Chameleon, they have the strangest way of "walking",
hovering back and forth at each step
We
were up and about quite early and headed off to breakfast, this time
going through the garden route rather than back round and through
reception. The sprinklers were on so it was a matter of dashing
through to try and not get wet. What I’d though was a sprinkler that
went clockwise in a circle turned out to be one that waves through a
180 degree angle so I got my second shower of the day. Breakfast was
as good as dinner last night and again we both ate far too much. We
had a friendly welcome at reception as we checked out from the same
lady who had checked us in yesterday and she confirmed they did have
availability tonight if we needed it.
Within a few minutes we were back at the park gate again and
this time managed to get through. We signed up for a Wild card,
which costs us about four times as much as South African residents.
It gives you unlimited access to all about twenty different national
parks throughout the country and for a couple you only need to visit
for about 6 days to get your money’s worth. We drove up to Skukuza
camp to find that their systems were still not working today so they
again could not confirm where there was accommodation available in
the park. Stef was making very sarcastic comments under his breath
about what a “Mickey mouse” outfit it was. I gave him my standard
lecture about how hard it is for front line service staff when their
computer systems let them down and they have to put up with rude and
obnoxious customers. It soon shut him up.
We checked the sightings board to see what had been seen and
where yesterday. There seemed to have been lots of activity on the
main road so we decided to head that way. Before setting off though
we went to the shop to see if they had vacuum flasks expecting a
shop selling basic supplies as we had encountered in the National
Parks in Namibia. Lonely Planet also says the shops only sell
essentials and that if you are self catering it is better to stock
up outside the park, hence our stop in Hazyview yesterday. Nothing
could be further from the truth. The shop was like a mini
supermarket selling a wide range of food (fresh and tinned), camping
supplies, a full off licence and a large selection of souvenirs. We
needn’t have stopped at Hazyview at all!
Finally we made it out onto the road. For about the first 15km
the road followed the Sabie River and every now and again there were
places where you could pull off to have a look at what was going on
in the water. Here we saw our first hippos of the day, usually
nothing more than the hump of their backs sticking out above the
water but every now and again they came up for air as well. At one
point on the far bank one was lying on the ground sunning itself, a
hug black creature that was easily mistaken for a rock.
Further on we saw some people had pulled up to the side of the
road and stopped on a nearby bridge over the river. Here we were
treated to a fabulous display as a herd of elephants made its way
along the riverbank. These are really graceful and majestic animals,
slowly and gently making their way and stopping to munch at the same
time. We were captivated for a while, as were many others. It was a
fabulous sight to see but also showed what Kruger was going to be
like. At Etosha in Namibia the roads through the park were all
gravel and traffic was pretty thin on the ground. At Kruger, you
don’t need to leave a tarmac road if you don’t want to but you do
have to accept that there are lots of other people around. AT the
hotel this morning they had told us that on the Easter weekend the
Kruger Gate park gate closed at 10:00am as they had already let in
their daily quote of 1,000 people.
As we watched the elephants a group of hippos emerged from the
depths of the river. They seem to be able to stay underwater for an
incredibly long period of time but frustratingly you don’t get to
see much more of them than their snout and the hump of their back.
Next up were giraffes and then a buffalo, our second Big Five animal
(buffalo, rhino, elephant, lion and leopard). We saw quite a few
different birds before a couple of warthogs put in an appearance,
still glistening with wet mud from a recent trip to a watering hole.
A bright green chameleon and more birds rounded off our morning’s
viewing before we made it down to Lower Sabie.
A
massive white rhino, and he's certainly seen us!
Rather than coming along the main tarmac road we had taken a
slightly longer route on a gravel road. It was a very good road,
better by far than most we had been on in Namibia, and it was also
good for wildlife spotting as there was less traffic about. Impala
were a steady companion throughout the morning with lots of young
animals all starting to find their feet and create new herds.
At Lower Sabie we checked on the accommodation front only to
find that as expected they were fully booked. It seems to be a very
popular camp and the lady at reception said that some people book
eleven months in advance to guarantee they have a space. Although we
couldn’t stay here she was able to book us into Skukuza for tonight
and Olifants for tomorrow. We stopped here for a break from driving
and to have a drink although I abandoned my Sprite as it was
attracting a healthy supply of wasps. In the river a couple of
tortoises were perched on rocks watching the crocodiles further
upstream. They in turn were simply lazing about enjoying the sun.
Stef had checked the sightings board here and saw that further
south people had seen rhinos both yesterday and today. We saw none
from the main road but turned off onto the Gomondwane Loop, a gravel
road but unlike the nice smooth ones Stef drove along this morning
this one, now that I was behind the wheel, was a pretty lumpy
affair. After a few kilometres I saw what I though was a hippo but
it turned out to be a white rhino with a baby rhino nearby. They are
huge creatures and pretty scary with it. I was fine while it was
busy munching away but after a while of us watching it is seemed to
get a bit fed up and turned to face us straight on. When it started
to come towards us I wanted to go but Stef, ever the budding nature
photographer, wanted more shots. As it seemed to pick up speed I
pulled rank as driver and headed off, not wanting an argument with a
rhino.
A little further on we stopped to tell people coming the other
way that there were rhino a little way ahead. They seemed a bit
perplexed that we were telling them and we soon realised why as
three rhino’s crossed the road behind us - we hadn’t even seen them!
They are immense animals and certainly not something you want to
mess with. Time was starting to run out on us and we had to start to
make our way back to Skukuza. Although the distances are relatively
short, speed limits in the park are low so it takes a while to get
around, especially as you can’t help but stop to look at things as
you pass them by.
Elephant, only a few short metres away from us
As we passed the Sunset Dam, a family of monkeys were out
playing on the road with a couple fighting quite aggressively.
Further on we saw baboons wandering along the road near one of the
rest stops looking as if they were on the scavenge for food. For
most of the rest of the journey back to camp I refused to stop so
that I was sure we would make it back before the gates closed at
sundown. As we got to only a few kilometres away though I suddenly
stopped and reversed surprised that Stef asked me why. Just off the
side of the road, no more than a few metres away, a huge elephant
was munching away. We sat and watched it for quite a while before
time forced us to move on again.
Back at Skukuza we checked in to our accommodation, a rondavel
that could sleep three people. Outside is a small kitchen, with a
braai down the steps in the garden. Inside it is pretty basic with
beds, a bathroom and a cupboard but it was all very clean and the
beds were incredibly comfortable. We sat outside having a belated
sundowner and a G&T enjoying the night air. A couple walked past
asking if we knew where the shop was so we pointed them in the right
direction. It turned out they were Dutch and we chatted for a while.
With a bit of difficulty we got the braai going, for some
reason the charcoal didn’t really want to catch, and had a very
tasty dinner of sausage and smash. Even though the rondavel came
fully equipped we opted to use our own newly bought camping gear,
more than anything so that Stef could justify why we had had to buy
them. Sleep soon caught up with us and by about 9:30 we were tucked
up in bed at the end of what had been a good day’s wildlife viewing.
