Month: Jun 2020

The Garonga Diaries: Lions, Mischief & Maintenance

A generally quiet week at Garonga (with the exception of some lion antics). The weather has become kinder and the extreme cold has departed for the moment. Every day now brings us 1 minute closer to summer. Fascinating I know.

The main event this week has been the Garonga lion pride that cornered/ambushed a kudu cow at the Boma fence by the farmhouse at Sunday dusk. To hear this poor young lady screaming and pining for her mum whilst she was being savaged by these lions did bring some quietness to us all. The lions, when devouring a prey, suddenly look very different; angry, violent, and intent on causing harm to anybody who even thinks of coming to disturb them. Not the cute little pussy cats anymore.

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Getaway to Little Garonga for Your Family Holidays in South Africa

A private and luxury safari experience at Little Garonga, our exclusive-use lodge near to Garonga Safari Camp, is what unforgettable outdoor family holidays in South Africa are all about.

A world of virtual safaris has developed over the last few months, making us expert armchair travellers and allowing us to enjoy South Africa’s wilderness from our living rooms. Imagination has been a powerful tool that has helped us escape over this time, even if just for a couple of hours each day. But as the itchy feet for outdoor adventures take hold, no amount of wildlife livestreams and documentaries can compare to the real thing.

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The Garonga Diaries: All Change! Weather, Staff, Cables an All!

What a week it has been at Garonga Safari Camp!

Cooler Weather Sets In

The weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse across the whole country (see grey skies above!) We are lucky here in the Lowveld, even though it is still pretty bloody nippy. I can’t imagine what it is like in the hills and mountains around the Eastern Cape, Free State and Highveld. Snow on the mountains most definitely. Anyway, keep busy and you keep warm.

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The Garonga Diaries : Monkeys, Mischief and Maydays!

Dear Diary,

As ever this week has been a busy one. Patrick, Albert and Given on our maintenance team have been tirelessly following elephants around the Garonga property. Where our mischievous friends have investigated and damaged fences and attempted to extract boreholes our maintenance masters have made repairs and come up with plans to stop the elephants causing more chaos next time around. It is not that the elephants just wantonly destroy. They were breaking the fence to try and gain access to some citrus trees and still comparatively lush grass for the time of year. The borehole’s appeal is the scent of fresh water. Elephants have an incredible sense of smell and are very particular about what water they will drink. They prefer clean water and can smell it even when it is metres underground!

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The Garonga Diaries : Smooth Sailing and Smooth Operators!

Dear Diary,

The beginning of the month is always a busy time for our admin team as they comb through each department’s stock take and organise all things financial. Without them Garonga just wouldn’t be the smooth running ship that it is. Above all we love their patience, for most of the month the whole team gives off the appearance of being fairly sane people (well ok this might be subjective) with great basic skills. However, the moment month end comes into sight we all appear to forget how to count which results in Sanlè and Bukani chasing us back to our departments to do it all over again and, when we still haven’t learnt, again! With the final numbers now in Sanlè and Bukani have been busy tying up all the loose ends this week.

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