Rags to Riches at Inverdoorn

We were able to book last Tuesday night in Inverdoorn's "Chalet" accommodation but everything was booked out on Wednesday night except the "Ambassador Suite", their top of the line accommodation.  Brenda and I discussed the proposal and decided to accept it because time was running out and we didn't have the luxury of picking and choosing.  By the time I telephoned an hour later to formally book the accommodation the Chalet had been booked and was no longer available but they could offer us their bottom of the line "Guest House" room.  I accepted that, commenting that we would be experiencing quite a jump in standard, and added that we were more interested in seeing the animals than in the accommodation.  The girl agreed but said that at least the change in standard was in the correct order.

Brenda planning her bath

Note animal skins on furniture and floor

The Guest House room turned out to be of modest size but very well decorated in African style with a high ceiling.  Brenda and I would have been satisfied with that accommodation for the two night stay.

For the evening safari we piled into one of the vehicles with 8 or 9 other guests and were taken on a 2-hour tour of the reserve.  The evening meal was very good in their small and superbly decorated restaurant.

We were up early the next day for the morning safari in which we watched the various animals becoming active  for the coming day.

Pleasant breakfast setting

By the middle of Wednesday we had a good measure of the reserve and its inhabitants and then the day of luxury kicked in.

We were taken to our new accommodation and the luxury blew our minds, given that we were in a private game reserve far from the city.  The accompanying photographs speak for themselves.  We had our own minibar and facilities for making coffee and tea, which we found useful.  There was also a flat screen TV satellite service on which I watched a bit of CNN.  

The Ambassador Suite provided more that just 5 star accommodation.   Brenda and I would now go out on private safari with the head ranger as our guide, who would be at our disposal to take us wherever we wanted to go, set whatever pace we wanted, and ask any questions that came to mind.  So on Wednesday afternoon the ranger picked us up, introduced himself, and asked us what we had seen of the reserve so far, and what we would like to see on this excursion.   Brenda expressed a desire to see more of the bird life which seemed to please the ranger, and off we went.

The ranger was a delightful man from Zimbabwe.  He was sociable, articulate, and knew his subject very well.  It amazed me how much more we were able to learn in this private interactive safari than in the group one.  He showed us birds that we would not have otherwise seen, naming them and telling us something about their habits. As he drove he provided a constant stream of information on the flora and fauna that we were passing.  I asked him about Aardvarks and he showed us the feeding holes that they dig to reach the termites (that live solely below the ground) and the larger sleeping holes that they dig for the day.  We learned a lot about Zimbabwe and Africa in general too.

At the end of the safari he drove us to our suite where there was a member of staff waiting for us with hot towels for getting the dust off our hands and faces.  We stepped into the suite and the mood lights had been turned on and the bed turned down.  

On Thursday morning we set off again and got good close up looks at the elephants. 

We returned to our suite to find that breakfast had been laid out on the veranda and we had our own private waitress.  We told her how we would like our bacon and eggs and she set off while Brenda and I enjoyed the selection of fresh fruit, yoghurt, cheeses, toast, cereals, meats, etc.  When the woman arrived with the bacon and eggs she stood aside chatting to us and it dawned on me that she was supposed to stand by and act as a private servant.  I let her know that Brenda and I would be OK and that she had better things to do.

Then before checkout we joined 3 other couples for some private time with "Velvet", a sociable Cheetah who revels in the pampering from her two handlers and the attention from the guests - accompanied by white wine or other cool drink, of course.

I've always been one for going "mainstream" and "tourist" class - or worse! - in my travels, but I must admit that the money that we paid for the Ambassador Suite and its services was worth every cent.  We got much, much more out of the safari experiences and certainly enjoyed the pampering and luxury, which made me feel awkward at first but began to feel normal very, very quickly.