Last week I was privileged to be invited to the annual Mazda Sunset Serenade at the Letaba camp in The Kruger National Park. It was my first time time visiting the Kruger and I was super excited for the trip, especially because it was 35C plus everyday up there and if you´ve been anywhere near Cape Town over the last few months, you´ll understand my excitement! Also the last time I experienced a bush holiday, I was 11 years old. 4 nights in the bush experiencing the power and beauty of classical music in this unique and majestic setting – spoilt! The purpose of the event is to raise funds for the Honorary Rangers, Counter Poaching & Ranger Support Services Unit of the South African National Parks.
The trip was fantastic, each morning we would set off in our Mazda BT-50, which we were given to use at will for the duration of our stay, in the search of the Big 5. It´s very dry up in Limpopo which made it really difficult to spot any game as they are so well camouflaged in the dense bushveld. But we were pretty successful in our viewing, we saw cheetah, buffalo, herds of elephant, rhino, hippo, baboons, wildebeest and loads of buck! I could happily have driven for hours each day in the bakkie! This trip contained many firsts for me as I had never driven a bakkie before either and was really enjoying this new “bushbabe” side of me 😉 Although by day 5 my boyfriend was begging to drive!
Each day up until 4pm was “our” time for game drives and chillaxing. At 4pm all the guests met at reception and were then packed into the game viewing vehicles and taken out to a secret location in the park for the evening´s entertainment – a classical music concert – bush style! While we sat and enjoyed the concert, we had our trusty rangers patrolling the area keeping the predators at bay! I was brought up around classical music, my brother was an extremely talented violinist and singer and my father is also very musical so I was “forced” to develop an appreciation for all things classical at a young age. But never before have I attended such a beautiful concert in such a spectacular setting. The first evening was an absolute treat as during perfectly timed intervals we could hear a hippo in the nearby river, the musicians couldn´t have asked for a better audience! On a more serious note, during the first night´s performance there was also bush warfare going on not too far away. Two poachers were shot and killed by army rangers while another was injured. An army ranger was also wounded in the incident but is doing ok. This whole poaching business is seriously dangerous right now and the poachers have shown they are now willing to fight fire with fire and kill for these poor creatures horns. We were lucky to see two rhinos on our game drives and I honestly can´t understand how someone could brutalise these exquisite creatures. So if you haven´t already, please sign the petition here and say NO to rhino poaching. Part of the Sunset Serenade event is also to raise awareness and funds for the rangers. The rangers were given funds and equipment to help with their recently implemented clandestine training.
For me the event was also about reconnecting with the Mazda brand. When I was little my mom drove one of those old crock Mazda 323´s and since then I had never looked twice at a Mazda but driving the BT-50 opened my eyes to a whole new brand and I am now seriously considering a Mazda as my next purchase as it´s high time for an upgrade for me! Too many dogs and too little bootspace!
But back to the Sunset Serenade, I had an epic time. From the elephant capture to meeting some really fab peeps this was definitely an experience I will remember for years to come. So I just wanted to say a BIG thanks again to Rella, Alisea and the entire Mazda team for making us feel so welcome and providing such a special experience. xx
Below are a few pics of the Sunset Serenade 2011 (the edited version, we took over 500 photos!!) Enjoy 🙂
Elephant capture
My faves, Julian and Marion
The bush babes 😉
