In the K

alahari d

esert, writer G

inn

y Cu

mm

ing

find

s a safari exp

erience that feels out of th

is world

“Lad

ies a

nd

gen

tlem

en

,

you

r pla

ne is n

ow

read

y

for b

oard

ing.”

To anyone w

ith a p

assion

for travel, these are always

welcom

e word

s. But w

hen

your m

ode of

transp

ort is a private jet and you

r destin

ation

is one of the finest lu

xury safari d

estination

s in

all of Africa, they sud

den

ly becom

e a sonnet,

an aria, a love letter…

There w

ere just seven

of us on

the private jet,

plus ou

r two p

ilots. We w

ere on ou

r way from

Johan

nesburg to T

swalu

, the largest privately

owned

wild

life reserve in S

outh A

frica. It’s

located in

the north

of the country, in

the

Kalah

ari; a semi-arid

wild

erness that stretches

across seven cou

ntries. For m

e, until th

is trip,

the Kalah

ari was ju

st another n

ame on

a long list

of deserts learned

by rote in

school geography

classes. In m

y child

hood

imagin

ation it w

as

noth

ing m

ore than

the sand d

unes you

see in

a cartoon. N

ow, as an

adu

lt, I was ab

out to

witn

ess its diverse m

agnifi

cence fi

rsthand

.

We land

ed at T

swalu’s private airstrip, m

aking

our w

ay to the open

-air thatched

bush

termin

al

for a cold d

rink and

a warm

greeting from

our

guid

es, Juan

and C

alamari. Yep. I w

as in the

Kalah

ari, going on

safari with

a guy called

Calam

ari. On

ly two m

inutes on the grou

nd and

the anecdote god

s were sm

iling on

me alread

y.

Tsw

alu covers m

ore than

110,00

0 hectares

and over the next fou

r days w

e were to h

ave the

entire place to ourselves. It m

ay be the m

ost

remote and

isolated I’ve ever felt in

my life, and

I loved every m

oment.

Tsw

alu is actu

ally comprised

of two sep

arate

camp

s: The M

otse, wh

ich recently re-op

ened

after an exten

sive refurb

ishm

ent, and w

hat w

as

to be ou

r hom

e du

ring ou

r stay, the suprem

ely

luxu

rious T

arkun

i Lod

ge. Th

is is no ord

inary

residen

ce. On

ce the person

al hom

e of Nicky

Op

pen

heimer, the form

er chairm

an of the

world

’s largest diam

ond prod

ucer, D

e Beers,

it’s now

a five-star exclu

sive-use lod

ge and one

of Nation

al Geograph

ic’s Un

ique L

odges of the

World

. To say w

e were eager to get to ou

r digs,

nestled at the foot of the on

ly mou

ntain ran

ge

in the region

, the Koran

nab

ergs, wou

ld b

e an

epic u

nderstatem

ent.

(Ab

ove) Th

e priva

te Tarku

ni h

om

estead

is em

braced

by the K

ora

nn

ab

erg M

ou

nta

ins. It h

as

just fi

ve suites, a

ccom

mo

da

ting

10 p

eop

le at a

tim

e. (Belo

w) S

afa

ri da

ys fin

ish h

ere, with

drin

ks a

rou

nd

the fi

re an

d a

view o

f the su

n settin

g o

ver th

e Ka

lah

ari. (O

pp

osite) G

uests a

t Tswa

lu a

re g

ua

ran

teed in

credible w

ildlife en

cou

nters.

wild

AT

H

EA

RT

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aysforcoup

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ica

82

Jum

pin

g in a L

and R

over, we tore across sand

y

roads and

wid

e-open

savann

ahs, crestin

g

occasionally on

deep

red d

unes b

efore plun

ging

into valleys as if on the d

eck of a ship

on a w

ild

and storm

y sea. Tsw

alu m

ay sit in the “green”

part of the greater K

alahari, but it’s still the

primary colou

rs that d

omin

ate here: vivid red

sands, skies of bu

rnin

g blue and

even splashes

of bright yellow. R

ecent rains h

ad tran

sformed

parts of the reserve and

every so often w

e’d b

e

envelop

ed b

y a carpet of gold

en fl

owers, so

delicate and

pretty in the m

idd

le of this vast

and hypn

otising land

scape of bu

rnt sands,

mou

ntains and

endless grassland

.

And

then sud

den

ly, we w

ere there. We sw

un

g

into a circular d

riveway, w

here the Tarku

ni team

had

lined u

p to greet u

s, and from

the very

mom

ent we step

ped

out of our veh

icles, we w

ere

hom

e. There’s n

o other way to d

escribe it: it w

as

relaxed fi

ve-star glam all the w

ay at this lu

xe and

lovely abod

e, but it truly felt like h

ome, and

the

staff our extend

ed (and

very helpful) fam

ily. The

feeling th

at we w

ere staying at ou

r own

private

African

estate never faltered, and

there was an

ease and relaxed

elegance to everyth

ing. It m

ade

for the very best kind

of five-star livin

g. There are

just fi

ve suites at T

arkun

i, each featu

ring a star

bed

and outd

oor show

er on a private su

n d

eck,

and a rom

antic mosq

uito-netted

bed

insid

e.

The d

ecor is stylish and

suprem

ely comfortable,

echoin

g the sub

tle colour p

alette of the natu

ral

desert scenery outsid

e.

The b

eauty of staying at an

exclusive-u

se lodge,

of course, is th

at you get the w

hole place to

yourself and

it’s totally geared arou

nd you

r needs.

Not on

ly did

we h

ave a 24

/7 private chef, but also

– and th

is is the ultim

ate luxu

ry when

you’re in

Africa – ou

r own

private guid

es, trackers and

safari vehicles. A

nd w

ith 110,0

00 m

alaria-free

hectares to explore, we also h

ad the lu

xury of

un

imagin

able space in

wh

ich to roam

. Even

when

Tsw

alu is at m

aximu

m cap

acity there are

only 28 p

eople and 10 veh

icles on the entire

property (th

at’s Tarku

ni an

d T

he Motse

comb

ined), so the chan

ces of seeing anyone

else are pretty slim. E

specially as you

also have

freedom

when

it comes to you

r daily itinerary.

Most d

ays on a typ

ical safari in A

frica are fairly

structu

red, but at T

swalu

you can

call the shots

and d

o wh

at you w

ant, when

you w

ant. There

are no set tim

es or schedu

les and everyth

ing is

tailored to su

it you, ju

st as if you w

ere the owner

of this m

agnifi

cent estate. In b

etween

game

drives you

can go on

a horseb

ack or helicopter

safari, see ancient rock art d

ating b

ack 380,00

0

years, spend

an entire d

ay in the bu

sh on

a

full-d

ay game d

rive, take a picn

ic in the d

unes

(Ab

ove) Ea

ch b

oo

king

at Tsw

alu

is assig

ned

its ow

n p

rivate g

uid

e, vehicle a

nd

tracker, to

help

you

fin

d th

e w

ildlife o

n yo

ur bu

cket list. (Belo

w) Th

e luxu

riou

s suites o

ffer gu

ests a co

ol p

lace to

rest after a

lon

g d

ay o

n

safa

ri. (Op

po

site) The m

ag

nifi

cent p

oo

l is the p

erfect pla

ce to lo

un

ge b

etween

ad

ventu

res.

“Th

e feeling th

at we w

ere staying at ou

r own

private A

frican estate never faltered

”

holid

aysforcoup

les.travel 85

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// afr

ica

84

or simply head

back to lie b

y the pool and

read a

book or d

oze before sw

ann

ing off to the lu

xe spa

for a massage or b

eauty treatment.

How

ever, there is one thin

g you h

ave to fit in

with

around

here: the natu

ral cycle and rhyth

m

of the anim

als. Mother N

ature w

aits for no one.

Every exp

erience at T

swalu

is spectacu

lar and

the accomm

odation

is so sup

erb you’ll never

want to leave, but let’s b

e frank: it’s the w

ildlife

encou

nters that p

eople really come here for. T

his

part of A

frica may n

ot be a “B

ig Five” region

, but

don’t let the fact th

at you w

on’t see an eleph

ant

stop you

from visitin

g. With

about 30

0 species

of bird

s and an

imals in

total and an

open

hab

itat

that m

akes for excellent game view

ing, it’s an

absolute em

barrassm

ent of wild

life riches.

The largest lion

s in all of A

frica – the famou

s

black-man

ed lion

s of the K

alahari – are top

of

many p

eople’s list, but Tsw

alu’s wild

life checklist

extends far b

eyond these m

agnifi

cent kings of the

savann

ah. T

he reserve is also hom

e to a healthy

popu

lation of ch

eetah and

, than

ks to its wid

e

open

plains, it’s also one of the b

est places on the

planet to witness the w

orld’s fastest an

imal in

full

flight. T

he cheetah w

as also one of the anim

als

that w

as still, after three visits to A

frica, on m

y

“please, please, please let m

e see one this tim

e”

list. Tryin

g to locate these masters of cam

oufl

age

in the m

idd

le of a property alm

ost four tim

es the

size of Malta gave u

s a great opp

ortun

ity to watch

our gu

ides and

trackers in action

. Anyone w

ho’s

been

on a safari in

Africa w

ill tell you th

at a good

guid

e and tracker can

make a gam

e drive, and

we

were in

the presence of som

e of the very best.

Calam

ari was at the w

heel and Jacob

in the

tracker’s seat, scann

ing for any sign

s of these

elusive an

imals, w

hen all of a sud

den

he raised

his h

and, ind

icating th

at he’d seen

someth

ing.

Calam

ari braked, and

Jacob ju

mp

ed to the

ground

, scoured

the earth m

ore closely for

tracks… and

then casu

ally ambled

off into the

bush

. Alone. In

search of w

ild an

imals. F

ree of

any weap

on other th

an h

is incred

ible know

ledge

and a rad

io. He rem

ained in

contact and I

remained

on tenterh

ooks. Was he goin

g to be

okay? How

on earth

was he goin

g to find

anyth

ing? W

hat if he stu

mbled

across an an

imal

even m

ore potentially th

reatenin

g than

a

cheetah? Wait, w

as I fin

ally going to see a

real-life cheetah? His voice crackled

dow

n the

line every so often u

ntil we fi

nally got the an

swer

I was h

opin

g for. In th

is vast and seem

ingly

emp

ty wild

erness, than

ks to his skills in

the

ancient art of trackin

g, he’d located

two

cheetahs. W

e wove th

rough

thick bu

sh, follow

ing

his d

irections to fi

nd and

observe the elegant

anim

als, taking sp

ecial delight w

hen they

eventually leap

t up

into the w

ide and

open

branches of a tree and

stood there like sentinels,

surveyin

g their dom

ain. B

ucket-list item

: ticked.

The next d

ay, Calam

ari and Jacob

gave us a

masterclass in

the art of rhin

o tracking. T

swalu

is hom

e to about one th

ird of all su

rviving d

esert

black rhin

os in S

outh A

frica. In a w

orld w

here

num

bers of these m

agnifi

cent beasts are ever

declin

ing, th

is is a truly sp

ecial place. But you

still have to w

ork hard

to find

them. L

uckily,

these guys are n

ot only m

asters in trackin

g, they

also make the exp

erience a th

rilling ad

venture.

Their ab

ility to read and

anticipate every m

ove

of the anim

als they track is simply aston

ishin

g.

On

this p

articular gam

e drive C

alamari told

us:

“These d

esert black rhin

os are crazy.” Not tw

o

minutes later, Jacob

jum

ped

off the vehicle. H

e

was at it again

: on foot and

weap

on-free in

the

face of “crazy” desert black rh

inos. Ju

st a radio

and years of exp

erience to protect h

im from

dan

ger. But w

ithin

15 minutes w

e heard th

at

familiar cracklin

g of the radio and

his calm

voice advisin

g us th

at he’d fou

nd a m

other rhin

o

and her calf. E

very day at T

swalu

seemed

to

strike safari gold like th

is.

But it’s n

ot just ab

out the big an

imals at

Tsw

alu. T

he other creatures th

at people com

e

here to see are mu

ch sm

aller, rare noctu

rnal

anim

als, many of w

hich

are almost im

possible

to see anywhere else. It’s w

hy night safaris are

so popu

lar here. The list in

cludes aard

vark,

aardw

olf, porcu

pine and

caracal, but num

ber one

for most visitors w

ould

have to b

e the p

angolin

,

(Ab

ove) Tsw

alu

is ho

me to

ma

ny ch

eetah

, often

fo

un

d lo

un

gin

g in

trees. (Belo

w) Th

is pa

rt of th

e K

ala

ha

ri receives mo

re rain

fall th

an

ma

ny oth

er a

reas, m

akin

g fo

r dra

ma

tic scenery a

nd

a d

iverse en

viron

men

t. (Botto

m) A

ltho

ug

h sm

all, th

e rare

an

d u

niq

ue term

ite-eatin

g a

ard

vark is o

ne o

f the

big a

ttractio

ns a

t Tswa

lu.

the cutest scaly anteater around

. Th

is is one

of the best places in

Africa to see these elu

sive

creatures in

the wild

, but even here you

have to

be lu

cky. Sad

ly, for us it w

as not to b

e on th

is trip,

how

ever we d

id get to h

ang out w

ith an

other

small and

mu

ch-loved

anim

al that everyone

loves to see at Tsw

alu: m

eerkats.

It was still d

ark when

we set out to see them

one bitterly cold

morn

ing, and

black clouds

gathered om

inou

sly in the d

istance. W

e don

ned

waterproof oilskin

s in the n

ick of time b

efore the

heavens op

ened, but ju

st an h

our later and

we

were b

one-dry, w

arm as toast, and

oohin

g and

ahh

ing as w

e watched

a family of m

eerkats

emerge from

their burrow

s. A m

ore endearin

g

creature you’d

be h

ard pressed

to find

, and there

can su

rely be n

o better place to ob

serve them

than

Tsw

alu, w

here they’re now

hab

ituated

. Th

is

mean

s the meerkats h

ave grown

to trust p

eople,

so they let you ap

proach and

observe m

ore

closely than

you can

possibly im

agine. At one

point I w

as convin

ced an

inqu

isitive – and

sup

er-close – meerkat w

as going to reach

out and

pin

ch m

y phone as I sn

app

ed aw

ay wh

ile sitting

cross-legged on

the ground

, that’s h

ow relaxed

they are about hu

man

interaction. T

heir ease

with

us m

ade for great ph

otos and even

greater

mem

ories. We w

ere able to simply sit and

watch

these tiny mem

bers of the m

ongoose fam

ily

warm

themselves in

the rising su

n, p

osing as

if they someh

ow knew

they were d

estined for

Instagram

. Th

en th

ey’d take off, on

the hunt

for breakfast, and w

e’d scam

per after them

,

watch

ing their playfu

l pursu

its until it w

as time

for our breakfast. It w

as an u

nexpected

and

utterly charm

ing start to the d

ay.

Later th

at evenin

g, as if to remind

us of the

harsh

realities of life in A

frica, we exp

erienced

a stark flip

side to these sw

eet little meerkats. A

s

sun

set loomed

, we set out to try to w

itness some

legendary pred

ators in action

: African

wild

dogs.

Seein

g wild

dogs hu

nt is one of the rarest and

most th

rilling ad

ventures you

can h

ave wh

ile on

safari in A

frica. It’s wild

ly exciting; like b

eing in

a

car chase in

an action

movie, h

angin

g on for d

ear

life as you tear across the bu

mp

y plains, racin

g

after these anim

als that are fam

ous for their

speed

and in

credible end

uran

ce. The on

ly way

the pack can

survive is to w

ork as a team, and

the

way they hu

nt is qu

ite extraordin

ary. They’re

completely silent and

comm

un

icate via bod

y

langu

age – we w

ere told to exp

ect some seriou

s

action w

hen all of their ears com

pletely flattened

back. A

nd so it w

as when

the dogs got a w

arthog

in their sights. A

fter such

a thrillin

g chase, the

next bit w

as brutal. There’s n

o sugarcoatin

g it:

they killed P

um

baa right in

front of us, and

it

was tou

gh. B

ut Th

e Lion

Kin

g had

it right; this

is the “circle of life” and A

frican w

ild d

ogs are

incred

ibly endan

gered – T

swalu

only h

as 16 on

the entire reserve. For a d

ay that started

so

sweetly, w

itnessing th

is wild

dog hu

nt was

an ep

ic, exciting and

savage end.

But the d

ays never really end savagely at

Tsw

alu. F

ar from it. T

hey end

, as is only right

(Top

) Ha

bitua

ted m

eerkats a

re a jo

y to sp

end

time

with

in th

e early m

orn

ing

, as th

ey pla

y an

d (a

t lea

st ap

pea

r to!) p

ose fo

r cam

eras. (A

bo

ve) Even

a n

igh

t cam

pin

g o

ut u

nd

er the sta

rs is a lu

xurio

us

experien

ce, tha

nks to

the M

alo

ri sleep-o

ut d

eck d

esign

ed fo

r two

. Enjo

y din

ner in

the o

pen

air

befo

re bed

din

g d

ow

n fo

r a n

igh

t in th

e wild

.

holid

aysforcoup

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ica

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when you’re on safari in Africa, with a gin and

tonic at sundown, looking out to endless horizons

and golden sunsets that seemed to linger for

hours (or at least a second G&T), or back at

Tarkuni for drinks around a crackling fire in the

outdoor fire pit. They end with superb meals in

the dining room, where chandeliers hang from

suspended tree branches, or a traditional al

fresco boma dinner, where hurricane lamps,

open fires and a silver-service barbecue all add

to the cosy ambience. African safaris are famous

for their food (tip: leave your diet at the door), but

Tswalu takes things to another level, and 2020

looks set to be a stellar year. Together with

executive chef Marnus Scholly, celebrated South

African chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen

is now curating all the menus at Tswalu. His

restaurant JAN in Nice, France, already has a

Michelin star and the big news is, he’s set to open

another restaurant, KLEIN JAN, at Tswalu in

2020. Book me in now.

On one unforgettable occasion our day ended

with a special dinner under the stars at the

Malori, a secluded sleep-out deck quite literally

in the middle of nowhere. With a long table set

up for our entire party we feasted under the stars

and gazed in wonder as the Kalahari sky slowly

transformed from glowing sunset to cobalt blue

to black velvet. After dinner, the chefs, staff and

the rest of the gang departed. There were just

The DetailsThe writer travelled to Tswalu with Encompass

Africa, an Australian travel company specialising

in amazing tailor-made African safaris that

get you away from the crowds and the sorts

of places generally favoured by bulk-booking

brochures. And because they have longstanding

relationships with their partners on the ground,

including Africa’s best properties, they’re able

to negotiate special rates. It means that you’ll

pay the same price – often even less – than if

you booked the same holiday yourself. Basically,

they’ll save you money and do all the work –

plus you’ll get exceptional expertise from the

team and 24/7 service while you’re travelling.

encompassafrica.com.au

two people left now under a vast dome of stars,

with nothing but a gorgeous deck to sleep on, a

stash of gourmet supplies and a radio, just in

case. If you’re going to spend a night in the

African bush, with nothing between you and the

stars, this is the place to do it. The isolation of the

Kalahari means it’s devoid of any light pollution,

so stargazing here is almost beyond compare. It’s

the perfect place to admire the glittering African

night sky, studded with a blanket of diamonds,

while listening to the calls of nocturnal animals

and just enjoying the space, the solitude and the

deep emptiness. There's nothing like it. On this

particular evening, there was an added bonus: a

dramatic lightning show that got more exciting as

it got ever-closer. The storm broke just as dawn

did, but it was all over by breakfast, and another

sunny day beckoned.

All too soon it was time to leave Tswalu, and

the Tarkuni team gathered again, but this time

to farewell us in song. There was a lump in my

throat and more than one tear in my eye as we

headed off, Tarkuni fading into the distance as

its lovely people waved us goodbye. This is a

magical destination, indescribably wild and

remote and starkly beautiful. I turned to my

friend, a veteran of more than 20 African

countries and more than 1000 camps and lodges,

to hear his final word on the matter. His five

simple words said it all: “My safari cup is full.” H

(Below) Because this mammoth reserve is so isolated, it’s completely free of pollution, making it an ideal place to gaze at the stars. (Below left) A gourmet dinner for two at the Malori sleep-out deck is a once-in-a-lifetime romantic experience. The Tarkuni team will set up an amazing feast in the desert before leaving you in perfect peace.

africa // south africa

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