It was with little expectation that we arrived at Inverdoorn Lodge in the Karoo to see some game. It was a surprise to discover how much it became part of us. Most people travel to Kruger or Pilanesburg in northern South Africa to see game. They are great parks, but seeing wildlife can be hit or miss. Inverdoorn is a tiny reserve by comparison, but they do an excellent job in work and hospitality.
Game drives are wonderful and sightings are many. Of course the herds are small and many of the animals are rescues. But what better place to support than a lodge committed to rehabilitating cheetahs, elephants and lions.
For those who don't know the Karoo is a semi-arid desert region of South Africa. There is no exact definition for the Karoo but I find it a hard place to live. Animals and plant life struggle to survive. Because of this hardship there is what I call a cruel beauty in the Karoo. At first glance it looks bare and barren, but if you are quiet long enough, and able to observe closely, you'll see a beauty emerge that takes away your breath and sneaks into your spirit.
Animals emerge, sometimes right out of the bushes next to you to show off their beauty. Insects call, the sky shouts and the horizon whispers of allurement and suffering delicacy. Before long, you've fallen in love with the dusty roads and scrubby bushes. The animals become soulmates and the land becomes your body.
This love is not the infatuation of young love, it is the love of poets and songs, the love of the great classics. You are Romeo and the land is Juliet. Leaving does become a sorrow and the memories live with you forever.
I offer to you just a brief look into our 24 hours in the Karoo with this video file (please let me know if you can't watch it).
The Karoo has that character and other special reserves like Gecko Rock add to the magic. Sitting like jewels of silence in the landscape ... Just the footfalls of the animals ...
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