Tusker Trail Walking Safari
3 or 4 nights, rustic, a journey of the soul, $$
To walk is to be out there with the African wildlife, sharing their paths and waterholes, the daily dramas of their lives, sharing their space. To walk is to follow their tracks, feel the tingle of your own senses and hear the beating of your heart as you edge closer to a herd of elephant resting in the shade.
To sleep in a tent under the trees with only the canvas between you and the bush is an experience not easily forgotten. A Safari is a journey of the body and the soul, a venture into the unknown and an opportunity to face some of the mysteries of nature. By offering an affordable “once in a lifetime experience”, everyone can learn to believe in the magic of the bush.
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Itinerary details
K2C Guide Bruce Lawson
“The big thing about this day I thought, is how little I am and how great this is, this Safari, this step back in time. At night around the campfire, my soul stumbles back with the distant call of hyena. A wisp of smoke curls towards me... I am privileged I think...”
Day One
On the day of departure you will be collected from your selected hotel in Johannesburg between 05h00 and 06h00 and transferred to the Lowveld. The journey takes approximately 5 hours with short breaks along the way.
You will meet your ranger at a lovely bush pub at the edge of the private reserves, where you will sign the indemnity forms and have lunch together. After lunch, you will be transferred into open safari vehicles to one of the bush camps in the Greater Kruger National Park, making sure that you spend the maximum time out in the bush! After settling into camp, the afternoon promises an exciting introductory walk/drive combination, sundowners and a night drive before heading back to camp for a scrumptious dinner and drinks around a warm campfire.
Overnights during the Safari: Tusker Tented Camp
Tusker Tented Camp
Tusker Tented Camp is situated amongst lush riverine forest on the banks of the Klaserie River in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. The unfenced camps are private and secluded and not open to day visitors. Each camp can sleep up to 12 people in large walk-in twin-bedded tents (linen is provided, so sleeping bags are not needed) with sown-in mosquito screens. Ablutions are separate but close with hot showers and flush toilets.
Although there is no electricity, there is solar lighting, candles, lanterns and a campfire to guide you around the camp at night. Meals are prepared in the kitchen tent and served in the dining tent. Each safari is accompanied by one or two experienced and armed rangers and each camp is serviced by a Shangaan chef.
Elephant sighting in Camp
In the mornings you set off at first light after a snack breakfast of rusks and coffee or tea. Enjoying the cool morning air you may walk directly from camp or else use a vehicle to get further out. Your ranger will decipher the tracks and signs left by the passing animals during the night. The thrill of walking, tracking and getting up close to one of the creatures of the bush is an unforgettable experience. On the walks there is a lot of emphasis on all the interesting things seen such as trees, plants, insects and birds. A big brunch is prepared back in camp and then there is time to unwind and siesta during the heat of the day. After lunch is served it is time to head out again.
Buffalo drinking
The afternoon activity is again a walk/ drive combination, looking for tracks and activity in other areas. After the walk you drive to a beautiful spot in the Reserve, where you’ll have sundowners while waiting for a stunning African Sunset.
As the diurnal animals and birds anxiously get ready for bed, the stage and sounds change and a whole new world awakens. This is when the spotlight is connected for the drive back to camp, looking for the nocturnal creatures that are so rarely seen during the day. Back in camp a hearty supper and a warm campfire will be waiting for you. After a long day in the bush there is nothing more rewarding then to sneak off to bed and listen to the sounds of the night under a blanket of the overwhelming African stars!
Game Drive
Day Four/ Five
On the last day you will still go out for one last walk. Sniffing the typical scents of the bush you’ll realise how much you’ve learned already! After breakfast it’s time to pack up and go back to the bush pub, where you will pay the Conservation Fee and the drinks you’ve consumed in our camps. Then we say our goodbyes and transfer you back to the city. You can be dropped off at your selected hotel or Johannesburg International Airport, arrival time around 17h30-18h00.
Note
The 4 Night / 5 Day walking safari adds on another day of exciting game viewing!
Additional Information
Because of the dangerous aspects of a walking safari, the minimum age is 16. Although there is no maximum age, the walks can last up to 4 hours and tracking might lead the trail through thick bush, riverbeds and gullies. Therefore an average fitness level is required, especially in the hotter summer months (Nov- March). A maximum of 8 people makes up a trail, no minimum.
The Safaris run on scheduled departures from Johannesburg every Mon-Fri (5 day / 4 night) and every Fri-Mon (4 day / 3 night). They operate throughout the year and all departures are guaranteed but bookings need to be made in advance. The unfenced camps are private and secluded and not open to day visitors.
The combination of walks and drives in the open 4x4 Landrover is dependent on weather and animal movements and are conducted from camp in the early mornings, late afternoons and at night. Each safari is basic and designed to experience the bush the way one should: on foot. After the first walk you’ll realise you’ve gone back in time – one with your ancestors who roamed these African trails. Although in Big Five areas, there are no guaranteed sightings. You will however have a real bush experience!
Plains Game
The basic package includes transfers to and from JHB or Pretoria (pick-up from a selected list of hotels, drop off at a hotel or JHB International), all meals and accommodation in unfenced tented camps, all walks and drives. Excluded are drinks from the honesty bar in camp and the once-off payment of max R200 pp for entrance fees or Conservation Levies. This money goes back into conservation and is used for purposes such as anti-poaching, animal monitoring and research.
PODCAST
Listen to Kruger2Canyons co-owner Ian Kruger talking about guiding on the Tusker Trail, and the kind of experience that you might be able to expect.
