The alarm wakes us up at 03h45am. It’s pitch black, it’s
baking hot and I’m dead tired. After a glass of juice in the outdoor kitchen
where it’s a bit cooler (warm, not boiling) the idea of a morning walk comes
across a bit better. We meet at reception at 04h15 together with four others
and at 04h30 we’re off. After a 30 minute drive we reach the beginning of our
walk. Our game ranger Dingaan and his colleague Sitha explain the rules of the
game walk as the sun rises. No talking,
walk in a straight line and follow the ranger’s instructions at all times. Three
hours later we have experienced what I think is close to the best game walk
ever for me since first arriving in this country 20 years ago.
The sound of a
snarling lion 20 metres from where you are standing is nothing like the
sound of the MGM version on film. You become immediately and acutely aware of
the fact that this is not a zoo and the lioness staring at you could easily
kill you in the next ten seconds. Dingaan
keeps calm and urges us to move away from the pride of what we guestimate
consists of four lionesses and a number of adolescent cubs. It is at moments
like this you value the expertise and experience of a good game ranger.
When he says ‘crouch’ you crouch, when he says ‘don’t move’
you don’t run away even if your instinct is screaming ‘get the hell out of
here!’ Dingaan appeared to read the mind of the large elephant bull that
minutes before had seemed bent on causing trouble for our little group. When we
politely moved away from his path and sat down behind a bush, the elephant turned
around and walked towards the river. Confrontation with a six-ton beast
averted.
We also came across a
big rhino in his morning snooze but the second he picked up our scent he
quickly ran away. Sorry rhino. It is tempting to only talk about our Big Five
experiences, but it was as captivating seeing the Brown Baboon spider and the
Blister Beetle. Be careful if the latter lands on your arm, if disturbed or
stressed it will release a secretion that will give you ugly blisters, hence
the name.
We had booked a 3 night stay in a bungalow at the camp Lower
Sabie in the Kruger Park. We left Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon and
stayed overnight in Dullstroom, to cut the 6 hour journey in half and make it
more pleasant. We stayed at the Dullstroom Inn, and enjoyed a great dinner at
Mrs Simpson’s across the road.
It’s hot in the
Kruger Park at the beginning of summer in South Africa (summer is December,
January, February). The best thing to do is go for game walks or game drives
early in the morning or late in the afternoon and spend the hottest hours of
the day with a book in the shade, snoozing or in the swimming pool.
It’s easy to drive around the park on your own, just remember
that the Kruger Park is huge (about the size of Ireland) so don’t overdo it and
think you can drive from one end of the park to another. It takes about one
hour to drive from camp to camp if you’re driving 50 km per hour, which is the
maximum speed throughout the park. If you want to take it ease and have a
chance to spot some animals it takes at least twice as long. Go for shorter
drives and always keep a lookout for all animals and birds, not just the Big
Five. Buy a map book of the park as soon as possible in any of the camp shops, it
gives you valuable information and great charts of the most common animals,
snakes and birds. Please follow the hints and tips and make sure you’re back in
the camp before the gate closes which is 18h30 at Lower Sabie in the summer.
If you go on a sunset
drive in the Kruger Park they usually leave around 5pm and get back around
8pm; the San Parks vehicles can return after the gate is closed. These drives
are usually a rather relaxed affair; you try and enjoy the end of the day and
the cooling of the air.
Very quickly into our sunset drive we encountered two large
herds of elephants, one with a tiny baby that could have been born a week or so
ago, small enough to walk under its mummy’s belly. We also saw six large rhinos,
also with a baby in its midst. The dominant male sprayed his territory several
times telling us to bugger off. We came across ostriches, shrub hares, dikop
birds and night jars on the road. There were even two hippos walking out of the
water to look for food for the night.
After sunset the
driver/ranger gave us control of three lamps to shine into the bushes, and
even if the full moon shone upon us it didn’t look like we were going to see
much before arriving back at the camp. But as we turned down into the last bend
we all spotted a tail at the side of the road and as we came closer we realised
the tail was attached to the most beautiful animal on this earth: a leopard.
She was just about to cross the road as we arrived and disturbed her plans so
she changed her mind and jumped back into the ditch. But not before we had a
good look at her. She was all gold and shiny and looked absolutely beautiful!
If you are planning to come here for a safari from a colder
climate, don’t under estimate the effect the heat will have on you. Always make
sure you drink plenty of water, wear a hat, put on lots of sun cream and stay
out of the sun during the hottest hours of the day. Wear loose fitting clothes
in neutral colours, khaki, brown and green, especially for the game walks where
you are trying to blend in with nature. No whites or bright colours or the game
ranger will send you back to change.
When it comes to food,
the tradition in the park is to braai. This means grill meat over an open fire
and each bungalow and hut is equipped with its own grill. You need to bring
your own charcoal or firewood and food of course. If you drive to the Kruger
from Johannesburg, there’s a big mall just outside Nelspruit where you can do
all your shopping. It’s about an hour’s drive from Nelspruit to the Malelane
gate, one of the southern gates of the Kruger Park. Most camps are
self-catering, but there are shops in each camp with most of the basic stuff
you need for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Even booze and souvenirs. In
Nelspruit, or before you leave Johannesburg, also make sure you buy a two-prong
adaptor to charge your cell phone and camera batteries, the South African plug
is three-prong and doesn’t usually feature in the universal adaptor you
sometimes see for sale at airports.
The game reserve etiquette is to share knowledge of your
animal sightings, especially if you see any of the big five or rare birds like
the Ground Hornbill. There are also boards at each camp where anyone can post
information of recent sightings that are updated every day.
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Flying and driving: If
you arrive from overseas on a flight that arrives at OR Tambo airport in
Johannesburg in the morning, you will be able to drive straight to the Kruger
Park and arrive late in the afternoon. It takes about 6-7 hours with a short
break to the southern parts of the park. Just remember to drive carefully
especially if you haven’t had a good night’s sleep on the plane. Or you can
stay in Dullstroom on the way as mentioned above.
Stay at least three nights in the park, which gives you two
whole days for drives, walks and relaxing. If you fly out here from Europe,
stay at least a week in South Africa and explore other parts of the country.
There’s hardly any time difference so no jet lag. A big bonus.
You need to book a car and any car will do but if you have
the funds book a 4x4 because you sit higher and see more.
The Kruger Park:
Have a proper look at the website www.krugerpark.com and read up on the different
camps available. We stayed at Lower Sabie which is good for both beginners and
more seasoned game viewers. We paid R3165 for two people for three nights in a
self-catering bungalow (approximately 2000SEK). Over and above the
accommodation all guests in all South African National Parks need to pay a
conservation fee which is R62 per person per night for local residents and R248
per person per night for international visitors.
Other game reserves
in South Africa: There are lots of other magnificent game reserves in South
Africa. Another favourite of mine (and reasonably priced) is the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi
game reserve in KwaZulu Natal and the Hilltop camp is great: https://bookings.kznwildlife.com/MakeABooking.aspx
There are loads of luxury reserves but they can easily be
booked through travel agents across the world so I’m not going to bother with
them. Just be prepared to pay 5-10 times more than in the national parks. But
then food and drinks is usually included as well as a couple of game drives per
day.
What to bring: A
good camera is a must and a pair of good binoculars if you want to see what’s
going on at a distance, especially birds. A good torch and a head-lamp are also
useful in particular if there’s a power cut and you need to see what you’re
cooking and eating. If you want to learn the names of the animals and birds
that you are spotting and don’t think the information in the map book is enough
then you must get a book at least on birds. The Sasol Birds of Southern Africa
is one of the best and can be ordered online http://www.sasolbirds.co.za/
What else: Don’t
forget to take it easy and relax. And when you don’t really know what to do,
ask someone or use your common sense.
(Photos: Nick Claude)
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