Simon, Author at Aspiring Traveller

19th April 201714th August 2018

South African Safari with Kapama Private Game Reserve

A Safari, particularly one which offers an opportunity to spot the Big Five (African lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, African leopard, and rhinoceros), is high on the bucket list for many people. There are, however, a few things to consider when planning a safari of your own. One of the main decisions you’ll have to make is whether you want to go to a private reserve or an open park, like Kruger.

For a recent short safari we decided to go to a private reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park called Kapama. Kapama is literally across the road from Hoedspruit Eastgate airport. Kapama offers four different types of accommodation to suit your preference. There’s hotel-like accommodation in the River Lodge, all suite accommodation in the Southern Camp, luxury tented accommodation in the Buffalo Camp and the ultra high end Karula Lodge. For our three days in Kapama, we stayed in the Buffalo Camp. Kapama is a very large reserve, measuring 13000 hectares (over 50 square miles) and contains all big five in its grounds in addition to 40 other species of mammal, 350 bird species, numerous lizards and snakes and a multitude of insects, fish and other things of interest.

Accommodation

To call the rooms in the Buffalo Camp tents is a stretch. These are detached buildings elevated on stilts with solid walls. The space is the size of a good sized hotel room complete with air conditioning, two vanity stations, a shower, free standing bath and Nespresso Machine. Camping, this is not.

There’s also a decent sized balcony offering a view of wildlife if you’re lucky (we saw Giraffe and Impala during our time there). You are warned upon arrival to keep the doors to the balcony closed otherwise monkeys will get in to your room and will steal things (there are monkeys everywhere).

The Buffalo Camp is all inclusive, so food and drink, including those found in the mini-bar in your room, are included in the price. Generally, I found the food to be of good quality. Typically, lunch offered an Entree choice (usually soup or something else), three choices of main and a choice of dessert. The quality was fairly consistent throughout although I think a bit more variety would have been good (sometimes the options were too similar). There were some standout meals, like the chicken in tomato herb sauce with mozzarella pictured here. Whilst lunch was served in the central building (there’s also a bar) dinner might also be served in a communal eating area. We only experienced this once as the weather was too bad the other two nights. The communal dinner consisted of a BBQ with sides and gave us all the opportunity to try some zebra, something I wouldn’t have ordered otherwise (although it was delicious).

The Schedule

One of the aspects of visiting a private reserve I was concerned about was how regimented it would feel. We are definitely the sort of people who like to do our own thing and go off the beaten track, and I feared we wouldn’t be able to do that in a private reserve. Whilst this was true, it’s also true of visiting the main Kruger park as access times are limited as are the areas you can visit. You’re also constrained to your vehicle and have to content with lots of other tourists all trying to capture photos of the same animals.

The staff at Kapama give you a schedule which outlines what happens and when. The schedule whilst we were there was:

05:00 – Wake Up Call
05:30 – Coffee and Light Breakfast
06:00 to 08:30 – Morning Game Drive
09:00 – Breakfast
13:00 – Lunch
16:00 to 19:30 – Evening Game Drive
20:00 – Dinner

Some of the timings, especially the end of the game drives, were fluid and dependant on whether you saw anything interesting and where in the park you were.

There were other activities available in addition to the standard itinerary. These included a visit to a rehabilitation/conservation centre, a sunrise hot air balloon ride, a walking safari and an elephant experience. As these would result in you missing a game drive, we decided to give them a miss (it was also highly unlikely the hot air balloon ride would match the one we experienced in Bagan last year).

The Game Drives

A typical Kapama vehicle

The main reason you go to a place like Kapama is to see the animals. To give you the best chance possible to see everything you want to there are two game drives a day with skilled, trained drivers and trackers. The drives themselves take place in modified Toyota Land Cruisers with nine seats for guests (although it’s far more likely there’ll be eight occupants) plus a driver and tracker. The tracker sits on a seat perched on the front of the vehicle, above the front wheel. Note that most of the vehicles aren’t covered, so if it starts to rain (and we experienced incredibly heavy rain one evening whilst out on a drive) you’re left to battle with a provided poncho.

If you’re using a camera with a long lens (I used a Sony A7Rii with the 70-200mm lens), they have adjustable rests you can affix to the hand rail in front of you. These are extremely helpful when trying to get a sharp photo using a long lens.

Out on a game drive.

Despite Kapama being a closed reserve, with something like 40 vehicles roaming the area at any given time, they offer no guarantees regarding wildlife sightings. In fact our driver said it wasn’t unusual to go weeks without seeing a leopard (leopards are especially difficult to spot). The reserve is enclosed in electrified fences but it’s large enough, and the vegetation dense enough, that it feels like you’re in the wilderness. They also have a rule of thumb that there should be no more than two vehicles at any one site at any given time. I found this to be generally true apart from one instance where there were three watching some male lions (contrast this to the potentially hundreds of vehicles you’ll find driving around the busier parts of Kruger).

Leopard tracks.

Our driver, Chris, and tracker, Ian, were in constant communication with each other and regular communication with other vehicles. The majority of their chatter was in Afrikaans which they do for a number of reasons. Seeing them work was actually quite a treat. At times they would stop the vehicle to examine tracks, determine what animal left them, how recently and in what direction it was travelling. A standout highlight was a leopard sighting. There had been reports of a leopard in an area of the park so we headed in the general direction. Ian, the tracker, spotted some tracks. Upon seeing these Ian left the vehicle and ventured in to the bush, unarmed and alone. We drove around some adjacent roads to see if there were corresponding tracks indicating the leopard had left the area. After about 20 minutes a call came from Ian over the radio saying he had a leopard in his sights. Ian was, by this point, deep in the bush. Typically, Kapama doesn’t allow vehicles to deviate from the established tracks, the one exception is where there is a confirmed leopard sighting, so off roading we went. After about ten minutes of navigating some dense bush, including some incredibly thorny trees (one of the other guests was pinned, literally, to his seat by a thorn), we spotted this magnificent leopard, just as the sun had set,

A leopard shortly after a failed hunt

As it happens, despite leopard sightings being relatively rare, we stumbled across another the next day in the middle of a hunt. This bit of luck was fairly typical of our game drives. In the first hour we saw four of the big five along with numerous other animals. One of the couples in the vehicle with us noted, repeatedly, how fortunate we were to be seeing the animals we were, so quickly. They did mention that they had been on drives that took 45 minutes to see anything. On one drive we came across two rhinos within 30 seconds of leaving the camp. On another, we saw a pride of lions hunting at night. We were also fortunate enough to see a large group of elephants drinking at a watering hole, including young calves.

In total we saw lots of animals on every drive. Some were more memorable than others, but none of them felt like a waste. I’ve included some photos from the drives below so you can get a feel for the experience, click on any image for a larger view.

One thing to note is that the evening drives mean you not only return in the dark, but also experience approximately 50% of the drive in the dark. This is a very different experience as it requires the tracker to be constantly sweeping the area with a spot light in search of things of interest. It is remarkable how many animals they spotted in the darkness including porcupines, lions, impala, owls, hyenas, jackals and a chameleon (yes, they spotted a chameleon in the dark whilst driving).

Photographing animals at night can be extremely challenging. Your tracker will normally shine a spot light on the animal which produces a very harsh light. It’s better to slightly underexpose to make sure you retain detail. Underexposing should also give you a slightly shorter exposure time, helping to reduce camera shake. It’s at night when the camera rests I mentioned earlier are absolutely necessary.

There is a break mid way through each game drive where drinks and snacks are served. This allows you to leave the vehicle to stretch your legs and relieve your bladder, providing you’re comfortable using a bush toilet (i.e. a bush).

Weather

I mentioned, briefly, earlier that we got caught in some heavy rain whilst out on a game drive. We experienced roughly four storms in our three days at Kapama. Travelling during the shoulder season, we knew this was a risk. Fortunately, only one game drive was affected as the other storms hit either over night or in down time. When a storm hits, the rain is extremely heavy (50mm in a few hours) and is accompanied by high winds, thunder and lightening. I should point out that this didn’t dampen our enthusiasm in the slightest.

29th August 201512th August 2018

Seeing Ayer’s Rock at Sunset from the Sky

We spent a couple of days near Ayer’s Rock earlier this year and one of the options available from our hotel was a sunset helicopter ride with Professional Helicopter Services, which of course we jumped at. Shortly after the agreed time a small people carrier collected us at the hotel for the short journey to the airport. The helicopter actually takes place from a piece of land adjacent to the main Ayer’s Rock airport, so it’s a familiar journey.

The company we used clearly wasn’t a significant operation. The van driver was also the pilot and organiser (collecting payment if necessary, checking everyone’s where they should be etc.). There was no waiting area, so we sat in the van whilst the pre-flight checks were completed. Shortly afterwards we made our way to the waiting helicopter and the pilot kindly took photos of us in front of the aircraft. We were sharing with two other passengers on this occasion.

At this point it’s worth pointing out that the trip we had booked was for Ayer’s Rock and Kata Tjuta, the two independent rock formations in this area. Whilst Ayer’s Rock is the more well known of the two, Kata Tjuta is the more interesting. It’s taller and the formation itself is more visually interesting. However, Ayer’s Rock does have an allure to it that’s difficult to describe.

Ayer's Rock at the start of the flight. — Ayer’s Rock at the start of the flight.

Both rock formations stand in stark contrast to the surrounding area which is completely barren and flat. Seeing them from the sky really emphasises just how far away you are from anything else. It’s rather humbling.

This trip is arranged so that you see Ayer’s Rock as the sun is setting, which means heading out towards Kata Tjuta first. I was sitting in one of the back seats and saw Kata Tjuta emerging on the horizon. Quite a sight with the low sun casting long shadows and basking everything in a warm light.

Kata Tjuta is very large, the photos don’t really do it justice. In fact, if you look at the photo below you can see a black spot just above the horizon, about a quarter in from the right. This is actually another helicopter that was take the same tour that evening. You can also, just about, make out vehicles on the ground. They are tiny in comparison to Kata Tjuta. I also like that from that angle, Kata Tjuta looks like a question mark.

After circling Kata Tjuta, getting to see it from multiple angles, we headed towards Ayer’s Rock for the finale. The flight is actually very well coordinate to ensure everyone gets a good view and an opportunity to take photos. As I mentioned, I was in one of the rear window seats and there was never a need to reach across my seat mate as the pilot flew in such a way to allow everyone an equal opportunity. The windows were also bubble shaped allowing for a great view and photographic opportunities.

The sun was low by this point, so the sight of Ayer’s Rock in the distance is one to behold.

Much like Kata Tjuta we circled Ayer’s Rock to get multiple views. We even managed to catch an incredibly rare sight in this part of the world, a rain shower in the distance. This was made all the more spectacular by the warm sunset light illuminating the falling water against a blue backdrop. Simply stunning to see. The pilot mentioned that on occasion you can see wild kangaroos and other animals roaming the surrounding area but we weren’t so fortunate.

Ayer’s Rock casts a long shadow at this time of day, as you can see form the photo below. It also glows a warm red colour that evolves throughout sunset. It seems to actually emit its own light at times and the shadows play and dance across its face.

Seeing it from the sky was a magical experience, and far superior to the previous night where we watched it from a viewing area with hundred, if not thousands, of other people complete with tour guides, buses and so on. You can see the viewing areas in the photo below towards the bottom right.

Ayer's Rock at sunset, from the sky — Ayer’s Rock at sunset, from the sky

This was a remarkable experience, and one I’d recommend. Overall I found Ayer’s Rock, Yulara and Uluru to be a little disappointing. It felt forced and overly touristy, but this experience made the journey more than worthwhile.

25th August 201512th August 2018

Tips for Visiting Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo

It feels a little bizarre to recommend visiting a fish market as a tourist, but Tsukiji Market (aka Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market) in Tokyo is worth the visit. It’s the biggest fish market in the world, and one of the largest wholesale food markets of any type, anywhere. It’s a sprawling complex on the banks of the Sumida River in the Tsukiji area of Tokyo and is a hustling, bustling trade hub.

There are a few things you should know if you plan on visiting.

Get there quickly

Despite a fair amount of opposition, it’s looking like the fish market will be moving away from Tsukiji in late 2016. If you want to see it as it is now (highly recommended), go now before it’s too late.

Get there early

If you’re planning on seeing the daily auctions (and you should plan to do this, this is the main attraction), get there very early. Visitors are split in to two separate groups of 60 people each. The first group will enter the market at around 5:30 with the second visiting at around 6. The official website says registration starts at 5am, but it actually starts much earlier and you will almost certainly miss out if you arrive at 5. Registration consists of being given a coloured vest. Once all the vests are gone, there’s no more space. You cannot reserve a space in advance. My recommendation, and it’s what I did, was to visit on your first day in Japan. I was jet lagged enough that I was awake anyway, so it wasn’t too big a pull to get up at silly o’clock. If you do this, be sure to plan for a power nap at some point in the day, because you’re body is probably going to take one regardless of whether you plan for it or not (I fell asleep on the underground, which I have habit of doing).

A lot of the guides I read before hand recommended getting there for 4am. I’d aim for 3:30 am at the latest to get in the first group. We got there shortly before 4 and were in the second group. You will have to wait in quite a cramped waiting room once your registered but feel free to sit on the floor. There are also toilets outside (head right out of the door, then right again at the road and the public toilets are just before the bridge). After registering I actually wandered around the area for 30 minutes or so.

Know where you’re going

Embarrassingly, we found it a little difficult to locate the registration area. Our taxi dropped us off on Shin-Ohashi-Dori, which is where the market is. It is not, however, where you need to go to register. To register, head to the building marked on the map below. There are signs, but your best bet is to look for the large group of very tired looking people wearing bright waistcoats.

Once you arrive, you are given a multi-lingual information sheet that includes a map of the whole complex. It’s handy, but perhaps a little too late if you’ve already struggled to find the reservations building. You can download a similar sheet on the official website though.

If you want breakfast, be prepared to queue

Getting a delicious fresh fish (sashimi) breakfast at the market seems like an obvious choice. Be warned though, the queues for the more popular eateries can be two hours plus immediately following the auction. If you’re ordering something, definitely go for the fatty tuna sashimi.

If you’re looking for something else to do after the market, Ginza isn’t too far away and is a good place for a bit of shopping therapy.

Be aware that this is primarily a functioning market

The tourist aspects of the market are secondary. This is primarily a functioning market where people earn their living. As such there are some strict rules which are enforced. Read up on these rules before visiting, otherwise you will not be granted entry. Also be aware that you have to walk through large parts of the wider market to get to the auction room and you will encounter vehicles moving quickly through the area. It’s also going to be dark at the time you’re there, so be careful, follow the instructions of the guards and stay with the group.

One other thing to be aware of is that when you’re in the auction room it’s quite a tight squeeze and you need to make some space for yourself. You’re also going to see a lot of dead fish, if you’re squeamish about such things, this may not be for you.

Enjoy the experience

The video above contains some scenes from the market, both inside the auction room and the surrounding area. The auction is remarkable to watch. It’s fast moving, completely unintelligible for those uninitiated in fish auctions (and those who don’t speak Japanese) and fascinating. You can also spot the buyers examining the large tuna that constitute the day’s catch and doing deals all over the complex.

The fish themselves are impressively huge, and there’s a lot of them. There’s also a frenetic energy around the place and interesting things happening everywhere. It’s hard to follow what’s going on, but it doesn’t really matter. I’d recommend walking around some of the small shops inside the larger market complex after seeing the auction to see what the restauranteurs are doing with the catch you just saw being sold as well as to see some unique things for sale. You can also catch a peak in to some of the working areas in the market, which is very interesting.

23rd August 201512th August 2018

Visiting Arashiyama, Near Kyoto, Japan

If you’re in the Kyoto area, it’s well worth the short train journey to Arashiyama. Using your JR Rail Pass, it’s about 15 minutes from Kyoto arriving in to Saga-Arashiyama Station on the Sagano Line. We stayed in central Kyoto near Karasuma so it was a quick trip on the Tozai line to Nijo Station and then the Sagano line to Saga-Arashiyama, about 25 minutes total.

Arashiyama is a fairly touristy area and can get quite busy. However, there are a few reasons that make the trip worthwhile.

Bamboo Grove

Probably most famous of all the attractions in Arashiyama is the Bamboo grove. I was a little surprised when I arrived at the bamboo grove (less than a ten minute walk from the station that’s well signposted). Most of the photos you see show the grove as a relatively calm, quiet place. This does not match my experience. Despite the photos, it was really busy. Whilst I’d heard this might be the case, I wasn’t expecting there to be taxis driving along the road you’re on as you walk through the grove. The further you walk though, in general, the quieter it gets.

Do make sure you walk right to the end though, not least because it’s the entry to the next attraction.

Okochi Sanso (Ōkōchi Sansō) Villa & Gardens

This is one of the more overlooked gems in Arashiyama, and was relatively quiet on the day we visited (I suspect because of the roughly 1000 yen entry fee). Okochi Sanso Villa is a collection of buildings and gardens originally built over a number of years by famous Japanese actor Okochi Denjiro. The buildings aren’t accessible but the gardens are worth the entry price alone. Especially in autumn, which is when we visited.

The gardens are separated in to different types of arrangements, including moss gardens, trees, shrines and a tea garden (the entry fee includes a cup of tea). What’s impressive is how the paths are crafted to reveal different parts of the gardens to visitors.

It isn’t all about the gardens though. As you meander your way through the property you are, at various points, presented with wonderful views of Kyoto. Again, stunning in the autumn when the colours are out.

Iwatayama Monkey Park

Visiting the monkey park is not for the faint of heart. The visitor centre is approximately 160m up (160m elevation, you’ll be walking further) a steep, twisting path that has to be walked (there’s no other way up). On a hot day, it’s quite a challenge. Depending on your fitness level and the weather, you’re looking at a hike of between 20 and 45 minutes. There are two routes, one of which is steeper but shorter, and another which is longer but less steep.

As you can see from some of these images, the path isn’t necessarily well maintained either. In some parts it’s quite overgrown and most of it is uneven. You’re fortunate if you’re walking on a section with a handrail (although most of the really steep sections do have handrails). There are some wonderful views of Kyoto though.

It’s also important to manage your expectations when arriving at the park itself. The visitor centre is little more than a shed with a small shop and toilets. You can purchase food to feed the monkeys for around 100 yen, but you have to feed them from within the building, you are not permitted to take the food outside with you. These are wild animals after all, and I can imagine it being quite uncomfortable were they to round on someone they believed to be carrying food. There are warning posted around the area to this effect advising you to avoid eye contact (although I don’t know what “Don’t put a load on outside” means!). I did receive a warning from one of the monkeys who gently punched me on the leg, but I’m unsure what my indiscretion was!

What’s remarkable about the Monkey Park is that there are monkeys everywhere. You have to be careful walking around so as to not step on one. Even when you’re walking up to the park (and back down again) there are monkeys in the trees above you. You can hear them, and see them. It really does feel rather wild at times. There are regular feedings performed by the staff in the park which brings out even more monkeys that were previously hiding in the trees.

Thankfully the walk down is much easier. If you’re a fan of wildlife (I’m told there are rare birds in the area as well), it’s a worthwhile visit.

20th August 201512th August 2018

Landing on a Glacier in a Helicopter in New Zealand

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit New Zealand on a couple of occasions. The first time I tried on three separate occasions to take a helicopter flight to the glaciers. Each time I was thwarted by the weather. I even got so far as having the safety briefing before the flight was cancelled on one failed attempt.

So when revisiting New Zealand earlier this year I was more determined than ever. Unfortunately, my original flight was cancelled. I’d booked through the concierge at the St Moritz M Gallery Hotel in Queenstown and he quickly rearranged our flight for the morning. As morning rolled around, the flight was cancelled again, with a tentative reschedule for an hour later. It wasn’t looking good. Thankfully, the incredibly helpful concierge took my number and said he would get us on the first flight that day, and call me when they were ready to pick us up. A few hours later, and the call came, the Helicopter Line van was ready for us.

After a mad dash to get back to the hotel, we were sat in a van on our way to the airport (the helicopters take off and land adjacent to Queenstown’s main airport). We were sharing the helicopter with a family of three from the US. Once we were all weighed, seats were allocated to balance out the weight, and we were off.

Whilst the focus of the particular flight we chose was a glacier landing, the entire flight was absolutely stunning. Takeoff gives you a wonderful of Queenstown, and the trip to the glacier is really quite exhilarating. We were incredibly lucky with the weather. Heavy cloud was just clearing, revealing blue skies. This not only created some really interesting light, but also left small clouds hanging on some of the peaks and hovering in some of the valleys. Other than flying at sunrise or sunset, I can’t think of a better time to fly.

Our pilot was great fun. Unlike the rather sedate Helicopter flight around Ayer’s Rock, this was far more exciting. We hugged the rugged mountains, swerving around and over rocky outcrops before landing on the glacier itself. The pilot really was having fun.

The glacier landing itself was equally fantastic. We have around ten minutes to explore the area immediately around us. It’s difficult tot explain, but you’re in a small group, on top of a glacier which itself is on top of a mountain, which is in the middle of a mountain range. The photos don’t really do it justice.

The flight back followed the Shotover river, giving stunning views, with clouds hanging in the valley. The pilot also did a superb job of pointing out points of interest along the way.

If you get a chance to take this flight, I’d thoroughly recommend it. Not only do you land on a glacier, but you get to see some stunning scenery from the air and, to top it all off, you get an exhilarating helicopter flight.