The Experience @ Thornybush Game Lodge

by African Press Photo Agency
photos by African Press Photo Agency/Thornybush Game Lodge

At first glance Thornybush Game Lodge is everything that would be expected from a 5 star resort. They have dedicated staff that are loyal to the principles of Thornybush, being service excellence, attention to detail and commitment to their guests needs. But Thornybush Game Lodge has that something extra that one looks for when venturing out into the African heat in search of elusive wildlife.

The overall experience of Thornybush Game Lodge was exquisite – from the locally inspired cuisine to the well educated game rangers who are at your disposal throughout the day for drives, walks or simply to answer your city inspired questions about the bush. During your stay at Thornybush Game Lodge you experience the bush at all times; the lodge itself is not fenced therefore the game walk freely through the grounds. This gives the overall experience an added feel of suspense that around every corner there could be a lone leopard or a bull elephant. Because of this, and because they take the safety of their guests as their main concern, at night you are escorted from the main lodge area to your private accommodation by a night watchman or ranger.

The accommodation itself is built for privacy. This is no more evident than when you experience the shower (either outdoor or indoor) and the bath which simply have glass separating you from the bush below. This was a first for someone from the city who is used to drawing the curtains to walk around your own home to prevent your neighbours getting an eyeful when you dress or undress. This exposure to the elements, in a manner of speaking, can be quite daunting. You are somewhat comforted in the fact that when you shower or bath at night the only thing that could possibly be seeing you is a african scops owl or a Vervet Monkey, neither of which would be too concerned.

From every aspect of the lodge your senses are sometimes overwhelmed with the experience of the bush. At all times you are aware that life is teeming around you – from the birds that take their day or night shifts very seriously to the smallest of insects that scurry around their homes tending to their lives in a similar fashion to us city dwellers.

The food, which there seems to never be a shortage of, is locally inspired. In conversations with the head chef, Solly Mangena, who has over 18 years experience, six of which at Thornybush Game Lodge itself, says the majority of guests at Thorybush are tourists and therefore he wants to leave them with a lingering sense of both African and Shangaan cuisine. This is well balanced with ample choices for all types. At every meal they cater for all types, from the more adventurous to the vegetarians. Should you need something more exclusive you simply need to make your needs such as Halaal or Kosher know on booking or arrival and you will be amply catered for. As mentioned above, on first glance this is the type of service you would automatically expect from a 5 star resort but what makes this different is the personal interaction Solly has with his guests, and that’s exactly how he sees those staying at the lodge – as his personal guests. He treats the guests at Thornybush as he would treat someone invited into his own home.

As with the types of foods, the very act of dining is designed for you to still experience the bush in, at times, unusual ways. In a two night stay there were cocktails and snacks in the middle of a dry river bed in the heart of the reserve one night and a traditional African meal in a boma with bonfires and great conversations with yours and other guest’s rangers on the other. There were times during the meal that the laughter and conversation allowed you to forget where you were until the roar of the old male lion nearby making his presence know brings you back to the stark reality that you are in fact in his world.

The rangers themselves are approachable and open. It is part of their overall service that in the evenings, after you return from your late afternoon game drive that they join you at the bar for a glass of great South African wine, and at times even pour it for you. All the rangers encountered were well trained and highly knowledgeable about the bush around them. Although the majority of guests come to Thornybush to experience the Big 5, they are able to answer questions about the little creatures that inhabit the bush as well. What was an added pleasure was to see how the rangers interacted with one another. There was a sense of camaraderie between them that extended from the lodge in the evenings to the drives when they all worked together to give their guests the best overall experience possible.

This sense of camaraderie extended to the quiet relationships these rangers have with their trackers. The trackers are a story on their own – young and old men that have grown up on the very land that they now escort guests around. These men have a sense of that bush that a city dweller could only ever dream of. It seemed from their very movements that they had a quiet understanding of what was happening around them from the wind patterns to the movements of the creatures, both big and small. Watching our tracker, Rexon Nyati who has worked for Thornybush Game Lodge for over 17 years, quietly direct our ranger to a pride of lionesses simply by following their soft paw prints in the sand, was an incredible experience. In one of our rare casual conversations with Rexon he joked that he knew every tree, rock and bird in the Thornybush Private Game Reserve. He confidently said that he could find his way home from any point in the reserve and he could do it on foot. We believed him. He also joked that he would be lost if he set foot in a city like Johannesburg. We believed this as well. It was clearly evident that he was a part of his surroundings and that he would have it no other way. 

Thornybush Game Lodge prides itself on its relationships, the relationships between the rangers and the trackers, between the rangers themselves and between the rangers and their guests. On arrival you are assigned a ranger and in order to develop a sense of trust and continuity you keep the same ranger for the duration of your stay. This enables the ranger to keep track (pardon the pun) of what information he gives you and what you are interested in seeing and learning about.

Our ranger for the weekend, Ian Beyl, has only been doing this particular job for a few years but his love for the bush and the animals that live in it was evident in everything he did and told us. This included an impromptu lesson on the stars one evening when we were set right on the Southern Cross and stars that it comprises of, the names of which I still remember, a testimony to his teaching abilities. His fabulous sense of humour and his casual explanations of some technical information made this city dweller feel less like a sore thumb and more a part of the South African bush.

The African bush has a magical hold on most people, especially those that don’t know much about it. The slightest chance of being able to see a leopard or a pride of lions is enough to get most people out of their warms beds before the sun is up and onto a landrover in the cold winter air. Unlike unguided tours, while on a game drive at Thornybush Game Lodge you are guaranteed of seeing something, even if its only a Scrub Hare, a very special and funny moment for this South Africa. But when you get really lucky you are able to see some of the most exquisite wildlife up close.

On one game drive we had the great fortune of being able to follow a cheetah and her three cubs for over an hour. This was a rare experience as cheetahs are one of the most endangered animals in the world. To see four such healthy vibrant cats was a true treat. The cubs were behaving like typical children, running off and playing with one another but always under the watchful eye of their protective mother.

This cheetah has every right to be protective as her journey has not been a smooth one. This particular cheetah was rehabilitated into Thornybush Private Game Reserve from De Wildt Cheetah Centre. Both the people at De Wildt Cheetah Centre and the rangers at Thornybush were skeptical about her chances of survival when they released her onto the reserve. All were pleasantly surprised and relieved when she successfully hunted a small impala on her second day in the wild. All has not been smooth sailing however. The set of cubs we had the honour of watching is her third set. Her first two sets of cubs were unfortunately killed by rival lions shortly after their births. Even this set of cubs has been troubled. Initially she gave birth to nine cubs but only three remain. The rangers explained that at eleven months old the cubs had a few months to go before they would be out of danger but they were convinced that at least one of the cubs would eventually reach sexual maturity. This is wonderful news in a world in desperate need of these spectacular creatures. Unfortunately if things do not change for the better in 20 years there will be no more cheetahs in the wild. It will be a travesty if the next generation does not have the magnificent opportunity to witness these incredible creatures in their natural habitat.

This particular cheetah is doing her bit to raise her family and keep them safe. When their playful sport took the cubs too far away for her liking she would call them back to her side with that less than ferocious chirp that they make. When they make that noise its easy to see how they are such easy targets for the much bigger and much more powerful lions that roam the area. It was an incredible honour to be allowed into their lives even for just the hour we followed them. They were healthy and playful with full stomachs from the hunt the night before. We can only hope that when they reach maturity and the mother chases them off to find their own territories (this will happen as all the cubs are female) they will have a fighting chance to have families of their own. 

It is clear that a stay of any duration at the Thornybush Game Lodge is one you will never forget and its not just the soft beds, the friendly staff and the wonderful food that will get you to return. It’s the entire experience – the hot coffee on the deck while the sun slowly rises, the hot water bottles on the game viewing vehicles, getting so close to the young leopard feeding that binoculars were made redundant, and the glass of wine in the dry river bed at sunset. It is experiences such as these that you cannot put a price to. The smells (not always good in the case of the dead giraffe we came across) and the sounds such as the male lion roaring at night, pierce the soul. The wonderful thing is that this is the same whether you are a South African used to bush holidays or a visiting Australian out to see the African bush for the first time. One thing is for certain – these types of experiences with both the beauty and the harshness of the African bush will leave you changed and for the better. One begins to realize that these areas need to be protected so that future generations have the same incredible experiences with a small herd of elephant that we have had. Thornybush Private Game Reserve is one such establishment that is doing their best to preserve what little wildlife exists in South Africa. Thornybush Game Lodge is the ultimate way to experience that wildlife. The success of this lodge is evident in how many tourists, both local and international, know of this lodge and have or plan to visit it. As a local South African that has grown up with regular holidays to the various camps at the Kruger National Park, this stay at Thornybush Game Lodge was a once in a lifetime experience. Falling asleep to the majestic sound of the african scops owl and waking up to young Nyala walking through the lodge grounds is something that reawakens the soul and makes fighting the Johannesburg traffic that much more tolerable.