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.