TEKST DOSTĘPNY RÓWNIEŻ PO POLSKU
A safari trip to the Inverdoorn Game Reserve (although the word "safari" is somewhat exaggerated) was the main point of this year's trip to South Africa. The country has a lot to offer, both in terms of fauna in the great national parks, as well as smaller reserves. I chose the latter... Even though it was a substitute for a real safari, I don't regret.
Originally I planned to visit the Kruger National Park - one of the most recommended on tourist sites and travel blogs. You can get there by a rented car (I didn't consider this option) or take a bus to the nearest town, from where you have to take a taxi because there's no public transport to the gates of the park. You need to have your taxi driver "on hold" because most camps where you can stay are at least several kilometers away from the entrance gate.
Most of those who visited the Kruger Park describe it the best terms, but almost no one had a chance to see the so-called Big Five at a time, hence the need to stay there for two or three days.
Not wanting to spend so much time there, I started to look for another option - a reserve where one can also meet the representatives of the Big Five. The choice fell on the Inverdoorn Game Reserve: www.inverdoorn.com - which collects very positive feedback on forums and blogs. This reserve is located near the town of Ceres, approx. 2.5 hours drive from Cape Town. For those who don't want to rent a car, there's an option with a shuttle from Cape Town and back. You can buy it directly from the reserve or in any center or travel agency in the city.
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| Inverdoorn Game Reserve occupies an area of about 10,000 hectares |
The resort offers a variety of packages. As for me I chose one-day safari package, containing a welcome drink, approx. 3-hour safari with a guide, a copious lunch and a moment of free time to relax in a beautifully decorated garden. In a tourist information office in Cape Town I paid R2360 per person. A bit pricey, but comfortable - something for something.
(The same packed bought straight at the Inverdoorn website costs R1375, but you have to beg there somehow.)
In Inverdoorn you can also buy a two-day safari with accommodation in a bungalow or cabin, or a self-drive safari.
At the appointed time, early in the morning, a minibus is waiting for us, there are two other tourists going with us – one from Mauritius and the other from Germany. On-site a French marriage with children joins us. Everything goes smoothly, we are invited to a jeep and set off looking for an adventure.
"Adventure" is obviously an overstatement, but for us - the city dwellers it was a substitute for a real African adventure. Because the reserve is located on a vast area, it makes an impression that we are seeing animals in the wild, while in fact they live on a limited area. But this is not tiny zoo with cages. Animals go to and fro by freely, wherever they want and they do whatever they want.
The first animals we encounter are rhinos. In the images and videos they seem a bit larger, but still they look dangerous. In addition - as our guide explains – a rhino has very poor eyesight, it must quickly decide whether a silhouette which he sees is an enemy or not, and whether there is a need of self defense. We could come quite close because reserve's jeeps aren't for them unusual thing – nevertheless you still have to stay alert.
A moment later we come across a couple of giraffes, which trod majestically between the tall acacia trees, picking leaves to eat. Few people know that while acacias have sharp and long spikes, designed to protect them from becoming food for animals, giraffes seem not to mind and they make a delicious meal out of their green leaves, sometimes striping the trees completely.
They were two males fighiting as if they were preparing to fight for a female. Our guide explianed that young male giraffes can be distinguished by their corners. However, with age and that specific "training" they lose the corners, so at first glance it's not so easy to distinguish them from females.
In my opinion, giraffes have been the most beautiful and the most interesting animals we've seen during this trip, aside from cheetahs (not counting the penguins at Boulders bay).
Elephants also make a great impression on us, majestastically strolling around the reserve. However, there are probably only two. That's because these large mammals need a lot of living space and the reserve didn't get permission to bring more. Good to know that such reserves are not used to fill the purses of their owners (though it's an aim too) - at any price, regardless of the needs of animals.
Just a little further we come across a whole herd of various antelopes and African buffalos. We can't get close to them. As we learn, a buffalo is one of the most dangerous animals, because when it attacks - it's meant to kill. Well, appearance can be deceiving... Next several ostriches are strolling, a couple of rhinos, oryxes and other smaller animals.
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| African buffaloes |
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| Oryxes |
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| Zebras |
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| Ostriches |
Still further we notice a couple of lions ambushed in the bushes, they just sit lazily tired of the heat, observing us, tourists. It's somewhat a "two-way" spectacle: we arrive to see the animals, and the animals are watching us...
We move further in the hope of snooping some hippos, but with no much success. As it's late summer the lake they live in has little water and these huge animals sank into it, letting our thirsty eyes to see nothing more but the tips of their heads, or better said: nostrils and ears...
On the way back we stop in a grove... Expecting another story about the fantastic African flora, we only hear a whisper of our guide: Look outside, but don't lean out too much. Unable to stop myself, I lean my head out of the car and... right next to it there is a herd of cheetahs! What an amazing sight! At first you get goosebumps, realizing how close you are to these predators. Moments later you begin to admire these lazy animals lying in the southern sun, not needing attack the intruders on their land, looking at them idly probably wondering what they are looking for here.
We have several minutes to take photographs and to enjoy this magical moment with dangerous animals at our fingertips, and we don't think about escaping, infatuated, gazing at this mottled fur and you can't stop marveling at the beauty of what African wildlife has to offer.
We absorb this moment for a long time on the way back and at the dinner given in a garden planted with succulents, with a small run for turtles. When we come back, we feel that for a moment we touched the true Africa, the true exotics and we know that this experience will stay with us for life...