Grand Africa Cruise - Safari Day 1

Cruise Day 41

Saturday, November 19, 2022

“Travel leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”  -- Ibn Battuta

Maputo, Mozambique: The Adventure Begins

Today is a very exciting day for us as this is the day our long-awaited safari begins.  The ship didn’t dock in Maputo until just after 8:00 AM and didn’t clear customs until after 8:30.  Our transfer to the safari camp wasn’t scheduled to leave until 10:00, so we were in no big rush to get off the ship. 

We sailed from Nosy Be in Madagascar (the red marker in the upper left) to Maputo in Mozambique (the red lower marker).  The blue marker above Maputo is Rattray's Camp in the MalaMala Game Reserve where we will driving to from Maputo.

We sail into the harbor in Maputo accompanied by a tug boat.

After our usual breakfast in the Neptune Lounge, we waited around for a bit, but finally couldn’t wait any longer and got off the ship at 9:30.  It was a good thing we did as the walk from the ship to terminal was very long and the temperature was already in the high nineties.  We finally made it to and through the terminal and began looking for our driver who would be holding a sign with our names on it.

There was an area across from the terminal where there were many buses and minibuses with tours loading and we thought we would find our driver there.  After looking from one end to the other there was no sign of him, and we began to worry.  I went back into the terminal to see if he might have been waiting in there, but he wasn’t there.  When I returned, Val said she had asked someone and they had told her that private tours were not allowed in the port area, only ship tours.

After learning this, I left Val sitting in the shade and set out to find our driver.  I had to walk out of the terminal gate and down a long entryway until I finally reached a public road and there he was, waiting for us.  I identified myself and told him I had to go back and get Val.  With that finally done, we were on our way.

Our driver’s name was Abi and was very nice.  He worked for a company called E-Coaches and said he often picks up people in Maputo and drives them to a safari camp in South Africa.  He lives in South Africa and said he had to get up at three in the morning to get here.  The car was quite nice and thankfully the air conditioning worked very well.

This is our route from Maputo (the lower left) to Rattray's Camp in the MalaMala Game Reserve.  Intuitively it feels like you should drive south out of Mozambique to get to South Africa, but as you can see, a corner of Mozambique extends into South Africa so you have to travel north to get to Kruger National Park and the private game reserves surrounding it.

It was about a two-hour drive to the South African / Mozambique border, so we saw a lot of Maputo and the Mozambique countryside before we got there.  We chatted with Abi as we drove and learned about him and the area we were driving through.  Maputo is a very large city and he had to navigate through a lot of traffic to get out of it.  We finally reached the Mozambique border and had to get out of the car and wait in a long line in the heat to be processed out of Mozambique.  Besides the locals, there were a lot of ship people here as around 250 passengers were leaving the ship for various other safaris.

There were people there who had signed up for a ship organized safari as well as independent travelers like us.  We got in line and found ourselves behind a couple we had met on our Marrakech overnight trip, so we talked to them and that helped pass the time for us.

We were very glad to have Abi as he helped us navigate the confusing process.  After a long wait, we were finally finished, and drove the short distance through the quarter-mile no-man’s-land between the Mozambique and South African border where we stopped for South African Customs.

There was another long line to stand in, but after a few minutes of waiting, one of the guides for one of the ship’s safaris gathered a group of people in front of us and took them towards another entrance.  Abi knew the guide, so we were able to tag along.  Outside the entrance our passports were collected by the guide, and we were allowed inside to wait.  There were fans, but no air conditioning, but it was still much better than outside.  After quite a long wait, our passports were returned, and we were back on the road.  Overall, the whole process took almost two hours, making our journey even longer.

The difference between Mozambique and South Africa was very striking as we crossed the border.  The open lands of Mozambique had been empty while after we entered South Africa it became very agricultural with many more trees.  We still had a three-hour drive ahead of us and our five hour drive had turned into a seven hour drive thanks to the time it took to get across the border.

Surprisingly, you head north into South Africa to get to the game reserves and Kruger National Park.  Maputo is in a narrow section of Mozambique that lies between northeastern South Africa and the Indian Ocean.  It was a long but interesting drive, even going up and across some mountains as we drew nearer to our destination. 

We learned about Abi’s South African life which helped pass the time.  He was fascinated and couldn’t quite grasp the fact that we had arrived on a ship carrying a lot of people and would be on it for almost three months.  He wanted to know all about the ship and whether we had our own rooms among other things.  We would answer his questions and then a while later he would bring it up again and ask more questions, he just couldn’t quite grasp the concept.

We left the pavement and followed a dirt road with high wire fencing along the side that we later found out was the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve boundary.  The fence is one of the safeguards to keep the poachers out.  It also helps keep the animals away from nearby communities, but if this fencing makes it sound like it’s some sort of animal park that is not the case. 

I don’t quite understand the way the this works, but the Sabi Sand Reserve is a group of private game reserves adjacent to the southwest corner of Kruger National Park.  Sabi Sand reserve is 160,00 acres (250 sq. miles) and has a thirty-one-mile, unfenced border with Kruger.  From what I’ve read, it’s considered part of the Greater Kruger National Park area, but not actually part of the park.

Kruger National Park itself is huge covering 7,523 square miles with a length of 200 miles and a width varying from 25 to 50 miles.  If you include the adjacent game reserves, it is almost the same size as the country of Belgium.

As we drove along the dirt road Val suddenly shouted “elephant”, and sure enough, there was an elephant off in the distance, our first wild game sighting and very exciting to us.  Before we reached Ratrray’s lodge we would also see impala, more elephants and African Buffalo, and it started to sink in what we were in for.  We soon came to the Sabi Sand entry point, which is a controlled entry where you are checked in and out.

We will be staying at Rattray’s Camp in the MalaMala Game Reserve which is part of the larger Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve.  With a size of 33,000 acres (51 sq. miles), MalaMala is the largest private game reserve in Southern Africa.  It also shares a twelve-mile, unfenced border with Kruger.  It also has the Sand River running almost the entire length of it which makes it excellent for game viewing.

The beige and green area is the Sabi Sand Game Reserve group and the gray area is Kruger National Park.  The green area is where we are headed, the MalaMala Game Reserve and Rattray's Camp.  As you can see, MalaMala is the largest game reserve of the Sabi Sand group and has a river running almost it's entire length and also has a long, unfenced border with Kruger.  This makes it one of the best game viewing areas, and was one of the main reasons we chose Rattray's.

We had more driving to do, but we finally entered the MalaMala Game Reserve and finally to Rattray’s Camp just after 4:00 PM.  Waiting to greet us was Chad, the ranger who would be our driver and guide for our stay at Rattray’s.  Along with Chad was Loudry who was a manager welcoming us with cool towels to wipe away the travel grime.

This is the entrance to MalaMala Rattray's Camp.  It was very exciting for us as we had seen this iconic entrance in photos and videos as we were planning this trip and now we were really here!

This is a picture from the Rattray's Camp website, and it was almost exactly the way it was when we arrived.  Where the people are standing is the main entrance to the lodge and to the left where the game drive jeep is parked is where you load up for the game drives.  Rattray's Camp has eight individual guest suites that you access by walking down a path to the right.

This is a aerial view of Rattray's Camp.  The large, gray-topped building to the left is the main lodge with eight suites to the right.  Our suite was the last one on the right; it gave us better views as there was nothing on one side, but it was a long walk to the main lodge.  All of the suites look down on the Sand River at the top of the picture.

Our luggage was taken to our suite while we were treated to a delicious late lunch set out just for us as everyone else had already left for the evening game drive.  Chad asked if we wanted to go on an evening game drive, but as much as we would have liked to, after spending eight hours to get here we were worn out and wanted to settle in and clean up.  They understood and after a tour of the main building and the grounds, we were led to our own suite.  They left us with a warning not to walk around the grounds at night without an escort as they wouldn't want their guests to encounter any of the wild animals that roam around, and we were more than willing to oblige. When we were ready for dinner we were to call, and someone would be sent to escort us.

Here is a good spot to give some background of how we ended up at the MalaMala and Rattray’s.  In 2019 when we first started planning this cruise, one of our ship's roll call members contacted a South African tour company called Tourism That Cares and they supplied us with a choice of four different safari options with various locations and price ranges in the Sabi Sand Reserve.   After a bit of research, we found one we liked and put down our deposit.

Then Covid hit, our cruise was postponed, and our safari was in limbo.  We had intended to cancel our safari and start over for 2021, but Tourism That Cares, who was in a severe financial situation because of cancellations and lack of tourists, convinced us if we were going to rebook in 2021, we should keep our booking and continue from there.

With some reservations we decided to do that, but when were unable to rebook the same safari lodge, we chose another one.  When the 2021 cruise was postponed until 2022 we were in the same situation and had to start over again.  By this time, like our own travel agency, most everyone we had dealt with had been laid off so now we were dealing with the owner.  We asked him what he thought was the best game reserve to go to for game viewing and he said for him, without a doubt, it was the MalaMala so we were booked into what was called the Main Camp.

We thought that was it, but Val and I did a little research and found that the Main Camp was larger and catered more to families, which is great if you are traveling with a family, but Val and I are older and like things quieter.

Val and I did a bit more research and found there were two more camps in the MalaMala; one was Sable Camp, but it was attached to the Main Camp and the other one was Rattray’s Camp.  Rattray’s was a lot more expensive, but there were only eight suites, all separate and looking down on the Sand River.  They also catered to adults as you had to be 16 to stay there, and the number of people in the game drives was limited to a maximum of four to a vehicle.

This sounded like just what we were looking for and after not traveling for almost three years, we had more money in our travel budget so Rattray’s it was.  I’ll wait until later to describe Rattray’s in a bit more detail, but it is a great place.

Our suite was huge with an entry area and a large bedroom / living room area.  There were two bathrooms, one on each side, consisting of a dressing room, bathroom area and shower / tub.  They were called his and hers bathrooms as one had a shower and one had a bathtub.  Rattray’s is very old and traditional, so I guess the design dates back to when women only took baths.

There was also a large verandah with table and chairs and lounge chairs with a view of the Sand River below.  There was even a small private plunge pool and outdoor shower off to one side.  It was all very private as there was separation between each lodge.

Val and I were a bit awestruck at the accommodations as we are not used to this kind of luxury.  We unpacked and relaxed for a while out on our verandah.  It was quite a warm day, but very nice in the shade. As we sat there, we noticed there was absolute silence except for the bird sounds, it was amazing.  One thing we were told was to never leave our door open as there were baboons around and they would enter if they found an open door.

Dinner was at eight so after relaxing and getting settled, Val and I got cleaned up and were ready to go to the main lodge.  We called for our escort and soon a very nice young man led us back to the main lodge.  As we got there, the evening game drive was just unloading, and we noticed there was a lot more than four in the vehicle.  We later asked Chad about this, and he said this was a group of people traveling together and had requested that.

We were led to our table and served an assortment of appetizers to choose from before ordering from the menu.  There is an attached bar area where I guess it is customary to meet, have a drink and wind down after the game drive.  Val and I were asked to join them, but since Val and I no longer drink alcohol, we declined.  The Rattray’s staff takes all your personal preferences into account, and we were never asked again about having a drink with dinner or anywhere else, which isn't a big deal, but it shows the attention they pay to each guest.

There are three or four choices for each course on the menu and our dinner was delicious.  The service is excellent, and we would have the same waiter throughout our stay.  Chad also was there and talked to us for a while and explained about our morning game drive.  Chad would be an integral part of our stay, and not just on the game drives, but all the aspects of our stay.  I don’t know whether it is like this at every safari lodge, but it is at Rattray’s.

After a very satisfying dinner, we found our escort and were taken back to our lodge.  We went right to bed as, despite the fact we didn’t have to get up early today, it had been a long day.  Our first game drive is tomorrow at 5:30 AM so we will have to be up at five.