Our third and final safari camp was &Beyond Kirkman’s Kamp in South Africa. By the time we got to Kirkman’s Kamp, we were tired, cranky, hungry and thirsty. Duncan, the General Manager greeted us with his hard working team. I was grouchy and Ruth was so hungry and it was an effort to even be nice. All we wanted was a restroom and water ... LOTS of water!We had been told that the journey from the airport would take 45 minutes but it really took 2 hours – 45 minutes on a dirt road. It was dark – very dark and we were in a place that we hadn’t been before. We didn’t feel unsafe, it just was that the journey seemed never ending.
I’ve always believed that when you travel it’s ok to have 1 melt down day and that travel day between Zambia and Kirkmans Kamp was mine. Kirkman Kamp’s Duncan and Ruth took pity on us and opened the camp store so we could purchase clothes for the following day. I really love my 2 button down cotton shirts and plan to use them while we are back in Tahiti in December.
The rest of the evening included dinner, a discussion about the camp and briefly meeting the one person who would become so important to the 4 of us and then bed. Oh, did I mention that our wake up was for 5:00 am?
So, 5:00 am if was... Knock on the door, quickly getting dressed…no clothes meant easy clothing choices and off we went to meet our outstanding guide, Anton and his tracker associate, Victor. We quickly drank our coffee (hot chocolate for Jeff), ate our biscuit and away we went.
Kirkman’s Kamp vehicles are Land Rovers without a covering. The weather was bright and cool. We saw many wonderful things while we were with Anton and Victor. We got up close and personal with rhinos, had drinks with hippos and learned so much about the birds and wildlife due to Anton’s vast eclectic knowledgebase. Some of my favorite memories were encountering 3 male lions on the road sunning themselves. After observing and taking a million photos of the 3 lions, we began to drive away to continue our adventure and low and behold we found 3 rhinos approaching the lions. Anton expertly turned the Land Rover around and got us in position to observe what could be quite a battle. Imagine being on a low hill waiting, waiting, waiting…wondering if there was going to be a confrontation and if there was a confrontation, who would win. 3 lions versus 3 rhinos. Here’s what happened. The rhinos approached the lions and the lions stared at the rhinos then the lions got up and slowly walked away giving the rhinos the right of way. Since I’m not a blood and guts kind of girl, this was quite a moment!
My other favorite moment involving Anton’s intuition was observing a mother leopard laying beside the road under a huge tree. This mother had left her male cub 2 days before to hunt. As she sat, we watched. She would call out in a quiet cry hoping that her cub could hear her but not too loud to let other predators know her position. Anton told us to be patient. After 10 minutes, we were rewarded with a distant call from the cub. Watching and hearing the cub approach his mother was breathtaking. Their reunion was so touching as the mother leopard groomed her baby and they both did the leopard version of purring.
We were so fortunate to have Anton and Victor with us. Anyone reading this blog, please ask me for more information and stories about them. I would work with them again…anytime!
Our total experience from rocky beginning to the end was wonderful. Kirkman’s Kamp is a beautiful, restful lodge that allows wildlife to roam through it. At night, you must be walked to your room by a guide so they can protect you from any unexpected wildlife encounter. We walked carefully past a hyena and saw the dung (poop) of an elephant during our 3 night stay. The rooms are cozy and very thoughtfully arranged. There was air conditioning! Temperatures ranged from high 60’s when we woke up to 100 degrees from 2-4 pm. I also want to mention that at all 3 &Beyond camps, shampoo, conditioner, liquid body soap, and body scrub is available in everyone’s rooms. I loved their products. The only thing that you really need to bring is your suntan lotion.
The food at Kirkman’s was the best of the 3 lodges. I believe it is accessibility to good, fresh food in South Africa than gives Kirkman’s the edge up. Botswana is just so remote.
As far as game goes, you get more bang for the buck at Kirkman’s Kamp. The camp is part of the Sabi Sands region of Kruger National Park. This area is greener and wetter than Botswana. Because Botswana has more vast open land than Kruger, accessing game was easier at Kirkman’s. We did not experience the larger numbers of animals in the herds that we saw in Botswana though. I still feel that it was important to have bush drives in 2 completely different areas so we could learn about what makes the experience so different. 
Going back to our luggage…Ruth and Katie (Anton’s fiancé btw) tried so hard to get answers. The commuter plane division of South African Airlines really is a lousy company. We were in Kirkman’s for 3 nights. Many promises and “stories” later, we received our luggage at 8:30 pm the night before we left. Learning to live with basically the clothes on our backs was a challenge but…we did it.
Leaving Kirkman’s was quite sad. This is a very well run lodge with the emphasis on the guest’s experience. The lodge feels warm and is genuinely friendly. Two of our dinners included 5 African songs performed by the staff. Can you imagine sitting outside under the African sky with the 4 of us and Anton listening to the staff singing African songs as they danced? This is a memory that I will cherish forever. So, hat’s off to Duncan, Ruth, Katie, Simon our extraordinary server, Zanila, the best massage giver and to Anton and Victor.
Stay tuned for the wrap up blog about our African experience.
Mari
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