See herds of elephant without moving an inch from the pool at aha Thakadu River Camp

aha Thakadu is the only real tented camp in Madikwe but the most special thing about it is the river view that you can see from the pool or from one of our two lookout points. On most days you can spot elephant bathing and rhino drinking as well as zebra and giraffe all taking a stroll down to what I like to call, ‘the bar’. Some of our guests’ highlights have included seeing wild dog chasing an impala across the water and huge herds of buffalo walking by. One guest even saw two hippos there which is so exciting because this part of the river is usually too shallow for them. But here anything is possible.

I’ve been a ranger for 12 years and I promise you, on safari, it’s a real African experience with our young, energetic and experienced rangers – all from the local community. It’s not just about the Big Five, although there’s lots of that. We make sure that guests get to see everything down to the smallest insects and we make it a very personal experience. On game drives you might stop under a marula tree to pick its sweet tasting fruit (similar to lychee) which we’ll use later in our sundowners. Say for example it’s wild dog you want to track, we will try our best to get you a sighting even if you may be a little late for dinner.

In the dry season we have a traditional boma meal which will usually be pap (a corn dish), a vegetable roll with moroho (spinach) and a feast of braai meat. For special occasions we love surprising our guests with sundowners in one of the best spots ever overlooking the mountains and open plains where you can see giraffe, elephant and buffalo walking in the distance.