South Africa Road Trip- Part 3

            We arrived to Kruger late in the evening. The sun was setting and we got out of the van that took us to Jo’burg and hopped onto another truck at the lodge that the other traveler was staying. Our guides on the truck were Wesley and Elvis and they were extremely knowledgeable. They asked us what the one animal is that we wanted to see. Usually people say “Everything” or “The big five” but I am not usual and I said that I wanted to see a jackal or a honey badger.  The sun began to set and a beautiful shadow was cast over the nature that we drove past. Our first spotting were a red-billed hornbill (Zazu from The Lion King) and multiple buffalo. We paid close attention to the sounds the buffalos made, like cows speaking a different dialect of “moo”. We continued further and saw springbok, impala, tons of guinea fowl, and a few black-backed jackals. I was so excited to see the jackals because Elvis slowly held a spotlight out and was alerted of their presence by the reflections of their eyes. My big (only) spotting of the night was a spring hare in the middle of an opening in the bush, which would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Joey’s big spotting was of a Scop’s owl, which was on a branch directly in front of our truck but by the time he saw it we had scared it away. Toward the end we saw a solitary large male kudu close to the path we were driving which stunned all of us.

It became too dark to see anything even with the spotlight. Before heading back Wesley quizzed us by asking which direction we needed to go to get back. We were so disoriented by the turns in the dark and there were absolutely no signs out in the wilderness. We were happy to be heading back to eat because we were starving. When we arrived back at the hotel dinner was served; soup first, then buffet style after. Joey and I sat with the other traveler and she was delightful to talk to. She came down to South Africa to work with an NGO. She was traveling alone so she decided to stay in the lodge near other people. Joey and I, on the other hand, voted for the tree house lodge which was a couple miles away. After a fabulous dinner we were driven back to our lodge and given a tour. A honey badger crossed the road and at first glance it looked like a skunk. When the drivers identified it all I could think of was the honey badger YouTube video I saw once and how I would never want to encounter one up close. The guide had us placed in the absolute last tent on the property, what felt like almost a mile into the woods. We passed a few signs requesting that we be accompanied by a guard on our walk to our accommodation as there is a risk of wildlife encounter. We arrived at our tent built on a platform with full beds and mattresses along with electricity in them. This was luxury. All night we could hear calls of different animals and in the morning we found out what they were.

 

              We had breakfast at the picnic benches outside and were served fresh hot food along with 3 other guests. One of the guests was an older woman traveling alone who had stayed in Kruger for a few weeks and was writing down all the animal tracks and where animals were sighted. She seemed pretty serious about it. We vaguely described the sounds that we had heard the night before and she and the others had identified it as a leopard. They explained that leopards grunt to make their presence known to the other animals and to corner them in a certain direction so that they could easily pounce.

            We left for our game drive through Kruger on another open truck early in the morning. Our first stop was the gift store where I had to buy a map, animal identification book, and 3 day log book. I was so excited to check off the animals as we saw them. Whenever we had our first spotting of a certain animal we would stop, stare, take pictures and remain in awe until the driver continued. Our driver took as  much enjoyment out of the experience as we did, I could tell because every time we stopped he would take his phone out to take a picture. Some people assume that when you go on a game drive it is just like going to see animals at the zoo, but I disagree. These animals are free and therefore you never know what you are going to see, or even what you won’t see. So, every time you do see something, you appreciate it. We were shocked to see…..

 a female lion prowl across the road, to see rhinos in the distance, to watch hippos lounge with birds eating bugs off their backs, giraffes standing in the middle of the road, a spotted hyaena sleeping next to the road, a warthog with her babies run in front of the truck, a mongoose disappear into the bush, huge birds, tiny colorful birds….. it all remained exciting!

 

              

When it was time to leave we were proud to say we saw 4 out of the big 5 (buffalo, lion, elephant, and rhino). Until someone drove past us on our way out and said they spotted a leopard. We worked so hard to see this leopard before the sun went down. Finally, we saw a glimpse of it and waited, causing a traffic jam. No one else knew what we were waiting for but simply remained patient. Finally it appeared, and crossed the road slowly as if it were putting on a performance. It was  the grand finale for the day.

               We came back to our campsite and we were the only people staying at Marc’s Treehouse Lodge so everything was catered to us. The food was prepared on an open fire and served to us on a picnic bench decorated with linen fit for a king. It was extremely romantic.

            The next morning we had a bush walk tour with the same guide as the day before. He carried a rifle for safety reasons. Just minutes into walking on the path we saw a giraffe directly in front of us. It gave us a very strange look and then walked away slowly. We also saw kudu all over. Our guide helped us to identify animal droppings and plants as well as the small five (including the ant lion). After our bush walk we took our final photos of the wildlife around the campsite (vervet monkeys, nyalas) and we said our goodbyes. It was a long trip back to Jo’burg but we treasured the memories that we had made in Kruger J  

Joey walking behind the giraffe (left)

http://www.marcscamp.com/ 

                        On the ride back we took a rest stop at Blyde River Canyon and were amazed! It is the 3rd largest canyon in the world and it is a rare "green canyon" due to the subtropical foliage.