Visiting South Africa

Back to the tour

We arrived at Sun Eden two days before the tour and the day after arrival, early in the morning we got a message from Lofty that Amanda was feeding the animals of the resort and if we wanted to come and watch while having a morning coffee with rusks. So nice to see Amanda feeding the njalas, impalas, springbok, blesbok and the many birds around the resort, what a way to start your morning. We made the effort to do this several times and Carley was also lucky enough to be invited by Amanda to see the glowworms at night which was spectacular. I loved seeing the range of birdlife, plants and animals. There was a huge fence around the resort that is regularly patrolled and one night a large porcupine broke through – we saw the footage the next day of the "intruder"!

In our guest house we also enjoyed watching the" bachelor boys" – a small group of impala – on their regular circuit around the resort, stopping to graze outside and keeping an eye out for the other large and small visitors.

One of our other tour guests had the slightly unexpected experience of a bushbaby in their hut. Very cute, very fast and – just closed the door, the bushbaby had one room and they had the other……

Later that morning we were invited to join Lofty and Amanda for an impromptu trip through the Dinokeng Game Reserve. This was our first introduction to some of the animals we would see during the whole tour, zebras, impalas, wildebeest, giraffes, springboks (not the rugby players), blesbok and many more. We even came across two male giraffes fighting over a female, impressive to see. The trip ended with a lunch at Arlington Brewery & Cidery in the middle of reserve, where Lofty and Hans, facing the right way, noticed a cat (lion like) animal passing the fence.

After everybody had arrived the tour could officially start, first stop an official game drive in Dinokeng, this was a different part of the reserve than the impromptu one and resulted in some different animals, many pumba ( warthogs, a fave of Carleys) Rhinos and what about being face to face with Ostriches who refused to leave the road. A good start to the official tour, getting our animal spotting skills warmed up and ready.

The next day we left for Pilanesberg and on the way, we stopped at the Cradle of Humankind. This Maropeng visitor centre is an award-winning facility, focusing on the development of humans and our ancestors over the past few million years. Apparently humankind was born in Maropeng.

Our accommodation Pilanesberg was interesting, although not officially naturist, they did allow us to be nude there as Joxilox tours had hired the whole accommodation. We had two game drives through Pilanesberg National Park, a very early one and late early afternoon, as the animals are the most active round dusk and dawn. Only in the morning one we had seen four of South Africa's Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and African buffalo), and more pumba, birdlife, hippo and reptiles only missing out on the leopard which we did try to find in the evening but it became too dark to properly see it. We did find some very startled elephant and rhino in our lights however! We want to thank our guide in that park who went over and above to make sure we saw as much as possible even to the extent that we were late back to the gate and he was shouted at by the gate keeper. .

On the way back to Sun Eden we stopped at Lesedi Cultural Village, a great place to learn about the different tribes of South Africa. We first learned to play the African drum, after which we had an onside tour through a replica of the five South Africa tribal villages. Drumming skills were tested and we admired the passion of these people whose message was – come here and keep raising awareness for our country and our endangered animals.

The next day it was ladies' day, and we visited a diamond mine, we learned all about how we get those precious rocks, heard about the history and the close calls with leopard that our tourguide had at one point. Incredible security there, all we can say is be prepared to hose off your shoes thoroughly!

On Sunday we were treated on a special traditional coffee and breakfast in the middle of the Dinokeng Game Reserve at the Veldjie Kiosk. Often animals come there as there is water available, but we were there on a quiet day – no matter we enjoyed the traditional coffee which is very similar to coffee had out camping.

The second week we went east from Sun Eden to the Graskop area, an area full of beautiful landscapes. We were able to go down into Graskop gorge, a beautiful bush area that reminded us of New Zealand and one of us ziplined across it while the rest captured the moment! Unfortunately, the weather let us a bit down and not of lack of attempts of our host, when we visited 'Gods Window', god had the curtains closed (mist).

We did enjoy many other beautiful landscapes while visiting the area and found a silk factory, which became an importune stop, great coffee and a real local woman's industry – a cultural highlight, not to mention great shopping for something authentic and local

We were so lucky to see the Rondavels and Bourkes potholes in the window of weather we had. Spectacular!!!! Amazing scenery and the journey itself was fascinating going past townships and through ever changing country. Amanda and Lofty are so knowledgeable and we learnt a lot about the areas we went through with them. We also stopped frequently for rest stops that were equally interesting and gave a good chance at sampling local food.

After the official tour ended we were invited to trial a visit to the Lion and Cheetah Sanctuary, a different experience than during the game parks. The Animals are in a smaller enclosed area, which makes it easier to see them, with the opportunity to pat a Cheetah and hear about conservation efforts. It was also our opportunity to get up close and learn about hyaena – wow they are incredible.

Many of the game tour rides and the ride through the sanctuary were adventures in themselves – changing landscape, an open vehicle clinging to a steeply turning road with big drops and…..is that a leopard in the tree? No, not this time!

It was a wonderful experience and good to see that so many younger people in South Africa enjoy naturism, maybe something we can learn from.

We loved it so much that – we are going back! - Together with our tour operator Joxilox, Amanda and Lofty who are so passionate, we designed a new naturist tour with more game drives. This tour is designed for the New Zealand and Australian naturists and you are welcome to join us (joxilox@bare.co.nz). We are looking forward to seeing more of naturism and, of course, more of the amazing culture, environment and wildlife.