4/1/2010 Safari

Early, early in the morning I got up and began a journey to the northeastern part of South Africa where Krueger National park is and other private game reserves as well. After hours of travel I landed on a small airstrip surrounded by grass and then trees. As the plane came to a stop people looked out the left windows and saw two cheetahs laying on the grass less than 10 meters away from the plane. After a minute they got up looked around and began walking away from the loud engines of the plane. That was the beginning of my safari.

I walked out of the plane with multiple safari groups. We were all met with transportation vans and my safari group was picked up in our safari’s jeeps right at the airport with out rangers to boot. I jumped in a jeep with some other girls. Our rangers name was Divan. He took us to the Kapama River Lodge in the Kapama private game reserve, which begins literally across the street from the airport. We were told to stay with the same ranger so we can get to know each other and we see everything we can while on safari. Otherwise we would see elephant with one ranger, then change jeeps and see elephant again with the other ranger but miss out on other beautiful creatures. We were dropped off at the quaint and rustic but very comfortable lodge to put our stuff away and have lunch. As we entered we were greeted with cool, moist towels that smelled of vanilla. Inside we were given orange juice and our room keys. Everyone on our safari was sharing one of the new spa suites. These large bedrooms with beautiful bathrooms and a balcony were fabulous. Our arrival at noon gave us time.

Everyday lunch was at 1pm to 3pm. Tea time was at 4pm and the evening safari went from 4:30pm to 9pm, when dinner started. In the mornings we would receive a 5pm wake-up call for coffee and biscuits or fruit at 5:30am. The Morning Safari would go from 6am to 9am when breakfast would begin.

Our first safari was amazing. My group had the good fortune of having another ranger, and an amazing tracker, with us. Harry was our tracker. He could see a chameleon on a tree branch at night as we sped by driving at least 15 miles per hour. When were fully stopped, and he was shining a light on a chameleon, I still could not see it. Then our ranger, Divan, would put his hand out and grab a bright green chameleon, which looked exactly like a leaf. At one point I even had the chameleon on my arm, and eventually it moved its way up to my head, before Divan picked it up and let another girl experience nature more personally.

Our other ranger was Eduan. He was new to Kapama lodge and was learning the roads with us that day. Eduan and Divan grew up together, and the pair of them were incredibly fun. Each one teasing the other about their ranger skills and stories they had experienced together out in the African bush.

That evening we saw some elephants right off the bat. It was amazing how large an elephant was but how well it blended in with the trees. Part of us knowing they were there was just watching the trees sway as the elephants tore off branches and stripped the bark. Then we saw three giraffe up close and personal. Beautifully tall, carefree, and deliberate or slow was my impression of the giraffe. However, I have been made aware that giraffe can get into fairly high speeds; the only issue for them is balance and stopping. Before sunset we came up to a watering hole where a cheetah was watching a hippo in the water. The cheetah was thinking of getting a drink but was very cautious. He just sat on the road and watched the water. We saw zebras, warthogs, antelope, and owls..  After sunset we stopped for a drink break. Any drink one could desire was available for a price that would be charged to the room bill. Then we would pack up and continue our search for the nocturnal animals. That night we also saw a great deal of spiders and spider webs. It was kind of fun to be driving along and hear girls squirm as the light catches the string of a spider web being built across the road. A couple times Harry, our tracker who sits on the very front of the jeep would grab the web and break it so that nothing would hit us in the face. At one point we heard that one of the jeeps couldn’t start and they were watching some hippos. We went to give them a boost and to see the hippos. Our ranger pulled the other jeep backwards, which gave it a nice little start. Then we watched the water for a bit and saw three hippos, two of which were mostly visible. It was on our first evening safari where Divan told us that, of the Big 5 animals to see on safari, leopards were the hardest to find, but more likely to be seen at night. I was hooked and desperately wanted to see a leopard before the safari was over and I was back in Cape Town.   

That evening our dinner was a wonderful buffet. The Kapama River lodge serves amazing food. One thing I got to try was a type of venison called Kudu. We had actually seen some Kudu running around while we were on our first safari. The meat of the Kudu was extremely tough so I can’t really recommend it except for the experience. The rest of the meal was wonderful. It was buffet style so you could choose anything you want. How the dinner was set up was really nice too. Everyone in our jeep sat at one table and both of our rangers joined us to talk, answer questions, and get to know us better.

The next day we went out and spent the morning tracking some lions. We found a mother and her two cubs. We went off-roading and followed them through the African bush for most of the morning. It was amazing seeing them up close. They were so cute! We also saw some buffalo and some wildebeests. 

That evening we saw a different female lion who was lying on a damn. After watching her for a bit we continued and were driving a long, talking and having a good time when Divan stopped the car and was talking with Harry. Divan asked, “are you sure?” and Harry nodded. The jeep turned on and off we went. We asked what was going on and Divan said that Harry had heard the male lions roar. All of us were amazed. We had heard nothing. The wind from traveling in the car, plus all of our talking, was a lot of noise and once again Harry amazed us. After another 10 to 15 minutes we turned the corner and saw the male lion, Madoda (spelling unsure). He was lying down in a large flat area. There was another jeep that had also just arrived. We sat and watched this beautiful large cat as the sun was setting. Once the sun had set Madoda raised his head and roared. It was low and loud. I could feel the vibrations on the jeep and in my clothes however it was not overwhelming. At the end of his roar it seemed more like he had a hair ball. We said goodbye to Madoda and went off in search of leopards.

After about an hour or so, we were driving along and Divan stopped as quickly as he could and backed up. Right next to the road a leopard was sitting up and staring at us. Quickly, but also giving the feeling that she was taking her time, the leopard got up and walked into a bush and sat down again. After a few minutes she laid down, some people with good night cameras got a few pictures, then she was up again and walking through the bush. We went after her. Rolling over bushes and trees, we tracked her in the bush. Of course, since seeing a leopard is so difficult Divan was also on the radio giving directions to where we were so that other jeeps could come and see the leopard as well. After being the primary jeep in the chase and seeing the leopards back, or tail, for a few seconds as she disappeared into the bush we let another jeep take the lead. We headed out very satisfied that we had gotten the best view of the leopard anyone was probably going to get that night.

As we were driving away we went past a watering hole. Harry shined his spotlight on the area and we saw another leopard walking toward the road. On the chase again we followed it. This time it was a male. He was new to the area and walking along the road occasionally spraying and rubbing against the bushes to mark his territory. It was awesome. This large beautiful and majestic cat was just walking down the road at night, not bothering too much with the large, loud jeep behind him. We called this sighting in too and within a few minutes a couple other jeeps were there to see the leopard. I got to see two leopard in one night!

Eventually it drew close to nine and we went back to the lodge for dinner. After dinner I went back to the room, completely exhausted. I thought I was going to read before bed, but I heard the sounds of heavy rainfall outside and instantly fell asleep. The only one left of the Big 5 animals to see on safari was a rhinoceros, and we only had the next morning safari to see it before flying back to Cape Town.

When I got up the sky was very overcast. The ground was wet and I learned from those that had stayed up late last night that it had poured heavily almost the whole night. Our safari began and most of us were in a happy mood. We had seen many animals, the air felt fresh, and we were outside in beautiful country. This was a fortunate mood for us because not many animals were out. The rain had provided a nice cool environment with accessible water everywhere. Animals did not need to get up and move to waterholes. They could stay in the bush and we would never see them. But even on this quite day we saw a heard of buffalo just sitting in a clearing near one of the roads. At one point we saw an adult and baby elephant getting some breakfast from the trees. In our search for rhinoceros we went off-roading in a dried out riverbed. Eventually we got a call and responded to a rhino sighting.

A mama and baby rhino were standing on the side of the road. The baby stayed right by the mama’s side. The mama rhino had two large horns on her nose. One was sharp and very pointy. The wide and large rhino was very intimidating. Both mama and baby then crossed the road in front of us and went into the bush. We returned for breakfast and to pack because the safari was over.

We got ready and hoped into the jeeps to take us back to the airport at 11am.  We arrived at the airport where we were informed that our plane was late and would arrive at noon. So we had an hour to kill. We teased our ranger and asked to be taken for an extra short game drive in the remaining time. Our whole group did not want to leave and stayed in the jeeps as other people from other groups began to walk around and talk about their experiences. After all of the other groups from the other safari programs arrived, our rangers hopped into the car and drove us away for a small, slightly against the rules, safari drive!  We got to revisit the bush and see some warthogs, antelope, and wildebeests. After about forty minutes we returned to the airport and eventually had to say goodbye to our amazing rangers, trackers, and the beautiful South African bush. As the plane took off and began to move down the runway, I looked out the window, hopeful to see the cheetahs who first welcomed us. Instead, I saw a group of adult and baby warthogs. They saw us off as we lifted into the sky and said goodbye.