Exploring the Northern Cape of South Africa

It was an invitation hard for anyone to refuse.  It was a safari trip made possible by Thai Airways, in conjunction with the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa and the Department of Economic Development and Tourism of the Northern Cape, to promote the Northern Cape of South Africa. 

South Africa is definitely one of my favorite countries to visit. My previous experiences there were definitely fun and very memorable. I always heard of the Northern Cape and jumped at the chance to experience it.

Our small group led by Thai Airways district sales manager Malu Dueñas boarded luxurious Business Class seats of Thai Airways to Bangkok to connect to Johannesburg. Johannesburg is one of the 72 destinations of Thai Airways.

We had a few hours to kill in Johannesburg before flying to the Northern Cape so we decided to take a very short city tour. The girls just wanted to see what the city was like so we went to the Nelson Mandela Square, drove by the house where Nelson Mandela was currently staying, and did some souvenir shopping in a mall. We headed to the Hilton for our lunch and the group was shocked with the quality (and size) of our meal. None of them expected food in South Africa to be so good. It made a good first impression on them. Then off we went  to the airport once more where our real adventure was to commence.

Upon our arrival in Kimberley, we were met by some members of the Northern Cape Economic Development Trade and Investment Promotion Agency. Also there to meet us was Tata Ma Tata Tours (www.tatamatata.co.za) owner Ed Smith, who would be our wonderful guide for the next eight days. 

We were whisked to Mattanu Private Game Reserve (www.mattanu.com) owned by the Kriek family. Dr. Johann Kriek is a pioneer in breeding disease-free African buffalo. He was also instrumental in successfully breeding the rare Roan antelope, endemic to South Africa, saving it from becoming extinct. His son Jacques Kriek welcomed us at the very cozy lodge and led us to our tents. We were driven, err, flown around the reserve by Johan Kriek, Dr. Johann’s other son. Johan made us view the lodge from the helicopter as we followed herds of buffaloes and giraffes while we excitedly snapped away with our cameras. After a 20-minute ride, we got to our bush dinner and enjoyed eating under a sky full of stars.

The following morning, Dr. Kriek flew with his son and darted two buffaloes. They meant to tag them and check if they were indeed disease-free.  Gel Bayona, Cheche Moral, Malu and I experienced vaccinating these thick-skinned animals for bovine tuberculosis, anthrax, and other diseases. Marbee Go sprayed their behinds for ticks and fleas. We all then posed for photos since we don’t get close to a buffalo every day! We got into our vehicle and Jacques (who manages the lodge) injected the animals again that woke them up in seconds. The two buffaloes joined the herd once again. Then we drove around to see the rare Roan antelope, sable antelope, the oryx, warthogs, giraffes and springboks.

 The following morning, we flew via chartered plane to Tswalu Kalahari (www.tswalu.com). We admired nests of the Sociable Weavers as we sipped welcome drinks along the private landing strip. Sociable Weavers built apartment-style nests in clusters of 50 to 600 nests and it was a sight to see how these birds knew which nest to go to. 

We were taken to another game drive with our packed lunch prepared by Tswalu. After about an hour of driving around, we were ecstatic to see twin male lions resting under a nest of Sociable Weavers. The male lions were harder to find than the females and what luck to see two of these majestic creatures. We then saw the female lions, a carcass of a giraffe with hyenas eating off it, and other feathered creatures. An hour more of going around the huge reserve paid off as we saw the very rare black rhinoceros.

We then went to the guesthouse of Tswalu to have afternoon cocktails and a braai dinner, which was simply barbecued meats such as chicken, beef, lamb (the world famous Karoo lamb no less), kudu and forcemeat (basically a meat sausage). 

Tswalu Kalahari is South Africa’s largest private game reserve, covering an area of over 100,000 hectares. Owned by the Oppenheimer family (of De Beers), Tswalu takes conservation as its absolute priority. No more than 30 guests at a time can discover the beauty of this landscape, its diverse wildlife, and the serenity of what may well be South Africa’s last great wilderness. It is the epitome of luxury and has been visited by Bono and Drew Barrymore (who we missed by merely a week).

We then flew via our chartered plane to Upington and our first stops were the Orange River Cellars (www.orangeriverwines.com) and Bezalel Wine and Brandy Estate (www.facebook.com/Bezalel.Estate). Lunch followed at the African Vineyard Guest House (www.africanvineyard.co.za). The Guest House had several quaint rooms and we had a serendipitous chance to meet renowned wildlife photographer Hannes Lochner who was having his book launch there. Marbee and I had our books autographed! Our accommodation was the very charming Dundi Lodge (www.dundilodge.co.za). 

The next day saw us enjoying a hot-air balloon ride over the Kalahari Desert (www.openafrica.org/participant/Augrabies-Hot-Air-Ballooning). The staff there made (not bought) a Philippine flag knowing we’d be there! They hung the flag on the balloon with the red portion upright and were embarrassed when told it meant war! Nevertheless, we really appreciated their effort of decorating the balloon with a Philippine flag as we soared over magnificent landscapes for an hour. 

We also visited the mighty Augrabies Falls (www.sanparks.org/parks/augrabies), which offers camping at the national park. After viewing the majestic falls, I convinced everyone to indulge in South Africa’s to-die-for dessert — the malva pudding!

 Tutwa Lodge (www.tutwalodge.co.za) was going to be our final lodge for this trip. The sprawling 16,000-hectare private estate bordered the Orange River where we managed to go kayaking. We also did some fly-fishing. The Orange River separates South Africa from Namibia. Cheche and Malu dashed to the Namibian side to say that they’d been to Namibia! Tutwa also offered us a sighting of the Fish Eagle, whose nest was in its property.

After four lodges, we left animal land and went back to the city. Kimberley is famous for The Big Hole (www.thebighole.co.za) where 14.5 million carats of diamonds had been mined.  The sight of the giant cavity was amazing, even if people no longer mine for diamonds there. A short tour around the city also took us to Galeshewe to see the Mayibuye Uprising Memorial that commemorates lives lost during the fight against apartheid.

One of the most impressive art collections in Kimberley can be seen at The William Humphreys Art Gallery (www.whag.co.za) where we spent an hour checking out the European masterpieces and South African works of art. Of course, shopping was part of the itinerary as we visited the Diamond Pavilion (www.diamondpavilion.co.za), the largest mall in the Northern Cape. More souvenir shopping ensued before we departed for the finals of the World Skateboarding Grand Prix Kimberley Diamond Cup (www.kimberleydiamondcup.com). This event showcased the world’s best skateboarders who competed for a total prize of $500,000. The same event will be held in Kimberley in the next three years.

This is the third time I have been to South Africa. This trip has to be the best I’ve had. There is so much the Northern Cape has to offer and despite all the wonderful activities we did, there is still so much more to do and see. There is no doubt in my mind that I’m heading straight to the Northern Cape when I visit South Africa again.

 (For additional information, visit www.experiencenortherncape.com.)

 (Thai Airways has a special all-in promotional fare to Johannesburg until Nov. 30. Its 8:30 p.m. flight departs Manila every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and arrives in Bangkok at 10:45 p.m. just in time to connect with flights to Johannesburg. Visit www.thaiairways.com or contact Thai reservations at 580-8424 or e-mail [email protected]. You may also contact Thai’s district sales manager

Malu Dueñas at [email protected].)