Camp Ndlovu

There’s something very satisfying about driving down one straight and simple road until wham, you suddenly reach somewhere completely magical.

That’s the pleasure of arriving at Camp Ndlovu in Welgevonden Game Reserve, three hours north of Johannesburg on the N1. Just one left turn after the Kranskop toll plaza, then straight on until you reach the entrance. No messing about with uncertain turns down dubious unmarked roads in the middle of nowhere, which is a blessing if you're geographically challenged like me.

While the journey is a breeze, that’s obviously not the best part. That comes when you reach the lodge itself, see the glorious views and the pool on the deck, and the spa where you can have a full body massage to the soothing sound of birdsong. Or the squabbling sound of baboons, who have been known to pop in and nick a towel when nobody is looking, says therapist Kate Shongoane. Then you sit watching warthogs gather by the stream as the lovely staff bring you another glass of bubbly.

Camp Ndlovu is quite new on South Africa’s safari scene, after the property was bought by the steel-wealthy Rudge family. They added the spa and a small gym, and opened as a five-star lodge. The family also owns The Residence boutique hotel in Houghton, and can organise a chauffeur driven transfer between the two.

The food at Camp Ndlovu is a treat, with lavish breakfasts, tasty al fresco lunches like chicken kebabs, prawn tempura and salads, and dinners that might include a braai in the boma. Afternoon tea brings a deliciously moist carrot cake, just in case your rapidly-expanding stomach won’t make it through till diner time.

On a morning bush walk, our guide Malvin Mncube entertained us with a story of how his mother once saved his life when he was bitten by a black mamba, by making him drink an infusion made from the crushed roots of a white resin tree. “If you try to cut down those trees in the rural areas the old people will smack you hard because they know it saves lives,” he says. We’re laughing, but a little unnerved when we notice he pops a large piece of bark in his pocket, just in case.

Then he leads us silently down a rocky slope into a valley, listening for the cough of a leopard that likes to hang out here. We see three klipspringer carcasses that prove his existence, but the leopard remains elusive.

Later during an evening game drive Mncube points out the last tesebee on the reserve, telling us that they’ve been wiped out by cheetah. Tesebees are fast runners but not very bright, he says, so when they see something they’ll go and investigate instead of running away. By the time they figure out it’s dangerous, it’s game over.
He stops the vehicle again to let a franklin carefully pick its way across the road, and we ask why it’s walking so slowly. The bird is very visible from above when it’s crossing a dirt road, Mncube explains, so it’s trying to mimic a rock so it won’t be noticed by an eagle.

Decades ago Welgevonden was a farm, and in the 1980s its owner Pienkes Du Plessis decided to return the land to its original state and reintroduce wildlife. He gradually bought up neighbouring farms, and when the reserve was large enough, elephants were reintroduced in what was South Africa’s first project to translocate an entire breeding herd. The first five lions were reintroduced in 1998 and have roots back to ancestors in Etosha. Other rare species including the aardwolf, pangolin and aardvark have also been spotted.

The land is still recovering from the farming days, and the rangers are experimenting with different fertilisers to help the grass regrow. They’ve set up movement-triggered cameras protected by metal cages on the planes, to capture photos of animals grazing in the area to see which treatment produces the grass that they prefer.

Now there are 42 lodges in Welgevonden, many owned by private families or corporations, and the number of vehicles allowed by each is strictly limited to keep the animals relatively undisturbed.

Camp Ndlovu has five luxurious suites, each with an outdoor shower, a bath delightfully positioned in the open air, and a private plunge pool. The main lodge has the pool, a bar and various lounges to relax in, and if a group of six or more makes a booking, they get exclusive use of the camp.
I was allocated the owner’s cottage, which family members use when they’re in residence. It’s wonderfully spacious with its own swimming pool, and it was huge fun to leap into the chilly water and watch the wildlife. As the water washed over me, so did a wave of utter happiness.