Hoedspruit: Laid-back, pristine, adventurous

When the aircraft was about to land at the Eastgate Airport, there wasn’t much glitz to see from the window.

The control tower wasn’t even tall or as obvious as those in city airports, but the smooth landing at the small airport was a respite for every passenger.

“Welcome to Hoedspruit, we are green and happy,” an airport official, said with a broad smile.

At the baggage area, a few meters away, some tour operators waiting to pick their clients chorused, “Welcome back, welcome to sanity”.

The pleasant chants continued until the airport was almost empty.

But the drive to the town, about 25 minutes, said it all. Hoedspruit is truly green, it is laid-back and offers sanity from the madness of city life, especially considering that most of the visitors were coming from the ever-bustling Johannesburg.

Well, Hoedspruit, which literally means ‘Hat Creek’ in Afrikaans language, is an interesting town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, amid a unique setting.

The town is sleepy and stunning. It lies at the foot of the Klein Drakensberg Mountain and on the old Selati railway line from Phalaborwa to Kaapmuiden. The pictorique view is a huge draw for visitors in the agricultural town, considering the many fruit farms along the way, to and after the city centre.

“We are big on wildlife and agriculture here. Most of the farms here are for fruits like mango, orange, tangerine,

macadamia nuts and avocados. They are mainly for export,” Siso Mutulezi, a local said.

Mutulezi, who runs a small restaurant, noted that some farms are open to visitors on guided tours too.

But the most interesting thing about Hoedspruit is that it is a stone’s throw away from the Kruger National Park and is surrounded by many game-rich reserves.  The above makes it an obvious stopover town.

“When my father was alive, he used to say that Hoedspruit began in his eyes, merely as a couple of shops, a bank and a little rondavel that served as a station building,” Danny Khumalo, a staff of Radisson Safari Hotel Hoedspruit, enthused.

Today, the stopover town has grown, hosting more businesses, more farms and offering livelihood opportunities to many residents.

Truly Hoedspruit has grown into what is marketed today by South Africa as a premier eco-tourist destination because of its association with some of the best ‘Big 5′ viewing in the Rainbow Country.

“The Kruger National Park is a stone’s throw from Hoedspruit. You are guaranteed to see the ‘big five’ and exciting wildlife there. We also have many private game reserves here for early morning and evening game drives,” Khumalo said.

As he pointed out, on their recent tours, visitors at Rietspruit Game Reserve and Tomo Safari Lodge were highly rewarded to see four of the ‘big five’ and some others.

From buffaloes, hippos, rhinos,  elephants to lions, the game drives were more exciting than anticipated for the visitors.

At the Tomo Safari Lodge,  the visitors had extras; from bush dinner to night game drive, amid an encounter with a pride of lions that blocked their vehicle access and offered them a closer and live experience in the wild.

The dinner set in the bush at night, with no moonlight, but electric lamp,  was a major highlight for the visitors.

“This is my first time to eat in the bush, I mean real forest with wildlife around. I enjoyed it though I often tried to watch my back,” Emmanuel, an excited visitor, said.

Yet, the night outing wasn’t over after the dinner. At the height of it, Chua, another visitor became audible in his repeated request to call off the game drive, fearing being too close to lions for the first time, but the professional guide let the adrenaline flow for the more adventurous visitors. The pictures and videos of the live encounters bear witness of the once-in-a-lifetime excitement, amid lasting memories for the visitors.

“I was frightened to the bones because I have never been this close to lions. I mean hungry ones. But it was an experience, whose memory will live with me forever,” a Nigerian visitor said.

Even a Kenyan visitor who is used to wildlife confessed of the high quality game drive experience saying, “These guys here are more adventurous with their games, they know the wild and where to spot them”.

Apart from game drives, Hoedspruit offers other thrills such as birdwatching, hiking trails, especially at the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre, some levels at the Drakensberg Mountain, water rafting at the Blyde River, among others.

But one exciting thing to do at Hoedspruit is the hot air balloon flight, powered by propane gas.

It is one experience that will take you to a vantage position, from where you will see Hoedspruit from a bird’s eye view.

The one-hour flight cruises at about 1000 feet above the ground, across the town’s notable landmarks; from the spectacular Blyde River below, to almost summiting the Klein Drakensberg Mountain, the canyon, farmlands and to views far into The Kruger National Park. Sun Catchers Ballooning is among outfits waiting to treat visitors to an exciting balloon flight.

Of course, Maritza De Kock, a pilot with the company, is an experienced hand, whose smiles and assurance keep clients going on the cruise.

In all, Hoedspruit also offers some of the exclusive accommodation options in South Africa, from hotels, to resorts and to safari camps.

Jorita Cronje, marketing manager at Radisson Safari Hotel Hoedspruit, and her team members, are always ready to welcome visitors with broad and genuine smiles, which she calls ‘a deserving Hoedspruit welcome’.

The passionate hotelier offered reasons to guests to visit and repeat visits, insisting that Hoedspruit is home to nature, tranquility, sanity, amid world-class leisure facilities, and hospitable host community.

But Mutulezi said it all in his conclusion: “Come to Hoedspruit if you want to regain your sanity, rejuvenate your weak soul and body, enjoy the best of nature and live longer. We are natural and at peace with ourselves and the environment.”

Heodspriut is about 45 minutes from O.R.Tambo International Airport and less than six hours drive from Johannesburg. It is very close to Polokwane, the capital of the Limpopo Province and home to the Kruger National Park, South Africa’s foremost eco-tourism destination.

But the fact remains,

“Hoedspruit’s rural charm is infectious and visitors love”.