When I wrote about my five-day stay at Honeyguide Mantobeni Tent Camp in 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 delicious food, comfortable accommodation and, most importantly, two three-hour game drives a day with a good guide!
We had all of that, and in this post I’ll show you a bit about the camp itself, the food, the accommodations, and the vehicles. I’d like to add that if you can afford something like this once in your life, you should do it. It won’t cost any more than staying in a reasonable hotel in New York City, but you’ll have the benefit of seeing buffalo, rhinos, elephants, and a whole host of other animals, not to mention being lulled to sleep at night by the “growl” of the lions nearby.
I made a reservation about six months ago as these sites fill up quickly and although the bush is dry and not green now (winter in South Africa), it is a good time to see the animals as they are more visible. Plus, you can count on it not raining at all.
It’s about a 15-minute drive from the entrance to the reservation to the registration building. The building is part of a more luxurious part of the camp complex: actual rooms in a hotel-like building instead of a tent. But as I was to find out, our “tents” were luxurious enough.
From reception you will be driven to your tented camp lodge: the place where you socialise, eat, drink and go on game drives. This is the nerve centre of your stay:
It’s a lovely little lodge with a bar, dining room, fireplace and even a wine cellar. Our tents are scattered outside.
Below: the main room of the lodge with the bar at the other end. Here you can sit and read, and there is internet (there is none in the tents). In the foreground you can see my computer with a picture that I am downloading to prepare a post:
The dining room. I always sat at the other end. Most visitors, it seems, come in large tour groups (there were, for example, many Italians, one of whom, to the astonishment of the waitress, tried to explain that he wanted his pasta cooked all dente). But there were also individual visitors like me, and we met at the small table opposite.
There was a constant turnover of visitors, most of whom seemed to stay for two or three nights. After five nights (and ten game drives) I was the visitor who had stayed the longest when I left.
As I said, I was sad to leave. One of the reasons was the swimming pool, which was almost always visited by a herd of elephants coming to drink. The group ranged from a single female (the matriarch, I believe) to 23 pachyderms. I was able to observe them while I was writing my posts in the late morning and afternoon.
Only a few people actually went into the pool, and most of them were there to take photos (not me, as I didn’t have a bathing suit). It was mainly a place to watch the elephants:
The schedule:
6:00 am: The sound of a horn and soft drums wakes you up. I set my phone’s alarm because the alarm was barely audible.
6:30 am: The game drive begins: If you feel like it, coffee, tea and rusks (a favourite African drink) are ready in the dining room. Make sure your bowels and bladder are empty before you set off, because you are not allowed to relieve yourself in the bush!
9:30 a.m.: Return from the game drive, wash myself, go to my room if necessary (I have my computer with me) and get ready for breakfast.
10:00 am: Breakfast! Hot and hearty: just what you need after a long and sometimes chilly game drive (in the bush, coffee and rusks are served just before you head back). Here’s the breakfast menu. The portions are plentiful, but if you’re really hungry, you can take more. I alternated between the “flapjacks” (made from corn and served with honey and bananas instead of syrup) and the “Big Five” breakfast when 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 is one of my Big Five breakfasts, this time without beans but with potato cake:
Between breakfast and 2pm you have about 3½ hours of free time, mostly time that I would devote to writing my posts in a place where I can watch the elephants.
And how was the accommodation? It was excellent. Here is my “tent”. It had a king size bed just for me, plus a bathroom, a couch and storage for my things that are completely safe. This is the tent 2F that I would recommend:
To get to the bed, you have to open three zippered flaps that keep mosquitoes, baboons and other pests away. The “living room” behind the entrance flap. You can see the bed from behind:
My bed. The nights were cold but there was a heated mattress pad and duvet which kept me very cozy and warm at night. During the morning game drive they make your bed and tidy your room. During the evening game drive they put up the mosquito net which completely surrounds your bed. (Even though it is not the rainy season my doctor still prescribed me malaria tablets.)
The bathroom, which is open to the outside at one end, has two sinks, a flush toilet and two showers (not cubicles) with hot water. Now The is luxury:
The showers, which drain into wooden planks. It was a pleasure to shower partially open to brave the elements, but you have to zip up the bathroom hatch at night to keep the baboons out of the tent (food is not allowed in tents either). It is recommended not to leave toothbrushes or other personal items in the bathroom as the baboons can climb in through the open part and steal them.
In the afternoon I worked for a few hours, answering emails and writing posts, all the while keeping an eye out for elephants coming to the pond. (You are not allowed to walk around alone as the animals could be dangerous.)
At 2 p.m. Lunch was served. Here are a few photos. The lunch menu was communicated verbally, there were always at least two main courses and a dessert to choose from.
Ribs:
Dessert: meringue in a bowl.
You could also buy wine by the glass or bottle or order a drink at the bar. The wine wasn’t free, but it was good value and the selection was good. I rarely drink alcohol when I travel, so the most I would drink is a cappuccino.
3 p.m: The second three-hour game drive begins. The vehicles we used were modified Toyota Land Cruisers, adapted for driving on very bumpy roads. Each vehicle had ten seats and a driver. The best seat was with the driver, and our seat was the friendly and knowledgeable Dan. Since most people were travelling in groups, they sat in the three seats behind, so I usually got the coveted front seat.
Here are our vehicles. Dan is sitting in the driver’s seat on the left. (In Africa, they drive on the wrong side: a legacy from the British.)
A full vehicle sets off:
I’ve already shown you what we saw on our game drives. After all these drives, I saw every animal I wanted to see and on the very last day I completed the Big Five with an African buffalo. Only on one drive did we not see anything interesting, but if you want to have a good chance of seeing most of the iconic animals, I would recommend staying for at least four days.
About half an hour before we started the drive back to camp, we had a “sundowner”: drinks we chose at lunch. There was wine, beer, iced tea, gin and tonics and a few nibbles like nuts or crisps. I usually had iced tea or a beer. Here’s my favorite picture of Dan (one I’ve shown before): him laughing as he prepares the evening’s G&Ts, everything kept cold in a cooler. I can still hear his laughter and his deep voice saying “Yaaaaah” instead of “Yes.”
Then came the long drive in the dark back to camp (usually at least half an hour). During the drive, Dan would circle the road with a powerful flashlight, not only to see animals on the road that he had to avoid (we encountered several rabbits), but also to catch the glint in the eyes of cats lurking in the bush. We didn’t see any, but I saw every large Cats on tap: lion, leopard and cheetah. I missed the smaller cats: serval, caracal and African wildcat. But a picture of a serval from a wildlife rehabilitation center will follow in a later post.
Home at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. Some menus and photos (all desserts!). As you can see, the food selection was wide and aside from an occasional tendency to overcook meat, the kitchen did a good job. As you can see, there was game, but I avoided it after seeing the animals in the wild. (Yes, call me a hypocrite because I have seen cows and pigs on farms, but I eat them).
Since it was dark in the dining room and my flash didn’t work properly, you’ll have to make do with photos of desserts. Braised guava with vanilla ice cream:
And cake with whipped cream and fruit puree.
The temperature-controlled wine cellar in the glass room.
So these are the comforts of camp life. I will miss it and maybe come back one day. But the day after tomorrow we are going to Kruger National Park for five days and although the accommodation is simple bungalows, the most important thing is that I get the chance to see animals again.
Maybe something like this:
