Tsakane Wilderness Trail Camp
16th - 19th July 2009
by Derek Jones
Partipants: John and Audrey Tyldesley, Ian and Jo Goddard, Alan and Lynette McKendrick, Derek and Gretta Jones.
Tsakane (happy place) is based in the privately owned Balule Game Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger National Park and home to Africa’s ‘Big Five’ – Lion, Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant and Leopard.
We were fetched in Rynfield by the Tsakane camp manager, Tjaart van der Westhuizen, at 9 am, in a Vito bus with trailer – now, this was the way to go hiking!! We stopped at midday in Dullstroom for lunch at Harrie’s Pancakes. (Who can bypass Harrie’s without stopping?) After a very pleasant 5½ hour trip we arrived at the Tsakane Lodge, fresh, with the welcoming sounds of roaring lions! Please take note – there is no fence around the camp!
 At first we suspected that young Tjaart Yssel, ranger and cook, had left a “wild CD” in the bushes to impress us with the roar of hungry lions, only to realize later that these roars were the real thing. We had been warned beforehand that there was great lion activity very close to the camp and subsequent events were to prove this.
One of the interesting encounters we had was right in front of our tent minutes after arrival in the camp, when a colony of huge Matabele ants marched around the tent, in perfect military marching order, four across, stretching for about 15 metres. They had been out on a raid and were now carrying termite eggs back to their nest. Within minutes the whole procession disappeared.
The camp comprises five tents - four for the guests and one for the ranger/cook - an off-road trailer cum tent for the kitchen and head ranger, Fritz, as well as a covered lapa. The toilet and shower is set to the side with a rope gate to indicate occupancy. The loo and shower are screened off by a rustic fence of poles and neither have doors, nor roof, so you keep your fingers crossed that someone doesn’t come down the path from the Lodge, or that some wild animal pays you a visit! The shower is an ingenious contraption, with the water heated by means of a paraffin lamp fitted to the bottom of a wide metal pipe which acts as a chimney to draw the heat over the narrower copper water pipe inside. Light the wick and turn on the tap and you have boiling water! Shower time is after the morning walk before lunch, as early morning or after sundown is too cold. When the shower starts up it sounds like a Boeing and everyone sitting at the ‘kuierplek’ in the sun, grabs a beer – thus the saying “the Boeing has flown over”. One wonders why they do not use a donkey boiler, but then there is the need for extra wood to be used. There is no electricity at all and at night paraffin lamps are placed outside the tents, in the lapa and ablutions.
The ‘kuierplek’ is around the fireplace, which is the norm for all South Africans, especially hikers and campers. But this was really special, as, while our hosts were preparing the meals, we were able to relax with a beer or good glass of wine. All the meals were excellent. On the first night after a supper of chicken potjie, which included fresh veggies with some of Tjaart’s secret ingredients, pap, pudding and coffee, we hit the sack. I mean, the day had been soooo stressful! Throughout the night the roaring of the lions could be heard.
We were all up at 6 before sun-up, for breakfast of Muesli and Yoghurt, coffee and rusks, and before leaving camp, we were briefed by Fritz on the do’s and don’ts of our guided walks. It was amazing – everyone walked in silence! There were lions in the area, and we could also come across elephants or rhino. We had frequent stops for interesting birds or trees and especially for a huge rock monitor lizard halfway up a tree. Even a tug on its tail would not make it move, it just hung there in the fork of the tree and glared at us.
 Then came the wow moment: we approached a Steenbok grazing leisurely in the grass, 20 metres away. It looked up at us and then carried on grazing and even moved towards us. This went on for about 10 minutes before it decided to disappear silently into the undergrowth. Magic! We then came to an area that had been a flower farm and were able to study how the cultivated lands were being rehabilitated by pioneer plants, such as sickle bush (Dichrostachys Cinerea) also known as Landrover Papwielensis because of the ability of the very tough spined branches to puncture tyres. We had many stops to identify specimens of trees, admire geological structures and a sprinkling of birds.
We walked back to our camp via the Lodge to be told that there had been a huge fight between “foreign” male lions and the two local pride males, Hanglip and his brother Fabio, both described as magnificent specimens. One of the local lions was dead and another had been injured, all in full view of guests at Mpala Lodge on the Olifants River.
After returning to camp from the morning walk we were served a scrumptious brunch, again prepared by our two rangers -cum-cooks. Brunches are huge, including egg, bacon, pork sausage, potatoes, mushrooms, onion etc. Then off to shower and siesta before the afternoon game drive at 15.00 hrs. The Friday game drive took us in the direction of the lion noises of the previous night, down to the banks of the Olifants River. Alas, no lions, but instead, a huge croc resting on a sandbank with something large in its mouth. On closer examination through binoculars we came to the conclusion that it had been an animal, possibly a baby hippo, but the one part hanging out of the side of its mouth still remains a mystery and looked very much like a human forearm, from above the elbow to the hand. A small mound of sand obscured the end of the “hand” so no “fingers” could be seen. Several pictures were taken but the jury is still out on the final identity of the victim.
We returned to camp after sunset and enjoyed a splendid evening meal of “wild pig” braai, pap garnished with cheese, onion and tomato, as well as a Greek salad, followed by one of Tjaart’s “secret” puddings. Once again the stars were a great sight with the Milky Way stretching right across the sky. We saw shooting stars and wishes were made.
 The Saturday morning walk started out at about 07:10 - a bit earlier than the previous day. This time there weren’t any large animals. Fritz had warned us to be extra careful as there could be injured lions out there, but thankfully we didn’t come across any. However, there were plenty of birds and interesting areas where prospectors had dug exploratory holes. We found large quantities of pure quartz with inclusions of mica, being close to the mines at the village of Mica. On the afternoon drive we saw herds of impala, wildebeest, zebra, kudu, waterbuck and giraffe.
Sunday arrived all too soon and we were on our way home. The return trip to Benoni was again pleasant and relaxing with Tjaart Yssel at the wheel. We stopped for lunch at the Wimpy in Lydenburg and arrived back in Benoni in the mood to do it all over again. A GREAT bush break!
Many thanks to our rangers and hiking friends who made the bush experience such a memorable one. This is definitely worth a repeat visit!
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