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Birds
& Beasts Safari August 2001 This is just a short excerpt from the August 2001 Tour... It's all happening - the adventure has begun! Barbs, Kirsten, Annie and Michelle - all Africammers - have joined a Tusk Till Dawn Safari with Alan & Sandy Morton. The tour began with a flight to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, where we spent the day marvelling at this magnificent Wonder of the World. Late in the afternoon we transferred to Botswana and our home for the next few nights. Day Two started with a game drive - it was a little chilly but no-one minded much when the animal sightings started. Elephants were everywhere - big heard, small herds, herds with little babies, herds with old matriachs, herds by the water, and some even in it!! The Fish Eagles called from their lofty perches as Impala, Waterbuck, Giraffe, Hippo and a few more elephant roamed to and from the Chobe River. The highlight of the day was a river crossing by a large herd of Zebra. Their feet made huge splashes while the noise of their thundering hooves was heard from far away. The cameras clicked and the videos ran on furiously as everyone wanted to catch this special moment on film and tape. Of course no evening game drive would be right if it did not include sundowners! Our group enjoyed a hot dinner and then sat around a cheery fire under the very starry sky before their eyelids drooped and they wandered off to bed. Day Three meant leaving Botswana and returning to Zimbabwe for the return flight to South Africa. However, a trip on a boat down the Chobe River was the first order of business. The river was very busy - not with people, but with animals. Elephants strolled past grazing Impala, while Sable Antelope took long slow drinks of water from little pools, only to be joined by a head of passing Waterbuck - all within one camera frame! A crocodile rested lazily in the sun on a small sandbank, while hippos appeared at all sides of the boat every now and again, silently and gracefully. The highlight was the sight of vultures feeding of the carcasses of drowned buffalo - as the incident took place on an island surrounded by deep water, no lions or hyeanas had been able to scavange and the vultures had the whole meal to themselves. The guide - who has worked in Chobe for many, many years - said that he had never seen anything like it before. Of course, the parting scene from the river had to be of elephants coming down to drink. Sadly our group left Chobe, Botswana and ultimately Zimbabwe. They were welcomed "home" by Sandy and Hawk, who transported the weary, but happy, souls to a local Bed & Breakfast establishment for some great dinner, a long hot shower and bed! After an early morning breakfastthe following day, the ladies left Johannesburg with Sandy for the drive to Kwa-Zulu Natal, a province on the east cost of South Africa. The dry grasslands of the highveld were left behind and were replaced with large undulating hills. We arrived mid-afternoon at Hluhluwe (pronounced shoe-shlue-e). We were amazed to find three of the Big Five within 1 minute of each other only moments into the Park - rhino, elephant and buffalo. There were rhinos in the road, rhinos under trees, rhinos in the long grass, rhinos on the hillside - many with young. It was just incredible!! Unfortunately time was not on our side as we had to travel from the north of the park to the south of the park before 6.00pm at the slow pace of 40kms (the speed limit in the Park). Our direct route to the camp however was not without lots of sightings - giraffe dotted the landscape. One newly born giraffe crossed the road in front of us - so newly born that the umbilical card was still hanging from it's stomach!! We saw Nyala, Impala, Zebra, Elephant and just a few more rhino! There are lots of really beautiful birds floating around and we can't wait for tomorrow when the sun comes up and we get to go and explore some more. A great game drive was followed by a late breakfast and then an early lunch! (We aren't putting on weight - our clothes are shrinking!). Two warthogs came to join us for lunch - but we didn't share! Then, Barbs, Kirsten, AnnieCat, Michelle and Hawk went for a two and a half hour walk through the bush - they were lucky enough to come close to two adult rhinos!! It was just incredible! The wind came up and the temperature went down, so we took over Hawk's cottage for our evening meal. The food was great and the jokes were even better! Oh, life is good in Africa! The day dawned with the most magnificent sunrise and after breakfast we headed out. A stop at the Centinerary Centre allowed us the chance to see a magnificent statue of a rhino and some crafts of the local community. We then travelled to the
border post - and a after a short stop for the formalities of moving
between countries - we were in Swaziland! A wandering ostrich came to visit at breakfast hoping that we would share some of our eggs and bacon. We then went on a game drive accompanied by one of the resident game guides. His expertise served us well in that we were soon watching a group of 6 lioness and one male lion. They lay around in the grass, walked around, groomed each other and one very curious lioness that came REAL close! Our guide then found two cheetah. They are part of a breeding and re-introduction programme at Hlane National Park and the guide felt confident enough to allow us out of the vehicle to photograph the cheetah from ground level! What an amazing experience that we will probably never be able to do again!- After such a great game drive we headed back for lunch and an afternoon spent overlooking the waterhole at our camping site - an area where flowering tree orchids brighten up the winter landscape. The next day and a short drive had us back in South Africa and buying supplies. After lunch a short drive of less than 10 minutes saw us sitting on the low level bridge over the Crocodile Bridge watching Buffalo, Impala and Baboons - not even within the gate!! We booked in and found ourselves a campsite for the night right next to the fence. Time allowed for a drive to "Hippo Pools" which is one of the very few places that visitors can get out of their vehicles for a short walk up a group of rocks and overlook the Crocodile River. Hippos were lazily basking in the pools, with cormorants, kingfishers and egrets (and a lone kudu), completing the scene. The only thing better than the perfect weather and the great scenery was the chocolate cake we devoured in the "Mog" afterwards! During dinner a curious hyeana came right up to the fence (hoping to find a morsel to eat, but he wasn't in any luck with us!!). Just one night at Crocodile Bridge and we packed up and left for Skukuza - the main camp of the Kruger National Park - and by far the largest. On the way we visited Lower Sabie Rest Camp, where hundreds of birds darted in and around the open eating area. We watched Crested Barbets, Glossy Starlings and Masked Weavers all helping themselves to the leftovers from people's plates at abandoned tables. One of Alan and Sandy's favourite waterholes, Sunset Dam, was covered in water lettuce on which African Jacanas and Yellow Billed Storks roamed. A herd of Waterbuck entered the water to munch on the lettuce, while Warthogs played at the water's edge. A HUGE hippo came out from the bush, his back covered in water lettuce and Red Billed Oxpeckers - he slowly made his way into the water, and then just like a submarine, sank beneath the surface and disappeared. We continued on our way and stopped to see the view of the Sabie River at Nkuhlu Picnic Spot, where Impala Lilies grow in abundance. The highlight of the day had to be a leopard sighting!! This completes the Big Five for our intrepid group!! The leopard was sitting in the fork of a tree and we really could only see its silhouette; Hawk moved the "Mog" further forward until the sun was shining directly onto this magnificent cat. Unfortunately we have no pictures to show you as the excitement levels were way too high for a steady shot! It was only 2.40pm, so it goes to prove that you can see the cats at any time of day, not only at dusk, night or dawn. Alan had gone ahead and set up the tents for us, so all that was left to do was sit back, put on the garlic marinated chickens for dinner and have another drink of Amarula. Ah well . Another day in Kruger! We got up really early and after coffee headed off to see what we could see; nothing out of the "ordinary" so it happened! A light snack and copious cups of coffee at the Nkuhlu Picnic Site revived tired eyes so that we were able to spot a sleeping jackal. At one waterhole a giraffe came down to drink, watched over by a solitary Saddle-Billed Stork. We visited the resting place of Lt. Stevenson-Hamilton, a man who devoted much of his life to the building of the Kruger National Park, and on our way back, a further eight giraffes had congregated around the water for a drink. Ground Hornbills crossed our path - their long eyelashes the perfect advert for any cosmetic company! A visit to the Bird Hide at Skukuza added Pied Kingfishers and Black Crakes to our Bird List, while none of us will ever get a closer view of the gaping mouths of carp and terrapins! Barbs and Kirsten went on a game drive in the evening and saw a mother hyeana carrying her cub around in her mouth - they had a GREAT, but somewhat chilly, drive. They came back to camp for dinner before we all collapsed into bed for a good night's sleep! The day dawned threatening rain (rain in winter is not a common occurrence in the Kruger), so we all scrambled to get everything packed away. The tiny spots of rain didn't last more than half an hour, but we were packed up by then, so we left on our game drive and journey north through the Kruger to Maroela Camp. Our day proved fantastic with a sighting of the hyeana mother and cub seen by Barbs and Kirsten the night before. Then it was elephants, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and a whole bunch of really great bird sightings (including a Tawny Eagle) to name but a few. On rounding a bend in the road we saw a few parked cars - the reason: cheetah! He eventually ran off into thicker bush and we continued on only to find trees filled with vultures further down the road. A pride of lions sat around a recent kill and although the grass was too high for great photographs, we still have the memories in our minds. Our last camping morning dawned a little cool but with campers in high spirits. The night before we watched a hyeana and a really large porcupine patrolling up and down the fence - hyeana we've seen, but the porcupine was a real treat! Barbs cooked up a scrumptious breakfast and Essie and Jacks (her hubby) came to visit - they are visiting the Kruger for a few days and staying in a nearby camp. An elephant came to the riverbed running along the camp's boundary so we dropped our chores and ran to watch him drinking from a seemingly dry riverbed. The night before we had found (by following the sound of his call) a Scops Owl. This tiny coffee-cup sized owl was sitting in the fork of two branches and was so well camoflauged that he can hardly even be seen in daylight close-up photographs. While watching him a Crested Barbet arrived to continue work on building his nest in the trunk of the very same tree. We sadly had to say goodbye to Kruger and head for the luxury of Galago Camp at Djuma Game Reserve. Ephraim and his staff welcomed us and after afternoon snacks we headed off for a game drive. Unfortunately the weather is a little cool with a VERY light drizzle so we didn't get to see too much (that could also have been because of all the noise and laughter floating from our vehicle though!) Dinner was followed by the inevitable sitting around the campfire with yet another glass of Amarula. The following day, after a hearty breakfast, Pip came to visit and took Barbs, Kirsten, Alan and Sandy to the local Village primary school. On her previous visit to Djuma Barbs had learnt of the dire need for school supplies at the schools and has worked tirelessly ever since to arrange donations of pens, books, paper, sharpeners, crayons and all manner of other educational goodies. Barbs and Kirsten brought two huge boxes with them from the States and they were handed over to the grateful teachers and smiling children. Congrats Barbs!!!! While some of us were at the school, the others - AnnieCat, Michelle and Hawk went to a bird hide where they watched two hippos in an intricate synchronised swimming display. They were impressed and judged the hippos efforts to be of Olympic standards. When everyone was back from their respective jaunts the ladies all went on a walk with the Field Guide of Galago Camp, Ephraim. He led a very interesting walk, explaining birds, trees, plants and animal tracks. We ended the day with a game drive and sundowners watching the sunset mirrored in the waters of a dam - sheer magic! A radio call that lions had been spotted had us dashing off in pursuit. We found them when it was far too dark
for photos, but we got to see them Dinner and a couple of hours relaxing around the Boma with our feet warmed by the fire before tired bodies crept into their beds. Our last day at Djuma started with
an early morning game drive, on which a Side-Striped Jackal was seen - a
really lucky and infrequent sighting! Then it was time to be off and leave Galago and Djuma. We headed off down the gravel road making our way through the mightly Drakensburg mountains towards a small trout fishing town called Dullstroom. Here we found the temperature had dropped drastically and we call bundled up in our warmest gear and headed for the Dullstroom Inn for dinner where to sat next to a warm fire and watched Barbs comparing the merits and differences of Amarula and another South African favourite, Cape Velvet. We wandered back to the Old Transvaal inn where we spent our last night on the Birds and Beasts Tour. And now it's all over and the Tour has come to an end. Alan and Sandy would like to thank Barbs, Kirtsten, AnnieCat and Michelle for joining us on this tour and for being such great fun and wonderful guests. We really did enjoy sharing your company and thank you for your enthusiastic participation in everything. We could not have done it without the capable assistance of Hawk - who helped Sandy pack while the gang was in Botswana - and continued to step in and help out every day in many, many ways - from driving, braai'ing, erecting and packing away tents and acting as Field Guide. Thanks Hawk - you were a really great asset!!!!!!! Our thanks to Helen of Africam who put the updates onto the server on our behalf - you are a STAR Helen! - |
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