Ulusaba is billed as Sir Richard Branson’s private game reserve in South Africa’s Sabi Sand area, which borders (without fences) the Kruger NP.  The Knight does actually visit a couple of time a year, as do some of his billionaire contemporaries, including Bill and Melinda Gates.  Ulusaba is part of, and marketed by, the Virgin Limited Edition group, which is where I made my booking, after first becoming aware of it in Conde Nast Traveller. Ulusaba is made up of two separate lodges about 3Km apart: Rock Lodge is on a rocky hill (locally called a ‘koppie’) with amazing views of the ‘veld’ or bush below. The Cliff Lodge is an ultra-exclusive part of Rock Lodge which can be booked for private families or small groups.

Down the hillside, in the veld, closer to passing wildlife and along a dry sandy river-bed is Safari Lodge.  That’s where I booked to stay for a five night post Easter break in April 2018, because I figured it would have fewer steps to climb (I’m not too good with steps).  If you too have some mobility restrictions be aware though that several of Safari Lodge’s villas have to be accessed via long rope bridges, which, although perfectly safe, can be a challenge to traverse when they swing and sway.

Mr. A and I were met at Ulusaba’s own (paved) airstrip when we arrived on a smart single engined turbo-prop belonging to Federal Airlines, by Ryan who was to be our Ranger and Guide throughout our stay, and by Orange, who was to be our Tracker.  It was such a lovely personalised welcome, including chilled South African ‘bubbly’, to this tiny airstrip in the bush.

Our 1 hour flight from Johannesburg had been arranged by Virgin Limited Edition in Johannesburg when I booked my stay, and the cost (about £560 each, return) was added to my bill.  Beware though that some tour operators (including Virgin in the UK) fly people into an airfield a 2 1/2 hours bumpy car drive away.  You want to go to ULS airfield which is five minutes from the Lodges!

Ryan drove us to Safari Lodge where Andre, one of the managers, or “hosts”, gave us a super-friendly introduction to the lodge and its facilities, as well as an introduction to  Vergelegen Reserve Chardonnay, a refreshing, fruity and robust chardonnay which quickly became my go-to drink of the week!   ALL your drinks are included in the room rates here, including champagnes, fine cognacs, cocktails and a good selection of South African wines.  I’d been excited to read that even the mini-bar in our room/villa was complimentary, but we actually only had one bottle of wine from it during our stay!

All of your food is also included in the room rates, and boy is there a lot!  Aside from the snacks in the room mini-bar, a small spread of tea/coffee, juice, fruit and cereal bars is laid out prior to the morning game drives. During the drive they stop in the bush to serve nibbles (think sweet potato crisps, biltong) and drinks (hot or alcoholic), and on return from the drive a full breakfast is served (continental and/or freshly cooked).  I loved the eggs Benedict with crispy bacon!  An a la carte lunch is served on the main lodge terrace, but we only had space for lunch on two of our days.  At 3.30pm “afternoon tea” was served before departing on the evening game drive, and again there was a stop en route for nibbles and drinks.  After that drive we all gathered at the main bar to swap stories and one of the chefs came to tell us what was on the menu that night (a choice of 3 starters, 3 mains and a dessert or South African cheese board. The menu changed daily (apart from the cheese) and always included vegetarian options.

IMHO the food sourcing, preparation and presentation were always of a very high quality, and everything I ate, without exception was excellent.  My only constructive feedback relates to the “afternoon tea”. I put the words in quotes because what we were offered was not what one would call an Afternoon Tea.(and some of the staff even referred to it as “High Tea”, which it most certainly was not!).  I felt there was too much emphasis on sugary things, and an absence of savouries such as little light sandwiches. And bizarrely they served scones, cream and jam at breakfast (which I didn’t eat) but didn’t serve the same for afternoon tea, when they would have been perfect for the occasion.  The iced coffee was great though.  I hate to moan about a very first world problem; I’m trying desperately to give you a ‘warts and all’ review!

Mr A and I stayed in an ‘Elephant Room’ which happened to be one of their least costly rooms. It was perfect for us. It was just metres from the main lodge building, along a wooden boardwalk, with only a handful of steps to navigate. It was air conditioned, with a good big bed which had mozzie nets surrounding it after evening turn-down.  The bathroom had twin wash basins, a large walk-in shower and a stand-alone white stone bathtub. Toiletries were by “Africology” and smelled very pleasant. Sliding doors from both the bathroom and the bedroom opened onto a generously sized wooden terrace, which overlooked the bush and the dry river bed. Every day we watched three or four species of antelope grazing out there, but we didn’t see our room’s ‘namesake’.  The villas are appropriately spaced to ensure both visual and auditory privacy.

The main lodge building was large with a high vaulted ceiling, but unfortunately it didn’t have a ceiling fan, so it felt rather humid and uncomfortable eating on the long communal table, if the doors and windows weren’t open. But if weather permitted, breakfast and lunch were served outside on the terrace.  Elsewhere, plenty of soft seats and sofas were scattered about, there was a separate room with a satellite TV (where we watched some of the final round at The Masters) and the main bar which carried a comprehensive range of drinks and cocktails.

I mentioned that some rooms are connected to the main lodge via rope bridges; this includes all of their ‘premium’ rooms.  But even if you’re not in one of those rooms, you should walk along the rope bridges to their end, “the treehouse”,to view the man made lake which I assume holds the resort’s water.  It also holds around thirty Hippos and a few crocodiles, and on its banks we saw antelope, warthogs, monkeys, baboons and wildebeest, but you might see any of the animals that populate Sabi Sand.

That takes me onto the “game drive” part of the holiday, which is likely to be the main reason for anyone visiting Ulusaba.  Firstly, let me tell you that this was my first ‘classic’ African safari, though I’ve been on other safaris in Asia and on a mountain gorilla trek in Uganda.  My fascination with wildlife strongly attracts me to Africa, but a huge deterrent facing me is that every country in Africa, apart from South Africa, seems to have a problem with two men sharing a bed, thanks to the legacy of old colonial laws and the work of christian and islamic missionaries.  So South Africa seemed to be our only choice.  I had been worried that “private game reserves” might be like a safari park, with a small collection of fenced-in creatures, looked after, fed and given full veterinary care.  But this is not the case at Ulusaba.  All of the private reserves in Sabi Sand are unfenced and connect with the (much larger) Kruger NP, so in theory any animal can wander across a huge area.  To maintain unfenced access to Kruger, all of the private reserves in Sabi Sand have to follow “Kruger Rules” in the way they interact with the wildlife. This basically means animals are left to live a natural life without human interference.  Rangers are allowed to step in to help an animal found to be suffering due to human activity (say, caught in a snare), but they don’t step in to alter the course of nature (say an animal breaks a leg after a fall, or is injured in a territorial flight).

Our Ranger Ryan explained this all to us, and he also shared his extensive animal knowledge in a way that made everything very interesting, and so I regard him as the best safari guide I’ve come across: a good guide is essential to making the most of your wildlife encounters, and it appears the best guides in the area work at Ulusaba!  Being someone with Asperger’s, I ask a lot of questions, and Ryan always had a good answer for me.  Rangers drive the adapted Land Rover Defenders on the game drives. The eight passenger seats are very comfortable for the three hours or so of sandy track and off-road journeys of each game drive. Normally they’re completely open topped, but a roof/canopy can be fitted in inclement weather. If it rains while you’re en route Ryan hands out water-proof ponchos for everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each Land Rover’s Tracker sits on a seat on the car’s bonnet, so he can spot animal tracks, warn his passengers of oncoming low branches, and help the driver navigate off-road, through long grass and fallen trees.  We didn’t engage in much conversation with our Tracker, Orange, but it was clear to see that he was a warm and kind man, who had a great working relationship with Ryan.  We were regularly in awe of Orange’s courage, as he sat nonchalantly on the front of the car, in his shorts, with his bare legs just a metre or two from a dangerous animal!

It took us just two days to see each of the “Big Five” (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo). We had more sightings of leopards than lions (including two different times when we parked under a tree, directly below a leopard eating the impala she’d just killed and carried up there), we only saw rhino once, but it was a good up-close viewing of a White Rhino mother, her calf and an unwanted ‘flirting’ male.

Encounters with a herd of Elephants were totally magical, as we watched their familial interactions and play, from very close quarters; young calfs are just adorable!  We also had one of those moments one evening, when we drove round a blind bend to come face to face with a large bull in musth coming our way. Ryan calmly but quickly stopped and reversed us to a safe spot, while the hormone-filled giant continued on his way.

Of course we saw plenty of antelopes, the big cats’ main prey, including impala, nyala, kudu, waterbuck and wildebeest and there were also plenty of zebra and giraffe (we got to see one suckling!). On a slightly smaller scale we saw hyenas,

warthogs, mongoose, dwarf mongoose and loads of beautiful and/or interesting bird species, including several species of eagle, iridescent starlings, doves, guinea fowl, three types of hornbill, pretty bee eaters and vultures.  And then there were the hippos which spent the warm days keeping cool in every water hole around the reserve, regularly grunting in their very funny way.  But they’re not so funny if, like us, you come across them on dry land!

Amongst our most exciting wildlife encounters were two occasions spent with a pack of 9 endangered African Wild Dogs, also known as Painted Dogs, on the hunt for breakfast. We drove alongside them as they moved along the tracks looking for prey, which was terrifically fascinating and exciting.  We didn’t actually see any kills taking place (by any animal) but when we caught up with the painted dogs a couple of days later they were jogging along with the bony remains of their previous kill in their mouths.

All Guide vehicles (maybe three from Ulusaba plus four from neighbouring lodges) communicated with each other by radio throughout the morning and evening game drives, sharing information on animal sightings, and then organising it so that not every vehicle arrived on any particular scene at the same time. Including our car, there were never more than three on a site at any one time.  This was a very impressive practice, which made everyone’s game drive more successful and enjoyable. I wish they did the same in Indian parks!  The only animal the Guides didn’t mention on the radio was the rhino; in case poachers were listening in.

Notwithstanding my praise for the radio comms, my Asperger’s brain became stressed that I often didn’t know what was happening on the game drives because a lot of the radio traffic was in Afrikaans or a local language or dialect (as were Ryan and Orange’s conversations).  Ryan’s plans for our journeys frequently changed, based on what he learned from the radio, but he didn’t tell us about the changes.  Unplanned deviation from a schedule can be quite distressing for an Asperger’s sufferer, but I put my hand up and admit that if I’d said something to Ryan I’m sure he would have kept me better briefed.

As you can see, Ulusaba and Sabi Sand offer the chance to see most of the key wildlife species of Southern Africa, but it can take a few hours of driving to (hopefully) come upon a particularly “interesting” encounter.  I feel bad saying it, but one gets excited the first time one sees a herd of 50 impala grazing, much less so the 30th time.  But the diversity of species and ability to view them at very close quarters made this the best wildlife safari I’ve been on!  It is absolutely extraordinary to have mutual eye contact with a big cat, which then care-freely walks past, just a metre or two from you, without bothering to jump up and eat you!!

Finally I must mention the humans on this trip.  Everyone working at Ulusaba was delightfully warm, friendly and helpful and it was very clear that they all loved working there and that they had a great team relationship. Their service standards were exceptional (everyone called us by our first names) and they really would do anything to make their guests happy.  Our fellow guests, a mix of British and American, were also very good company and we all had plenty of laughs together.  It was a very happy, special time.

Our five night stay in an Elephant Room at Ulusaba in April 2018 cost me a total of ZAR111,520 for two people (about £6,500, including £1100 for the return flight to Ulusaba from Jo’burg), with everything included (except gratuity). A couples massage in their spa was ZAR2600 (c£150).  This was definitely an amazingly luxurious “holiday of a lifetime”, but, fortunate as we are, it’s unlikely to be a “once in a lifetime” visit! I think next time we’ll try a different time of year to see how the seasons affect both flora and fauna. 10/10

PS They send you detailed information to prepare for your trip, but let me offer some additional tips: We didn’t get bitten by, or even see, mosquitos, but repellent spray is provided by the lodge, so you don’t have to bring your own. It is a malaria-endemic area though, so seek medical advice before coming.  The lodge provides a free laundry service, which is enormously helpful, enabling one to travel within the 20Kg luggage weight limit (in soft bags) on the small flights into the bush. And finally, the lodge can arrange telephone consultations and/or on site paramedic care, if needed.

PPS I took more video than still photos on this holiday, and as soon as I learn how to edit them I’ll load them into the ‘Experiences’ section of my blog.