Page 109 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2025 GRAND VOYAGE

he drive from Port Elizabeth to my lowed in the muddy shallows. Among them
first game drive passed miles of ver- was Thandi, the beloved survivor of a brutal
T dant farmland where leopards, lions, horn poaching attack. The reserve actively
and elephants still roam. Elephants once combats this ongoing threat with armed
devastated fruit crops here, leading to guards who patrol 24/7.
widespread culling. Thankfully, public out- Just when we thought we’d seen it all,
cry halted the carnage, and sparked cre- our guide took us to a river known for its
ation of an elephant reserve to protect elusive hippos. Sensitive to the sun, these
these magnificent creatures. multi-ton behemoths remained mostly sub-
Ship tours often visited that safe haven, merged, their presence betrayed only by oc-
Addo Elephant National Park, but having casional ripples and bubbles. We waited,
explored similar sanctuaries in Kenya, we hoping for a better view, but with our stom-
chose to explore a private family-owned achs rumbling for lunch, we reluctantly
game reserve about 90 minutes from the headed back to the lodge for a buffet meal
port. Kariega Private Game Reserve and the ride back to the port
sprawls across 25,000 acres of dense
coastal scrub and broad grassy plains, bi-
sected by two rivers. The heat and humid-
ity were stifling as we climbed into our
open-air 4x4 safari vehicles and rumbled
into the park..
Four of the "Big Five"—lions, leopards,
rhinos, and elephants—roam here but given
the midday heat, we only managed to spot
the tail and muscular haunches of one
snoozing under a thorn bush, But radio
chatter among the guides promised more
exciting sightings, so we sped off, bouncing
down rutted dirt roads. This rollercoaster
ride in full sun is not travel for the faint of
heart—or anyone with joint or back prob-
lems.
Why endure this, you might ask, when
you could stroll through a zoo? Because
there's no comparison. Here, in their natu-
ral habitat, the animals roam free and
spotting them is an adventure. It's a joy to
watch a heard of zebras lazily munching
grass or silly warthogs scurrying into the
shade
The largest animals, of course, are un-
forgettable. We saw dozens of giraffes,
their long necks reaching effortlessly into
the razor-sharp thorns of acacia trees. At a
watering hole, a group of white rhinos wal-

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