The Perks of Working @ Quirk

by Sarah Manners

After three weeks of afternoon snoozes, leisurely mornings reading my book in the garden and nights of partying I suddenly find myself back into the swing of things at work…
We all know the feeling, and yes… it sucks! So after sulking for a bit I have decided to let go of the feelings of anger at not winning the lotto, which I was counting on to secure this laid back lifestyle I was just starting to get used to, and focus on the awesome holiday I had.

The undisputed highlight was a trip to Sabi Sabi in the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve compliments of the folks at Sabi Sabi! As Quirk is currently redesigning their website they thought that a trip there would help us get a better idea of what the brand is all about. They were right!

So as my alarm sounded at 5 am on Saturday the 6th of January I leapt out of bed – usually something that would only happen if I was on fire – and prepared to head off to the airport. Spare the orations of some guy who had clearly had an exceptionally hard new year and some woman dropping her bag on Isobel’s head; the Kulula flight to Jozi was rather uneventful.

Standing in OR Tambo International, watching the bags rotate round and round the  carousel, I started feeling a little anxious when I was the only one left standing there  - a general atmosphere of panic ensued when I was informed that there were no more bags on that plane. I rushed over to the British Airways counter only to be told (in a rather unapologetic tone) that my bag would arrive on the next flight! Being the highly strung harpy that I am I started to freak out – I expected a “we are so sorry for the inconvenience” or a “what can we do to make it up to you” or a “here have a sweet” at the very least but alas I got nothing but blank stares… (That’s just my moan of the day).

My bag arrived on the next flight and we (Isobel, Bronwyn and I) headed off on our adventure, well we headed off on the 6hr drive to Sabi Sabi… While flying would have given us more time the drive was nothing short of magnificent… the province of Mpumalanga is definitely one of South Africa’s most scenic. The drive went well (bar a couple of wrong turns which resulted in us landing up in Limpopo and a rather stubborn heard of cattle blocking the road) and we finally arrived at Shaw’s gate at about 4pm. While negotiating the dirt roads we were greeted by a huge elephant – Isobel and I (typical tourists that we are) jumped out of the car and started snapping away, a fact we regretted when we arrived at Bush Lodge only to be told how worried they were about us because of the angry elephant bull that was causing a bit of havoc (oops).

After a refreshing drink we were escorted to our suites – which were, for lack of a better word, breathtaking! It almost seemed a pity that we had to leave them so soon to embark on the evening safari. After having a cup of tea and some snacks we headed off to the Land Rover with Dean, our ranger, to meet Dollan, our tracker… and then we were off. Along the drive we encountered rhino, elephant, giraffe, a rather grumpy looking hyena, some warthog, Impala and a host of birds. After about 2 hours we stopped and had drinks and snacks while watching the sunset – heavenly! We then set off in pursuit of leopards (the Sabi Sands Reserve is renowned for being one of the best places in South Africa to spot leopards), unfortunately all we found was a chameleon which took quite a liking to Isobel.



Once we got back to the lodge we rushed to get into our suites and cleaned up for dinner – a magnificent affair which takes place in the boma under the stars. By the third unbelievably delicious course our eyes began getting droopy and we called it a night.

Next thing we knew it was time for our 5am wake up call! After coffee and croissants we were off on our next game drive – more excellent game, interesting information from Dean and lots of pictures… but still no sign of the elusive leopards. We returned to a magnificent breakfast, after which it was time to pack up and leave our gorgeous suites as we were leaving Bush Lodge to tour the other lodges before we checked in to Earth Lodge.

First stop, romantic Selati Camp – a testament to safaris of the colonial era. This lodge comprises of 8 suites and is favoured by honeymooners who crave its intimacy and romantic setting.
Next stop, Little Bush Camp the most recent of the additions to Sabi Sabi’s accommodation portfolio – another intimate lodge, Little Bush Camp has only 6 suites. This would be an amazing location for a holiday with family or friends as you could literally book out the entire lodge.
By the time we were finished at Little Bush it must have been about 40°C and we couldn’t wait to check in at Earth Lodge and embrace the air-conditioned suites.
Earth Lodge is breath taking and the most modern of the lodges at Sabi Sabi, we were all extremely impressed with our suites and thankful for our private plunge pools in which we spent the afternoon. The time for our evening safari came and we headed off with our new ranger Ian (a Lincoln Burrows “Prison Break” look alike) and tracker, Ben. More awesome game ensued but was overshadowed by the magnificent lightning storm. As we hunted for the leopard the heavens broke, the rain a welcome relief after such a hot day. We arrived back at Earth Lodge looking suspiciously like drowned rats and got ready for dinner. A magnificent 5 course affair – good food, good wine and good company – a hyena even strolled by to check it out (I am embarrassed to say that I thought it was a lion). The time for bed came all too soon.
chance to spot the leopard so off we went. After all the rain from the night before we were treated to some spectacular bird watching, more rhino, a baby elephant, loads of impala, zebra and giraffe. Ian then got word that there was a leopard nearby and off we rushed, going at breakneck speeds through the bush was fun, a little scary, but fun and after a while we finally found her… undoubtedly the most beautiful cat I have ever seen. We stayed with her for quite a while, at stages she was close enough to the vehicle to touch.
All happy that we had finally seen our leopard we headed back to Earth Lodge for breakfast and to pack up in preparation to leave.



As Isobel drove back to Johannesburg (thanks Bel), I wondered if we’d ever really be able to replicate how amazing this place is… I have worked on this site for over a year and I never realised that it would be that spectacular. I also realised how beneficial it is for a copywriter, to actually experiencing something firsthand. I am sure Isobel feels the same way from a design point of view…
I have never experienced anything like it and I would highly recommend a visit! The challenge has definitely been set! We’ll let you know when the new site is live…

As for the title of this post… yes, Rob the perks of working at Quirk are FAB!

2007/01/15 | permalink | comments (2) | trackbacks (0)

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