Ever dreamed of running a safari lodge? Thijs Claassen did—and then found himself fixing water pipes at dawn, dodging elephants, and managing last-minute vegan wedding requests… in the middle of the African bush! In this episode, we take you inside Elephants Crossing, a lodge nestled in the breathtaking, malaria-free “Welgevonden Game Reserve”, where Thijs and his wife Noortje built their dream after leaving the Netherlands.

Expect funny stories, heartwarming moments, and a glimpse into what it takes to run a luxury lodge in the wild. Plus, why are elephants called "the ninjas of the bush"? Tune in to find out! 🐘

Deutsch: Du kannst diesen Podcast auch auf Deutsch hören: “Africa with André auf Deutsch”

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Elephants Crossing Lodge: https://elephants.crossinglodges.com/

Welgevonden Game Reserve: https://www.welgevonden.org/

South African Tourism – Limpopo province: https://south-africa.net/south-africa/limpopo/

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Episode 14 - Elephants Crossing with Thijs

[00:00:08] André: Hello and welcome to a new episode of my podcast.

Hi Thijs, and welcome to my podcast. Good to have you here.

[00:00:36] André: Yeah, it's great to have you here. Many people visit South Africa to go and see the animals. They want to experience game drives and see the Big Five. Most people then think about the Kruger National Park in the east of the country, on the border to Mozambique, or maybe the Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape.

But there are many, many places to see animals. South Africa has 19 national parks and over 1, 300 nature reserves or game reserves.

Our conversation today revolves around the Welgevonden Game Reserve, which is located in the Waterberg region of South Africa, which itself is about two to three hours north of Johannesburg by car.

[00:01:31] Thijs: Yeah, thanks André.

Give us one or two examples of surprises, good and bad.

Ja, it's a question we get quite a lot. I think people sort of romanticize the whole idea of owning a lodge. I always compare it a bit with, at least me and my friends used to hang out in bars quite a lot in the Netherlands, and we always enjoyed that a lot, so we always thought, how awesome would it be to own a bar?

You must think, we came out of the city in the Netherlands and we moved here to, to Welgevonden because we lived at the lodge in the beginning. And it was elephants around the lodge, every day breaking water pipes.

So, we woke up and there was no water again. And then you're fixing water pipes here. You're fixing water tanks. You're busy. They broke trees again over the roads. We are cutting trees away. So yeah, it's a completely different life than, what you would think, I guess.

People think it's this beautiful thing, and for us it is, because it's our passion, but you really must have a passion for hospitality and be able to not work with the schedule, I always say, because every day is completely different.

[00:03:26] Thijs: It is. It is. And that also is for us, the fun part for it. I mean, you must really be quick on your feet, think quick and work as a team together with the people that you work with.

And that's also the other side of it. You work with people in a different culture, and especially South Africa, with the history that it has as a country with apartheid, which might not be there a hundred percent anymore on paper, but in the area where we are, you still feel it here and there.

And if you come in as a white foreigner, who's investing and starting a business, um, that's something that we struggled with in the beginning, that people, yeah, had to get used to our way of working together, and not wanting to be a boss, to call it like that, to really build something together.

So, it was a challenge, but it's so fulfilling. If you look back now, after three, four years where we're standing now, compared to, to, to how we came in. If you don't mind working hard, if you have a big passion and love for hospitality, then I think a place like where we are, is like the holy grail.

So you need to rely very heavily on the staff that you have, and their knowledge and expertise. Tell me about the staff that you have, because that is a very important part of fulfilling your dream.

And if you really want to have that whole experience and have the feeling that you feel at home, or that you feel welcomed, the team is the most important thing in that. We've been incredibly fortunate with the people that we get to work with. Our team has been amazing since day one.

Most of the team has been with us since moment one. And has been growing with us ever since, that's something that we are very happy with. It's exactly what you say, it's so important to have a team that understands what you want, and where you want to go to and embraces that as well.

Before we talk about the lodge, Thijs, tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up and how did you end up buying a lodge in the Welgevonden?

We know each other from the hotel school, and we had a huge passion and love for outdoors. And we sort of always had a dream to start a company together. In the beginning, we were thinking quite small, about something in Utrecht, in the city where we used to live.

And then we got the opportunity to buy lodges in South Africa. And where many people might think that it's a huge step and something that you must think about, because you're leaving behind family and friends and everything, for us from moment one, it was actually exactly the other way around.

We said, we're going to regret it, if we're not going to do this. It appealed to us immediately, that we thought if we don't do this, then in five years’ time, we're going to kick ourselves in the head for not taking this chance, and not looking to see if we can find a better quality of life somewhere else.

So, that's why we wanted to go to South Africa and Welgevonden. We like a challenge. Welgevonden was not that well known when we came here four years ago. It was still a growing area, and we were just looking at ticking boxes for ourselves. So, one of the things we wanted, it had to be close to Johannesburg or to a big city so that it was easy to travel.

And we were looking for an area that is quite safe.

[00:07:36] Thijs: There's barely any day tourism here in the area where we are, that is a huge advantage. And it's malaria free, which is for us to live in, a quite nice.

[00:08:00] André: Yeah, it's a beautiful, beautiful part of the world. I have for a long time in my life lived by the philosophy of, "you regret more the things that you don't do, than the things that you do do". So, I can fully understand how you thought it's the right thing to do because you would regret it if you don't do it.

Elephants Crossing quickly became one of my favourites in the Welgevonden, and my colleagues and I did visit quite a few lodges in the area, because you've got incredible views. I think that's the thing I miss the most about living in Africa, is these endless views, that you also have.

Your tents are beautiful and comfortable, the food is incredible, the lady who runs your kitchen, wow. But behind the scenes, there's a lot that needs to be planned. Tell us about one or two of the things that you and your team need to consider that the guests might not realize, because you need to do some clever planning, because you can't just, go to the shop a hundred meters away or 500 meters away.

Recently we had it, that it was in December period, I mean, that's for us, the most busy period there is, so we try to almost in a military way, prepare everything, so that everything goes as smooth as possible. And then a guest walks in that we spoke with, I don't know how many times before, asked about any special requirements or dietary requirements, and apparently the guest decided a week before she arrived with us that she became vegan.

[00:09:37] Thijs: And the chefs didn't prepare for that.

In the end now, a couple of weeks later, we have a big laugh about it with the team, on how we had to rush here and there to get the stuff in, and eventually that's what I meant with, it's not for everyone. If you can't cope with those kinds of things, you won't last long, especially not here in the bush.

But for us, we've got the team around us. We know we can trust on each other and people get things done.

We had a wedding at Elephants Crossing, during last Christmas. And then all the stuff that comes with it, like a wedding official photographer, flowers, to get everything organized, to get it into the bush.

I mean, the closest village that we have is Vaalwater, which is quite a small village, and they don't have much. It's an hour and a half driving from the lodge. So, to get all those people in for a couple of hours, it was quite a logistical challenge. But in the end, with the team, with the guests, we managed everything.

They had a beautiful day. We really enjoyed it. So that's the tricky thing when it comes to all the planning and making sure that everything is there. If something breaks down...

[00:10:42] Thijs: And when you, when you have that in Europe, when you're close to the city, it's already a challenge. But if you're going to tell her here, like, yeah, we need to quickly go up and down to town, which is going to cost us three hours. And I think that, that the elephants weren't our biggest threat at that moment then anymore.

Talking of elephants, why is the lodge called Elephants Crossing? I think I found out why when I was there, but uh, tell us.

So, I walked out of the room, looked outside what I could see, and I had a torch with me and I shined it to the left and all of a sudden three meters away from me was this huge elephant bull.

I can tell you, coming from the city, I was immediately back a couple of steps back into the tent, closed the door, but then I started to look outside and there was a group of I think 20, 25 elephants walking around there, like they just owned the place.

And the next day we were sitting at the lodge at the swimming pool and the elephants came and they were drinking out of the pool, two, three meters away from them. So, we knew by then we had to do something with that name.

Um, and we wanted to redo the whole lodge, we had to renovate it completely, to get it to our standards. And at the same time, we also took over the other lodge, which you mentioned already, Zebras Crossing, and that lodge was already doing quite well. We liked the whole concept, the name, and we wanted something that was recognizable for people.

And so that's why we came up with the overall company Crossing Lodges with the two locations that we have Zebras Crossing and Elephants Crossing.

[00:12:47] Thijs: They call them the Ninjas of Bush.

It's crazy how silent those animals can be, while they're so big. They still surprise me sometimes when I'm walking through the camp and all of a sudden, I turn around and 10 meters behind me there's an elephant walking. And you don't hear it coming.

Do some quick marketing for your lodge and for the region. Why should guests come to Welgevonden and then specifically to Elephant's Crossing?

If you look at the Why, all the things which I already mentioned: it's a malaria free area, it's so much closer to Johannesburg than many other reserves, so you don't lose that much time traveling.

I didn't even know when I was living in the Netherlands, that there were places like that. And then Welgevonden is very well known for its rhino population. And we are very proud to say that we are one of the few Big Five game reserves in Southern Africa that doesn't do dehorning.

[00:14:55] André: It's true. We, I think we saw, we saw more rhinos than we did Impala that day.

So you will actually see more animals than cars. And that's also something which is quite unique for Big Five reserves. You really have the feeling that you are in nature again, in the bush, in, in the environment of the animals because it's their territory, it's their area, it's not ours.

We are one of the few proper tented camps, so when you're laying at night, you hear the wildlife around you. You'll hear the jackals calling, you'll hear the hyenas calling, if there's an elephant outside drinking out of your pool, you actually hear it. And that's amazing.

We are also one of the few lodges that accept children from all ages. Noortje and I, in the meantime, in the last four years, next to running the company, we also got two amazing children. So we want to make sure that everyone with a family can experience that.

I remember the first time that my two-year-old son saw an elephant and the look on his face, I'll never forget that. That's something so amazing. And we really try to create a home away from home for, for many people, that's one of the things that you guys encountered as well, and there's some of the feedback that we've been receiving from the guests, that they really feel at home. And that's something that we are incredibly proud of.

Just for those listeners that don't know, the name "Welgevonden" is a Dutch word which means "well found" or a " serendipitous discovery".

I think that name is very good, because like you say, the reserve has a lot of different vegetation. It has, it has mountains, hills, it has open spaces, it has phenomenal game viewing.

And all the lodges in the reserve have a maximum of five or six rooms. That means, it's a very personal experience.

Tell us one or two funny stories or heartwarming stories, that you've experienced since you took over the lodge.

And the grandfather of that family had one spot on the farm. It's a beautiful lookout point with a steep hill down, which he loved to sit, and he could sit for hours. And after he passed away, already way before we took over, they actually, threw out his ashes from that point. And they always came back there.

And last year, we got a call, we knew that they were coming, but one of the boyfriends, called us like, "listen, is it possible for me to ask my girlfriend to marry me on that point? Because it means so much for the family. I got the blessing from the family. I would love to do it there". And we went there with the whole family. It was a big surprise for everyone. And it still gives me goosebumps if I talk about it.

The feeling that came out of something like that was for us so, so amazing.

And with the whole team, everyone know them so well. So it was such a heartwarming thing.

And, on the funny side,

Well, from that weekend, actually, that they were there, I now know that traveling with a big family like that, 13 people for two or three weeks is not for everyone. That family, you, I don't know if you know the Italian temperament to call it like that, but we could hear them everywhere. They wanted to go home very badly. And for the team, it was just, we laughed so much. We didn't understand anything from what was happening, but it was,

[00:19:02] Thijs: Yeah, luckily it was the end of that trip, but it took a little bit too long for them, I think.

Thijs, I like to finish off my episodes with, questions about favourites. So tell me, what is your favourite spot in the Welgevonden Game Reserve?

Because of course I should say that it's our lodge but there's one other place in the middle of the reserve.

It's a big open field, and then there's some huge, ancient African Fig trees on it. The field is named after, they call it Fig Tree Plain; we always love to go there for sundowners because that field is so big, you always have a lot of animals walking around there.

A lot of rhinos, for example, love to graze there at the end of the day. So, then we're standing there with friends or with guests, and we're enjoying our gin and tonic or a beer. And then you're just standing five meters away from the rhinos, while you see that sun going down.

And with the fig trees around you, you can just, I always just have to imagine what those trees must have seen already. Because we're talking about trees that are hundreds of years old. And that's one of my favourite spots to always go to.

[00:20:18] Thijs: You're more than welcome to come.

[00:20:25] Thijs: I think that's an easy one as well. We've spoken about elephants already many times. And for me, those creatures deserve massive respect. I've had many times that I was sitting in one of the rooms, and the elephants came to drink out of the plunge pools that are at the rooms. And then you're literally just sitting two meters away, three meters away from an elephant while it's drinking.

And then you can actually look it straight in the eyes, you see the eyelashes, you see all the wrinkles on the face, how the trunk moves when they drink, and I can look at that for hours. It's something so special.

I think it's something that everyone in their life should have seen once, at least. To encounter something like that, to actually see wildlife from so close by, and you'll have a different idea afterwards on what nature is and how we need to help them sort of to maintain the areas that are theirs.

[00:21:19] Thijs: Thank you so much for inviting me. It's a great pleasure.

We also learned about the Welgevonden Game Reserve north of Johannesburg, and why it's a fantastic place to visit.

A big thank you to you, the listeners. I trust you found today's episode interesting as well, and maybe you're inspired to include that in your next trip to South Africa.

I would be very grateful if you can take a moment to rate this podcast on Spotify or Apple and tell your friends and family about it.

Until next time.