Aug 7 - Phalaborwa
GAME DRIVES! Can't believe it, but I actually went to Kruger National Park today!
Started the morning very early with a 5AM checkout from Mountain Manor. We all flew together to J'burg, then the group split up and I was lucky enough to be in the group that left right away to Phalaborwa.
It was a small prop plane - 30 passengers, so only 14 of us got to go first. I bought a beanie in the airport, which I'm so glad I got! We got in around 1PM and went first to lunch at Kaia Tawana (really good potato soup). Then we drove for about 40 minutes to the animal rehab center, CARE. On the way, we saw a single wild baboon on the side of the road, just staring at us. Scott and I were SO excited, until we got to CARE and saw that the place was absolutely crawling with wild baboons...
We also saw tons of impalas (which we also saw by the runway at the airport), kudu, and guinea fowl.
The CARE center is a rehab facility for orphaned baboons - they have several large cages, but it draws in wild baboons to eat and mate with the caged ones. They are so used to humans you can walk VERY close to them - some even have babies on their tummies or backs. We also saw warthogs and vervet monkeys.
Went to check in to the lodge - Sefapane - and very quickly got ready to go on our game drive. We sat in raised 4x4 jeeps - open air but they provide lap blankets. Kruger is only about 3 miles away, so we got about an hour in the park. Drove to a watering hole where we saw a small herd of impala (which really are everywhere) but no big game. The only ohter cool animal was a solitary hyena that crossed the road in front of us - slightly larger than a dog, and spotted with wild-looking hair. It got cold and dark soon after sunset, so didn't see any more animals. But tomorrow we go on a long, all-day drive, so no worries!!!
Met up with the other group at the lodge, then had a slightly abbreviated stargazing session It was cold and not many people were very into it, so we went quickly to dinner (another buffet - main curse beef stew - very good).
Came back early to shower and unpack, plus I want to go to bed early. The next two days we have 5AM wakeups so that we can get to the game drive as soon as the park opens at 6AM!
August 8 - Phalaborwa
Last final day in South Africa - so sad!, but it was a GREAT one! We had a full day game drive - left at 5:30 this morning to be at the gate right when it opened at 6AM. We went with Heinrich, who I think was the best of the game rangers. He was knowledgable about not only the big game, but the birds and flora as well.
It was VERY cold in the morning, but we were so excited it didn't matter. Started off the day seeing impala - the first herd of many, many impala. They have black markings on their rump and tail, which makes it look like the letter "M" so they are called the McDonalds of Kruger (fast food for lions - haha). Then the game started pouring in. Zebras, giraffe, duiker, kudu, steenbok, cape buffalo, hippos, elephants, a crocodile, green tree snake, hyena (crunching a bone!)
It was all totally amazing - especially the hyena eating something recently killed, and it snapped the bone very close to us; the giraffe standing in the middle of the road just looking at us, the elephant that threatened us since we were only 20-30 yards away, the hippos that came half out of the water, eliciting a collective gasp from the group; the green tree snake (a boomslang, according to Heinrich) that crossed the road then climbed the tree; and finally the ENORMOUS herd of cape buffalo all around us.
All totally amazing, we exited the park at 5:30 - had a brai at the lodge, and am going to bed early for another 5AM wakeup tomorrow. Hope to see some cats!
Aug 9 - Phalaborwa and the Cradle of Humankind
We saw a recent lion kill!!! Did you know lions go for the soft bits first?? That's the eyes, throat, and belly. ew.
Lionesses do all the hard work. But then they get to relax.
After leaving Kruger, we headed back to J'burg and stopped at the Cradle of Humankind - the museum where we learned about human history and where they found Australopithecus africanus fossils in their cave system. There is a Disney-eque ride through time there, and it was fun wandering through all the exhibits.
GAME DRIVES! Can't believe it, but I actually went to Kruger National Park today!
Started the morning very early with a 5AM checkout from Mountain Manor. We all flew together to J'burg, then the group split up and I was lucky enough to be in the group that left right away to Phalaborwa.It was a small prop plane - 30 passengers, so only 14 of us got to go first. I bought a beanie in the airport, which I'm so glad I got! We got in around 1PM and went first to lunch at Kaia Tawana (really good potato soup). Then we drove for about 40 minutes to the animal rehab center, CARE. On the way, we saw a single wild baboon on the side of the road, just staring at us. Scott and I were SO excited, until we got to CARE and saw that the place was absolutely crawling with wild baboons...
We also saw tons of impalas (which we also saw by the runway at the airport), kudu, and guinea fowl.
The CARE center is a rehab facility for orphaned baboons - they have several large cages, but it draws in wild baboons to eat and mate with the caged ones. They are so used to humans you can walk VERY close to them - some even have babies on their tummies or backs. We also saw warthogs and vervet monkeys.
Went to check in to the lodge - Sefapane - and very quickly got ready to go on our game drive. We sat in raised 4x4 jeeps - open air but they provide lap blankets. Kruger is only about 3 miles away, so we got about an hour in the park. Drove to a watering hole where we saw a small herd of impala (which really are everywhere) but no big game. The only ohter cool animal was a solitary hyena that crossed the road in front of us - slightly larger than a dog, and spotted with wild-looking hair. It got cold and dark soon after sunset, so didn't see any more animals. But tomorrow we go on a long, all-day drive, so no worries!!!Met up with the other group at the lodge, then had a slightly abbreviated stargazing session It was cold and not many people were very into it, so we went quickly to dinner (another buffet - main curse beef stew - very good).
Came back early to shower and unpack, plus I want to go to bed early. The next two days we have 5AM wakeups so that we can get to the game drive as soon as the park opens at 6AM!
August 8 - Phalaborwa
Last final day in South Africa - so sad!, but it was a GREAT one! We had a full day game drive - left at 5:30 this morning to be at the gate right when it opened at 6AM. We went with Heinrich, who I think was the best of the game rangers. He was knowledgable about not only the big game, but the birds and flora as well.
It was VERY cold in the morning, but we were so excited it didn't matter. Started off the day seeing impala - the first herd of many, many impala. They have black markings on their rump and tail, which makes it look like the letter "M" so they are called the McDonalds of Kruger (fast food for lions - haha). Then the game started pouring in. Zebras, giraffe, duiker, kudu, steenbok, cape buffalo, hippos, elephants, a crocodile, green tree snake, hyena (crunching a bone!)
It was all totally amazing - especially the hyena eating something recently killed, and it snapped the bone very close to us; the giraffe standing in the middle of the road just looking at us, the elephant that threatened us since we were only 20-30 yards away, the hippos that came half out of the water, eliciting a collective gasp from the group; the green tree snake (a boomslang, according to Heinrich) that crossed the road then climbed the tree; and finally the ENORMOUS herd of cape buffalo all around us.
 |
| Yum. |
 |
| Fast food of Kruger |
 |
| Mr. Boomslang |
 |
| Symbiosis at work - eating the parasites off a giraffe |
 |
| Vervet Monkey |
 |
| Whatchoo lookin' at, kid?? |
 |
| Kudu. What gored that female?? |
 |
| Dik dik |
 |
| Burchell's Zebra |
 |
| Hippo family... and their crocodile neighbor |
 |
| Hitching a ride... |
All totally amazing, we exited the park at 5:30 - had a brai at the lodge, and am going to bed early for another 5AM wakeup tomorrow. Hope to see some cats!
Aug 9 - Phalaborwa and the Cradle of Humankind
We saw a recent lion kill!!! Did you know lions go for the soft bits first?? That's the eyes, throat, and belly. ew.Lionesses do all the hard work. But then they get to relax.
After leaving Kruger, we headed back to J'burg and stopped at the Cradle of Humankind - the museum where we learned about human history and where they found Australopithecus africanus fossils in their cave system. There is a Disney-eque ride through time there, and it was fun wandering through all the exhibits.
 |
| A lovely final meal in South Africa |
No comments:
Post a Comment