The review team of Niall Anderson and myself recently visited the Ant’s Nest and Ant’s Hill lodges in the Waterberg region of South Africa. The drive up to Ants is takes a pleasant 3 hours from Johannesburg and once you leave the N1 highway you are straight in to the heartlands of the Waterberg. Quaint farm stalls and stunning scenery keep your belly and mind occupied.
The first night was spent at Ant’s Nest and arriving here is like arriving home. The Ant Collection is a family run operation with the owners Ant and Tessa Baber in the midst of the happenings. The thick rock clad walls and thatch rooves blend in with the rocky bushveld setting. The rooms were hugely spacious with a strong Kenyan influence noticeable in the décor. After a wholesome high tea we were taken to meet our horses. Ants offers a variety of activities from game drives to walking and mountain biking. However it’s the horses that make this place special. Niall has had a bit of riding experience but I hadn’t been on a horse in nearly 20 years so was a bit apprehensive at the start. Ant’s luckily caters for riders of all levels and I was assigned a suitable horse named Chongwe. We mounted up and headed out. The afternoon was truly one of the greatest experiences a safari goer can have. Riding amongst general game and within a few metres of buffalo and white rhino on horseback is completely different to being on foot, bike or on a vehicle. You blend in to their world. On a flat stretch we even had a go at a canter (where I nearly fell off) and the continual duel between my horse and Niall’s on who should be second in line provided much entertainment. The afternoon ended by having sundowners at a spot already set up by staff at Ant’s. What a way to end the day. The horses are then released to head back to the main lodge on their own accord – most head back in the morning. A true horse heaven and there are no lion or elephant on the reserve to worry about. We spent that evening dining with Anthony and the manager Les arguing about the superiority of Land Rovers over Land Cruisers - Ants use these lesser beasts!
The morning was a relaxed affair where after a hearty breakfast we were offered the opportunity of joining Ant and his team on a buffalo darting exercise as the vet had been called in. A great aspect of Ants is that it is a working game farm and guests are offered the opportunity of taking part in farm management activities. This is often a side to safaris that guests never get to see and can be truly rewarding. Anyway after a few hours spent following the buffalo who got spooked as the herd was without any males the darting exercise was called off. The riders had a few cuts and scrapes as temporary mementos from the various acacia trees and buffalo thorns they had to ride through to get close to the buffalo.
We then transferred to Ants other lodge – the young Ants Hill which is superbly situated on a ridge offering exquisite views of the surrounding Waterberg vista. Again the afternoon was spent on horseback and this time we had horses with completely different personalities. Mine this time was an old lady and so chilled out she would have fitted in well in a hippy hostel on the Wild Coast. We rode for a few hours and had a few stretches where we cantered and luckily for me I was more comfortable this time round and managed to actually enjoy the action. We rode steadily upward and were greeted by another glorious sundowner setup with a grand view of the valley below and hills beyond. The horses were released to go do there thing and cantered off as we toasted our Gin and Tonic’s to the day and to what a magical place Ants is!
