Chapangu, Thorneybush, South Africa

On the 22nd we fueled up the 182 and took off from Lanseria airport, just North of Jo’Burg. It was very interesting from the air. The townships are small huts of corrugated tin and shiny from the air. Dirt roads and walking paths, no trees or grass, no cars, concrete. In contrast to suburbs with lush lawns and trees, huge shopping centers that act as entertainment spots as well as shopping. The contrast is unbelievable. As we flew southeast we saw lots of mining and green valleys (farming) and erosion resulting from the harvest of farmed exotic woods.

Communicating with air traffic control is interesting and challenging. Not only do they have strong (and differing) accents depending if they are Afrikaans, English, or African, they also speak very fast and use different terminology. The flight went fine, and we buzzed the unattended airfield to scare off any animals that might be on or near the runway. Hank’s had an accident a few years ago when a giraffe ran onto the runway and was struck by the airplane. No one hurt on the airplane, but the giraffe was killed and the airplane damages. So, he counsels us to be careful.

When we landed at Thorneybush airport, a private game preserve with several camps including Chapangu , our first lodge, we were met by an open Land Rover and Brendan, the manager of our lodge and our guide on the safari drives. We drove 5 minutes to the Chapangu Lodge and were greeted with lemonade and shown to our tent cabin. Lovely thatched and open to the air lodge rooms complete with a wine cellar. Our cabin is canvas, concrete floors, king size bed, air conditioning, desk, bathroom with a shower and porch facing the bush which contains a large outdoor bathtub. At three in the afternoon we ate a lunch and met the other guests, One American couple, probably late 60’s and a young French couple, Australian couple, One Kenyon with a girlfriend from Singapore. Everyone but the Americans were younger. Meals are communal at large tables at three different sites. Pure luxury! After lunch we layered up for the first game drive. We got with the French couple and she was very good at spotting game with a “oh lala” and it was everywhere! I was not prepared for how close to the open Landrover! We had a driver and guide (Brendan) and a tracker, who sat on a precarious little seat on the front of the 11 passenger open vehicle. The animals are unafraid of the large vehicles and do not seem to realize that the humans are a potential threat.