Kruger Game Drive report

[Kimby]

This from an email home, after our 3 day game drive in Kruger in November, 2002:

Subj: second africa report
Date: 11/9/2002

Dear Family –
We are having a WONDERFUL time in South Africa!!!! Kruger Park is fabulous. Mom and Dad, you would LOVE this place! We have seen so many wild animals, too many to count. But I tried! The Big Five are lion, cape buffalo, rhino, elephant and leopard, and the first day we saw four of the five.

We had inquired at the park headquarters about lodging as we entered, and though all the Rest Camps we asked about were "fully booked," there was an opening at Talamati Bushveld Camp, in the north central part of the park, with "self-catering" cottages with BBQ grills and fully equipped kitchens- and a lovely veranda to enjoy, if the weather hadn’t been so cold.

On the all-day game drive to get to the bushveld camp (just us on our own with rental car and maps), we saw hundreds of impala (the base of the food chain), several other types of small antelope, troops of vervet monkeys (with babies), waterbucks, a couple dozen wildebeest, about 15 giraffes, 20-plus zebra, eleven cape buffalo, 6 elephants plus a baby, several warthogs, and possibly a bush pig. As we headed toward camp, we saw 4 kudu, then noticed 2 male lions walking right toward them in the late afternoon golden light. We turned around and watched the kudu as they scented the lions and bolted. The lions walked nonchalantly across the road right in front of the car!

But that wasn’t all. We saw a white rhino, and one or two cheetahs right on the way into camp. We aren’t sure how many there were because the car ahead of us, jockeying for a better camera angle, almost backed right into us and we had to blow the horn to prevent damage to our car! The cheetahs loped away at that. (The couple in the other car said they had seen two.) We also saw so many strange and beautiful birds as we drove along, especially the lovely lilac-breasted rollers.

That evening, we cooked impala T-bones on an electric broiler in the cottage (it was too cold and drizzly to use the "braai" = BBQ), and went to sleep to strange night noises and woke to exotic bird calls.

Next day, we got up at 5:30 for a full day of game driving. It was sunny and warmer, very pleasant. This was the big buffalo day. We saw over 300 in two large herds and several smaller groups. Also saw a baby giraffe and a baby zebra (both last season’s babies). We checked out lodging options at Satara rest camp - "fully booked" and so are the other 2 rest camps we wanted to stay at, but there was an opening at another Bushveld Camp in the southern part of the park called Biyamiti. Saw lots more game including a rhino with baby and more elephants, and 2 male lions resting in the shade.

And a few miles from camp we rounded a bend and there was a leopard at the edge of the road, 30 feet away! He scent-marked a big tree, rubbed his cheeks in it, then started walking parallel to the road, in and out of sight in the tall grass and bush. We followed in the car and watched him for quite a while. What a great experience!

Loved the new camp, grilled burgers and stir-fried veggies for dinner. Our room looked out on the mostly dry riverbed of the Sabie River, but there was enough water to attract 11 elephants the next morning, including 6 young of varying ages. We tried to get another night at this place, but it was "fully booked". The helpful gal called around while we watched the elephants, and found us a new place across the Crocodile River from the south edge of the park.

Another day of game driving began. Right away we saw buffalo and elephants, and then two lionesses and two cubs crossed the road 40 feet ahead of the car! How good can it get? As we followed the river toward the south, we saw 20-plus hippos in the water, and 12 more in a pool next to the river. Then we reluctantly left the park across the Crocodile Bridge.

Our new lodgings turned out to be wonderful, a tree house log cabin on stilts overlooking the Crocodile River with sunset views. We went out for dinner, slept on it, and decided to stay another night.

Did a side trip to Swaziland today, to visit two reserves. We saw 15 or more rhinos, including half a dozen babies. Also a few elephants and antelope. Also got to see more of the rural way of life on the drive down and back. Now it’s time to pack up and get ready to move to Namibia for a week....

BTW, wildlife watching in Namibia is completely different from game driving in Kruger. It's all centered on the water holes. You park near a water hole and watch the procession of animals, both predators and prey species, coming from miles around for a drink of water.

[bixaorellana]

This is absolutely enthralling, Kimby! It's mind-boggling to think that you can just show up, as it were, then have all that magnificent wildlife on display as it goes about its animal business.

Your details are so illuminating -- that impala are the base of the food chain, the odd "cheeky" bit of the leopard's scent marking, the exquisite image of the lions in the golden light -- all that & more.

A couple of practical questions ... did you all come prepared (with impala steaks?!), or are there stores for people staying in the park?

Reading this after looking at Tod's pictures of Kruger, over in Post Cards, really fleshed out what a stay in the park is like. Your descriptions are excellent and your enthusiasm infectious -- thanks!

[Kimby]

Mar 1, 2011 1:12:18 GMT bixaorellana said:

A couple of practical questions ... did you all come prepared (with impala steaks?!), or are there stores for people staying in the park?

The large "rest camps" have restaurants serving wild game as well as grocery stores with game meat for sale. The bushveld camps, where we stayed, have no restaurants or grocery stores and the gates are locked around sundown, meaning you must bring all your provisions with you. We bought frozen impala steaks as we passed through the rest camps, and wrapped them in towels for the day of game driving en route to our night's stay. The meat was nicely thawed and ready to cook by the time we arrived in camp. BTW, we found the rest camps fairly unappealing, but were charmed by the more intimate bushveld camps.

Thanks for your kind words, bixa. I made up that bit about the impala being the base of the food chain. They certainly are a primary food source for the predators, but there's lots of animals that don't eat impalas, too.

A side note - you sure don't need to hire a guide with a range rover to see wildlife in Kruger. The camp stores sell excellent maps and illustrated booklets with pictures of each animal and bird. And if you aren't good at game-spotting yourself, just watch for other vehicles that are pulled over. It's a sure bet that they've spotted something worth looking at.

Having done a guided safari in East Africa, I got much more satisfaction in South Africa from finding our own game, rather than having a guide drive us to animals that had been spotted by other guides and were then surrounded by up to 15 safari vehicles.

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, Kimby.

Your last two paragraphs speak volumes and certainly answer questions that would be asked over and over by people contemplating a similar trip.

At any point did you all just pull over to sit and wait for whatever might reveal itself, or is it recommended to keep moving?

[Kimby]

In Namibia, that's what we did, but in Kruger we mostly kept moving. Although we did stop so the driver could nap off his jet lag a couple times, and I watched birds while Mr. Kimby dozed.

[Kimby]

BTW, the maps we had came in booklet form and I marked where we saw each group of animals as we went. Makes a pretty nice souvenir.

[tod2]

Kimby, that is a GREAT summary of how the days go in Kruger! The game is so unpredictable and keep coming from all directions and around the next bend in the road! Somedays the game seems to have vanished into thin air and no matter which road you choose - come up empty handed. The thing is to always look forward to the next day. Don't feel badly or jealous if you hear conversations telling others what a great lion kill or leopard they saw that day. When in camp your neighbors are close so sometimes they ask you "what did you see today?" "WHAT! You saw lions! Where, where!!! "
We tell them they are probably long gone - just keep driving around looking for OTHER things!

[tod2]

Kimby - I forgot to say you must have had bad luck with the weather turning cold in November. It is usually stinking hot and December, January, February all have the temps soaring into the 32C - we hit 36C on this last trip but I keep the aircon in the vehicle on full all day!

[Kimby]

I've posted about our week in Namibia on deyana's site:
sunnyds.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=africa&thread=1275

[onlymark]

However, if one is not a member one cannot access this probably delightful report.
*thought I'd try a posh accent today*

[Kimby]

Well, it doesn't cost anything to set up an account there.
But would you like me to also post it on here?

[onlymark]

I see you have now, muchas grassy arse.