A bush getaway on budget might not seem possible but my friend and I made it work.
BY Motlatsi Kekana
After months of planning and saving, my friend and I decided it was time to leave the WhatsApp chat and go on this trip. Firstly, everything has become so expensive in Southa so you can imagine our intimidation. But we decided, this wasn’t our dream getaway, that’s still on the cards. This was our escape from the busy streets of Gauteng, to forget our city hustles and responsibilities for a few days.
Destination
Burchell Bush Lodge in Mpumalanga, cleverly located next to the Kruger National Park gate.
Car
Car of the Year nominee, Kia Sorento – 2.2 Litre turbodiesel with an 8-speed automatic transmission.
We planned everything to the T, from where we would eat out to the day we were going to have a braai. Thursday morning came and we woke up with excitement, ready to hit the road for our estimated 5-hour drive to the beautiful Mpumalanga Province, where we were set in for a 4-night bush stay.
Our first stop was at the filling station to get our car ready for the longish drive. Our Kia Sorento only needed a R500 diesel top-up and an oil, water, and tyre check. We picked breakfast and snacks for the road, which in hindsight wasn’t wise to get at a filling station. With everything set, we hit the road.
Driving on the N4 requires toll money. However, in our meticulous planning, we had taken care of this and we didn’t eye each awkwardly when we approached the tollgates. We simply reached for our iskhwama for cash and were soon on our way, jamming to a curated playlist of old-school R&B.
Tollgate Costs – R229,00
We had promised ourselves to be tourists from the beginning of the road trip to finish, and would incorporate everything touristy along the way.
I had been looking forward to seeing rhinos and even take a few winter holiday snaps at Alzu Petro Port. My excitement quickly evaporated at the sight of busses and hordes of school children and families who had the exact same thoughts as me. The penny dropped, it was school holidays and everyone was escaping somewhere and Alzu Petro Port seemed to be a point of convergence.
We retreated gracefully back to the comfort of our stunning SUV and continued with our drive. Our second stop was Milly’s, a one-stop farm in Machadodorp, along the N4, for a hearty lunch to warm us up on a cold Thursday afternoon. Lucky for me, the soup of the day at Milly’s was the butternut soup while Nthabi opted for their chicken livers. We enjoyed the beautiful view of the dam while listening to the clinking of happy customers’ forks.
After a few hours on the road and enjoying the incredible views of the province of Mpumalanga, we reached our destination. While there is a variety of accommodations at Burchell’s to suit different budgets, we booked a self-catering chalet, which was a great way to stretch our rands. In our planning, we bought a few groceries for some of our meals. We decided on organic fresh produce for our salads from local street vendors, as a way of traveling sustainably and supporting micro local businesses.
A bush-themed chalet with wooden finishes completes the nicely decorated one-bedroom cottage with a fully equipped kitchen and a cozy outdoor braai area. It comes fully equipped with with WiFi and air-conditioning, some comforts so you feel like you are lost in the jungle. Burchell’s offers game drives in the neighbouring Kruger National Park where we experienced a true African winter morning and spotted two of the Big Five, including the King of the jungle Mufasa himself. They also offer other outdoor activities such as archery and Golf. The Sabie area is full of tourist attractions within the vicinity, such as the famous God’s Window.
Costs
Four Night stay at Burchell’s – R11,484
Game Drive – R115 per adult
We had most of our dinners at our chalet. Before dinner, we would dress up for cocktails, which cost a bit more than we had hoped, at the neighboring Kruger Gate Hotel. But the stunning views overlooking the Sabie River from the infinity pool deck were worth it.
Our Kia Sorento clocked 6.8L/100km which means we used up our full tank from Pretoria to Mpumalanga and only filled up again on our return. The car’s fuel efficiency contributed towards our overall savings from the trip. The drive was wonderfully comfortable, the Sorento gave us more space than we needed for our luggage and groceries. We especially enjoyed the Bose sound system, the panoramic sunroof, and easy to use of mobile phone integration where we swapped our cellphones and playlists as much as we wanted. The large SUV is a 7-seater so yes it felt more like a mommy car than a getaway wagon for friends, but like I said, we didn’t mind the space.
The trip was relaxing and nothing does a reset better than a bush getaway, connecting with nature is exactly what we needed, and Mpumalanga Province is the perfect destination for that.
