The Mananga farm comprises about 1700 acres. On this land, loads of wild animals are free to roam. Almost every day we took a safari to see what we could see. Sometimes in Jo’s Truck, sometimes in the Landrover “game drive”, and sometimes on foot!
Mananga is not large enough to have “Big-5″ animals. they need much more space. For those non-hunters out there, “Big 5″ refers to the 5 animals in South Africa deemed most difficult to kill: Lion, Rhino, Elephant, Cape Buffalo and Leopard. Ironically, the animal most likely to kill you is not on that list: the hippo. Mananga is surrounded by Big-5 lodges, however. Tall electric fences keep all the animals where they’re supposed to be (except for those that can go over, under or through the fences: leopards, cheetah, monkeys, wart hogs, and who knows what else). These fences, miles of them, are religiously maintained.
On Mananga, our favorite animal was the giraffe. We saw them almost every day, but they remained stunning to watch, as they would stare at us for a while before gently striding away. The baby giraffe were very interested in us. Nyala, Kudu and Impala were common sights. Less common were the waterbuck, reedbuck and zebra.
The groundskeeper, Manuele, grew up in the bush, and was a great tracker. One morning he led me on a 4 hour walk around the farm. We attempted to stalk many animals. Oddly the animals were more wary of people on foot than in vehicles. I guess people walking sounds more like predators.
See the safari photos taken around Mananga!
The Next South Africa Entry: Edeni Game Drive and Dinner
The Whole Trip: South Africa – The Summary