Jenny's Mountain Adventures: African Safari Part I - Chisomo Game Reserve, South Africa

Chisomo Safari Camp was our first safari destination. Located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa near the Drakenburg Mountains, Chisomo is a camp located within the Karongwe Private Game Reserve.

Drakenburg mountains

The reserve is an animal sanctuary (no hunting allowed) that functions as a conservation effort for animals that live within the large property. Full time anti-poaching units protect the animals from being killed for their horns, scales and other items that are prized as status symbols in certain countries. To deter the poachers, rhinos are dehorned and animal counts take place regularly to keep tabs on the numbers.

Hello rhino

We were matched with a guide and tracker (Solomon and Sondy) who were experts at locating the animals and extremely knowledge about the wildlife, vegetation and geography. Despite being a private reserve, the animals are NOT tame. During our 4 days, we had some wild up close encounters with the Big 5 (elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lion)!

Safari crew

Just dropped in to say hello

The camp itself was luxurious. Each couple had their own wall tent and shared communal meals in the dining tent. It was a strict safari schedule with a 5 am wake up followed by a morning game drive. We would return to camp for breakfast and often take a nap before it got too hot. In the afternoons, we would regroup for tea before heading back out for an evening drive, returning after dark. The animals are most active during the cool hours of the day so our drives were timed appropriately. Despite daytime temperatures in the high 20's-30's Celsius, it cooled off quickly as the sun went down.

Safari style for a chilly morning drive

The beautiful river lodge and its bush vistas

When we weren't napping, eating or on safari, we spent our time by the pool or on the deck watching animals graze nearby. The camp was surrounded by an electrified fence to keep animals out, but smaller animals like warthogs, monkeys, baboons and nyala antelope were often seen wandering through camp.

This is the nicest tent I have ever slept in

Ready for action!

We saw so many animals I had only ever seen in pictures or zoos. It was amazing to see them in the wild. I loved watching the groups of elephants stomp through the bush. You could hear them before you saw them as the smashed and ripped through trees like it was nothing.

Big stretch

Elephant photoception

Elephant crossing

Watching us watch them

Despite being so tall, the giraffes were amazingly camouflaged. Often we wouldn't notice them until we drove right up beside one! Chris was always on the lookout for animals and would often spot them well before the others.

Lone giraffe

Getting a better view with the binoculars

Giraffe watches the jeep

Another good camouflager

One evening we were treated to a whole pride of lions; a male and female with lots of cubs. As we sat in the jeep holding our breath, the cubs and male walked down a steep river bank and crossed right behind the jeep to reunite with the female who had been calling them from the opposite shore. Instinct told me that being between a mother lion and her cubs was maybe not the safest thing to do, but Solomon reassured us that the lions see the jeep as one big animal. Although they were not threatened by the jeep, they were also not interested in hunting it. At that point we didn't have much choice but to trust him, but my adrenaline was certainly flowing as we got close enough to see the female's huge teeth! Fortunately, Solomon was right and the lions completely ignored us, allowing us to watch as they played in the grass like kittens.

Daddy lion watching us from the embankment

Cubs approach as dad watches

Reunited with mom

Lion family

Every safari had a different flavour. Some days we drove deep into the park to spot buffalo, zebra, and elephants. Another time, we sat by a watering hole watching crocodiles and hippos. On a few drives, we tracked leopards and lions and occasionally got lucky with a sighting.

Hippo showdown

One wild day, we came across rhinos and buffalo grazing together. Suddenly, there was a thunderous noise and lots of trumpeting. A herd of elephants ran through the clearing and were just as quickly gone into the bush. Not long after, we followed a lion and stumbled on a leopard high in a tree. We couldn't believe our luck, the big 5 in one morning!

African buffalo with an elephant watching from afar

Rhino buddies

Sleepy kitty - the elusive leopard

Curious cubs

The guides were constantly on the radio with the other jeeps, scouting out animals and giving each other a heads up about where to go. There was a 2 jeep limit per animal to avoid crowding the animals and also to give the guests the best viewing experiences.

Good times on game drives

One of my favourite experiences was arriving at a nice viewpoint with a beautiful sunset. As we pulled up the road, Solomon pointed out 3 cheetahs napping by a termite mound. We all started snapping pictures as they yawned and started to get up. Instead of driving after them, Solomon got out of the jeep and motioned us to follow him. Was this a joke? Apparently we are too big for cheetahs to eat. It was pretty surreal to walk down the road with the beautiful cats.

Cat nap

On the prowl

Sunset cheetah

Cheetahs on the move

Solomon and the cheetah

Peek-a-boo!

Up close and personal with the cheetahs

I love cheetahs

Just when we thought our luck would run out, we would spot a new species to tick off the list, encounter a baby with its mom, or get up close to something we had only seen from far away. Each drive had something new to offer and it was never dull!