THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA

In the first part of her travelogue exploring the New South Africa, Isabel visited bustling Johannesburg and Soweto and retraced Nelson Mandela’s footsteps. She concludes by visiting Limpopo region and met the other ‘natives’ of this vast country.

BEWARE Free Roaming Dangerous Animals, the sign warns. ‘You are entering this park/area/facility entirely at your own risk’. My leisurely morning stroll to breakfast turns into an Olympic dash, passing neighbouring thatchroofed huts concealed in the African savannah, surrounded by fantastically shaped amber-coloured sandstone outcrops.

Noting the perfect jump-off points for resident leopards and lions, no doubt sunning themselves above, all-seeing eyes biding their time for now, we pause on the decking of a heavenly infinity pool set in the rocks.

A worrying trail of large cat-like paw prints are embedded in the soft sand around it. Unfenced Leokwe Rest Camp is set amongst South Africa’s pristine wilderness. My companion consults her mythical animal tracking tool: ‘leopard paw prints for sure, look there’s the bigger pads and the small ones above’, she gasps. We quickly snap the evidence. Surely there should be claws surrounding the prints too, I ponder while we make a fast getaway.

Tucking into bacon and eggs, having made it safely to the communal outdoor dining area, a companion, who knows his South African parks announced casually ‘I took a swim earlier and there was elephant dung in the infinity pool!’

Our two minders, driver Werner Claassen, an authoritative presence in his safari uniform of shorts and knee socks and Nhlanhla (Percy) Ngwenya our cookconcierge clear up the mystery: ‘no big cats, just big baboons.’