Day 4– Drifters South Africa 18-day Tour

Kruger National Park

2 September 2011  

After a light breakfast of toast, cereal, and little heart-shaped waffles, we left Caroline and the Drifters Lodge and headed for the Phabeni Gate into Kruger National Park. The gate is only 30 kilometers from Hazyview so we arrived there before 9 o’clock.

Sadly, our truck was confined to the paved roads as Kruger officials and tour operators haggle over use of the smaller gravel roads. The maximum speed in the park is 50 kilometers an hour, but cars are typically traveling only half that speed as passengers and drivers alike are busy trying to spot game. 

Kruger is home to the Big 5 – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo – so named because these are the animals most hunters would want to bag and paid a lot of money to try and do so. The farther we got from the gate without seeing anything brought out my inner pessimist. We had only been in the park 15 or 20 minutes and already the thought that we’d drive around for hours and see little or no game came creeping into my head. 

The real Africa sprawled out around me, barren and leafy trees dotting the landscape, the thick brown grass standing nearly 2 foot tall. Coming at the tail end of winter as we did offers much better game viewing opportunities. In the summer, every tree is ripe and green, the grass and bushes thicker and taller, and the rains mean there is an abundance of water throughout the park.

Africa - including elephants  

The most prevalent animal in Kruger is the impala, and we saw the first of many sightings just after I was starting to lose hope. By the end of our stay in the park we would see family units, breeding herds, and the ever-testosterone fueled bachelor herds.

The ever inquisitive baby impala!  

Milton drove into a cul-de-sac to view a large watering hole where a pod of hippos had claimed a section of water. Perched high above them, an African fish eagle stood watch over the herd of impala on the far side of the water. The bird was a long way off, even with my telephoto lens, but I did snap off a picture that vaguely resembles a bird.

The African Fish Eagle - as good as I could get  

Barb had come to Africa hoping to see zebras and soon after she wasn’t disappointed. Half a dozen mingled with an impala herd, close enough to pose for a few pictures. A group of zebras, by the way, is known as a dazzle. Just in case this pops up on any quizzes you may be attending in the near future.

Not a dazzle - just dazzling 

Even though we had an amazing experience with elephants only 2 days previous, the first elephant encounter in Kruger was every bit as special. The patriarch of this pachyderm family unit was nothing short of stunning. His tusks were twice as long as the other elephants, and in this case, size does matter. Milton estimated the elephant to be around 40 years old – and experts say elephants live around 45 years in the wild.

The big guy. Sadly, the tiny photo doesn't do him justice  

A short drive down the road brought us upon some warthogs close enough to get a good photo. Some people think they are ugly but they’re actually kind of funny. When they run around their tails stick straight in the air like some kind of aerial, and when they’re digging in the ground like a primitive but effective bulldozer they are a joy to watch.

We were running parallel with the Sabie River, although we were only offered brief glimpses most of the journey. We crossed a small bridge, the iron culvert sticking out from the right side of the bridge, the left side a sand bar with a rather impressive monitor lizard catching some rays.

Monitor Lizard  

Next on the list was a herd of kudu, all females and youngsters. We had seen kudus before, so I didn’t need to check them off my list; but it was still a special sight. I had been to Africa before, and had seen many of these animals before, but I’ll never tire of it. And Kirsty had never been and it was just as much fun watching her reactions to all the new experiences as it was experiencing them myself. I am an animal nut. You can drop me off at a zoo and I’ll be happy. Stick me in an African game park and I’m ecstatic.

A female Kudu 

The road ran alongside the river again and Milton stopped to point out some comorants and storks, and then mentioned the crocodile basking in the sun at the end of the sand bar. Before we left, a car that came to stop by the river mentioned something to Milton. I tried to listen in and I thought he said “lions” but that was probably just what I wanted to hear.

Saddle-Billed Stork

A couple of turtles lounging in the sun 

A submerged Hippo

The Cape Buffalo

Another elephant 

Milton drove off down the road in the direction of the loop the driver had told him. We passed some giraffes and more impalas, before reaching the short drive in to the loop. One of the cars coming out stopped to tell Milton, “lions sleeping down by the river.” Most of us heard and to say we weren’t excited would be a stone cold lie. Milton edged the truck forward and managed to squeeze in providing us the best possible view he could. Our seats in the truck were 6 foot off the ground so we could easily see over all the cars. We scanned the immediate area and Kirsty spotted them before I did – two female lions lying in the reeds trying to stay out of the sun. The constant whirring of digital cameras took over the truck and after snapping off around 20 of our own, Milton pulled away to let other people have a glimpse. At 11:15 am, I actually saw my first lion in the wild. Not that I’ll remember it or anything like that.

Meow pretty kitty

They didn't care about us - but we sure were excited about them 

We stopped at Skukuza Camp, the largest in the park before going for lunch at one of the picnic spots where we were inundated by my new favorite bird – the Cape glossy starling.

The Cape Glossy Starling

Even Kirsty thought this guy was cute 

While the afternoon was not nearly as legendary as the morning (having seen more animals than I can count), it did bring us some more surprises, including a brief but confirmed sighting of the back of a leopard’s head. I saw the cat first when we pulled over by all the other cars and I grabbed my camera from Kirsty. The rest of the crew raced to the back window where I was for the best view but Kirsty, unfortunately, didn’t get to see it before he went into hiding again.

The back of a Leopard's head

This guy was also watching the Leopard

Giant Kingfisher - a beautiful bird

Playing peek-a-boo with a Giraffe is a tall order. GROAN!!

The rest of the afternoon brought us baboons, a stunning male kudu, and three small antelopes in the bushbuck, steenbok, and klipspringer.

A baby elephant

A Sharpe's Grysbok

The Klipspringer  

Moments before we got to Pretoriuskop Camp our path was blocked by a couple of young bull elephants, obviously full of piss and vinegar. Once the coast was clear, we got to camp, cute little rondavels, and feasted on some great beef stroganoff and reminisced about the great day of game viewing that we were fortunate enough to share with each other.

Our cabin

The Helmeted Guinea Fowl

Another African sunset