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.
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
The elusive white rhino near Berg en Dal
No comments:
Post a Comment