20th June – Ants Hill
We were picked up from our hotel at 10.am for a vehicle transfer to Ant’s Hill, just out of Valwater (pronounced Vul-Vader) in the Waterberg District of Limpopo, Northern South Africa. Due to the many many road works we arriver 4 1/2 hours later.
Ant’s Nest is a working Game Farm. It’s over 5000 hectares and is enclosed in a giant electric fence. And things are allowed to go on pretty naturally – breeding, eating each other etc. They do maintain numbers by selling off stock to other breeders and also swap stock for the good of the gene pool. They do not allow trophy hunters onto their place but do have a problem with poachers.
We were taken inside and given a cocktail, to then be told that we were the only guests for the next few days. It was pretty tough trying to keep 32 staff busy. A three course lunch got us off to a good start. 
The lodge had been built around the landscape and logs. It is set next to a massive waterfall/stone riverbed with one meter steps and drops down about 50 meters from top to bottom. The owners designed and built it using local materials. “There is a great log – that would be good to…… be at the end of the bathtub and hold up one end of the shower rail.”
It is built of chunks (about 400mm square) of local rock – a sand stony rock with huge amount of bright orange and others with lichens of many different colours. The floors are all of giant flagstones up to about 800mm square. Uprights and beams are made of trees that were growing on site and of course many many 6 inch rounds for the strength. The roof is thatches and looks so good from the inside and is hugely insulative.
We had the upstairs room. Above the main lodge it has amazing views from our verandah. The veranda was about 4 x 7 meters and is quiet well equipped. Gigantic sofa, very well stocked fridge, table and chairs etc. It looks across the water course to a water hole and a giant salt lick – so there is always some animal there.
We thought that we had arrived too late to do an afternoon activity, but not so. “What did we want to do?” Riding of course.
Our horses meet us at the door (well 7 meters away) after we had finished tea at 3.30. And off we set on our first African horse riding safari. The horses were amazingly responsive. Could neck rein and worked off the leg – joy oh joy! Sarah’s horse was an ugly fellow but both were fine.
In our first few hours we rode with: Warthog family, zebra, Impala, Bless buck, and Wildebeest. We rode to an old house that is haunted by a ghost named Annie. While they were telling us about how Annie murdered someone we noticed an Impala ‘parked’ under a tree nearby. Were the Winchester brothers near by on ghost hunt.
Just as the sun was setting we rode into a clearing to see table and chairs with snacks and drinks set up. We rode up, hopped off, unsaddled and let the horses go (as they lie within the 5000 hectares with everything else) then sat down to enjoy the lovely English tradition of having Sundowners – or Sundowning. Very pleasant! After the sun disappeared we hopped into the truck and went home. Time for a drink and to explore the lodge before three course dinner at 7.30. 
We then settled into the routine of being on Safari. And trust us – it is quiet a hard life.
21st June Ant’s Hill
Each day started with a tap on your door as they delivered you tea, coffee, hot chocolate etc with a few biscuits – just in case you got hungry during the long fast of the night, at a pre arranged time – depending on the activates you have chosen for the following day.
After a while spent on the balcony looking at the view it was time to get ready and go down to breakfast. “No thanks, we will not have the cooked breakfast, just the fruit and toast thanks”. Lucky, as the light breakfast was not just a fruit platter – a fruit sculpture. As well as every drink you could want, toast and 6 toppings, cheese board, croissants, jam donuts.
It was then out to the morning activity.
Today we chose to join the staff on a census of stock on the property. We all mounted up and headed off to ride a grid pattern and record the numbers of any animals we saw – “Two Kudo bulls, Four impala sex unspecified……” After asking for a nicer horse for Sarah they brought one that could have been the twin sister of the first.
Oh Well. No photogenic horse today.
We saw Zebra, Wildebeest, Impala, Bless Buck, Sable, Impala, Kudu and more.
Most of the horses they use were Boarperd or Farmers Horse, a South African breed. They are a big chunky horse and very Welsh cob-ish. Heavy bone, furry feet and short strong backs. They have an infusion of Australian Walers in them. And these guys were well educated (for trail horses). They all neck reined and worked off the leg, happy to follow along but could also gallop well. Many of them were really sweet looking as well.
And they need to be hardy. The ground we rode on was steep and rocky. Not stony – Rocky. We would ride up hills that were like riding over a truck lad of mossy rocks.
The horses all live out with the wild animals (thus making it easy to get close to animals when riding). At night they all come into the yards for a feed and to sleep around the smoky fires burning to keep the bugs away. African Horse Sickness is a fatal bug born disease and every morning all 45 horses have to have their temperature taken.
One of the massive differences when riding through the bush here…..the plants attack. When riding in Australia – you can ride up to a branch in your way, anything up to about a 5cm diameter, and can just ride into and let it softly bend and brush past you. Certainly not here. Anything thicker than about half a centimeter thick is rock solid, does not bend, probably has thorns ranging in size from one centimeter to 10 centimeters and will try to tear you up.
And you know what they say about ‘old habits’ …they really are hard to break!!! We are both scratched. Sarah had some great gouges – with blood. Raina even had one bush try to garrote here with her scarf.
After lunch you got a two hour ‘nana nap’ session (I’m sure you could use this time for something else – but Why we ask?), then down to afternoon tea at 3.pm and off on activity at 3.30pm.
We went out for a game drive – a look around in the vehicle for the afternoon and saw heaps of great stuff including a pack of Jackal.
Of course Sundowners at sunset then home to rest, look at photos and think about yet another three-course meal.
Each night and lunch two staff members are rostered on to sit and have pre dinner drinks with you then join you for dinner. It was fantastic.
We still had our private game farm to ourselves.
22nd June Ant’s Hill
The Ant’s collection has two properties – Ant’s Hill and Ant’s Nest. They form a ‘U’ shape around a small privately owned parcel of land called Ant’s Den. Ant’s Den is owned by a lovely English couple with a few kids, who are filthy rich and own a private Game reserve. They come here many times a year. It is their ‘coast house’. The Ant’s Collection has a very good relationship with them and they often share resources as well as a name (Ant is the name of the owner of the Nest and Hill so they adopted the theme of Ant’s…).
They also needed to complete a censes of their game stock, so 20 of our riders, 5 of theirs and three vehicles headed off in the morning to count. We decided to go out in one of the vehicles to cover more ground quickly and move about. The sun was in hiding and the winds had picked up and it was absolutely freezing – well not freezing but only a few degrees above it.
On the way out to the place that the count would begin for the day, we stumbled upon one of the Buffalo herds, a favourite of Les’s (our guide for the day). Tick for our first sighting of one of the big five. The Buffalo are remarkable, they rather look like domestic cattle, they moo the same and have that dopey eyed and slightly vacant look about them. And yet many a tour guide will tell you that this is one of the more dangerous animal in Africa. It is also the animal that the Maasia are most afraid of, and hunters likewise. They have a bit of a temper problem and can really do some serious damage. Their horns are incredible, thick twisted horns that meet atop the head in a thick and hard crown. The big bull in particular, had monster horns and an impenetrable crown, no hunting gun would have the power to crack through it, maybe a military weapon, but not much else. Not to mention they are huge.
As the mounted counters made their way through the bush that was “so thick a mongoose wouldn’t go in it”, we saw the animals that got flushed out onto the plain. We saw herds of Zebras running with herds of Wildebeest, Red Hartebeasts and Blesse Buck.
So awesome!
We saw, Buffalo, Zebra, Wildebeest, Red Heartebeast, Blesse Buck, Impala, Water Buck, Nyala (a type of antelope neither of us had ever heard of before), Oryx, Eland, Sable (another antelope), Warthogs, many birds, Jackal.
…but then the best of the day…we found the giraffes.
They are magical and utterly magnificent, they move in slow motion – because they are so big – and are surreal. We sat for quite a while just looking and taking photos. There were a few males and a few females and even a few babies. Including one baby that was so little it still had its umbilical cord hanging from its belly. And yet so coordinated and not at all a lanky baby.
So we headed off for our afternoon ride (after a three course lunch and Tea with cakes and biscuits) with a new English couple and another English lady named Wendy. They brought me a thoroughbred to ride this time (not happy) so we did a last minute three-way swap, which landed me on a gorgeous little Boarperd cobby thing with a great nature. Responsive and go-ey but not rude and totally willing, and pretty. Finally, yay. Sarah got to break away and go for a really long and fast gallop too. Woo!
We went for a lovely ride and got Girafulously close on horseback, like seriously close.
After the ride another new couple arrived they were South African and the husband was a doctor and the wife a Physiotherapist, she ran a marathon. We had another lovely dinner with Heno and Nick (two of the staff members), the three new poms and a new South African couple, the husband was a doctor and the wife a physiotherapist, she ran a marathon (as they told us 8397958098597298570 times). There were some “interesting” perspectives offered by them, such as, “Australian’s ought to hunt sharks and Crocodiles and reduce their numbers so we can all be safe to swim in the ocean like it is safe in Indonesia, because that is what has been done there”.
Raina made a great zinger comment about there being no fish or coral reefs in Indonesia either because they killed them too. Sarah just flat out said she thinks it wrong.
Sarah nearly cried when she vocalized her desired wakeup call time of 5:30am, as she was the only guest invited to set out with the guys for the great Sable search of 2012, Raina and the other guests were going for the rather more pleasant time of 7:30 to go out in the game vehicle (a Land Cruiser with the top cut off and the back converted into rows of seats). Why why why Sarah.
23rd June, Ant’s Hill
The Sable Antelope is one of the very endangered animals they have on the property. To help the breed survive and to avoid both predators and poachers as well as optimising breeding, the Sables are managed. A large chunk of land is fenced off and a breeding heard live in there. Every two years a new breeding male is put in, the older one is released onto the property.
As part of their gene pool management the property sell off male animals once they have contributed to the gene pool and bring in a new male from elsewhere. Today was the day to capture the last seasons breeding Sable bull as he had been sold. Sold for more than 2 million South African rand. That is about $250,000. So it was a bit of a military operation.
At 6.30 the horse riders (Sarah being the only guest invited to join them) headed out to search 5000 hectares for a giant goat! At about 8am the rest of the guests (there were 7 now) headed out in one of the many vehicles to join in. The English neighbours were there, the maintenance man etc. The vet was even there riding out with the others. The plan was when the Sable was sighted; we would all go there. The vet would dart him and we would all help load him.
The method of searching was to have all the riders spread out at about 30-50m intervals and ride straight through the bush, sweeping each section thoroughly. Sarah was of course included in this, and the experience of riding through the Bush Velt scrub is a unique one indeed. She has done her share of ridding through bush and over rocky terrain, but never before through bush constituting mainly of acacia thorns. She was covered in scratches by the end of the 5 hour ride. She stumbled upon a small herd of Zebra, who scared the shit out of her snorting at her before she saw them (busy looking for a big black antelope with massive horns) and then got amazingly close to them, like 1m away. 
By lunch time there had been a few false starts. But sill not THE Sable. He was not found on that day. The next morning of course he was back in his normal spot, trying to fight with the reining bull through the fence. The vet has been booked again for next week.
Did we mention that there was a doctor and a physio there, they went for a RUN!
Between lunch and afternoon tea we spent some time on our balcony. Just chilling. And watching giraffe come in to the water hole and drink! Yes – Watching a giraffe drink was on the absolute wish list – thinking we would never see this. But there it was. Mum standing guard while her baby drank!
We headed off on another ride. With Wendy and our two guides. You have one guide at the front, to lead the ride and show you things and another at the rear – a true rear guard. He was watching out for dangerous things and there to lead the way in case we ran into trouble and needed to back pedal. We had a lovely ride and again got close to the giraffe. You just don’t get tired of them.
Sarah had managed to keep her brilliant pony and Raina got his brother – also excellent. We had got the hang of some of there riding terminology. A short canter was a canter over a kilometer or so. A long canter was more of a gallop over a long distance. WE split a few times for Sarah to have a long canter, while Raina plodded along with a short canter.
The plants are awesome, apart from being cranky. Peter, one of our guides, has been showing so many different plants to us.
The ‘toilet paper tree’ who does have soft, velvety and suitable leaves.
The ‘tooth paste tree’ which after scrubbing your teeth with the leaves made them feel like a dentist clean.
‘Baboon tails’ (the plant) make excellent fire logs burning for 8 hours and also make great torches, as well as being good for making ropes.
There were trees for diarrhea, for perfume, antiseptic and on and on
There were many different ‘tooth pick trees’ although the acacia won that hands down.
We had ridden out in three separate groups today, but all met up for a massive Sundowners. In the middle of nowhere, a big party with drinks, BilTong and chairs etc. Sarah had ridden for eight hours today. Good effort.
The four new South African guests (now 11 guests) were very funny and lovely and we sat up late talking about everything, especially political talk. It was great to hear the perspectives of it all for others. Many of the younger people, guides and so on, that we spent time with could not really remember living under Apartied and could not imagine how it must have been. It was fantastic to hear from 50yo who had been there and who now thought that Mandela was a brilliant man. “If [Mandela] had of remained in power for 10 more years, South Africa would have integrated fully.”
24th June Ant’s Nest
Today was our last day at Ant’s Hill – so it was going to be a good one. We decided to ride to the Ant’s Nest as the Rhinos were over there. It was a really long and fast ride. Great riding and again so much to see. We saw many of the usual suspects but still had to stop and stare at the Giraffes for a long time.
Giraffes graze on Acacia trees for no longer that around 15 minutes on each trees and always move in an upwind direction. That is because, after the Giraffes start feeding, these trees release a very bitter tannin into their leaves making them un-palatable. We learnt that the Acacia is one of the only trees that can communicate. As well as releasing the tannin into their own leaves, they release a hormone into the air. The trees down wind sense it and also release the tannin, thus getting rid of the Giraffes before they start eating. Isn’t nature wonderful!
We then saw the troupe of Baboons. They are huge (almost as tall as as a German Shepard) and run along with the babies sitting on their backs. An amazing bonus we were lucky to see.
After a few hours riding we found the Rhinos. They are huge, massive and really big! We just stood around them watching for age. The group we were with was the dominant male, two females and an 18 month old.
They just wandered around grazing. The big male walked towards us very slowly with his head down in a threatening manner. Raina believes her heels touched each other as she kicked her horse when told to move. Sarah says she wasn’t as calm as she may have looked as she moved her horse away, and she didn’t look all that calm to begin with. She was about 1.5m away at one point. Later that day, Chase the guide, referred to when the Rhino charged us. So it is fact. We were charged by a Rhino! 
We learnt a very interesting tidbit about our good old friend Zazu, the Hornbill. The forming of the relationship between a mating pair of Hornbills is rather unique and intensive. They spend quite a while developing a bond and take the time for a substantial amount of trust to be developed. This is because when it comes time for the eggs to be laid the hornbills do something very strange. They find a hollow tree and the female hops in. The male then proceeds to make a mud door and seals up the hollow except for a small slot type opening. The female plucks out all her feathers, makes a nest and says goodbye to sunlight for several months. The male then spends the time it takes for the chicks to hatch and grow, delivering food through the slot. So you can see why there needs to be trust between the pair. Interestingly if you watch the Broadway version of the Lion King or the extended DVD edition there is a song that Zazu sings called ‘the morning report’ . The Hornbill often forms a relationship with mongooses. The Mongoose lives deep inside an old termite mound and cannot see the sun. As the sun rises they stick their head down the mongoose hole and sing a wakeup call, or perhaps give a morning report. They then go foraging together. The Hornbill acts as a look out for danger and the Mongoose flushes flying bugs that the Hornbill snaps up. One line in this song goes, “crocodiles are snapping up fresh offers from the bank, showed interest in my nest egg, but I quickly said no thanks” ALL THIS TIME!!! ZAZU HAS A WIFE AND CHILD! Locked away in the basement!
While we’re talking about Lion King revelations, here is another. Female warthogs have warty protrusions just below the eyes, the males have this as well as an extra set down near the tusks. If you watch the Lion King, pay attention to Pumba’s face. PUMBA IS A GIRL! So a whole new theory occurs to Sarah, Pumba was not ostracized because he had particularly fowl smelling farts. But because he was a man stuck in a woman’s body. And Timone and Simba were the only ones who would accept him as a him.
On the ride back, we decided to send Raina some of the way back in the car. Her horse was much slower – as was she. So off they went for the fast ride. But – Raina did still have some influence. Her horse decided that he wanted to run in second place in the pack – though riderless and untacked – and would not let anyone pass. So he still slowed them down. Meanwhile Raina was travelling in the car and saw Monkeys!!!! Then Mongooses!!!!
We got back to the lodge and had yet another great three-course lunch. As we were sitting around after lunch we saw what appeared to be an eagle or hawk flying high and circling, but turned out to be a vulture, and a rare one at that.
In a deep state of depression as it was time to leave Ant’s Hill, we proceeded to have a few beverages for the car trip, and slept about half of the way. We stopped at a BilTong shop and bought some for the trip, yum yum yum.
As mentioned before Raina had seen Monkeys at Ant’s but Sarah had not – much to her bitter disappointment – but as we were driving back to J’burg we saw some more crossing the road. YAY!
We got to the hotel, skipped dinner, nibbled on BilTong and crashed out for the night. What a day!
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