Quest for the ‘Magnificent Seven’ (Animals)
South African reserve offers a much better view than a zoo

by Niki Sabbath
for Virginia Business
June 2007

“Larry, there are animals in our room!” I screamed. Swinging across the rafters of our chalet were several bush monkeys who had apparently entered the room through small holes in the thatched roof.

This was not exactly the encounter with wildlife that I had envisioned when my husband, Larry, surprised me with a trip to South Africa for an unmentionable birthday. But it was a memorable one while traveling in this beautiful country that was still emerging from the horrors of apartheid. It took only a short while to recover from the amused looks of the staff who responded to the calls from a suburban American who had seen the harmless little monkeys. We surmise they had been attracted by the remains of a bottle of Amarula, a South African liqueur, which we had enjoyed earlier in the evening.

I had always wanted to go on a safari to observe animals in a more natural setting than one can find in an American zoo. Our travel agent arranged a stay in the Madikwe Game Reserve, a 75,000-hectare (185,325 acres) reserve established in 1991 by the South African government to bring economic development to a grassland area largely populated by members of the Tswana tribe.

In Operation Phoenix, the largest game translocation ever attempted, the government transported 10,000 animals from other parts of Africa to Madikwe, located along the Botswana border in northwest South Africa.

We traveled in August, an ideal time. South Africa’s winter meant there was reduced foliage, allowing for easier viewing. Mornings and evenings were cold, but mid-days were in the comfortable 60s. We also avoided the heat and insects so prevalent in summer. (Madikwe is in a malaria-free area, another plus.)

There are 23 lodges in Madikwe. We stayed at the Madikwe River Lodge, built on the banks of the Marico River. The lodge includes only 16 chalets, allowing the small number of guests personal and attentive service. We were greeted by the lodge’s general managers, Laurence and Claire, when we arrived and enjoyed cocktails with them every evening before dinner. Unlike the better known Kruger game park, no day visitors are permitted in Madikwe. This limits the number of people in the park at any one time and prevents large numbers of people trying to view the same animals simultaneously.

An ecologist oversees the animals in the reserve. The numbers of animals are carefully controlled to maintain ecological balance. Humans do not interfere with natural balance; for instance, weak and injured animals are neither rescued nor treated.

Because of the variety of ecosystems within the park, Madikwe is a prime area to view the “magnificent seven”: the “big five” (elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo and leopard) plus cheetah and wild dog. We were fortunate enough to see five of the seven animals; only the leopard and cheetah were too elusive.

A day at Madikwe is not for lingerers. We received a 6:30 a.m. wake-up call each morning. After a quick cup of coffee and pastries, we climbed onto a nine-person Land Rover. We always had blankets and hot water bottles to fend off the morning chill. Our morning safari lasted until 10:30 or 11 a.m., depending on how many animals we saw. Each morning trip included a stop for refreshments: hot chocolate, coffee, apples and pastries.

After our morning tour, we enjoyed a large brunch. (Madikwe is not for dieters, either!) The spread included eggs, sausage, yogurt, pastries and juices. And I enjoyed the best granola of my life in South Africa.

After brunch, the next few hours could be spent walking the grounds, reading by the pool or watching the family of banded mongooses that lived in the lobby, waiting anxiously for children to drop food from the table. We also watched Vervet monkeys gracefully glide from tree to tree and bushbucks and kudus (types of antelope) graze outside our chalet.

After high tea at 3 p.m., we embarked on our afternoon safari. After viewing animals, we stopped for wine to see the sunset. We did not return until 7:30 p.m., which was after dark. On our way back to the lodge, we were able to see the nocturnal animals: a mother and baby black rhino at a pond, and a sole female lion meandering down the middle of the road. It is amazing how unafraid the animals are of humans and vehicles in a game reserve. This comfort allows very close encounters and wonderful photo opportunities.

Encountering animals is very much a matter of chance. Normally, the middle of the day was quiet and relaxing. However, one day we received a phone call in our chalet. “There’s a herd of elephants behind Lodge 16,” the manager said.

Cameras in hand, we rushed out and watched a herd of 13 elephants — bulls, cows and calves — on the other side of the river. For 15 minutes the herd munched on brush, bathed in dust and drank from the river. One day we rode for an hour looking for some hippos that had been seen earlier, to no avail. But the next day, we encountered a pride of lions and saw the female noisily resist the advances of the male. We also observed zebras in the midst of a courting dance and a giraffe scratching his bottom on a tree.

The rangers communicated by walkie-talkie to share animal sightings with each other. We heard that a group of male lions had killed a buffalo and were feasting on it. We drove to the other side of the reserve and witnessed one of the most memorable events of our stay: four male lions gorging themselves to a stupor on a buffalo carcass.

The most important person on our safari was David, our ranger for the duration of our stay. We were impressed at his education; he had a college degree plus advanced training at a bush school, where he studied the flora and fauna of South Africa. He plans to earn a doctorate studying the African Wild Dog, one of the continent’s most endangered species. His breadth of knowledge was impressive as he patiently identified every mammal and bird we saw.

After returning from our afternoon trip, we enjoyed dinner around a huge bonfire at the doma, a cleared area near the hotel lobby. The fire was large enough to warm 40 people seated at tables for dinner. The waiters also provided entertainment by sing­-ing traditional African folk songs.

The trip fulfilled a lifelong desire to visit the African wild. The Madikwe lodge allowed me to do just that — observing wild animals in their natural habitat without sacrificing the creature comforts to which I’d become accustomed. Of course, I never quite did get used to the monkeys in my room.

- Niki and Larry Sabbath are parents of Special Projects Editor Jessica Sabbath. Niki is a technology resource teacher with Loudoun County Public Schools and Larry runs his own government relations firm, Sabbath Government Relations LLC.