The poor man’s game-drive: 10 activities in the Hoedspruit-area for R100 or less.

Yeah talking 'bout papa
He was the poor, richest man in town
My dad he was a man who was so fine
My papa he was the only friend of mine
Yeah, papa
He was the poor, richest man in town
And when he brought his money on a saturdaynight for mama
Then sunday was allright

(Jack Jersey – Papa was a poor man songtext).

I am sure we all know those times in our lives when you felt like a poor man (or women). Hopefully those days are gone, but that doesn’t mean we have to to watch our expenses. In an ongoing changing world where prices of fuel, food, insurances etc. keep rising, it is good to know that for R100 or less you can still enjoy some really interesting activities here in the Lowveld.

Take the poor man’s game drive, for free!

Drive the Guernsey road. Take the R40 south of Hoedspruit and turn after 7 km left (Argyle road) to the East gate airport. After 8,5 km. turn right onto the Guernsey road. This 29 km. dirt road is bordered by the famous Kapama and Thornybush game-reserves. There also numerous private game-farms. Often you can see plains   game, sometimes even rhino, elephant or lions! Costs only petrol, no entrance fees.

Visit the Moholoholo rehabilitation centre for R90 per person.

On the daily tours (09:30 and 15:00, closed on Sundays) you get close to the animals
which have been wounded, poisoned or got orphaned. Moholoholo is a non-profit organisation, founded in 1992.

Exciting to feed a white-back vulture, do this at own risk!

Enjoy a boattrip on the Blyderiverspoortdam for R95 per person.
This 1,5 hour trip show the famous Blyde river canyon from another angle.During this trip you can see hippo’s, crocodiles, baboons, vervet monkeys and lots of waterbirds. Also the majestic baoab trees grow on the slope of the hills. Did you know that one day before the 2000 floods came –the water came 2 meters over the dam wall!- that the hippo’s left the water and went for higher grounds.

View from the boat over the canyon.

Visit the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, R100 per person

Come face to face with the cheetahs and see how they try to breed with this endangered species. On the guided tour you see the cheetahs but also wild dogs, ground hornbill, the vulture restaurant and other interesting animals.

Visit the Klaserie-dam, only R30 per person.
Here you can go for a walk around the dam, and even try to to catch some fish. There are no crocodiles or hippo’s in the dam, which makes it safe to relax around the dam.

Klaserie dam with great mountain views.

Bombyx  Mori Silk farm. Discover the wonderful world of silk or enjoy a light meal & great coffee at the Cotton Club Café, set before the majestic Blyde River Canyon. In the silk-shop you buy various products made out of silk. And before I forget: entrance is free!

The Marula FactoryCheck out what happens to the marula-fruits, which are collected and processed in the Marula factory, located on the Hoedspruit-Phalaborwa road. All year open, no entrance fee and I can recommend from personal experience to buy the Amarula liquor, and enjoy this with a cold ice cube. You won’t regret it!

Amarula liquor –the call of the wild-.

Hike on the Mariepskop Mountain.
Everywhere in Hoedspruit you can see the Mariepskop, the highest point in the Lowveld with 1945 metres above sea level. On a clear day you can see from the top the Indian Ocean, as well as Maputo the capital of Mozambique. The top of the mountain consists of tropical mist forest and capensis fynbos species.

Mariepskop.

Visit the Khamai reptile Park, R40 per person entrance fee.
The Hoedspruit-area has a high concentration of snakes and therefore there is a high frequency of interaction between snakes and people. This park practice conservation in the purest way, no animals are kept –only for a short while to recover-, and will be put back in the wild. Here you can see both the green- and black-mamba, spitting cobra, boom slang, puff adder, as well as spiders.

Fastest striking snake in the world: the puff adder.

Meet Jessica the hippo, R75 for day-visitors.

She was raised by Tonie and Shirley Joubert, who found her when she was a calf, after the floods in March 2000.

Jessica, happy to be hippo.

Well, these are just some activities you can do for only R100. Now if you have more money to spent then you can always go away to one of the more affordable game-lodges in Big-5, for example the Amukela Game Lodge.

Amukela game lodge: Elephants at the waterhole –seen from the terrace-.

Or even better: make your way home and come and live in this fascinating area, own your own piece of Africa!

There is much choice in lifestye, whether you want to live in a Wildlife Estate, or be surrounded by the Big-5. Check out the Century21 Wildlife properties website for all available properties