January 8-13, 2008: Klaseriemond Farm, South Africa

John and Margarethe Braithwaite invited us to spend 5 days with them, their daughter Phillipa and Maarten’s sister Emily at their farm, Klaseriemond (“Mouth of the Klaserie River”), which is a part of the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve and which shares a border with Kruger National Park. Maarten and I happily accepted, and flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg to Hoedspruit to get there. Although the farm was a further 2 hours’ drive from the Hoedspruit airport, from the moment we landed we saw wildlife everywhere. We were greeted by warthogs running along the landing strip and saw elephants, kudu, baboons, steenbok, impala and many birds before we even reached the farm.

Elephant bull, Klaseriemond Farm

The Klaseriemond farm is beautiful beyond description. It is located at the intersection of the Klaserie and Olifants Rivers, and in the wet season is a dense, lush green tangle of trees and shrubs (not like the arid, grassy desert I had imagined). Animals are everywhere, but they are camouflaged in the bush, and one must look hard to find them. We went on game drives day and night in an open-topped Land Rover (with a basket full of tea and rusks in the mornings, and sundowners and snacks in the late afternoons – very civilized!), and ended up seeing three of the Big Five (the Cape Buffalo, elephant and lion).

Lioness, Klaseriemond Farm

I was honestly more impressed by the large array of very small and very endearing antelope (steenbok, duiker, klipspringer and grysbok) and by the vervet monkey and his brightly-colored genitalia (look it up on the internet, it is amazing!). Other animals we saw were giraffe, hyena, hippos, wildebeest, zebra, spotted gennets and over 40 species of birds. (I am starting to catch the birdwatchers’ fever!) We also saw spoor for leopard, rhino and wild dog along the tracks and in the dry sandy riverbeds, but had no luck seeing the animals themselves. Besides the game drives, we were also able to go on a few morning jogs through the bush (with the Land Rover following close behind), a guided bush walk, and spend an afternoon fishing in the Klaserie River.

Cape Buffalo, Klaseriemond Farm

Staying at the Klaseriemond farm was a complete luxury – it was basically like being at a 5-star resort. The main house rambles along a hilltop, and faces toward Kruger National Park and the Olifants River. It is open and airy with high-beamed ceilings and a thatched roof, a huge verandah with a pool and also a detached circular boma for braaing and eating outdoors. Maarten and I shared a thatched-roof "honeymoon suite" that had a balcony and an outdoor shower overlooking the Olifants River, and we were spoiled daily by the Braithwaites with breakfasts of tropical fruit and dinners of grilled steak and fish. It was really a special experience to stay at such a beautiful place, and to be shown around by people who know the land and the local ecology so well, and who play a large role in regional conservation.

Sundowners: drinking Amarula creme under the Marula tree!