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Driving from Cape Town to Sanbona, a pioneering wildlife reserve buried deep in the Klein Karoo, our car emerged from the Huguenot road tunnel a few hours drive to the north-east just as sunrise arrived with a bang, gilding the spectacular rock formations and then illuminating the neat vineyards, low white houses and roadside farmstalls that characterise this picturesque part of the Western Cape. This civilised, pastoral idyll came to an abrupt end once we turned off the tar and started rumbling along the dirt tracks that lead to Sanbona. A flock of heavyset Merino sheep bustled importantly across our path, and then - nothing. Nothing but miles and miles of low red bushveld, shimmering in the early morning haze and giving off an almost audible silence and stillness. Peering through the clouds of dust thrown up by the car's wheels we could make out a few low-growing succulents and shrubs, then just space, space, space as far as the eye could see. But once our vision had adjusted to all this seemingly empty terrain, we began to make out previously overlooked details. That dot in the middle distance was in fact an oryx, standing immobile, its white face, turned to watch us pass, turned gold by the reflection of the glowing ground. Although we hadn't realised it yet, this early morning sight encapsulates the attraction of Sanbona - the creature merging with the landscape, indivisible and part of a greater whole. To benefit from a visit to here, one must appreciate not just the obvious, but the bigger picture - from the dragonfly perched on a pale-green shrub to the silent elephant that lurk in the riverine forest. The name Sanbona, a word combining the 'San' for the hunter-gatherer people who occupied the area up to 100 years ago, and 'bona' meaning 'vision' was given to the latest 54,000 ha property acquired by the Mantis Collection. It's an area comprising sandstone cliffs, open valleys and tree-fringed river beds that's currently home to 650 plant species, 160 bird species, a natural gallery of San rock art and an ever-increasing variety of indigenous wildlife. |
