10 Days in South Africa & Botswana - Waterberg (July 2017)

Wildside Tented Camp, 10 Days in South Africa & Botswana — *Wildside Tented Camp, 10 days in South Africa & Botswana*

10 days in South Africa & Botswana Itinerary

Our agenda’s finally matched! So we were travelling with the entire family to the North part of South Africa and Botswana for 10 days (excluding the travel days). For Koen and myself it was not the first time on this continent. We had been in Africa on several occasions and participated in numerous safaris. But for Maxine and Axel it was the first time.

Seeing animals in their natural habitat is incredible and the ‘glamping’ side of it was given it an extra dimension.

Sushi at Heathrow, 10 days in South Africa and Botswana — *Sushi at Heathrow*

Our Itinerary ? We flew via London with South African Airways to Johannesburg. After having picked up the car, we continued immediately to Waterberg (Entabeni Wildside Tented Camp). Then we drove further North to the the Botswana border. Here we were picked up by a driver of the Mashatu Tented Camp (Tuli Blok). We then travelled further towards Tzaneen (Kings Walden Manor). Our trip ended eventually, after having driven the Panorama Route, in Hazyview (Rissington Inn) for our final destination, the Kruger Park.

The flight towards Heathrow was very short and uneventful. We had to spend 3 hours at the airport before our 7pm flight would leave for South Africa (Johannesburg). We looked a bit at the shops and went for sushi dinner because we knew that it would be rather late before food would be served on the plane.

Waterberg, Wildside Tented Camp

*Entabeni Wildside Tented Camp, Waterberg*

We arrived in Johannesburg the next day early morning. At 8.30am we had the keys of the rental car and it did not take long before we were on our way to Waterberg. The Entabeni Wildside Camp was hidden in the bush. We already saw some wildlife on our way to the camp, but the animals were a bit too far for us to have a good look. But it was exited to spot them.

Upon arrival, we thought to have a quick dip in the pool, but it was freezing cold… so we changed our minds. They do not have rabbits here to eat the grass, but warthogs that had to go down on their knees to reach the food. It were such funny animals, but not to be underestimated, so better to keep a good distance.

Warthogs at Entabeni Wildside Tented Camp, Waterberg — *Warthogs*

We were quite hungry so we first went for lunch which was simple but yummy.

Lunch at Wildside Tented Camp, Entabeni — *Lunch at Wildside Tented Camp*

Our accommodation was something in between a hut and a tent with a little porch. It was nicely done, so we were quite satisfied. We had to adapt to the noises of the bush but after the flights we were very tired, so in the end it was no problem.

Afternoon Safari in Waterberg

First afternoon Safari on our 10 days in South Africa and Botswana trip — *1st afternoon safari on our 10 days in South Africa and Botswana*

The first afternoon/evening safari went reasonable well. At the beginning we did not see too much wildlife, but bit by bit it improved. We saw kudu’s, zebra’s, warthogs, wildebeest, kingfisher, elephants that were fighting and yes, even the lions came to say hello !

For dinner, there was a campfire with BBQ and we ordered some bubbles since it was my birthday. Then we were all looking forward to our beds with electric blanket (yes really !). During the day, temperatures ranged in the low 20C° (which was perfect for me !) while during the night it was much colder, around 5C°.