SOUTH AFRICA AFRICA DESTINATIONS


Walk the @ben_ireland_11 T


lion


he phrase ‘he’s more scared of you than you are of him’ doesn’t


seem to mean much, as a lion strides confidently towards the jeep. With this powerful predator no more than a metre away, there is absolute silence as our group of experienced agents sits in awe of the creature ahead. It’s this sort of tense moment that


makes a safari stand out from other holidays, and makes each visit to the bush unique. Whether it’s a close encounter with a lion, leopard or cheetah, or feeling the vibrations as a herd of elephants dashes across the rough terrain, you never know which animal is around the corner. That’s why South Africa is a good


bet for repeat visits, with plenty to persuade clients to return. If they’ve ticked off Cape Town and the Garden Route, look to Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the enormous animal kingdom of Kruger National Park – the focus of our South African Tourism fam trip – to whet the appetite to go back.


South Africa’s Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces offer a fresh take for repeat visitors, finds Ben Ireland


 LIMPOPO Service stations aren’t usually a selling point, but the Alzu Petroport on the N4 motorway from Johannesburg to Limpopo is a real scene-setter. Just past the usual coffee shops and fast food outlets, you’ll see buffalo, zebras, rhinos, impalas and ostriches grazing at the watering hole nearby. But it’s not until you get to a game


reserve that you see the animals in full glory. Arriving at dusk at Kapama Southern Camp (from £575 a night, based on two sharing), between Blyde River Valley and Kruger National Park, there are gasps as our group shout ‘giraffe’ and ‘zebra’ as we negotiate the off-road drive to the lodge. Kapama is not camping, or even glamping, but rather a collection of sympathetically designed huts. During our stay its guests included honeymooners and even a Premier League footballer. After a traditional South African boma – tables set around a roaring fireplace, with


14 March 2019travelweekly.co.uk71


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