African dream: experiencing the modern safari, as nature and luxury take their course

Chief Executive, The, May, 2004 by Cait Murphy

You never forget your first giraffe--at least I won't. Shortly after returning to our Land Rover after a walk in the bush, we heard the electric cry: "Giraffe!" Now, these animals are not exactly made for concealment; an average male is 17 feet tall and weighs 2,600 pounds. Still, it took a moment to spot the cuddly giant, and then I saw him, chewing at the foliage of the treetops. We got out and crept to within 20 feet--close enough to have to tip our heads back to peer at his face. Perhaps annoyed at having his breakfast interrupted, our giraffe ambled away. But as he did so, he paused and looked straight at me with limpid brown eyes. I swooned.

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Even better was the following day, when we saw six giraffes parading by us like models on a catwalk. Perfectly timed, one would sashay by, and as soon as it was out of our peripheral vision, another would stroll into view. This is aptly known as a "journey of giraffes."

For CEOs who have ever idly thought about going on safari with their spouses and families, here is a piece of advice: Do it. Adventurous Americans have traveled over ocean and land to gaze at Africa's exotic game for more than a century, dating back to Theodore Roosevelt's famous hunts. Today, there are literally thousands of lodges in the countries that comprise the prime safari territory (South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe). So here is another piece of advice: Go to the Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa's North West province and stay at Jaci's Tree Lodge, whose recent guests have included the heir to the Dutch throne and a son of Warren Buffett.

The Madikwe (muh-dee-KWAY) reserve is one of the country's largest, encompassing 600 square miles (about half the size of Rhode Island). It is also one of the newest. In 1991, the area was mostly scrubland and degraded cattle farms. Then the local government decided to buy out the farmers and convert it into a wildlife ecotourism reserve, reasoning that it would be the best and most profitable use of the land.

But first there had to be wildlife. Enter Operation Phoenix, the largest relocation of big game ever. Beginning in 1992, more than 8,000 animals representing dozens of species were picked up and transported to Madikwe from various African game reserves. In 1996, predators such as cheetahs, wild dogs and hyenas were introduced; lions were the last to be brought in, to give the other animals a chance to settle in. Now the place is a teeming animal kingdom, with some 16,000 mammals of 95 different species, plus 350 varieties of birds. It is home to the so-called Big Five (buffalo, rhino, elephant, leopard and lion), so named because they are the most dangerous animals to hunt on foot, as well as the rest of the Top Ten (wild dog, hippo, cheetah, hycna and giraffe).

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'Rough Luxury'

In Madikwe, nature takes its course, which is not always pretty. This was brought forcibly home to us one day when a pack of wild dogs--an endangered species that has been successfully imported into the reserve--emerged from the bush and tore apart a young wildebeest. The look of the dogs as they glanced up from their lunch, their snouts red with blood, was a reminder that for many of its inhabitants life in the bush is a merciless struggle.

For the humans at Jaci's, however, the living is easy. At the Tree Lodge, where I stayed with a group of 10 friends, there are eight tree houses, each encompassing a giant tamborie or leadwood tree. These are not the kind of tree houses banged up by loving hands in the backyard; they have air conditioning, soft linen sheets and a wood-burning stove, not to mention an outdoor shower and a stone tub big enough to swim in.

The owners call it "rough luxury." My friends and I agreed that they had it only half-right: Where was the "rough"? One day we came back from a bush walk completely soaked, having been caught in a rainstorm so prolonged and intense that we expected to see the animals marching two by two toward an ark. Upon our arrival, there were the grinning staff members, holding out fresh towels for us. Laundry at the lodge comes back gift-wrapped. There is reflexology, a delightful form of foot massage, on demand. As one of my companions, a British journalist, mused, "I knew this was going to be my kind of place when they asked us, 'What kind of drinks would you like on tonight's safari?'"

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A day at Jaci's begins with a 5:30 a.m. wake-up knock, followed by coffee and cereal before a 6 o'clock drive or walk through the bush. Driving is a better way to catch sight of big game; a bush walk offers quieter pleasures. During one hike, we came across an indeterminate smudge, which our guide, Jolyon Neytzell-de Wilde, keenly identified as the left footprint of a black rhino. We also learned about the engineering feats of the termite; the grisly dietary habits of the garden spider (males, beware); and the socialized housing projects of aardvarks, who share their holes with warthogs.