A medical barrier is easily accommodated to make a South African safari possible

by Alva Nawrocki; Mesa, AZ

Last year when my husband, Armin, and I were planning which trip on our “bucket list” would be our next, we ran into a glitch. We wanted to go on a safari and visit Cape Town in South Africa, but my husband couldn’t take antimalarial medication due to doctor’s orders.

As I started my research, everyone I spoke with recommended taking the medication. Little did I know that South Africa has a number of malaria-free game reserves. After consulting with the experts, I realized our dream safari could be a reality. 

Making plans

After checking the advertising in ITN, I decided to call Rothschild Safaris because they specialize in safaris and have an office in the US. Our first contact was with Kimi Reardon, who was wonderful. She ended up planning every detail of our April 2013 trip, which was customized exactly to our special needs, travel preferences and requested activities. 

First, she started by telling us about several reserves that were malaria free. We decided on the Madikwe Game Reserve.

We also wanted to spend two nights in Johannesburg upon arrival to make sure that after 20-plus hours on a plane, we were well rested and ready to enjoy our safari. We stayed at the Peermont Mondior, conveniently located near the airport. 

To celebrate our wedding anniversary in Johannesburg, we wanted a special place for dinner but preferred to dine somewhere close to our hotel. Several people recommended a restaurant called Tribes (64 Jones Rd., Shop 23 Emperor’s Palace), and we had a wonderful meal there. 

While we could have tried some of the local delicacies such as ostrich, kudu, impala or warthog, we decided we could taste those later in the trip and opted for something more familiar. Main dishes average ZAR145 ($14)

Madikwe Game Reserve

Recovered from jet lag, we were ready for our safari. We flew to the Madikwe Game Reserve with a local charter service, and it was just a 45-minute flight from Johannesburg. Our first sightings of wildlife were the zebras, giraffes and wildebeests fleeing the runway as they heard our plane coming in!

We were met by Billy, who would be our driver and guide throughout our stay. We learned that about 20 years before, the government bought all of the farms in the area and established the reserve, making it one of the largest in South Africa. 

Animals were brought in from other reserves but only those that tested malaria free. It has the Big Five as well as wild dogs, which are on the endangered list and not found in many other reserves.

We had two game drives each day. Staff would wake us at 5 a.m. and, after a snack and a beverage, we’d leave on an early-morning drive, usually returning around 10 a.m., which gave us the afternoon to rest. At 4 p.m. we met again for a snack and then the evening drive, typically not returning to the lodge until 9 p.m. This was to avoid being out during the heat of the day and to take advantage of the evening, when most of the animals are out.

After each game drive, we were met with a refreshing drink and cool, wet towels. 

Billy was fantastic! He did not miss a thing. Even at night he found the smallest creatures for us to see. 

We saw the Big Five but did not get to see the wild dogs. We were on our way to where they had been sighted but ran into a roadblock: a group of over a dozen elephants eating along the road. We waited some time, but the elephants wouldn’t move, so we had to turn around. By then it was too late to try a different route to find the dogs. However, we did see cheetahs and several times saw lion prides eating their kills.

For several of our drives we were joined by people from the Audubon Society, and they were so excited to have seen over 100 different birds while there. The birds were absolutely beautiful, and, for us, many were unusual. 

Excellent accommodations

Our accommodations were in Dithaba Lodge, one of three lodges that make up Madikwe Safari Lodge. There were four bungalows in this lodge; the two other lodges were set up more for families.

Our bungalow was wonderful and certainly not what I expected to find out in the middle of nowhere. The building was constructed of stone and had a thatched roof to blend into nature, but the inside was like a 4-star hotel. 

Our bed faced a wall of windows overlooking the reserve. We had a lovely living room with a fireplace and a spacious deck on which we could sit or enjoy the private hot tub. 

The bathroom had a Jacuzzi tub, and on the first night, when we returned to our room, we discovered that the staff had filled the tub with warm water and bath salts and surrounded it with lit candles. What a way to relax after a long day! We definitely did not rough it here!

We walked to the main building for our meals, all of which were covered in the price, including wine or liquor. The food was delicious, and there was more than we could eat. 

As my husband is diabetic, the staff made sure there was a pitcher of sugar-free tea for him all the time, and they made sandwiches for him to take along on the evening drives because dinnertime was late and he had to have some food in between. The staff here was fantastic and could not do enough for us. 

Our stay at Madikwe was wonderful and we saw everything that we would have seen at most of the other parks in South Africa.

On to Cape Town

Eventually, we, sadly, had to depart from Madikwe. We caught a flight back to Johannesburg, connecting to Cape Town.

In Cape Town, we wanted to be near the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront for our four nights there, so we stayed at the Protea Hotel Breakwater Lodge, just a few blocks from the wharf. A 19th-century prison converted into a hotel, it was very interesting, and the location was perfect, as we spent every free minute at the wharf.

Many wonderful meals were enjoyed at too many places to mention. Of course, the seafood was fabulous.

While in Cape Town, we took several tours. The highlights included the most spectacular drive along the Cape Peninsula down to Cape Point and a tour of the townships, something I would highly recommend. It was so interesting, especially being able to go into some of the homes and visit with the people. 

Unfortunately, we did not get to Table Mountain because it was covered in clouds the entire time, but we did manage to see it on the way to the airport.

Our 11-day trip cost us $3,550 per person, excluding international airfare from the US. 

We have traveled all over the world and this was one of our best trips! Everything went perfectly, without a single problem. 

Rothschild Safaris (Denver, CO; 855/780-9818) did an excellent job planning every last detail for us. Kimi was so pleasant to work with, and she sent us a very informative book outlining the entire trip and including helpful hints, such as what to tip, what to pack, information on the weather, etc. It was a great help to us, both in preparing for our trip and while traveling.