Accommodation, On the Road

Makumu Private Game Lodge – A Unique Perspective on Photographic Safaris

Earlier this year, Makumu Private Game Lodge, in the 60 000 ha Klaserie Private Nature Reserve introduced its new subterranean photographic bunker. Unique to the safari scene in the Greater Kruger region, the underground bunker offers Makumu guests the opportunity to photograph, at ground level, wildlife coming to the pan to drink or cool down. The bunker has been named iThumbela, which loosely translated from the Xitsonga language means ‘place to hide’.

Owner Stefan Breuer has always had a passion for photography. In 2006, together with renowned photographer Michael Poliza, Breuer undertook an epic nine-week photographic adventure in his bright red helicopter from Hamburg, Germany to Cape Town, South Africa, together. Their journey was captured in a series of 25 000 images of landscapes, people and wildlife, and a never-been-done-before photographic journal in the form of a coffee table book, Eyes Over Africa.

“What I often find missing on safari is the opportunity to get very close to game in a relaxed environment, without them being aware of my presence”, says Breuer. The bunker is eco-friendly and made from a submerged, camouflaged container, so as not to disturb the surrounding fauna and flora. Being able to photograph wildlife at eye-level provides a completely new perspective to a shot.

Located a mere 20-minute drive from the lodge, iThumbela has a small staircase descending into the bunker. Facilities include a couch and photographic counter with bar stools, a selection of drinks, tea and coffee making facilities and photographic resource books.

iThumbela is an exciting addition to Makumu’s safari offering, offering an experience that will particularly appeal to expert photographers looking for a completely unique angle from which to photograph game, birdlife and animal behaviour. The bunker is situated on the edge of one of the area’s most active waterholes and game regularly come to drink or bathe here. From elephant, giraffe, zebra, lion and hyena to leopard, wildebeest and a variety of bird species, this ‘place to hide’ offers a morning or afternoon well spent.

Photo credits: Stefan Breuer and Morné Hamlyn

Find out more at https://www.makumu.com/photographicbunker/ or contact reservations@makumu.com or +27 87 057 4512

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

About us

Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities. We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa. Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation? Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose.

Expensive is not always better. Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday. They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice. A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday.

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance. Of these, service is the most important.

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion. However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review. We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience? The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table.

Well that’s our theory anyway. It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced. However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience. In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe. It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!