Our Gay Safari Love Story: Falling for Kariega Settlers Drift

Bakubung founders Thabo and Katlego smiling on the back of a Kariega Game Reserve safari vehicle under a bright blue sky

We don’t usually put ourselves in front of the camera. We’re the people behind Bakubung Safaris & Tours — the ones planning your honeymoon, your bucket-list game drive, your first time seeing an elephant in the wild. But this story is different. This one is ours.

We are Thabo and Katlego, a couple and the proud founders of this little company we’ve poured our hearts into. On the 20th of August we finally did the thing we’re always telling our clients to do: we switched off, packed a bag, and went on safari ourselves — to Kariega Game Reserve’s Settlers Drift lodge in the malaria-free Eastern Cape. What happened there reminded us exactly why we do this work. So pour yourself something, my friend, and let us tell you about it. ❤️

Why Settlers Drift, and why now

After years of building safaris for other people, we wanted to experience one as a couple — not as tour operators inspecting a property, but as two men in love who simply wanted to be spoiled. Settlers Drift sits deep inside Kariega — normally reached by a scenic boat transfer across the Bushmans River, though during our visit recent floods meant we drove in by car, which gave us an unexpected bonus: game-viewing along the road before we even checked in. It is remote, quiet, and impossibly romantic. And because it is in the Eastern Cape, it is malaria-free — one less thing to think about, more time to just be.

Aerial view of Settlers Drift lodge nestled in the bush above the Bushmans River at Kariega Game Reserve

The view from the Kariega game-drive vehicle — a dirt track winding past a tranquil lake with green hills in the distance

Sure enough, the drive in delivered. Before we’d even unpacked, we were slowing down for giraffe ambling across the road and grazing against the rocky hills — our welcome committee, Kariega-style.

A giraffe walking through lush green bush below a rocky hillside at Kariega Game Reserve, caught on the drive in

Two giraffes moving across the green valley beneath a dramatic rocky ridge at Kariega

Thabo and Katlego laughing together and holding hands on the safari vehicle

The luxury tents: glamping, but make it magic

We stayed in the luxury tented suites, and let us be honest with you — the word “tent” does them no justice at all. Think polished wooden decks, a private plunge area, enormous beds dressed in white linen, and canvas walls that zip open to the sound of the bush waking up. At night the only soundtrack is frogs, distant lions and the wind in the trees. In the morning, coffee on the deck under a giant tree while the reserve slowly comes alive.

The exterior of a Settlers Drift luxury tent — wooden deck with lounge furniture, canvas roof, freestanding bath, and lush bush all around

Inside the Settlers Drift luxury tent — a king-size bed dressed in white linen, wood-burning stove, ceiling fan, and canvas walls opening onto the private deck

Thabo and Katlego standing together on the wooden deck of their Settlers Drift luxury tent, shaded by a large tree

It is the kind of place that makes you slow your breathing without even trying. We’d spend the golden hour on that deck, a glass of wine in hand, not saying much, just grateful — and when the Eastern Cape night turned cool, we’d retreat inside to the wood-burning stove, an ice-cold Castle Lager in hand, and let the fire do the talking.

A cold Castle Lager held in front of the glowing wood-burning stove inside the Settlers Drift luxury tent

One of the founders enjoying a glass of wine on the Settlers Drift deck at golden hour

The moment we’ll never forget: elephants and buffalo

Every safari gives you a story. Ours arrived on a game drive when we came upon a herd of elephants moving through the bush — and right alongside them, a wall of buffalo. The two great presences of the African wild, together, close enough to hear them breathe. Our guide cut the engine. Nobody spoke. A young elephant flapped its ears; the buffalo watched us with that ancient, unbothered stare.

A herd of buffalo grazing on green hills at Kariega Game Reserve, photographed by the founders during their game drive

We reached for each other’s hands without thinking about it. That was the magic — not just the animals, but sharing them with the person you love, in a place that made us feel completely free to do exactly that. We’ve chased a lot of moments in this life. That one is right at the top.

Close-up of buffalo with massive curved horns at Kariega, part of the unforgettable encounter

The reserve kept giving. As the light turned golden, a giraffe crossed the track right in front of us and paused against the sunset — the kind of scene you think only exists in postcards until it’s standing there in front of you.

A giraffe silhouetted on the road against a golden Kariega sunset

A giraffe grazing at golden hour as the sun sets behind the Kariega tree line

Later came the sundowners — our ranger pulling the green Kariega Land Cruiser onto a rise, folding out a little bar across the bonnet, drinks poured while we stood in the grass with our binoculars, the sky doing that ridiculous orange-and-pink thing it does out there. We stood shoulder to shoulder and toasted to us.

The green Kariega Game Reserve Land Cruiser parked on a rise, our ranger setting up sundowner drinks on the bonnet while we take in the rolling hills

Our ranger pouring sundowner drinks laid out across the vehicle bonnet, the green Kariega valley stretching out behind

And the mornings were just as special — steaming coffee brewed out in the bush, cupped in cold hands, with nothing but green hills and birdsong for company.

One of the founders smiling and holding out a cup of freshly brewed bush coffee, green Kariega hills rolling out behind

Welcomed, celebrated, and never once judged

Here is the part that matters most to us, and the reason we’re writing this at all.

As a same-sex couple, there is always a small, quiet calculation you make before you arrive somewhere new: Will we be okay here? Will we have to shrink ourselves? At Settlers Drift, that calculation dissolved the moment we stepped out of the car. From the staff who greeted us by name, to the way our booking as a couple was treated as the most natural thing in the world, we were welcomed, celebrated, and never once judged. Holding hands at dinner, sharing a room, being ourselves — all of it was simply, warmly normal.

The founders and a friend ready for a game drive aboard the iconic green Kariega Game Reserve vehicle

South Africa is one of the safest and most progressive destinations on the continent for LGBTQI+ travellers — same-sex marriage has been legal here since 2006, and our constitution protects us. But legal protection on paper and feeling genuinely safe and seen are two different things. Kariega gave us both. That is exactly the feeling we want every one of our guests to have.

Portrait of Thabo and Katlego looking at each other on the Kariega game-drive vehicle

Why we only sell what we’ve lived

This trip crystallised something for us. We only want to send you to places we have personally felt safe, spoiled and celebrated. We’re not interested in reselling a glossy brochure — we want to hand you the exact experience that made us fall in love all over again.

That’s the whole heart of Bakubung: a proudly LGBTQI+-founded safari company that plans your trip like we’d plan our own anniversary. Because, well — we do.

What a stay like ours costs

We believe in honest numbers, so here is a realistic guide (per couple, subject to season and availability):

3-night Eastern Cape luxury tented escape — from R24,999
5-night Kariega luxury safari (like ours) — from R49,999
7-night safari + Cape Town combo — from R64,999
10-night safari + beach honeymoon — from R89,999

Every itinerary is tailor-made, so tell us your dates, your dream and your budget, and we’ll build it around you.

Come and have your own magic

If our story stirred something in you, let’s make yours. Whether it’s a honeymoon, an anniversary, a milestone birthday or simply a “we deserve this” trip, we would be honoured to plan it.

➡️ Start planning your safari — or reach us directly and let’s dream out loud together.

And if you’d like to read more about travelling as an LGBTQI+ couple in Africa, we’ve poured a lot of love into these guides:

With love and a full heart,

Thabo & Katlego Founders, Bakubung Safaris & Tours 🌿🏳️‍🌈