Even after all my visits up the West coast I had no idea that this game reserve even existed. Situated really close to Langebaan and bordering the West Coast National Park and encompassing 1460 hectares of arid land, it is another best kept secret of this area. The beauty of it lies in the fact that its luxury safari tents can only accommodate 20 people in total. So it’s you, your travel buddy and the animals, if you spot them.
The tent is permanent and comes complete with a couch, furniture, cupboards and mini kitchen area as well as electricity. One may argue that it’s not camping at all. But there’s something to be said about camping in this level of comfort and climbing into a bed but still having to zip your ‘room’ closed. If you want more comfort about your sleep then you can get the best deals on hotels here too.
Looking out over the relatively flat land, there were hardly any trees but largely shrubs, fynbos, succulents and grazing land belonging to the Saldanha Flats Strandveld ( beach land). Walking along the hot, dusty path away from the tents we only spotted ostrich grazing in the dry land. The night we arrived, we barely saw a large group of springbok hopping majestically over the land and in front of our car. They leaped so high in the air and at tremendous pace that our eyes could barely focus on them beneath the starry sky.
One of the best things about the unspoilt West Coast has always been the stars. Unhindered by unnatural light and city pollution, they always present themselves in their brightest form as if the universe spat them out to perform. After devouring a plate full of ribs at the only restaurant in the middle of the camp playing Afrikaans music, we rested our contented selves on camping chairs beside the blazing fire whose flames licked high up into the sky and lead our eyes upward to the stars.
I would like to say that I slept soundly but that would only be true for a few hours. It wasn’t long after my head hit the pillow that I heard some scratching sounds as if the eland and bontebok of the reserve had come to our tent to investigate. I tried not to let my mind wander to the mice, hares and snakes that could be making their way into our tent. As soon as I dozed off again, I awoke to what sounded like munching and trampling. Due to the volume of the animals grunting, chewing and moving beside the tent, I had no choice but to assume they were trying to munch their way in.
The sounds of animals in the bush should be relaxing I imagined. I realized that this was the first time I slept with only a tent separating me from the wild. As ridiculous as it sounds and even though there are no lions or cheetahs on the reserve, it was a bit alarming at times. My husband even joked that they must’ve played animal sounds next to our tent at night because it was that loud. Once you get used to it, it does provide somewhat of soothing way to rest and leaves you wondering if we were never meant to be so far removed from the wild in the first place.
