My first visit was to Kichaka Luxury Game Lodge in the Eastern Cape. I knew I was in for something special but I can “hand-on-heart” say that my stay at this special little lodge exceeded my every expectation.
It would be so easy for me to wax lyrical for hours about the friendliness of the staff, the delicious lunch I enjoyed, my gigantic room with private plunge pool, the breathtaking view of the waterhole, my extremely comfortable bed, the rain shower, the out of this world WiFi connectivity, the mouth watering dinner (with my very own vegetarian menu!), the “Death-by-Chocolate” pudding and much, much more but what I really want to tell you about was the game experience.
I will be honest and be the first to say that after years of promoting the Kruger Park and Madikwe Game Reserve I was somewhat sceptical about the game experience on offer in the Eastern Cape. I always knew it was an adequate experience but wondered if it would “blow my mind” and make me want to return. The simple and honest answer to this question is YES IT DID – OH MY GOODNESS IT DID!
When you speak to friends who are not in the travel industry and tell them about how many safaris you have done in your life (Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Kruger and Madikwe for me) they often think you are a bit of a show-off. But those “in the know” understand that it comes with the job. The point I am trying to make here is that in my position I have done some fantastic game drives and have seen some amazing things in my life but never have I had a guide / ranger who captivated me and interacted with the people on the vehicle the way Ashley did.
We had a French family on the vehicle that spoke a bit of broken English but it did not stop Ashley from going out of his way to interact and try and explain things to us. I actually for the first time in many years learnt a lot on a drive. Tracks were pointed out, spots where Hyenas had marked their territory were pointed out and the markings explained to us in detail, medicinal uses for plants and most amazingly zebra hairs from the side of the road were picked up to show us where the zebras were rolling on the ground to scratch themselves!
We had a magical Elephant encounter followed closely by sighting two amazing lions preparing to hunt. The following morning I put in a request for Cheetah and after about 2 hours of tracking (we are one of the few lodges who still have a tracker on the vehicle) we spotted a female cheetah. This made my day!
Due to our marketing meeting that morning I sadly missed out on the game walk but Kichaka is one of the only lodges that hold a rifle license and thus able to offer game walks in the Eastern Cape. With the superior knowledge of the guides at Kichaka, guests are guaranteed an amazing experience!
I am so happy that I had the opportunity to stay at Kichaka and meet the wonderful team (at the lodge and behind the scenes in Sales & Marketing). I have a rule that if I can’t be passionate about a product I won’t add them to my portfolio. I think it is safe to say that I fell in love with Kichaka and the Eastern Cape.
I believe the lodge offers fantastic value for money - not only with respect to its luxury accommodation with all the wonderful special touches like the under floor heating, most amazing ponchos on game drive, complimentary WiFi connectivity, fully inclusive rate etc. but most importantly the high standard of guiding guests will experience whilst on safari.
The team from Kichaka will not be at Indaba this year but we would love for you to experience the lodge. Drop me a line if you are doing a pre- or post- Indaba trip and I will gladly arrange it for you.
Don’t forget we have a Stay for 3 only pay for 2 offer running from 01 May – 30 Sep. Please contact your preferred ground operator for rates or drop me a line if you need the STO rates directly.
My review on my stay at Fairlawns Boutique Hotel & Spa in Johannesburg will follow soon.
www.kichaka.co.za
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| Photos taken by me during our game drive at Kichaka |
