Black mamba holiday highlight
Black Mamba Holiday Highlight
I had been planning this family holiday for some time. It was my mother’s 83rd birthday and all my siblings (yes, all six of them) joined us. We all headed off to Morokuru in the Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. I wanted to find a lodge that could accommodate all eight of us in style and comfort and that could cater for my darling siblings’ varied culinary wish lists. So, I chose a new property in the Morokuru family, the Farm House, which has recently been built to a very high five star standard and I can definitely say we were not disappointed.
The location, the surroundings, the staff, vehicles, food, wildlife, even the African singing and all of the extra attention to detail (albeit subtle) for my elderly mother could not be faltered.
Peter, the chef at Morokuru Farm House, really stepped up to the occasion. My sisters do not eat dairy and so he produced fresh breads, muffins, cakes and such a variety of savoury dishes with such ease that we all seemed to put on at least 10kgs in weight.
Mother has two new metal hips and a variety of other ailments and, in order to ensure she was nice and comfortable, the staff provided raised seating, extra cushions for game drives and personal assistance with breakfast. The need to accommodate for mother’s wheelchair, not to mention her slower pace never seemed to bother the staff. With everything they did or offered, the response was always: “No problem” or “You are welcome”.
Paul, the game driver and his guide, Tom, were always the first to know where to find the game and we saw the big five in abundance, many times. In fact, we saw wild dogs, four-month-old lion cubs, a pride of 17 lions, jekels making a kill, cheetah and, the highlight of my trip, two black mambas’ dancing about in the bush in a mating courtship. The longest and fastest venomous snakes in Africa just ignored our jeep and twisted and curled as if to dance a show just for us. It was quite amazing and not suprprisingly my video footage has a nervous shake!
If you are going to celebrate a birthday or make any occasion special, I think doing it African style is a must. My mother’s birthday celebrations lasted three days. From the lodge decorated with orange balloons and the staff singing Happy Birthday throughout the day, to personalised messages on the breakfast plate, hand made (dairy free) birthday cakes and all the highlights of elephant back riding and viewing the big five….. the list goes on and on. It really was the most memorable trip and one I will never foI had been planning this family holiday for some time. It was my mother’s 83rd birthday and all my siblings (yes, all six of them) joined us. We all headed off to Morokuru in the Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. I wanted to find a lodge that could accommodate all eight of us in style and comfort and that could cater for my darling siblings’ varied culinary wish lists. So, I chose a new property in the Morokuru family, the Farm House, which has recently been built to a very high five star standard and I can definitely say we were not disappointed.
The location, the surroundings, the staff, vehicles, food, wildlife, even the African singing and all of the extra attention to detail (albeit subtle) for my elderly mother could not be faulted.
Peter, the chef at Morokuru Farm House, really stepped up to the occasion. My sisters do not eat dairy and so he produced special fresh breads, muffins, cakes and such a variety of savoury dishes with such ease despite the challenge they gave him that we all seemed to put on at least 10kgs in weight.
Mother has two new metal hips and a variety of other ailments and, in order to ensure she was nice and comfortable, the staff provided raised seating, extra cushions for game drives and personal assistance with breakfast. The need to accommodate for mother’s wheelchair, not to mention her slower pace never seemed to bother the staff. With everything they did or offered, the response was always: “No problem” or “You are welcome”.
Paul, the game driver, and his guide Tom, were always the first to know where to find the game and we saw the big five in abundance, many times. In fact, we saw wild dogs, four-month-old lion cubs, a pride of 17 lions, jekels making a kill, cheetah and, the highlight of my trip, two black mambas dancing about in the bush in a mating courtship. The longest and fastest venomous snakes in Africa just ignored our jeep and twisted and curled as if to dance a show just for us. It was quite amazing and not surprisingly my video footage has a nervous shake!
If you are going to celebrate a birthday or make any occasion special, I think doing it African style is a must. My mother’s birthday celebrations lasted three days. From the lodge decorated with orange balloons and the staff singing Happy Birthday throughout the day, to personalised messages on the breakfast plate, hand made (dairy free) birthday cakes and all the highlights of elephant back riding and viewing the big five….. the list goes on and on. It really was the most memorable trip and one I will never forget.
