Ancient Voices

Kagga-Kamma This spiritual land offers spectacular scenery, majestic mountains, strange rock formations and phenomenal night skies...

In our July issue, Robbie Stammers regaled us with tales of Beaverlac in the Western Cape. Here the story continues...

Our next weekend away was one my son and I were particularly looking forward to as we both have a fascination with the night sky. Admittedly this is not going to be your cheap camping weekend like Beaverlac but as the saying goes; you get what you pay for.

Our next destination was Kagga Kamma Private Game Reserve. The stunning location of the lodge was once home to the Bushmen. Today many of their ancient cave paintings are still clearly visible on the rocks, some dating back 6,000 years. This spiritual land offers spectacular scenery, majestic mountains, strange rock formations and phenomenal night skies, where the Milky Way, billions of stars, planets, satellites and shooting stars may be seen by the naked eye.

Kagga Kamma is located in an untouched wilderness area south of the magnificent Cederberg Mountains, three hours from Cape Town near Ceres. The reserve is well known for its scenic beauty and dramatic rock formations typical of the Cedarberg.

We were lucky enough to have a 4 X4 vehicle to weather the rather long stretch of dirt roads which ran for the last 60 kms to our actual destination but they are in such good condition that one would not be too hindered in a normal vehicle. We were fascinated by the dramatic rock formations that jut out all over the landscape; my son likened our surroundings to the planet of Mars.

If we were amazed at our surroundings then one could only say we were in awe at our arrival at our rooms after check-in. The rooms are nestled between unbelievable sandstone rock formations and resemble bushman “caves” albeit with luxurious interiors with air-conditioning and en-suite bathrooms!

A 3-hour drive on a Friday afternoon can cut your time quite short though so I recommend leaving as early as possible on a Friday to make full use of your weekend of leisure. We got there quite late, not taking into account the time the dirt roads would clock up.

So our adventures would have to start on the Saturday morning, and to our ‘caves’ we went to slumber.

We woke to a hearty breakfast and set off with our ranger in the open-air for a guided tour of the Bushmen paintings in the area.

On our San Cultural Tour we got to appreciate the ancient Bushman living sites first-hand and got an in-depth interpretation of the rock paintings from one of their expert guides. It was great fun debating between us all what we thought the different paintings symbolism was or the thinking behind each one and the kids loved it. I have been privileged to see many bushmen paintings and I must admit that the ones at Kagga Kamma are by far the best preserved. After a few hours we headed back across this 15000ha reserve and spotted residents such as black wildebeest, ostrich, zebra, springbok, red hartebeest and bontebok.

We spent the rest of our day swimming and lazing around the pool at the main lodge and then taking a drive to the other larger pool a short distance from our lodge, which is right next to another impressive display of bushmen paintings adjacent the swimming area.

By far the most special part of our trip was the evening stargazing. We had an incredible meal around the fire of the boma and then all headed up the ‘stairway to heaven’ high up above the lodge. With the crisp, clear air, dark nights and relatively high elevation Kagga Kamma is perfect for stargazing. The resident expert enthusiastically punched in the co-ordinates and took us through the different constellations and planets before we all got a chance to have a look through a 10-inch telescope. This mini observatory had us all cooing in delight as we witnessed the ring around Saturn and the craters in the moon as if they were in touching distance.

Sunday saw us enjoying another splendid game drive discussing the flora and the bird life, before we headed back to civilization. Kagga Kamma also offers quad biking and spa treatments but neither is really in the ‘kid-zone’ so we did not participate there. The drive back to Cape Town goes quickly as you take in the scenery of vineyards and fruit trees from Ceres literally all the way home.

WHITE LIONS AND PET OWLS

Now as I always tell my kids before tucking into their dinner, always leave the best for last. This article is no exception. This is taking nothing away from Beaverlac or Kagga Kamma and may take you a little longer to save the sheckles for but it will be worth it!

So off to Sanbona Wildlife Reserve we go.

Named for a combination of the "San" people, who occupied the area 100 years ago and "bona" representing their vision, Sanbona is home to open valleys, 650 plant species, 160 bird species, rock faces, rock art, a variety of wildlife and the world famous white lions.

Only three hours along the famous Route 62 from Cape Town, Sanbona boasts 54 000 hectares of undulating mountains and the closest free-roaming Big 5 reserve to Cape Town.

We were met with hot towels handed to us as we parked our vehicle at Gondwana Lodge at Sanbona. My son initially could not understand what the hot towels were for but by the end of the weekend, the standing jibe from him to much chuckling from the rest of us, was “I hope they are ready with the hot towels” said in a posh accent at the end of another wonderful game drive.

Gondwana Family Lodge resembling a typical thatched Karoo homestead with family rooms. A child activity room, spacious lawns, an outdoor play area, and pool will ensure entertainment for the whole family. The rooms are absolutely incredible, burnt out of an ‘Out of Africa’ brochure. We had adjoining rooms with the kids, where they had their own mini-bar (cool drinks only!) and their own magnificent en-suite bathroom with a Victorian tub overlooking a landscape that stretches for miles.

I would need an article all on its own to describe the experience to be honest but will try and fit in as best I can what we experienced in the short space I have. From the staff, to the food and service, to the rooms and the décor and last but not least, the surroundings and the game, this place knocks your socks off!

It is the closest thing you are going to find to the real bush experience outside of the Kruger or Sabi. Our game ranger, Trevor, took us to all the incredible rock painting sites and to and from the lodge and on separate game drives we were inundated with the most incredible sightings. We saw elephant, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, hippo, jackal, too many buck to mention, the highly endangered Riverine Rabbit (13^th most endangered mammal in the world), rhino and of course the spectacular white lion. Not just one white lion but the entire pride within sniffing distance!

There is also an interpretive trail through the garden of Gondwana to teach the kids about animals that occur on the reserve as well as tracks, important plants etc.

We ate like kings and queens, relaxed in and around the pool and ate some more before embarking on yet another spectacular game drive, never without disappointment. My kids had a ‘sighting’ competition with Trevor and were given booklets where you could tick off your game and, much to his chagrin, Trevor ended the weekend coming off second best to my daughter.

To top off our luxurious adventure we were blessed with a resident spotted eagle owl that camped out on our balcony every night of the weekend. This was a rehabilitated owl that was released back into the wild after injury but could not bare being away from the lodge and was nicknamed Bubo (from the Latin name of the owl; Bubo Africanus). We know how he felt. By the end of the weekend we did not want to leave either.

In fact, as we left, my son affectionately said that was the best weekend he had ever had in his life.

It does not get much better than that...

For more information on Beaverlac go to:

www.beaverlac.co.za

For more information on Kagga Kamma go to;

www.kaggakamma.co.za

For more information on Sanbona Wildlife Reserve go to: