Plan your trip
KIDS: Mhondoro is child friendly, with a dedicated open-air play area. Children under six may not be accommodated on scheduled game drives when other guests are joining but private drives can be arranged, subject to the availability of a vehicle and a ranger. RATES: From R5,350 ppspn. These include accommodation, all meals, drinks (including local beers and house wine), two safari activities per day and transfers from the Welgevonden Reserve’s main gate or airstrip.
SUNDAY TIMES SPECIAL OFFER
Readers quoting this article will qualify for an additional free night when they book and pay for two nights in June. The offer includes a private dinner and a romantic turndown in the room. Valid for stays during June 2020 only. Ts & Cs apply.
CONTACT: Visit mhondoro.com, e-mail res@mhondoro.com or call 087-150-2314.
UP AT THE VILLA
Unexpectedly, I got a tour of the villa when its gracious guests invited everyone at the main lodge to view the herd of elephants heading towards them. A group of us had just returned from a late-afternoon game drive, where drinks and snacks had been set up on a table overlooking some of the best views of the reserve — all verdant green hills and impressive rocky ravines and sweeping savannahs.
With torches in hand we followed the herd, led by the matriarch, to the saltwater swimming pool at the villa.
After taking a sip, and apparently deciding it was too salty, the group of about six to eight elephants ambled quietly over to their second option.
But for the occasional splashes of water, which could be mistaken for skinny-dipping guests, standing still with your eyes closed you would never have heard them approaching — the only giveaway being perhaps the whoops of joy as guests tried to capture the moment in the inky darkness, the frames of the elephant lit only by the pool light.
BIG ON BIODIVERSITY
On the subject of elephants, Myriam shares on the family blog that the now 45-year-old Daisy, the matriarch elephant, fitted with a GPS transmitter a number of years back, leaves her herd to act as maternity aid whenever a new baby elephant is born.
The elephant population is understood to double every 10 years, which has a huge impact on biodiversity. Tracking and monitoring the movements of these gentle giants is part of the elephant management plan which has resulted in translocation and contraceptive vaccinations to slow down the population.
Reportedly, Welgevonden has the largest concentration of white rhinos on private land and is 100% poaching-free, according to marketing manager Ronel Breytenbach, who has been with the lodge since 2016.
This is thanks to a highly effective anti-poaching unit, the existence of which is communicated to drivers by signs on the N3 warning of its armed presence.
In 2016 Welgevonden Game Reserve, together with Mhondoro and Frank Vogel, announced the establishment of a R30m game purchase, increasing the existing population with more impalas, wildebeest, zebras, waterbucks and hippos. This was the culmination of many years of academic research into the nutritional conditions on the reserve. Last year black rhinos were introduced onto the reserve, which we unfortunately didn’t spot.
THE REAL ZEAL
While bumping along in the game vehicle on day, we approach a zeal of zebra grazing (yes, that is in fact the collective noun for zebra).
We park the vehicle alongside the still creatures and watch as they graze while keeping a side-eye on our movements in the vehicle. The game ranger climbs out to illustrate research currently being conducted at the reserve. As he approaches the zebras on foot, the entire herd scatters as if a shot has suddenly been fired.
The reaction is fascinating and one that has been closely monitored by Welgevonden. According to international news organisation Quartz, IBM and
MTN began a new data-analysis programme to prevent rhino poaching.
Zebras, as well as other species, have been fitted with collars to track their movements and responses to danger. This data has been collected and analysed to show that animals move differently depending on the threat they are facing.
“For example,” writes Quartz, “they’re likely to move as a herd if a lion approaches but scatter chaotically if a hunter with a rifle is spotted. Their response time is also usually much faster than a one-ton rhino’s.”
Such observations and insights into animal behaviour are exactly what characterises a stay at Mhondoro.
The knowledgeable staff — from the front-of-house manager to the rangers — also armed me with more than I knew or cared to think about going in.
So it was only fitting that when we were bidding the lodge farewell, a young elephant strolled into the main lodge to drink from the eco-friendly swimming pool, presenting me with the perfect opportunity to take a #poolellie — a selfie with an elephant — a special parting gift that has given Mhondoro global Insta-fame.
Check the hashtag out for yourself on Instagram if you don’t believe me.
Kumalo was a guest of Mhondoro Safari Lodge & Villa Spa