Sunday, May 31, 2009

Kruger -- part 3






On the second day, we were treated to several big cat sightings. We even saw a cheetah, and they’re very rare (perhaps less than a hundred in the whole park). Somewhat surreally, we encountered that animal on a tarmac bridge. It came right out and meandered among the vehicles, which of course had all stopped. In fact, I saw quite a few illegal arms and heads out of windows as people tried to see past the car ahead or to get a photo. We were parked quite a ways back down the bridge (we joined this scene a bit late as at first we thought people were just hippo-watching); thus, we didn’t get a good glimpse of the cheetah until it exited the roadway and climbed up a bank. Then we saw it clearly. Not long after our cheetah encounter, we saw two lions swimming across a stream – another rare sight although a bit distant. After that we headed back to the dead rhino site to see if the lions were more visible. They were, if one could make it through the parking cluster and get close enough to see. As the lions had now been in this area for a couple days, it was so well known that the small parking area was mobbed. Marjorie somehow shoehorned her Lexus into a spot from which we could see (I got a photo showing both the male lion and the rhino). Then we got out of there quickly before more vehicles could squeeze in and trap us there.

That day, there were quite a few elephants near the road. Some were not pleased at being gawked at and hemmed in by large noisy vehicles. Once one of them charged our vehicle, I realized that possibility was why Marjorie always left an open lane between us and any elephant. Other drivers would pull up and stop much closer which gave them little room to maneuver for a quick escape.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Kruger Park – part 2






Despite the uncivilized behavior of a few drivers too much in a hurry to share the roadway with a slow-moving kudu, most folks prowling the park roadways are on the same mission – to find and enjoy viewing the wildlife. Thus, most are happy to share information on where and what they’ve recently seen. To aid in that effort, each entrance gate or rest camp area features a map on which one can stick colored dots to indicate species spotted at a particular location. So, when entering the park, you can find out where a leopard or lion or herd of buffalo was last seen.

On the first day, when leaving Ntandanyathi Hide, we were told of several lions feeding on a rhino kill not far past Lower Sabie rest camp. We knew that would be a good viewing bet, as the cats wouldn’t be likely to quickly abandon such a large food source. So we headed to the camp where we ate a picnic lunch Marjorie had packed (she’s very organized); then, we set out to find the lions. By the time we arrived, in mid afternoon, the two big cats had finished feeding for the day and were napping in the tall grass. I only managed to identify one when it twitched its tail although I assured Marjorie that I could see both of them perfectly well. Unfortunately, what I could see perfectly was the dead rhino, which had clearly been poached. The poor thing was still posed upright, having fallen to its knees, and was intact save for a huge gouge in its face where the horn had been cut out. Slightly behind the rhino and in the water was a dead hippo ignominiously positioned on its back with its stubby legs poking up. It must have charged or somehow disturbed the poachers as they went about mutilating the rhino corpse – certainly there was no reason otherwise to kill a hippo. The whole sight was rather sickening and cast a pall over the afternoon.

At the end of the day, on our way out of the park, we saw a small herd of water buffalo, including one big bull that stood belligerently in the road for quite some time. We also, on a much smaller scale, were thrilled to see an ambitious dung beetle rolling its giant ball of poop across the road and back. The park’s opening hours depend on available daylight – in fall it closes at 5:30. So we were out by 5 pm and heading for a nearby guesthouse (Marjorie had only managed to book us within the park for one of the two nights). Our accommodation, Buckley’s Africa, was first class, which I expected as the place had been recommended by the ambassador. Of course, it was a little out of my usual price range, but I could handle it for one night. The setting of this guesthouse is beautiful – right on the river. It would be the perfect place for a romantic getaway (sigh). It also provided a lovely breakfast in the morning, which got us off to a slightly later start than we’d intended.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Kruger Park – part 1






I had the opportunity to ride along to Kruger Park with Marjorie from the embassy and her friend Allison. Both are Kruger fanatics and like nothing better than to take off and head for the park on a free weekend. April 18-20 was a three day weekend, as Monday was a public holiday for the king’s birthday. We set off from Marjorie’s place in Mbabane around 7:30 am and arrived at the park I think around 10 am. Other than freezing from the air-conditioning in Marjorie’s Lexus (despite having worn two pairs of socks, two shirts and a jacket in preparation), it was a pleasant enough ride. And I always appreciate NOT being the driver.

Our first day in the park was quite productive. I was amazed at how adept Marjorie was at spotting animals. Even though she was driving, she still managed to spot more creatures than either Allison or I (admittedly, I was abysmal at it). Sometimes, I never did manage to see what she was insistently pointing out. I soon learned, however, just to say that I had seen whatever it was, as she would keep after me, trying to describe the location, until I claimed to have seen the distant creature.

Soon after entering, we stopped at Ntandanyathi Hide – one of the few places other than a rest camp where people can leave their vehicles. In fact, along the roadway, you can be fined for even sticking your arm or head out a window. I suppose, with lions, elephants and hippos around, caution must be more than just advised. From benches in the rough wooden shelter there, we looked out over a watering hole and saw elephants, crocodiles, hippos, assorted birds, and nearby, a small herd of zebra. I could have sat there watching for hours, but we had to move on.

Regarding the photos -- The pic of two elephants was taken at the hide, while all others were taken from the road. Do note that I don't have a camera with a long telephoto lens. My basic Canon digital has only a 4X optical zoom, which means that animals which appear to be quite close really were! I tried to get a video of the line of cars following the two giraffes -- they strolled along ahead of us for at least a couple of minutes -- but it didn't turn out. Another of the parkk rules is to always give animals the right of way. Unfortunately, we did encounter a few motorists over the three days who didn't respect that rule and who honked their horns obnoxiously or even refused to stop the car and drove right through groups of animals to get them to move. Jerks are everywhere (but why come to a park if you don't want to watch the animals?).