Zebra’s Crossing & Home

Here’s how Zebra’s Crossing describes itself: 

Enjoy the peaceful surroundings and plan your own adventures while being nestled between the sloping hills of the Waterberg with mesmerizing streams and rock pools. Zebras Crossing is the ideal getaway for groups and pairs that want to comfortably or adventurously indulge themselves in nature, without the worry of predatory animals around. Laze around the pool, enjoy an exciting safari or go for an adventurous wet walk, Zebras Crossing caters all.

IIMO, the complex lives up to its hype. (I confess to chuckling at the “without predatory animals” bit.)  It was just what we needed to decompress after all those long days on safari. I would have been happy to spend a couple of days here.

The complex has beautifully landscaped grounds, classy and comfortable thatched chalets and a large common area with a main lounge, outdoor seating and a pool. The main lounge includes an open plan dining/lounging area around a fireplace, and a terrace with an outdoor boma. There is also an extensive system of walking and biking trails (bikes provided). Afternoon game drives are offered (with sundowners), along with guided “wet-walks around rock pools in the river that runs through the reserve.” The complex’s resident wildlife includes zebras, kudus, nyalas, impalas, giraffes, hartebeest and blesbok, but we saw none of them.  Visitors can also do self-guided walks along marked trails, which we opted to try on our full day here.

Each of the six standard chalets has a sleeping/sitting room with an outdoor terrace, a dressing area, ensuite bathroom with tub and an outdoor shower.  There are also four deluxe suites and two family rooms, which include an extra loft bedroom.  

We arrived in the late afternoon, unwound in our chalets and had a delicious dinner before turning in. Breakfast next morning was the usual (over the top) feast: starters with lots of fruit, granola/crunchy muesli, yogurt, cereals, cheese, dry sausage, ham, croissant, muffins…And then the main course, a classic “full British breakfast” of cooked eggs, sausage, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes (hash brown patties), toast…Oy vey.

After breakfast, we rendezvoused with the resident guide for an orientation to the walking trails and directions for a circle walk. Dominique decided on a solo walk so she could go at her own pace and concentrate on birding. The rest of us strode confidently off in the direction of the walking trails.

Five minutes later, we were lost. When the trail forked, there was a good deal of “discussion” about which way to go. Ultimately, we took the road most traveled, which turned out to be wrong. So we turned around, went back to the beginning and started again.

On the right track at last, we came across Dominique at a little pool and riffle complex. I decided to drop out of the larger group and opt for a slower (and less chatty) walk with her.

This turned out to be a “little things” walk – lots of closeups of geology and life on the ground.

The path took us gently uphill to a seating area with lovely views over the valley below.  The rock colors were gorgeous.

Continuing downhill, we eventually came to the river – in time to see the other group walking the path ahead of us. We followed them (they were oblivious) back to the lodge.

We spent the afternoon and evening relaxing, re-packing and preparing for the re-entry home. After lunch the next day (Friday) we were picked up by our driver from Africa Breeze Transfers for the ~ 2.5 trip to Johannesburg airport . (He was chatty and fun, had never been to Zebra’s Crossing and was very pleased to see it. Unfortunately, I did not write down his name.)  

Scenery on the trip to Jo’burg was very similar to what we saw on other legs. The road turned into a major highway as we approached the big city (~5.5 million people live in Jo’burg proper, with almost 15 million within the sprawling metro area).  We saw a lot of very large trucks carrying sheets of copper, which are mined in Angola and brought to a refinery nearby.  Apparently there are a lot of these heavy freight trucks on the highways, creating traffic jams and causing lots of wear on the roads. (There are no train lines, which would be a more efficient way to haul these goods.)

We encountered a very large traffic backup as we entered the burbs, which added considerable time to the drive, leading to some bitten fingernails for Ken and Judy who had the earliest flight out. But we finally arrived at the airport, safely and with plenty of time to shop – unlike CapeTown’s airport, Jo’Burg’s is one of those airport-cum-luxury shopping meccas. We did a little bit of shopping – I gleefully purchased the next two books in the Tannie Maria series, which have not yet been released in the US.  We then hung out in the very comfortable Star Alliance lounge until time to queue at the gate and board for the long flight home.

And thus ends our Fall 2024 safari adventure!