Meeting a Shaman, Seeing the Circle of Life, and More in the Bush

Heather and I were already on the continent, having just finished a cruise down the Nile and a deep dive into the history of Jordan and Egypt. It was a month-long journey, and we figured since we were already in Africa, we might as well continue on to South Africa.

We didn’t really have a clue what to expect. We aren’t “big resort” people; we told our consultant, Vihann, that we wanted something small and intimate.

Coming from the crowded streets of Cairo, where the pyramids are practically in the city and the air is thick with the smoke of burning crops, arriving in South Africa was a shock to the senses in the best way possible.

We started in Johannesburg at the African Rock Hotel. It rained all night – a proper downpour – but after flying all night from Cairo to Addis Ababa to Johannesburg, that quiet, welcoming space was exactly the break we needed before the next leg of the adventure.

The Geography of the Timbavati

The next day, we flew into the small airport of Hoedspruit. As two people with geography degrees, we tend to look at the world a bit differently. We aren’t just looking for the big animals; we’re looking at the terrain and the vegetation.

We headed to our accommodation, Kambaku River Sands in the Timbavati Game Reserve. Our safari expert, Vihann, had suggested it because it only has ten cottages, and it was exactly the setting we wanted. What struck us immediately was the hospitality. The staff picked up on our names and knew who we were right away. It makes you feel kind of important, but more than that, it makes you feel welcome.

Our guide, Guy, and our tracker, Rienie, were incredibly enthusiastic. You could tell they really loved their jobs, which is impressive when you realise they work seven days a week for six weeks straight before they are off for a while. We jumped right into the deep end of the wild.

A Strong Start

If we had any romanticised ideas about safari, they were replaced by raw reality within the first 24 hours. Our very first sighting was a lioness eating a baby giraffe that had just died. We sat there watching for three-quarters of an hour. “Okay,” I remember thinking, “this isn’t just looking at a lion over there. This is the circle of life.”

The Human Fabric and Meeting a Shaman

One of the highlights wasn’t actually on the back of a Land Cruiser. It was the three-hour transfer between lodges. Our driver lived in a local village, and he talked the whole time. We heard about life in a village without running water, about spiritual beliefs, and about the tradition of burying family members in the front yard to stay close to them for guidance.

We love people and we love stories. Getting that local information about the culture – the “rainbow nation” aspect of South Africa – was fantastic. This culminated when we did a village tour in Huntington. We actually met with a shaman. She had a whole bookcase full of everything she had dried – herbs and plants gathered from the very land we had been driving through.

Earlier, Guy had taken us on a bush walk where we looked at tracks and vegetation on the ground, pointing out herbs you could make tea or medicine from. Seeing those same plants on the shaman’s shelves brought the whole experience full circle. We were putting the pieces together – how the people and the vegetation and the history all intertwine.

Rolling Hills and Elusive Cats

Moving to Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge felt like a different chapter. The terrain changed from the flats of the Timbavati to more rolling hills. We did have one small hiccup – our first room was near a busy road and a noisy ditch. But I spoke to the manager, and within 20 minutes, she moved us to a room that was perfect.

From our new viewing area, we could see elephants at the watering hole and the vastness of the open meadow. The guiding here, especially with Foster, was stellar. Since we had already seen the raw side of the kill, we asked Foster to show us things we were more interested in – like a working termite mound. He walked us up to one, put a leaf in, and pulled the termites out to show us. That’s the kind of knowledge we appreciated.

Then there were the leopards. We heard that they were rare, but we saw them three or four times. One leopard actually came down from a tree and walked right under our Jeep. We sat perfectly still as it passed beneath us. It’s hard to describe that feeling – the proximity to something so powerful and silent.

A Life-Changing Chapter

By the time we reached the end of our trip, we had gone on 12 safaris. It was a lot, and we were exhausted, but we wouldn’t have traded it. We felt fully supported by Vihann and the Discover Africa team; the logistics were so smooth and there was never an issue.

People asked us if the trip would be life-changing. We’ve travelled all over – Europe, Japan, China, Australia – but South Africa is uniquely beautiful. It’s so different from the crowded pyramids of Egypt or the streets of Jordan.

We left with a bit of a safari bug ourselves, much like our friend Cathy, who recommended the trip. We carry the stories of the people we met and the raw, unscripted moments of the bush with us. It was a spectacular way to see a part of the world we truly knew nothing about, and it’s a chapter we’ll be talking about for a very long time.

For Peter and Heather, the transition from the ancient dust of Egypt to the raw vitality of the South African bush was more than just a change in geography; it was an awakening. They found that in the silence of the Timbavati and the rolling hills of the Sabi Sands, the circle of life isn’t a concept found in a textbook but a living, breathing reality that stays with you long after the dust has settled.

From the quiet wisdom of a shaman’s kitchen to the heart-stopping proximity of a leopard, South Africa offers a profound connection to the earth and its people that is as eye-opening as it is beautiful.

Are you ready to begin your own African chapter? Whether you’re a first-time explorer looking for a smooth, expertly planned introduction or a seasoned traveller seeking a deeper connection to nature and culture, Discover Africa is here to guide you.

Start planning your South African safari with us today.