn a living to help with both their upkeep and that of the other animals they left behind. They are both movie stars having starred in "Far Off Place" and "Elephant Boy". Tsotsi bathed with Isabella Rosselini in another film and Sam was in "Pride". Pretty busy elephants but they seem happy enough and clearly adore their keepers. |
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We had high tea with the elephants a couple of times! Jonathon was far more interested in photographing the elephants than eating the chocolate cake (no bad thing really) |
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As we were having our tea, Tschima decided he'd have his as well. |
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We also saw a few birds - Blue Heron on the left and Ostrich on the right. This Heron was outside our tent one morning. We also saw one when we were on our river trip (photo below) whch is also when we saw the Common Moorhens and Pied Kingfisher. |
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The Spectacled Weaverbird was busy putting his nest in order. If the female doesn't approve of the nest she destroys it and he has to start again. Wouldn't want to be a male Spectacled Weaverbird then! |
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The Blue Cranes were very elegant - their feathers were being ruffled by the breeze. This is the national bird of South Africa . |
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Funny how we don't mind the herons when they're not eating our fish
The birds below are the Southern Red Bishop (left), the Orange Breasted Longclaw (centre) and the Greater Double Collared Sunbird (right)
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We focused a bit on birds during one of the game drives so ended up with a few different ones - the birds on the right are Fork-tailed Drongo.
Below we have Stanley's Bustard (left) and Three Banded Plover (centre and right)
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The birds in flight are an Egyptian Goose, a Black Harrier and a Jackal Buzzard - the big photo is also a Black Harrier
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The pretty little birds above are all Cape Batis. The one on the immediate right is a cousin - a Chinspot Batis and on the far right is a Yellow Rumped Widow. |
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On the left we have a Speckled Mousebird and the right a Fiscal Shrike, aka Butcher Bird
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From left to right below, a Franklin (or Red Necked Spur Fowl), a Cape Wagtail and an LBJ (Little Brown jobbie - nobody seemed to know what the real name was. LBJ seems to be a general name given to any small, brown-ish coloured bird that nobody can specifically identify!) |
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So, again, left to right below are Egyptian Geese, a Stanley's Bustard and a Knysna Lorie. |
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These 2 pictures are of a Jackal Buzzard |
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The bird on the left is a Speckled Mousebird. the three pictures below - Capped Wheatear (left and centre) and a Hadeda Ibis.
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On the left and right we have the chief bird identification team comprising Jonathon and Stuart. They spent ages poring over the bird book to work out what all the photos were of. If any of the labels are wrong, please let me know and I'll pass the message on! |
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We also saw quite a few flowers while we were driving / riding / walking around. Unfortunately we don't have a clue what most of them are - we'll try and find a flower book one day and identify them but at the moment ..... |
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Would we go back to Botlierskop? Yes, without any hesitation. You get really spoilt. The team do everything they can to make sure you have a lovely time, enjoying yourself and relaxing but with plenty of activities if you want to get up early, join in, take advantage of what's on offer. Alternatively, you can just sit by the pool or on the patio (or, if chilly, by the log fires) and flop.
Finally, although we didn't see any really spectacular sunsets whilst we were there, the sun did make the sky very pretty on our last evening.
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