20th June - Ants Hill  

We were picked up from our hotel at 10.am for a vehicle transfer to Ant's Hill, just out of Valwater (pronounced Vul-Vader) in the Waterberg District of Limpopo, Northern South Africa. Due to the many many road works we arriver 4 1/2 hours later.   

Ant’s Nest is a working Game Farm. It’s over 5000 hectares and is enclosed in a giant electric fence. And things are allowed to go on pretty naturally – breeding, eating each other etc. They do maintain numbers by selling off stock to other breeders and also swap stock for the good of the gene pool. They do not allow trophy hunters onto their place but do have a problem with poachers. 

We were taken inside and given a cocktail, to then be told that we were the only guests for the next few days. It was pretty tough trying to keep 32 staff busy. A three course lunch got us off to a good start. 

We were taken inside and given a cocktail, to then be told that we were the only guests for the next few days. It was pretty tough trying to keep 32 staff busy. A three course lunch got us off to a good start. 


The lodge had been built around the landscape and logs. It is set next to a massive waterfall/stone riverbed with one meter steps and drops down about 50 meters from top to bottom.  The owners designed and built it using local materials. “There is a great log – that would be good to…… be at the end of the bathtub and hold up one end of the  shower rail.”  It is built of chunks (about 400mm square) of local rock – a sand stony rock with huge amount of bright orange and others with lichens of many different colours. The floors are all of giant flagstones up to about 800mm square. Uprights and beams are made of trees that were growing on site and of course many many 6 inch rounds for the strength.  The roof is thatches and looks so good from the inside and is hugely insulative. 

We have the upstairs room. Above the main lodge it has amazing views from our verandah.  The veranda is about 4 x 7 meters and is quiet well equipped.  Gigantic sofa, very well stocked fridge, table and chairs etc.  It looks across the water course to a water hole and a giant salt lick – so there is always some animal there.

We thought that we had arrived too late to do an afternoon activity, but not so.  What did we want to do???  Riding of course.

Our horses meet us at the door (well 7 meters away) after we had finished tea at 3.30. And off we set on our first African horse riding safari.  The horses were amazingly responsive. Could neck rein and worked off the leg – joy oh joy! Sarah’s horse was an ugly fellow but both were fine.

In our first few hours we rode with: Warthog family, zebra, Impala, Bless buck, and Wildebeest. We rode to an old house that is haunted by a ghost named Annie.  While they were telling us about how Annie murdered someone we noticed an Impala ‘parked’ under a tree nearby. Were the Winchester brothers near by on ghost hunt.

Just as the sun was setting we rode into a clearing to see table and chairs with snacks and drinks set up.  We rode up, hopped off, unsaddled and let the horses go (as they lie within the 5000 hectares with everything else) then sat down to enjoy the lovely English tradition of having Sundowners – or Sundowning.


Very pleasant! After the sun disappeared we hopped into the truck and went home.  Time for a drink and to explore the lodge before three course dinner at 7.30. 

We then settled into the routine of being on Safari. And trust us – it is quiet a hard life.