Nelspruit - Standing beneath a six-ton pachyderm three times your height and more than a hundred times your weight puts your place in nature’s pecking order into perspective. It’s humbling.
And while the gorgeous young bull, Tembo, has been taught to be patient with people while they’re having their picture taken, he could mash every bone in your body should he wish. That’s power.
Tembo, 29, is the biggest beast at Elephant Whispers, a reserve on the outskirts of the sleepy town of Hazyview. The company (013 737 7876 or [email protected]) runs daily elephant-back safaris and education experiences, during which you can feed and water a pachyderm, touch its rough hide and stroke the baby-soft skin behind its ears.
Tembo is the big boy in the herd. He was orphaned at the age of two when his herd was culled and he was raised by humans. At 18, he had become a problem animal and local farmers were barking for his destruction. It was then that Hazyview’s Elephant Whispers, situated in the Sandford Conservancy on the banks of the Sabie River stepped in and adopted him.
Elephant Whispers traces back to Zimbabwe. Rory Hensman first took on young orphaned elephants Jumbo and Miss Ellie in 1988. Five years later, in 1993, his bride, Lindie, rode Miss Ellie to their wedding ceremony on their farm.
The Hensmans started training the elephants to do chores like rounding up cattle. Over the years, they acquired more elephants and introduced elephant-back safaris to Zimbabwe.
In 2002, after Bob went batty, the Hensmans were chased off their farm, which had been in the family since 1932. They had to sell their elephants in a hurry and crossed the border to South Africa.
In 2003, the couple, in association with Howard Blight and Philé van Zyl created a new company, Elephants for Africa Forever (EAF).
Elephant Whispers, a partnership with EAF, is one of many compelling reasons to visit this glorious part of the world. Mpumalanga might have an ambitious premier with ancestor issues (who can forget David Mabuza’s threats of ancestor retribution to ANC members) and some of the country’s most pot-holed roads, but it’s one of the our most beautiful regions.
And the province has it all – fragrant pine plantations, vast game reserves, a mild climate, wild rivers and adventure activities. There are canopy tours, white-water rafting, helicopter flips and caving, food and curio markets, trout fishing, all those game reserves around the Kruger and golf courses.
I don’t know too many people in need of encouragement to spend a weekend away. We planned our trip to the Sabi River Sun Resort (013 737 4600) with a view to checking out their new 18-hole golf course and having some spa treatments.
For a change, with a man in the driver’s seat, we took the scenic route to Hazyview. My husband got his priorities straight – packing the family into a smallish city runaround so the golf clubs slotted perfectly between the toddler and the suitcases. Having heard about the stop-and-go roadworks, we entrusted Googlemaps to guide us there quickly, first making a detour via the pothole nightmare road that is Delmas. Just before we hit Nelspruit, we took a sharp left to Sabi, mistaking the town for the destination.
The Sabi Sun is miles and miles away from Sabi, the Lowveld logging town, which we only discovered when we realised the potholes were taking us nowhere quickly.
Good thing that we were driving during daylight because these roads are not for sissies.
The resort has a hotel and chalets dotted around the golfcourse. At night, hippos come out of their hides, while crocodiles and buck sun themselves on the course. High above on a ridge overlooking Hazyview, elephant can be seen wandering on safari.
Golfers would probably describe the course as challenging – I wouldn’t know, ensconced as I was in a spa chair having my toes painted and getting a foot massage with my wide-eyed three-year-old ... her first pedicure. After our treatments, there was more relaxation sunning ourselves on poolside deckchairs.
The hotel’s buffet restaurant has Saturday night braais, which are a feast, although the wood-fired pizzas are a hit around the poolside. Even though we experienced chilly weather in Gauteng, the Lowveld is glorious in winter – and spring is possibly the best time to visit.
The hotel’s children’s activities are thoughtfully planned. The snake show is a massive hit, though bingo and “beach” volleyball are drawcards too.
The Sabi Sun’s not one of Tsogo Sun’s most modern resorts, but the package adds up: the course is unforgettable (how many offer views of a daily elephant trail?), service is personable, the spa is lovely and you feel obliged to take things a little slower. - Saturday Star
For more info, visit: www.tsogosunhotels.com/resorts/sabi-river-sun/pages/overview.aspx#.Ui2yq6Ks-lg