We woke around 5am on our first day at the Lewis Farm (it was probably 5 days before we had completely adjusted to the 11 hour time difference). Because we drove for hours in the dark the night before, we had no idea where we were. Stumbling out of bed, we soon discovered that we were in the middle of nowhere! The farm, which is officially named The Mananga Game Lodge, covers 650 hectares (about 1700 acres), and is surrounded by other much larger game lodges. Miles and miles and miles of bush. The lowveld, they call it.
Situated on a bluff overlooking a river (dry at the time of year we visited), the house commands an amazing view. It is beautifully constructed, with large open spaces and a stunning thatched roof. Apparently a well-made thatched roof will last you 25 years. Who knew! We took over the upstairs portion of the house. Lots of space to spread out stuff. They are finishing up construction of a guest lodge nearby on the property. It’s build to accommodate groups of six or so. Luxury safari style.
Our own stay was luxurious as well. Our meals were provided by our host, Jo Lewis. The meals were diverse and delicious and we dined, every meal, outdoors on a patio, overlooking the bush. No bugs to speak of. September is the end of winter/early spring which is a dry season. The summer rains were due to start in a month or so.
We were eating our first breakfast when the groundskeeper, Manuele, yelled elephants! So, we ran out and saw a herd of about 20, with some little guys mixed in. They were far away, on the neighbors property across the river. But our first wild animal sighting! Natalie’s impression: “You told me we were going to get really close to the animals!”. We then spent some time arguing over a set of binoculars before settling back to down to finish our breakfast.
Around the house were several not-so-wild animals, which we quickly befriended. Three cats, a dog, a couple horses. Natalie and “Peanut”, a “bush-dog” (mix between weimeriner and bull terrier or something) became inseperable. Most interesting though was a rescued dieker (a small deer-like animal), named Bambi, which the Lewis’ had adopted from some neighbor that had rescued it as a baby. Jo has tried to encourage it to go back to the bush, but it likes to hang around the house. It can run up to 40mph and when it gets nervous it tents to ram people. Because of this they kept it in a large fenced area while we were visiting. It is a tiny thing, about the size of Jackson. Natalie loved to pet it and was very calm and gentle with it. We had to limit these visits however, because, being a young male, Bambi was attracted to Natalie and probably any other female creature close to his size. The land surrounding the house is full of animals. Basically every kind of wild animal you expect to see in South Africa that doesn’t eat you and a few that might (that don’t seem to be troubled by the electric fences). More on this later.
The Next South Africa Entry: Mananga – Safari on the Farm
The Whole Trip: South Africa – The Summary