Last day at Kruger

March 18, 2023

Back to Kruger (1) for a morning drive to try one final time to spot a leopard. On the Gomondwane loop, a large herd of elephants were bathing in a wet lowland area, including a baby who fell over a few times on the uneven ground. After the herd departed, and we set off on the road again, another large herd of elephants crossed the road in front of us to take their turn at the waterhole. I started to back up to keep my distance, but the herd had split and some elephants were also crossing behind us. Having no way out made me a little nervous, but we were quiet (2) and the herd passed without incident.  

Returning to Crocodile Bridge via the tar road, we spotted a pair of rare and endangered ground hornbills (3), one on each side of the road; much more elusive siting than a leopard. Night flight back home tonight after driving back to Johannesburg, with a stop for dinner in the town of Cullinan.

(1) The guard at the gate asked me to open the boot (trunk) so he could look. I pulled the lever by the driver's door which opened the bonnet (hood), not the boot. The guard closed the hood for me. Departing the park, I did the same thing (the car was a rental), and the same guard said: "We already did this this morning."

(2) Elephants have poor eyesight, so keeping quiet is usually the best way to avoid their notice.

(3) There are posters in the camps requesting visitors to report any sightings of the rare birds, which we did.

Baby elephants

Hibiscus flowers in profusion

The old tree was preserved when the road was built by passing on both sides. Note the giraffe to the east

Fairly common yellow-billed hornbill

Endangered southern ground hornbill; the birds can live up to 70 years.

Crossing Crocodile bridge on the way out of the park

South Sabie to Berg en Dal

March 17, 2023

Tented camp near Pretoriuskop was plan A for accommodations tonight, but that gate was closed recently due to high crime outside the gate. Plan B is the biggest Kruger rest camp at Skukuza, but heavy rains last month had washed out a bridge (and a number of other roads in the park) making this a very long drive. So, we booked a small lodge outside the park between Crocodile Bridge and Melanane gates, with easy access to the N4 highway back to Jo'burg Airport.

The dirt roads of the Crocodile River route on the south edge of the park involved fording a few rivers, with concrete in place to help non-4X4s make it across. My friend had not yet seen a leopard, so we continuously scanned the trees were leopards are wont to stay during the heat of the day; no luck. 

After a coffee break at Berg en Dal camp in the hillier southwest of the park, we headed toward the Melalane Gate late in the day (1). Still scanning the trees for leopard, we instead saw a small group of the elusive white rhinos (2).

A short drive outside the park on the highway, then down a very rough dirt road (3) brought us to our lodge for the night. Unfortunately, there were no dining facilities, so we bounced back up the gullied dirt road in the pitch dark to a restaurant a few miles away, dodging impala and other antelope species that appeared in the headlight's beams. 

(1) Vehicles (except park vehicles) must be off the roads (either in a camp or out of the park) by 6:00.

(2) As is common with many of the wildlife finds in the park, our attention was drawn to the animals by other cars stopping on the side of the road. It is common for drivers to stop and share sightings when passing. 

(3) Being a small side road, the grader had not yet made it here to repair the deep gullies caused by the February flooding.

The common Swainsons Spurfowl

Nursing zebra

Elephants huddling in the shade of a tree at midday

Baby impala

Fording a river. 

A car came from the opposite direction after me, but I waved him to cross first. It was not entirely courtesy, I wanted to see how deep the water was before venturing through myself.

 Thankfully the Toyota Starlet hatchback had decent ground (or water) clearance

Vervet Monkey grooming another at Berg en Dal

The elusive white rhino near Berg en Dal

Morning walk and evening braai, South Sabie Camp

March 16, 2023

Up early for a walk in the bush. On the drive out, we encountered a large pride of lions, with about 20 lions from cubs on up in the group. 

Alighting from the truck, the two rangers loaded rifles (just in case) and gave us instructions to remain quiet unless threatened by an animal. The group set off (single file) into the savannah. The two guides were at the front, while I started off in the rear (1). One's senses are heightened when walking in a game park with lions, leopards, elephants, &c. A pause at the riverside offered time for a snack and to watch the hippos in the river. 

On the ride back, a member of the large Spanish group on the walk asked me more about Hlane Park in eSwatini, where rhinos are common and which I had mentioned to him last night (2). 

The larger animals tend to be quiet in the heat of the day, so we watched a lot of birds, )including the fly catchers with their extravagant long tails) on our mid-day self drive. We got out of the car at the Mlondozi dam overlook (where alighting is permitted), watching the waterbok at the edge of the dam below.

At dusk, we set off for a braai (3) in the bush. We took the long way there, spying animals as we went. As it happens, the picnic was at the Mlondozi dam. An Australian family with two boys joined us; one of the boys even occasionally looked up from his game boy on the drive. The husband had done anti-poaching work through Africa over the previous decade, so he was very knowledgable. The atmosphere was fun eating in the unfenced picnic area, while hyenas howled far below.

(1) Each member of the group is in the rear in rotation. 

(2) Encountering the same people on multiple activities is not uncommon on Safari. While Afrikaaners are frequent visitors to the park, foreign travelers seem more likely to take organized game drives. 

(3) Barbeque in South African English.

First light at Kruger

Lions on the drive out to the early morning walk

At the Sabie River on the bush walk

The wildest thing we encountered at close range: a scrub hare

On the walk

My hut at Lower Sabie Rest Camp

Magpie Shrike

On our midday self drive

Snuggling lion brothers late in the day

Dusk in the lowveld

At the braai

To South Sabie Camp at Kruger

March 15, 2023

Our next two nights in Kruger were deeper into the park at the South Sabie Rest Camp. Kruger is easy for self-drive game viewing, so we took a slow ride north on the Nhlowa route near the eastern edge of the park, scanning for wildlife on the way. A tower of giraffes (1) was easy to see browsing on the trees, surrounded by a dazzle of zebra (2). These animals commonly graze together, with the long-view vision of the giraffes and the keen hearing of the zebra helping to keep both safe from predators in an example of informal inter-species cooperation.

Further north (and as the sun rose higher in the sky), large game were less visible, but birds remained active. A booted eagle landed in a nearby tree, and seemed (to me) to be struggling with a piece of grass in his mouth; my friend noticed it was actually the tail of a small critter the eagle was swallowing. Leaving your car is possible at a small blind about halfway between the camps, where we watched birds busily tending to their nests. 

The sunset (3) game drive leaving Lower Sable was in a larger game drive truck which was full. I sat next to a young couple in the last row of the truck. Judging by the accents, she was clearly American and he South African. She was a dancer on a cruise ship and he was the ship's photographer. 

A multi-generational herd of elephants was crossing behind us, and the elephant eyed the safari truck warily to protect the young elephants in the group. After sunset, we saw bush babies (tiny simian creatures) and a genet, a member of the cat family, slightly bigger than a house cat.

(1) As potential prey, newborn giraffes can run within a hour of birth. Many of the potential prey animals share a similarly short period of vulnerability before the animals can run from predators.

(2) "Tower" is the collective noun for a group of stationary giraffes, with "journey" used when the giraffes are in motion. A "dazzle" is a group of zebra.

(3) The animals are generally more active at sunrise and sunset, resting during the mid-day heat.

Giraffe and zebra grazing together

Dung beetle

Tawny eagle digesting his rodent snack

Thick-billed weaver tending the nest

A large dazzle toward dusk

Elephants passing behind us

Genet on the prowl after dark

Night drive at Crocodile Bridge, Kruger

March 14, 2023

We left Hlane late morning to drive back into South Africa to Kruger National Park. From the north end of Hlane to the southern border of Kruger is about 130 kms with almost continuous sugar cane fields on both sides of the road. The outbound Swazi border post was very modern and seemed designed to accommodate much more traffic than we encountered.

At lunch at a riverside restaurant just outside Kruger, my friend ordered eisbein, which the waiter said was wild duck. When the food arrived, we discovered we had both misheard; it was wild dog, which she ate and I tried.

After checking in at Crocodile Bridge rest camp, a night-time game drive beckoned. A young Dutch couple were the only other guests on the drive (1). She explained that she can understand Afrikaans (2) if spoken slowly. During the drive, she asked the driver to turn off the engine and all the lights, so we could enjoy the night sky deep in the bush (3), including a clear view unto our milky way galaxy; beautiful.

Each passenger was given a spotlight to scan the surrounding land for animals. Thousands of eyes reflected the light back. We saw our first hippos. With their sensitive skin, hippos stay in pools of water during the day and feed in the grass and bushes, traveling up to 9 miles during the night. The Dutch college student (with excellent vision) spied an African Wild Cat, about the size and markings of a tabby house cat. 

A group of impala on alert soon led us to discover a small pride of lions stalking them. The safari truck followed until two of the lions, having given up the hunt, began softly roaring. Upon returning to the camp, I had a restful night while warthogs kept the grass trimmed outside the tent

(1) She had just submitted her thesis for a bachelor's in philosophy, and took some time off for the trip.

(2) Afrikaans is the most common language spoken by whites in the area and was derived from Dutch.

(3) The stars are different than in the northern hemisphere, and the guide explained how to use the southern cross to orient oneself to the south.

Crossing Crocodile Bridge into Kruger

View of warthog from the tent

Mild roars from lions on night drive

Hlane Royal National Park

March 13 to 14, 2023

We passed pineapple plantations on the way from Mlilwane to the main road across eSwatini. A brand new highway has been built to the King Mswati III International airport (1). We took the new road east before joining the old two-lane road through torrential rain to the gate of Hlane Royal National Park, stopping frequenlty as cows and goats wandered into the road (2). Mlilwane focuses mainly on antelope species, while Hlane has more of the big game typical of an African Safari, including lion and elephants (3).

On the lawn outside the rondavel lodging at Ndvolu camp, nyalas were keeping the grass clipped. These animals are sexually dimorphous, with the females and juveniles light brown, while the adult makes are grey with the fur ending at their knees, which gives them a skateboarder with baggy short look.

On the sunset game drive, we saw the first elephants of the trip, a tower of Zebras and some white rhinos, a speciality of the park (4). No luck seeing lions, who are kept in a separate part of the park, which is also stocked with a modest number of antelope species, providing prey for the lions to hunt

The rondavel lodging here lack electricity, but copious parrafin lanterns are provided. We had better luck with the lions the next morning, spotting two on the sunrise game drive. Three people from France joined us. They had shipped safari vehicles to Capetown in November and had been on the road since that time. 

(1) A bit of a boondoggle, with no more arrivals or departures than the old airfield at Matsapha, which handled three or four regional jet flights per day from Johanesburg.

(2) Cows wandering into the road are also known as "Swazi stop lights."

(3) The Lion represents the king of eSwatini, while the elephant symbolizes the queen mother, the family matriarch. 

(4) The rhinos here keep their horns. In some other parks, rhinos have their horns removed to make them less desirable to poachers. 

"Swazi stop light" en route to Hlane

Triming the lawn at Hlane

The male nyala is grey

Paraffin lamps were the only light at the rondavel

Leaving the camp

European Roller, soon to migrate back to Europe

First giraffes

White Rhino

Nyala in the camp

Vultures waiting for carrion

Storm clouds at sunset 

Old elephant in lion area

Lion at Hlane

Picnic breakfast in the bush