Nambiti Plains Experience

This is one of the very few times a picture might not really be worth a thousand words. “Tell better stories, Travel is to discover”. Have you ever arrived in a place and it felt like you have arrived home? That’s the feeling I got when I arrived in this small haven that is heaven comparable.

Nambiti Plains is 20km outside of Ladysmith just off the N3 freeway in KwaZulu Natal. Nambiti game reserve used to be a cattle farm before conservationists converted it into a game reserve. There are still cattle farms close by the reserve as you can hear the cattle’s when you are close to the fence of the reserve. The landscape of the reserve is phenomenal it has rolling hills, river valleys and of course epic plains. There is an incredibly beautiful waterfall that carves the rock with a torrent aggressiveness that reminds you of the power nature when it has rained, in this corner of the earth.

On arrival we parked at a secured guests parking. Jason our host and ranger fetched us from the parking with the lodge car. The lodge is only about 10 minutes away from the parking for which we were grateful since it was raining hard. It always important to know if you will have easy access to your car so that you make sure you have all that you need from the car. Another important element is to look at the lodge directions because some lodges have different entrance gate and using the GPS might take you to the wrong gate.

Rain does not bother me much when the host’s warm hospitality makes up for the cloudy rainy day. Nambiti Plains have incredible staff from their rangers, kitchen staff, chef what a team. They are there to make sure you are comfortable and at your service to whatever you require. They make the experience to be about you the guest. The lodge is tastefully decorated. Everything flows seamlessly from the reception area to the lounge area where you can sit by the fireplace and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate after a game drive.

We checked in, we had already filled in the indemnity forms and the Covid19 questionnaire. Our temperatures were checked at the gate before entering the reserve. The lodge recommends that you arrive at 13h30 have lunch and then check in to your room. On arrival we were shown around the lodge and from there, we had lunch.

Our suite, wow we were staying in the honeymoon suite. The suite is big and spacious and surrounded by unfenced nature and wilderness, with only two strands of electric wire to keep the resident elephant bull out. The bathtub was my favourite part of the room, it had this lush green backdrop and the glass folding doors that you can open and have unobstructed views of the plains and watch the animals while relaxing and having a bath and yes, it is private. I love personal touches like the handwritten welcome note from the Manager. In everything you do in life it is the effort and thought that counts no matter how small, it is the simple things that the guests remembers.

I consider myself a safari girl, but I have never had the experience when sitting and having drinks in the afternoon and a lion just walk by a few meters away from the lodge a few minutes after I have arrived. During our stay four out of the five big five visited the water hole in front of the lodge how cool is that?

The food deserves a blog of its own. The food was delectable. Chef Menzi is a genius. The combination of unusual flavours makes interesting food. The food presentation was always on point. One of the nights we had BOMA dinner. For me that was the best meal, we had hearty cooked oxtail and the dessert was malva pudding my favourite dessert.

The game drives what a thrilling experience. Every game drive is different that’s the fun part about going on a game drive it’s not knowing what is out there. What animals will reveal themselves to you. A game drive can be a hit or a miss ours was definitely a hit. We saw elephants, rhinos, buffalos, giraffes, jackals, lions and the highlight for me was watching the lion cubs play in front of our game drive car. Another highlight was seeing Cheetahs. It was my first encounter, even though they were just lying down. Cheetahs are the fastest animals on land. They are leaner than leopards.  I would love to see this mean lean machine in action chasing a prey.

The lodge has a number of activities .

Here are some of the activities that you can do when visiting Nambiti Plains

River lunch – indulge all your senses in a scrumptious river lunch, with the sounds of nature and water gushing down the river. I live for experiences but this one was not even on my list of experiences what an extraordinary experience. I absolutel.y recommend it.
Picnic – I have never met anyone who doesn’t like a picnics, personally I live for such moments. Warm day in the sun enjoying good food and a drink what could be better than that?

Fishing Expedition – Our fishing expedition was a bit of a whirlwind. One minute we are fishing, the next minute it started raining. Rain was never going to stop us from fishing. Some people are just show-offs, my husband on his first cast he caught a fish just like that.

In room Dinning – After one of our game drives the lodge surprised us with an in room romantic bath, it was totally unexpected followed by an in-room dinner.

Romantic Baths – Nothing beats soaking in the bathtub after a day’s adventure, this is totally pure bliss!

Drinks by the Waterfall – Another fun thing we experience was having afternoon drinks and having the stunning waterfall views. Birds chirping, you will never run shot of things to do in this paradise

Bush Walks – For the adventurous at heart, when you become one with nature. Ranger armed with a rifle and you walk in a straight line behind him. Exploring what you don’t get to see when in the safari vehicle, small animals matters too.

Oh you can also sit by the pool and enjoy a cocktail, that is also an activity in my books.

Company is everything, talk about a cry a smile and a dance, life has way of throwing a curve ball, but for us it was a smile, a dance and constant ripping laughter while doing our best work. From a week that started with heavy rain I would say my home province delivered in hospitality and warmth. In Eric Myeni’s passage with a captivating title ”I saw God the other day” he laments the ability of someone to do their work so well that you actually see God in their actions, I must say being in the presence of a maestro is captivating, I see what Eric Myeni meant. This was no ordinary trip… in time and space all shall be revealed.