At the Kruger's shore, eight women set out to explore a verdant sea.
It was the "blue hour" on the Limpopo coast, that ethereal time between sunset and blackness, and from my vantage point above the beach I gazed on an ocean that faded in shades of green to the horizon, where it blended with a purple sky.
Wait, I hear you say - the Limpopo what now? We know climate change is real, but surely that province doesn't have a coast yet.
That's true, but to me it was a sea before me. I'd travelled far by land through farms and dorps, passing telecoms masts and wire fences, grumbling buses and bullet-riddled road signs. Then, the northern Drakensberg fell behind, and the ocean began - the lowveld, SA's wild east.
My beach was the sandy shore of a river, where our tents glowed, each a different colour. For me, the wilderness is like the sea because it's a little scary in its otherness, so untouched and unknowable.
Sitting in the gathering darkness I wondered what creatures lived there undisturbed, remote from the messy human world. There is no better way to discover than to dive beneath the surface. And walking is to the bushveld as scuba diving is to the ocean. So, by foot it would be.
Our voyage of discovery began on the lower Groot Letaba River, before it merges with the Klein Letaba and enters the Kruger National Park to the east.
The Letaba Ranch Reserve is little visited compared to its big neighbour, and as the name suggests it was formally home to more domestic beasts than wild ones.
But in recent years the provincial and community owners have joined the welcome trend of Greater Kruger reserves dropping fences with the national park, allowing vegetation to regain a natural state and wildlife to return to its natural east-west migration pattern.
A handful of concessions are now proving that such land can be more beneficial for tourism than for livestock and hunting. We gathered and camped the first night near Mtomeni Safari Camp, a base for vehicle and walking safaris.
For this expedition, our group was in the care of Spirited Adventures, under the captaincy of Lutz Otto, assisted by Colin Patrick. The two guides have thousands of hours logged between them. Besides them, the group was all female, a sisterhood of serendipity from all corners.
Our route took us in the footprints of elephants and hippos, along beaches of hot sand and to the top of leopards' koppies
We spent four nights under canvas, carrying everything we needed. This meant a heavy pack, even when the non-essentials had been discarded to remain in the vehicle.
Otto knows that the key to enjoying backpacking, especially for first timers, is thoughtful preparation. He even runs evening sessions in Joburg to help with pre-trip plans.
Before we set out, he'd given each of us a buff, that versatile bushveld bandana - it can screen the dust when driving in an open vehicle, protect the neck from the sun's glare, mop the sweat on a rest stop, or wash the body in a bucket shower.
For three days (and a bit) we wandered. Our route took us in the footprints of elephants and hippos, along beaches of hot sand and to the top of leopards' koppies.
At times I felt we were lost but trusted that the navigator knew where we were. Otto laughed when I asked. "No, we really are a bit lost," he confessed. "But that's the way I like it - any guide who says they never got lost has not walked enough."
Otto isn't keen on GPS devices. They can lead to over-reliance, and the dulling of traditional bush navigation skills, he told me.
As he spoke, we were examining where the ground had been disturbed next to a termite hill. Otto and Patrick were like detectives at a murder scene.
"Look, you can see the pattern of the skin," said Patrick, pointing to a depression in the sand. "And over here, you can touch his tail." Without knowing it, we were absorbing tracker skills, and in our minds we could now see the elephant at rest, twitching its tail at the flies.
We visitors always want to see, but to a tracker, the recent spoor of an animal is just as real. Patrick told me how his kids get this. When he asks them what they saw in the bush, they will reel off the names - lion and cheetah, elephant and buffalo, giraffe, hyena. They mean they found the tracks, scat and even their scent, proof of their passing.
This is the essence of walking in these wild areas, feeling that we are part of nature, knowing the animals are present but not disturbing them.
Even if Otto gets lost once in a while, he knows where to find the line between a pleasant challenge and discomfort.
As we relaxed for lunch in the shade of a bushveld saffron tree he decided it would be a good camping spot, so we left the backpacks and explored for the afternoon with just day packs.
On the last evening we set up camp and chilled to the bass music of hippo pods
"The most important thing is that people enjoy it," said Otto, telling us that it's not meant to be a military ordeal.
Maybe it was a concession to the all-female group, but each night he rigged a bucket shower from a tree at a discrete distance, so a proper wash could be enjoyed before the cooking. I was happy with this, as when we'd gone to the Letaba to fetch water we'd scared a few crocodiles into the water.
As the days passed, our packs grew lighter and my shoulder aches faded. On the last evening we set up camp and chilled to the bass music of hippo pods.
We had fun starting a fire the traditional way, taking turns to spin a twig in a piece of timber, letting hot ashes fall onto dry elephant dung. At last a glow of red appeared, and with some dry grass a fire was blazing on the beach. Still, it was hard work, and I'll continue to pack a lighter.
Later that evening, as the last embers crumbled to ash, we reclined in silence reading the starscape. No, we had never been seriously lost. And what had we found? Time to think. The serenity of nature. An awareness of our physical capacity. And the value of leaving space for wilderness - it's good for the spirit.
PLAN YOUR TRIP
LETABA RANCH RESERVE
• Letaba Ranch is close to Phalaborwa, a six-hour drive from Joburg.
• The Spirited Adventures company leads backpacking trails in Letaba Ranch and other Greater Kruger reserves year-round.
• Trails are R3,750 per person, self-catering. The maximum group size is eight.
• Contact: e-mail enquiries@spiritedadventures.co.za or phone 082-777-5590.
MTOMENI SAFARI CAMP
• Mtomeni Safari Camp is the only lodge in the reserve, offering safari tents at R660 pps, self-catering; fully catered option at additional cost.
• Walks are R545.
• Contact: See africanivoryroute.co.za, e-mail info@africanivoryroute.co.za or phone 015-781-0690/0343
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