Back to Gomo Gomo - Day One

This is the first in a series of stories and recollections from our 25 day tour of South Africa starting in July 2012.

Since our visit to Gomo Gomo in March 2006 the lodge has changed locations from the Timbavati to the adjacent Klaserie Private Game Reserve.  The newly constructed lodge overlooks a good-size dam and the brick and thatched chalets spread out on either side of the main lodge giving visitors nice views of the game that visits constantly.

The main lodge at Gomo Gomo

We flew from Dulles International Airport in Washington DC on a South Africa Airways (SAA) flight to Johannesburg that took 17 hours, including a one-hour stop to refuel in Dakar, Senegal. Total distance, as the crow flies, is 13,200 kilometers (or 8,184 miles) Dakar is almost exactly halfway. This is a long time to be sitting on a plane but we had many movies and other video programs to keep us entertained. Our group of six checked in to the Holiday Inn Garden Court Hotel adjacent to the O.R. Tambo International Airport (formerly Jan Smuts) after a 5:30 p.m. arrival for a good night’s sleep. After a hearty breakfast we returned to the airport to board an SAA Express plane for the 45 minute flight to Hoedspruit’s Eastgate Airport. Eastgate is the arrival point for most of the Game Lodges in the Timbavati, Klaserie, area, adjoining the Kruger National Park.

Arriving in the “lowveld” is always a special feeling. You are surrounded by the African “bush” and the temperature is warmer at about 1,000 feet above sea level. The seasonally dry acacia and grassy vegetation has a smell and feel that is unique. Stepping off of the plane you find yourself in a different world. We were picked up by Barney Smith of Fun Time Tours (www.funtimetours.co.za) and set out on the 45 minute drive to the lodge. Barney regularly provides this shuttle service for Gomo Gomo and other lodges in the area. Although the road was paved for most of the way the speed limit was 50km/hr (30mph) and it is easy to see why as we began to see wildlife immediately, with impala, giraffe, wildebeest, warthog etc. along the roadside. Turning on to a dirt road we reached the lodge after another ten minutes.  As we pulled up, the staff directed us through the main building onto the expansive deck overlooking the dam.  There to greet us was a small herd of elephant drinking. What a way to start our four day visit to Gomo Gomo!

Elephants welcome us to the lodge

Arriving at about noon, we were greeted by Linda and Ewan, and shown to our respective chalets.  A delicious lunch soon followed (the meals were consistently excellent!) and we had a few hours to explore our surroundings before setting out on an afternoon game-drive at 4:30 p.m. We met H.J. (short for Hendrik Johannes Esterhuizen) who was to be our ranger for the week and Jeffrey, the most excellent tracker, who we had met six years ago. Both of these gentlemen are highly trained wildlife professionals and we would learn a lot from them. They were also experts in finding game for us to observe and photograph. In fact, we came away with the certainty that they are passionate about wildlife and dedicated to providing the best possible “bush experience” for their guests.

The main bedroom in our chalet.

Our chalet was a brick and thatch structure overlooking the dam with really first class facilities.  Full length sliding glass doors opened onto a spacious verandah. There were two bedrooms, one with a queen size bed and the other with twin beds.

The open Land Rover seats up to ten passengers.

We assembled for the afternoon game drive at 4:15 p.m. The six of us, Jan, me, Carol, Kevin, Michelle and Avery (11), had a Land Rover to ourselves.  Ranger HJ drove, while tracker Jeffrey sat on the little seat over the front left headlight. We had been cautioned to dress warmly because; even though the days were warm the nights would be chilly, especially seating in the open vehicle with a breeze in our faces much of the time. Within about ten minutes we were parked beside the carcass of a full grown male giraffe that had been killed the day before. Nine lions were either feeding or resting next to the kill. We were to return to this site each day and watch the carcass shrink and other scavengers arrive to take their turns to feed. As the lions are accustomed to the vehicles, we were able to get very close without disturbing them.  As long as we remained seated, we would not be considered a threat or as a potential meal!

Lions feed on a giraffe kill

Jeffrey gets close to the wildlife

After spending half an hour watching the lion activities we drove on to search for other game and soon came across several elephant, the ever-present impala and the tiny steenbok antelope. As night fell we watched one of the lionesses from the kill come down to a water hole to drink. After refreshments we returned to the giraffe kill to watch the lions snarl and growl over their meal before eventually making our way back to the lodge at about 7:30 p.m.

A welcomed fire and dinner in the boma ends the day

Our first day in the bush would end with an enjoyable dinner served around a huge fire in the adjoining “boma,” an open air area enclosed by hand-cut wood poles lashed together to form a circular fence. We met and chatted with other guests about our day’s experiences.

Retiring for the night we thought it couldn’t get any better than this. Until day two.