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

Mlilwane Reserve, Eswatini

March 12 to 13, 2023

An old friend had never been on Safari before, so we hopped on a flight to Johannesburg in South Africa. After renting a car at the airport (which always takes an hour for some reason), we headed east towards eSwatini (1), gaining altitude as we went. After crossing the Swazi border, we headed north towards the Nsangwini Bushman painting site, with cave paintings dating to 4,000 years ago. The route passes mountainous Malolotja National Park, then over Maguga Dam (2), which provides  hydropower to the region.

While there was a sign for Nsangwini just past the dam, we were unable to find the turn for the dirt road down to the cave (3). The info center back at the dam called and told us the site was closed for the day. Back to the main highway and on to Mlilwane (3) Reserve, arriving about 5:00 (4). 

The area surrounding the hilltop lodge at Mlilwane (5) is designated as a location for breeding populations of various antelope species being reintroduced to eSwatini. These species include red hartabeest and waterboks, with the distinctive white ring on their rumps. Ruth was in charge of the lodge and made excellent yeasty rolls and wildebeest sausage at dinner. A ranger came by and pointed out the Swazi Royal Palace in the valley below (6).

Breakfasting the next day, we saw blue and red duikers, among the smallest of the antelope species, who seemed to enjoy the grass at the lodge's garden. The blue duiker's tail was swishing so fast, it was a blur. An enormous male waterbok suddenly appeared from the woods to munch on some corn left out on a stone platform (we had originally thought for the birds). What magnificent horns on the creature.

We hiked further up the hill to a rocky outcropping offering fine views of grazing herds on the reserve below (7) and the Ezulwini Valley beyond. Driving through the reserve's plains toward later, we encounterd nyalas, wildebeest, and a dazzle of Zebras. Near the exit gate, we encountered some baby warthogs and a small group of blessbok (8).

(1) Until 2019, the country was called Swaziland. "Eswatini" is equivalent to Swaziland in siSwati, the local language. 

(2) A dam in southern Africa refers to the structure itself, plus the body of water behind the dam. 

(3) The map I had was sponsored by Kentucky Fried Chicken. While the 11 KFC locations in the country were marked accurately in the map, the location of the cave art was less accurately plotted. 

(3) The name means "little fire" in siSwati for the frequent fires set by lightning on the property (a).

(a) A cattle ranch was established here in the early 1900s by a British soldier who had fought in the Boer War. His son, Ted Reilly, converted the ranch to a nature preserve to reintroduce African animals that were no longer present in Swaziland.

(4) The gate closes at 6:00, and we needed to drive inside the reserve to the hilltop lodge before sunset. Having rained this afternoon  (and the road being infrequently used the last few years due to Covid) it was a slippery and bumpy ride up the hill in our little hatchback.

(5) The lodge is the former home of the Reilly family, the ranch owners; absolutely charming. 

(6) King Mswati III is one of the few remaining absolute monarchs in the world.

(7) There are no predatory animals at this reserve, so the animals can graze unmolested.

(8) So-called because of a white cross on their noses.

At Malotja Nature Reserve in the Highveld

Red hartebeest

Waterbok near Reilly's 

Male Waterbok in the lodge garden

Female Waterbok in the garden

Blue duiker, with trailhead in the background

Red Duiker

View of reserve from atop Reilly's Rock

Mt. Nyonyane

The lodge, former rancher's home

Wildebeest/Gnu on reserve road

Termite mound

At Mlilwane

Female Kudu on alert

Blessbok near the gate