Typically, because our horizons are broadened through what we encounter on our journey. So that we can be moved, inspired, and sometimes even challenged.
The opportunities to stop and smell the proverbial roses. It affords our minds and our bodies rest and revitalisation. Travel is a doorway to exploration and adventure, remarkable natural environments, new places, places that are ‘other’ than the place we call home.
Once in a blue moon, an international guest arrives at Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve and is unable to relate to the environment they find themselves in. Do they feel too exposed in the vastness? Is all that big sky above, and the maze of astounding rock formations, reaching up from the earth in every direction, too vivid and raw? Is the backdrop of the Sneeuberg and Tafelberg peaks on the horizon too intense in its gritty magnificence? Are the fascinating critters that thrive in this wilderness too close for comfort?
For most of us, these ‘feels’ are everything we want from a travel experience. Are we biased? Heck yes! For most of us, a place like Kagga Kamma is an incredibly transformative place. It transcends all the noise and demands of day-to-day living and transports you into a wondrous encounter with the natural world that can only be fully understood once you’ve experienced it for yourself.
We long to escape to such singular, far-off locations, away from city lights, where the quietness is a presence – something pure and deep – accented with the whisper of the wind in the fynbos and the flutter and sweet chirps of tiny birds in the undergrowth as you meander along trails.
One of our favourite experiences to share with guests is our lookout point on the Sundowner Tour. With mountains unfolding all around, you find yourself right on the edge of the dramatic Cederberg range, with a bird-of-prey’s-eye view over the rambling Tankwa-Karoo plains below. Without fail, the happy chatter as everyone climbs down from the vehicle, and meanders up to the vantage point, dissolves into quiet, as everyone first takes in the breathtaking view; before settling in to enjoy all the loveliness with a refreshing beverage in hand, and conversations start up again.
On the drive back to the Lodge, as the sunset deepens and glows golden against the bottom of the clouds, and you journey along stoney tracks edged with fynbos, you may be fortunate enough to spot a perfect, pretty faced ‘ribbok’ that no one else has set eyes on for weeks, or a shy and utterly fascinating aardvark, as it sets off on its evening termite forage.
Later in the evening, while reflecting on the day’s adventures over a glass of Cape wine, seated under the stars in the boma, Kagga Kamma has other things to share. The aromas rising from your dinner plate as it arrives at your table, and you tuck into a delicious meal. The endless, shimmering skies overhead, the boma fire creating a beautiful glow against the surrounding rocky outcrops. Even the soulful call of a far-off jackal. A renewed connection with a loved-one, or a new connection with a fellow-traveller, each moment is one to be cherished.
Travel is so much more than capturing that Instagram-worthy pic. It’s many things, to many people. Here, it’s nature’s gift of offering us myriad moments to gain new perspectives, observe ourselves in relation to all its astounding wondrousness. Step away from our every-day-lives for a time, relish a different pace; even experience a different time, visiting the many rock art sites, and delving into the rich stories of the indigenous people that created them.
Here’s to the gift of travel.
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KAGGA KAMMA
Require further information?
Want to make a booking?
Have an enquiry?
Please complete the following form
and Kagga Kamma will get back to you as soon as they can.
