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SEEKING SOLITUDE

TRAVEL Umbabat Private Nature Reserve

The wilderness seemed to wrap its arms around us as soon as we left the tarmac and hit the red dirt road. 'There is nothing quite like kicking up some dust,' Matt, the owner and host of N sala Wilderness Camp said with a grin, as we passed a kudu bull idly munching on a patch of grass on the verge. In quick succession, we saw the usual suspects: impala, wildebeest and zebra, with a herd of elephants and a shy nyala topping off the list of game spotted between the Enkhulu Gate and the camp.

When winding through thickets of mopane, it’s easy to lose all sense of direction as you get deeper and deeper into the heart of the Umbabat Private Nature Reserve. Just when we were feeling hopelessly befuddled, we rounded a bend and spotted the camp: a quaint cluster of pointed thatched roofs poking out between a canopy of trees.

Shoas and Vision, the young Shangaan managerial couple, greeted us with beaming smiles. Welcome drinks were served as we clambered out of the vehicle, and we were

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