Sala Sentle: Atherstone @ Limpopo

For our end-of-October outing we finally went to Atherstone Nature Reserve, just over the border in South Africa. Europeans tend to think South Africa’s attractions are Kruger Park, Kaapstad & wine estates, and the Garden Route. But it is plastered with great places, and when you drive around where most overseas tourists don’t go, people are incredibly nice and helpful. Soon after Derdepoort border post we got lost, which is a bit of a hassle cause that part of Limpopo province isn’t exactly densely populated. But after a while we found a farmhouse, got directions, and discovered we had already almost reached our destination.

We planned on camping, but upon arrival we discovered there had been a misunderstanding while booking over the phone, Atherstone doesn’t have campsites. This setback was combined with a stroke of luck; the manager put us in ‘the old farmhouse’, a facility he wasn’t allowed to rent out anymore because it will be demolished and replaced by chalets. A fabulous place, about 50 meters from a man-made well where game comes to drink, and we had it all to ourselves. Except for the woman who was brought in in the morning to wash our dishes and clean up the kitchen – a welcome luxury visitor.

Sundowners in the bird hide next to ‘our’ watering point, while spotting impala, wildebeest, guinea fowl, red hartebeest, tsesebe, giraffe and etcetera. Atherstone has quite a lot of species, including black and white rhino, and elephant.

It’s the warthogs turn to drink.

The one spoor we can read: elephant. We saw one having a drink- and shower party at ‘our’ waterhole, and Maud heard a bigger group drinking and bathing during the night. The setback of a place that has elephants is they make part of the place look desolate, all trees reduced to dead stumps.