For the past 10 days we’ve been at Madaka Game Lodge aka Swiss Safari and Eco Tours – very impressive! The intention was to visit Itala Nature Reserve, stay at a caravan park nearby, and possibly camp in the reserve overnight with our tent. The people at Itala recommended Madaka and we contacted them and found that although they were some 30 odd kms from Itala by road, they had their own access gate. The tariff was 30 Rand per site plus 9 Rand for electricity. We arrived on Friday 12th after a leisurely drive from Mkuze via Pongola and were met by John and Janet O’Connell and 3 game guards (to help us set up camp). The camp sites are set in thorn bush some 50 ft above a small river. They are in the midst of the bush yet have the facility of electricity and very smart ablutes. For most of the time we have been the only people here.
Leopard Territory
Madaka is a game farm of some 17,000 hectares and carries wildebeest, Hartebeest, Impala, Kudu, Ostrich, Warthogs, Duiker, and Leopard. The only one to be evasive is the Leopard – although the spoor is all over the river below us. The owners of the farm are Swiss (Hence the name) and are currently holidaying in Europe. John and Janet O’Connell are currently acting as temporary unpaid caretakers. They are a very pleasant and interesting couple and are doing the same thing as us. They sold up their farm and trout hatchery at Himeville and took to the road.
Madaka Bass Pool
The long and the short of it is that we took one drive into Itala reserve, and, although it is very beautiful, decided that we preferred it where we were. Our days have been spent walking the river and krantzes and trying to catch Yellow fish – we were unsuccessful, and you may therefore safely assume that none exist in that particular stretch of water-, picking and eating oranges, grapefruit, lemons and naartjies from the trees around; catching numerous Bass in the 4 dams (Sean has at last found the right formula); and generally having a ball. We did a couple of sorties into Pongola and Vryheid. Both towns were quite pleasant, with the former, surprisingly, being quite affluent. Lots of young Sandton type mommies driving their 4 x 4s to the hairdresser and coffee shop.
Janet and John O’Connell at Pongola Taxidermist
Yesterday whilst exploring some of the upper tracks of the farm, Sean drove through a small puddle only to have it turn into a bottomless pit. We were up to our backsides in black oozing goo. There were a few mutters and “Oh Goshes”, but to Jean’s everlasting credit, there were no “I told you so’s”. (This will also account for the fact that Jean is still in good health.) Anyway, out we got and off we went to gather whatever we could find in the way of branches and the like. Then out came the Hilift Jack…… 10 minutes later, back into the Landy and out came the instructions for the Hilift Jack…. 20 minutes later after much jacking, building of platforms, and more jacking, with a mighty s-l-u-u-r-p, our front wheels came out of the goo. We are proud of ourselves (although some will probably say that we shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place), particularly when we found out that the farm Land Cruiser had been stuck in the same place and had to be retrieved with a tractor.
Stuck
Thank you all for your missives – they are much appreciated. We have managed to pick them up on our visits to the towns, otherwise there is no Cell Phone contact here.
We expect to be back in Durban from the 25th or so – to celebrate Maw’s birthday and thence …. who knows?