I used to love long road trips where I would stare through the car window at the hypnotising landscape.
My eyes would feel the pull of the alluring greenery, then my face would slowly edge closer to the window, and my cheek would flatten on the clear surface before I would cosily nod off.
I’d only wake at the next toilet stop for snacks for the rest of the trip ahead and continue the same nap exercise all over again.
Nowadays, my patience for sitting in the same position for anything longer than one hour is waning.
However, the scenic drive to the Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP) brought back my childhood memories.
SANParks invited the media to view the park and the new accommodation set to open next month.
I was already excited as I boarded the afternoon flight from OR Tambo International Airport to Port Elizabeth since I had never been to the Eastern Cape port city before.
The flight took just over an hour.
On arrival, after picking up a minivan rental, we began the two-and-a-half-hour journey to Cradock and from there, the final 25km lap to the MZNP.
PEACEFUL: The cottages at the Mounain Zebra National Park. Picture: SANParks
On our arrival, it was time for dinner and to get better acquainted with the people I’d be spending the next two days with.
After checking into our accommodation, it was well after 11pm so we could not see much of the park.
The cottage in which I spent my first night was one of eight new two-sleepers that have been added to the park.
The look and feel of the cottages are more modern and spacious compared to the older four-sleeper family cottages.
The newer ones are tiled throughout with a fireplace and a bigger bathroom.
My cottage did not have a bathtub option, which may not suit people who enjoy a good soak after a long journey.
It being winter, the cottage felt that much colder. I would advise anyone who gets cold easily to pack an extra pair of socks and a pair of warm, snug slippers to keep warm.
There are 20 family cottages available and they have carpeting in the bedrooms.
The bigger plasma TV screens, the two-seater couches and easier-to-open sliding doors make the newer cottages ideal for the hot summer days to come.
The park boasts the Doornhoek guest house, which sleeps six people; two mountain cottages that can accommodate to 10 people in three bedrooms and 25 camping and caravan sites.
Two new luxury rock chalets have been built at the top of the main accommodation area.
The views from the spacious two-bedroom four-sleepers are breathtaking, certainly a sight to see.
HEIGHT OF LUXURY: A rock chalet at the Mountain Zebra National Park. Picture: Mpiletso Motumi
The bathrooms are en-suite and there is an additional outside shower for when the temperature sky-rockets to 40°C in the warmer seasons.
Ranger Sinethemba Tiem took us on an early-morning game drive to spot some of the animals. Black rhinos, gemsbok, brown hyenas and four cheetahs were reintroduced into the park in the early 2000s.
The MZNP was proclaimed a national park with just 1712hectares of land. Today, its current size is 28386ha, so there is a lot of land to see and three of the Big Five, including lions which were reintroduced into the park in 2013 after a 130-year absence.
Back in 1937, farmers managed to conserve a small herd of the endangered animal that became the founder population of the park. Later, 11 more zebra were donated to the park and today, there is a zebra herd of at least 1000.
Even more reason to celebrate is the down-listing of the zebras from the endangered species list at last year’s Cites CoP17.
Apart from seeing the zebra herd, a must is the cheetah-tracking trail that started at MZNP in 2011.
JUST A LITTLE TICKLE: And the trail ends within a whisker of a cheetah. Picture: SANParks
This activity is definitely not for the faint-hearted as it involves walking among the wild animals in the park on foot.
There are seven cheetahs, collared for monitoring to allow the rangers know where the animals are and how their movements affect their behaviour.
A telemetry device is used to determine the location of the cats by picking up the collar signal through a radio aerial.
Our trail was to find Angela, a cheetah that was born in the park.
FINDERS KEEPERS: Sinethemba Tiem uses a radio aerial to track the cheetahs in the park. Picture: Mpiletso Motumi
Tiem gave us the only warning we needed - do not run.
“We walk together as a group. I’ll walk in front and if something happens, you need to listen to my instructions. Please do not run. Rather grab my belt if you feel like running. Listen to my instructions. If you run away from the group, you can’t be helped,” the ranger warned.
Tiem also gave instructions on what to do if we saw any three of the Big Five.
“If we see lions, they will give us a soft growl.
“That’s their way of telling us to back off.
“If it’s a buffalo bull and we are too close, we get out of the zone as quickly as possible and the bull will move away from us.
“For the black rhino if I say run, you run.”
After the warning, we walked quietly in single file for about 700m to get to the cheetahs.
If any of us needed the rangers’ attention, we would have to click our fingers.
When we eventually got to Angela and three other cheetahs resting under a tree, Tiem told us that he had seen them feeding on a female kudu just the morning before.
“They won’t be hunting or moving around much today because they are still full.”
The cheetah-tracking trail is one of many thrilling activities on offer at the MZNP.
Game drives, San cave-painting tours, 4x4 trails, bird watching, guided morning walks and self-drive game viewing are some of the other options.
SNAP HAPPY: A selfie on the way to the cheetah-tracking trail.
If an early-morning game drive is in your plans, make sure to dress warmly as the ride will be windy and cold.
There is a swimming pool to cool off in during those sizzling hot summer days.
The park is part of the Camdeboo protected environment. This means that the land, totalling 286434ha, is conserved and protected in collaboration with farmers who own land surrounding the parks.
The MZNP celebrated its 80th birthday last month and SANParks held a special ceremony in commemoration on July 31, World Ranger Day, to mark the occasion.
If you are in need of an escape from the hustle and bustle of Joburg, the MZNP should be high on your list of go-to national parks in the country.
@mane_mpi