Download - Ultimate Guide To Africa - JULY 2015 - INFINITE LUXURY CAMPING

SAND RIVER MASAI MARA

INFINITE LUXURY CAMPING

F O R L U X U R Y T R A V E L

afr IcaUltimate

S O U T H E R N A F R I C A

I S S U E 3 7

G U I D E T O

TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

SOUTHERN AFRICAN LUXURY TENTED CAMPS

DESTINATION DOWNTIME

A PLETHORA OF WILDLIFE AND CULTURE

CULTURAL EXPERIENCE

THE MAASAI PEOPLE OF KENYA

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ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AFRICA - FOR LUXURY TRAVEL

Travel ExperirenceSOUTHERN AFRICAN LUXURY

TENTED CAMPS

Feature DestinationCOUNTRY GETAWAYS

Feature CoverSAND RIVER MASAI MARA

Feature ExperirenceCITY OF FREEDOM

Destination DowntimeA PLETHORA OF WILDLIFE AND

CULTURE

CULTURAL EXPERIENCETHE MAASAI PEOPLE OF KENYA

38MADIBA'S MEMORIAL GARDEN 8 EDITORS LETTER

10 THIS & THAT

DIRECTORY

74 GUIDE - TOP PROPERTIES IN SOUTH AFRICA

79 GUIDE - TRAVEL-RELATED SERVICES IN SOUTH AFRICA

86 DIRECTORY - LUXURY PROPERTY LISTING IN SOUTH AFRICA

104 IN THE KNOW- IMPORTANT TRAVEL INFO

26 12 20

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42RHINO TRACKING IN NAMIBIA

60 TARANGARIE TREETOPS SAFARI CAMP

46CITY OF FREEDOMNELSON MANDELA BAY

64NKOMAZI GAME RESERVE

MORE FEATURES REGULARS

CONTENTS

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SAND RIVER MASAI MARA

"All the members of the ‘Big Five’ can be found in the Masai Mara National Reserve all year-round, but the Reserve is best known for its large concentrations of big cats, such as leopard, chee-

tah and, of course, lion...."

On July 1st 2013, the Elewana Collection was delighted to an-nounce the introduction of its first bush camp in Kenya – Sand River Masai Mara.Located on the banks of a river from which it has taken its name, Sand River Masai Mara is located within the Masai Mara

National Reserve, close to the Tanzanian border.

Set in the legendary Masai Mara Na-tional Reserve beneath a grove of towering and shady trees, Sand Riv-er Masai Mara overlooks its name-sake, the Sand River. This pictur-esque location has been sensitively

developed with a design aesthetic that reflects the glamorous heyday of the 1920s when ‘safari’ was a dreamy Out of Africa experience but with a modern 'low impact' philosophy.

An ideal destination, at any time of the year, for those wishing to enjoy exceptional game-viewing. The National Reserve is best known for its large concentrations of big cats, such as leopard, cheetah and, of course, lion. Even the dramatic arrival of the Annual Migration merely adds to an already abundant resident wildlife

that awaits discovery.Sand River Masai Mara comprises of 16-tent-

ed accommodations - including 1 family tent - each divided into two separate but adjoining campsites, with each area possessing its own designated dining and public areas, thereby creating an increased sense of exclusivity and privacy.

Sand River Masai Mara will continue to demonstrate all the qualities that have made the Elewana Collection the premier choice in East Africa. With carefully crafted interior de-signs, exceptional standards of service, and a sublime and carefully chosen location provid-ing optimal access to the wildlife, Sand River Masai Mara will surely become the standard to surpass.

COVER FEATURE

A PICTURE PERFECT REPLICA OF LATE 1920’S EXCLUSIVE PERMANENT

TENTED CAMPS

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WHO ARE THE MAASAI? WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? WHAT IS THEIR MODERN

CONSERVATION ROLE?

The Northern and Southern Maa speakers of East Africa have been the pre-eminent cattle keepers in terms of wealth, land control, and influence in both Kenya and Tanzania for

a very long time. At the height of their as-cendancy in the mid 18th century the range lands that they “owned” included the Great Rift Valley and fertile volcanic lands on either side over an area of more than 350,000 km sq. ( 60% of the land mass of modern Ken-ya). Prior to ‘Emutai’, the decade of disaster between 1893 and 1903 that probably killed 60% of the pre-disaster population of Maasai (because in the first few years it killed over 95% of the cattle that they depended upon for their daily milk), the population of Ma-asai that controlled this vast area was likely

less than 100,000. It is incredible that even with well-organized standing armies of bachelor wa-rriors the Maasai could have owned and con-trolled such a huge area of diverse terrain with only one fifth of a person per square kilometer.

In the north they were close neighbours of pastoral Dasenech, Turkana, Gabbra, Rendille, Boran, and Pokot who were all confined to less productive rangelands on the periphery of the northern Maasai (Samburu and Chamus). The southern Maasai occupied a long broad tongue of semi arid land bounded by sixteen agricul-tural peoples: the Meru, Embu, Kikuyu, Kama, Taita, Usambaa, Parakuyo, Larush, Iraqw, Tato-ga, Kuria, Gusii, Luo, Kipsignis, Nandi, Maraquet and Elgeyo. The Maasai are the southernmost Nilotic speakers of Africa and their homeland includes the range lands of the Boma Plateau bounded in the south by the waters of the Sobat River which flows from the Ethiopian Highlands into the White Nile and the Sudd just south of Malakal.

Modern genetics and traditional linguistics show information and genetic exchanges with their Afroasiatic (Cushitic) neighbours to the north and east over the past 3000 years. And yet authoritative treatments of Maasai history do not penetrate beyond the last 20 to 23 re-membered fourteen-year age sets. The oldest remembered north Maasai age set of warriors was probably initiated about 1690, but these Lkasurutia men (“ of the brass coils”) inherited the way they thought, acted, spoke, and prayed from people who walked the mountains of Sinai and the shores of the River Nkishon which flows into Galilee. The Maasai are named as being amongst the Hebrew priests in Chronicles and the Samburu are called the Korr, or Kore, and are listed in following verses of the same Bible Chapter as singers and gatekeepers. At times of great challenge modern Maasai pray ‘Nkai ai Oi Pasinai’ = my god given at Sinai.

Cattle keepers in Africa had fully specialized pastoral cultures along the Upper Nile in Egypt and Sudan for more than 6000 years at a time when the savannahs in what is now the Sahara had just begun their trend towards extreme desic-cation. The greatest survival tool and adaptation of all cattle keeping people is the high mobility of the human population and the cattle on which they depend. While they might lay claim to and defend rangelands with great ferocity against non allied pastoralists, successful pastoral people must also be masters at keeping the peace that their li-vestock needs to grow and prosper.

THE MAASAI PEOPLE OF KENYA

Cultural EXPERIENCE

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Travel EXPERIENCE

AN ULTIMATIME SAFARI EXPERIENCE

EXPLORING SOUTHERN AFRICA'S LUXURY TENTED CAMPS

Safari novices are sometimes surprised when they find that something called a "tented camp" has been booked for them, even though they are spending good money on their vacation.

Don't be fooled. Tented camps are the ultimate safari luxury. They are similar to lodges in conception, except that sleeping is not in cabins or bungalows, but in full-fledged fixed wooden-poled, walk-in canvas tents recreating the luxury hunting safaris of the good old great white hunters.

Tents have a bedroom, a full bathroom and sometimes even a lounge. Better than tents, they are actually canvas chalets. Most are permanent, but some are assembled only for the high season.

Many of them offer full hotel service, while others are more on the rustic side with bucket showers and no electricity. Here you pay for exclusivity, privacy, and nearly for your (temporary) own piece of Africa. There is a range of categories and prices, but some of the most luxurious accommodations in Southern Africa are tented camps.

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ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AFRICA - FOR LUXURY TRAVELFeature EXPERIENCE

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The early morning sun illumina-tes the table-top mountains of Damaraland, but the boulder-strewn valley floor, where we are driving, is still dark. It will

take a while before the sun reaches us, but the two rhino trackers, Nicholas Naobeb and Lazarus Mbahee, are already scanning the ground for signs of disturbance. This area – favoured by rhino – is vast and ru-gged and rocky, so tracking in the normal way is not possible.

In the Land Cruiser we hobble over red basalt boulders while the trackers keep their eyes glued to the ground. Then Laza-rus mumbles from the rear of the vehicle and driver Mesag Saal stops the Land Crui-ser to listen to him. “He thinks he knows the direction the rhino have gone,” says Mesag, pointing in a completely different direction from the one we were headed in.

It’s now 09h30 and we have been driving over the valley floor for three hours. The sun is high and hot, and the air is still as we make slow progress over the boulders. Both of the trackers believe they are on the trail of a black rhino – though we can see no signs of any tracks. They’ve done this many times before, though, so we are confident they are on track, though it does appear they are looking for a toothpick in a chopstick factory.

Another two hours pass before the trac-kers tell Mesag to drive just a few metres further and stop. They have spotted a black rhino, though nobody else can see it. From here on, we will go on foot, being care-ful to keep downwind from the rhino so that he doesn’t smell us coming. “Rhinos, as big as they are, can disappear into thin air if they hear or smell you coming,” says Mesag. “They may not see well, but their other senses are finely tuned.” Then he adds: “Always remember that if a rhino charges you, simply stand still and throw a rock in the opposite direction, and the rhi-no will follow the sound to where the rock landed.” It’s good advice, I’m sure, if your

nerves don’t fail you!Slowly we start walking. Lazarus and Mesag lead

up front and Nicholas is at the rear of us three rhino watchers. We clamber across more boulder rocks up a low hill and down the other side, and there he is. Standing on the hillside opposite us, we see a black rhino in the shade of a Mopani tree. He’s perfectly relaxed and doesn’t seem to know we are there.

We continue walking in single file, treading softly and silently so as not to alert the rhino that we are ap-proaching. Beads of sweat drip down our faces in the heat of the day, even though we have only walked about a kilometre in total. We stop about 40 me-tres from the male black rhino, though it feels much closer somehow. It’s a completely different and very personal experience seeing a rhino from ground level than from the safety of a vehicle.

RHINO TRACKING IN NAMIBIA

TRACKING HIGHLY ENDANGERED BLACK RHINO IN NAMIBIA IS BOTH A UNIQUE AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING EXPERIENCE. BEING MERE METRES FROM A PREHISTORIC ANIMAL THAT HAS SURVIVED MILLIONS OF YEARS

ON EARTH AND NOW FACES EXTINCTION IS PRETTY SOBERING TOO.

REAL TIME WITH RHINOS

Text & Images © Keri Harvey

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NELSON MANDELA BAY The rich cultural history of the area depicts the triumph of the human spirit, freedom, and the triumph of democracy over op-pression. This is uniquely ex-pressed by Route 67. This route

consists of 67 Public Art Works symbolising Nelson Mandela’s 67 years of work dedicated to securing a free South Africa, including 67 steps which lead up to the second largest flag in Africa. The route is a proud celebration of

the city’s heritage and history. This is a must-see stop for the whole family to walk, enjoy, and commence the journey of discovering freedom in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Nelson Mandela Bay has a variety of attrac-tions, activities and authentic experiences which have the ability to evoke the spirit of freedom in any person’s soul. It is for this rea-son that travel provides the opportunity for transformation and a promise of self-discovery experienced in the City of Freedom.

Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth, Despatch and Uitenhage), the destination proudly named after South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela, invites visitors to “Discover Freedom” on its shores. This slogan not only reflects the fact that many of the stories about the apartheid struggle originated here, it

also represents the many attractions and activities the area offers.

Text & Images © Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism

PARTICULARTHE CITY OF FREEDOM

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A true Kenya tours safari starts and ends in astonishing wonder, and assimilation of various life chang-ing experiences. Bundled within immeasurable extensive conser-vations and natural surroundings

are serene, tranquil and peaceful reserves and parks, teeming with a range of birds and wildlife species, which includes the Big 5. All our Kenya tour packages serve people with the most ad-vanced safari infrastructure within East Africa.

Numerous tourists visit this paradise through-out the year, to eyewitness and experience the reputable world-class safari. Winner of the year 2008 World Travel Fair for the finest Leisure Des-tination, Kenya has gained endless international acknowledgment for her leading silhouette in the world of tourism.

Within the array of tour options offered, a Kenya safari from India, demonstrates an enormous al-ternative for a collection of more than 40 wildlife destinations, visits to historical, natural landmarks and coastal retreats. Some of the major national parks are the Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Aberdare, Tsavo, Meru, Nairobi and Mt. Kenya. Game re-serves are comprehensive of Samburu, Masai Mara safari, Laikipia and many smaller conservan-cies.

The Amboseli national reserve situated in the Rift Valley is in a widespread area of 395sq.km, all the Kenya tour packages include luxury sa-fari. From the outstanding view of Mount Kili-manjaro, to the remarkable wildlife display of wildcats, wildebeest, lions, zebras, caracals, varieties of gazelles, warthogs, hyenas, water-buck, black rhino and others, are inclusive of nearly 500 small to large bird species.

Lake Nakuru national wildlife park can be ex-plored as a day trip from Nairobi through the dry season. One of the most important, attrac-tions is the lake, an alkaline soda alongside fresh water spread. An ornithologist’s paradise, it shows stunning views of thousands of migra-tory flamingos, fascinated to the lake’s plentiful algae, and other bird species.

Aberdare national wildlife park is ensconced within the innermost highlands, west of Mount Kenya, and it is in an area of about 770sq.km. The park reclines towards a segment of the Aberdare Mountain range. That is affluent in equatorial botanical plants, numerous streams, exuberant alpines, cascading waterfalls, rivers and wildlife.

A UNESCO Heritage site since the year 1997, the Mount Kenya national wildlife park meas-ures nearly about 700sq.km and comprises of

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Destination Downtime

WELCOME to Kenya, a plethora of wildlife, culture and infinite magical surprises. From the beautiful coastal cliffs of Watamu, to the beach of Lake Victoria, the Great Rift Valley, and the wonders of the wildebeest migration in Masai Mara, this unique acclaimed family tourist destination, awaits.

A PLETHORA OF WILDLIFE

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COUNTRYSIDE HOSPITALITYAN OUT OF TOWN TIMEOUT

While the bright lights of the big city may be enticing for some, even the most fast paced of city dwellers occasionally need a little time out of the rat race to

reconnect with nature and soak up a little relaxation, country style. Here are two of our top picks for getting away from it all.

Text: Nicky Furniss Images © Oaklands Country Manor & De Hoek Country House

Feature DESTINATION

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Feature DINE

A SIGNATUREDINNING

EXPERIENCEText and Images © SIGNATURE

Good taste isn't just a phrase used to refer to class and style, it literally has meaning at Signature, where the menu is full to capacity with delectable, mouthwatering

"Signature" dishes.Signature Restaurant is one of the most exciting

fashionable restaurants in Sandton, offering a unique mix of exclusivity, flexibility, comfort, sophistication and design. Situated in Morningside Shopping Centre, Sandton, Signature delivers an unparalleled mix of attention to detail, flawless service, sumptuous cuisine and some of the best bluesy/jazz sounds Sandton has to offer.

Boasting an exquisite lunch and dinner menu, with a local and international wine menu for even the most discerning palate. Time intended to be spent with family, friends or colleagues celebrating life; birthdays, business deals or enjoying a romantic night out.

There’s a global menu with French, Asian, African and Mediterranean influences as well as a large separate

sushi menu. Opt for the prime rib served with barley risotto or the spicy crab curry. Prawns can be served the Mozambican way, while a lamb rack is served en croute. There is lighter fare at lunchtime including a fish burger livened up with fresh coriander and sweet chilli or mussels in a creamy basil sauce served with pommes frite and the obligatory mayo on the side.

Floor to ceiling windows frame a panoramic view and sets the scene for magnificent sunsets and of course Signature cocktails. Great restaurants are a blend of sophisticated cooking, imaginative ideas and respect for ingredients. Signature is more than this. It's an experience that reminds you why some restaurants deserve to be revered.Great restaurants are a blend of sophisticated cooking, imaginative ideas and respect for ingredients. Signature is more than this. It's an experience that reminds you why some restaurants deserve to be revered.

For more information visit www.signaturerestaurant.co.za

Download - Ultimate Guide To Africa - JULY 2015 - INFINITE LUXURY CAMPING

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