A Weekend at Exeter River Lodge – Sabi Sand

Wild dogs, lion cubs and crumpet stops!

There is nothing quite like that feeling of stepping down on an airstrip in the Sabi Sand. This private game reserve in South Africa is the gateway to the numerous luxury lodges that combine to form the Western Sector.

The African sunshine beats down on the tarmac while the smell of the bush fills your senses. A herd of impala or a lion acts as your welcome party, hinting at the adventure that awaits. Such was my experience at Exeter River Lodge a few weekends ago.

A tracker greeted us with a warm Shangaan smile and we made our way to Exeter, which forms part of the andBeyond family of luxury lodges. ‘Family’ is exactly the word I would use to describe the staff at Exeter. As we rounded the corner, waving hands signalled us in, followed by sparkling welcome drinks, cold towels and nyala grazing in the bushes.

This was only the beginning.

Sights & Sounds of the African Bush

Walking down to Exeter’s main area, on the banks of the Sand River, I was in awe of the view. The Big 5 can often be spotted from here; on this occasion it was a herd of elephants plodding past a hippo at the river crossing that drew my attention. A bushbuck alarmed; perhaps a leopard was nearby? A fish eagle signaled from its perch on the Jackalberry tree on the other side of the river. A woodland kingfisher began its stocatto tui, followed by a descending trill of krit-trrrrrrrr.

We arrived just before lunch; although it’s almost impossible not to arrive just before, or during, a meal of some sort on such a luxury safari. We ambled down to the deck by the river, beneath a Sausage tree, to indulge in fresh salads, wraps, grilled calamari and spiced poached pears with creamy vanilla ice-cream, washed down with house wine from Elgin in the Western Cape. Not once did we have to rifle through a purse or wallet in search of a credit card or cash; everything is included. You can drink and eat to your heart’s content. There’s a reason there are no scales in the rooms…

• Read our blog on The Gourmet Safari for more on the culinary experiences of the bush.

While sipping our forth glass of wine, a hippo emerged from the river, looking larger than ever. Grazing on grass, he made his way toward the deck as we watched, cautiously. A cheeky Vervet monkey nicked my bread from me. He’d been peering over the edge of the deck, waiting for the opportune moment. Our butler, Return, ran screaming and clapping toward us to scare away the monkey troop and then offered me ‘jumping’ water – sparkling to you or I.

We stood together, after the excitement, my parents and I, and our extended Exeter family, and shared stories of the bush. These are the moments I really cherish…

The little time you spend in your private lodge, with own deck and plunge pool, hardly affords you time to take it all in, the suite in its detail. It is pure comfort built into nature. As I showered, a baboon behind the glass window peered in. “Pervert!” I shouted and turned my back to him.

Game drive time!

We drove about 20 metres from the lodge before bumping into an enormous bull elephant among a herd of impala. The bull was calm, trudging along the side of the vehicle, feeding on trees as he went. We left him in peace. We crossed a river, driving straight through the water which flooded in around our feet, and spotted a buffalo on the bank and a pod of hippos in the water a couple feet away!

As we emerged from the river crossing, one young, lone bull elephant quickly made his presence known – thrashing his head around, trumpeting, flapping ears – a good sign that it’s time to move on and a reminder that this is no zoo. These are wild animals!

We went in pursuit of a female leopard and her cub. Tracks had been found in a drainage line. Over the radio I heard the words ‘makulu hlatine’ repeated. ‘Thick bush’. This was going to be tricky. We followed the roads around the tracks until we couldn’t find any more. She was still in there. The elusive spotted cat. Suddenly, the radio came to life again. ‘Madoda ingwe’ – male leopard! On the far side of the property. Could we make it? It was time for the ‘Ferrari safari’. We shot through the bush at record speed.

By the time we reached the sighting it was dark. Flash lights of other vehicles directed us into the bush. Just as we glimpsed spots moving through the bush, we were instructed to turn all lights off. “Mala” – antelope; this could be a hunt. Shining our light on either animal could influence the outcome of the events unfolding before us. We waited for the sounds of a kill. Instead, we heard bushes rustling and then a hyena. Lights on. It was now hyena vs leopard vs buck; a show down between two predators. The leopard fled first.

“Famba kia,” I heard the tracker say. Time to go home. But as we rounded a corner, there he was, the leopard, ambling down the road. We followed, snapping away with our cameras. Back at the lodge, we realised we had seen the Big 5 in one drive. “This is the Sabi Sands,” our ranger said, as if this was quite ordinary for him. And it is. A meal of springbok and crocodile carpaccio, wildebeest fillet and chocolate tart and Amarula followed. I fell asleep that night to the sound of grunting hippos, roaring lions and cackling hyenas. Blissful!

On our morning drive, minutes out of the lodge, our ranger switched off the engine. A lion was roaring – a sound great enough to make your insides shiver. It was close. The radio sprung to life. Moments later we drove into the clearing; in front of us stood a male lion, calling out to his brothers elsewhere on the reserve.

The same male leopard from the night before had been relocated, miles away from where we had seen him. We went to take a look. “Lalapanzi,” the tracker said – sleeping. And so we moved on. There had been talk on the radio of a search for wild dogs. They travel in packs and rangers describe them as “land piranhas”, as they devour animals as they move. We found them after they had caught a bushbuck.

It was such a lucky sighting! Usually these animals are impossible to follow through the bush as they run fast and constantly change direction. We had them on the kill for a good ten minutes, as they fought each other for scraps and gnawed on bones. And then they were off. They chased a hyena on its morning scavenge into the bush. We lost them at a river bed. High on the morning’s adventures, we headed back to the lodge for breakfast.

The Magic of Africa

For the next few days, game drives and lodge life continued in this manner. Exciting adventures, indulgent meals, smiling staff. Baby elephants ran at our vehicle, trumpeting. We sat among a herd of buffalo listening to them munching. We watched lion cubs play in a river bed. The list goes on: breakfast in the bush here, a tree loaded with champagne glasses and chocolate strawberries there; a lantern-lit dinner in the suite here and a crumpet stop mid-game drive there.

I felt sad to leave my Exeter family behind. Their goal was to make our stay as magical as possible, and that they achieved!

• Exeter River Lodge is located on 10,000 hectares in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve on the western border of the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

• Contact one of our experienced travel consultants for more information and to start planning your own African safari.