Day 24/25

Saturday/Sunday October 11/12, 2008
The two-hour night drive (Friday night) proved to be interesting and fun – and surprisingly cold! Eighteen of us, mostly Afrikaners (as are most of the park visitors), piled into an open, canvas-topped safari vehicle, equipped with four floodlights, two of which were hand-held by a passenger on each side. Blankets were available for those who wanted them. We were instructed to yell “Stop!” whenever we saw (or thought we saw) any wildlife, most of which were spotted by the reflection in their eyes. And off we went, bumping along the dirt roads through the wilderness to see what we could see. At each stopping place, our driver/guide would tell us about the animal viewed. We had hoped we might find a leopard, but that was not to be. However, in addition to buffalo, elephants (a large herd, on both sides of the road), impala, and black-legged plover, we did encounter two new sightings – new for us anyway: a Spotted Genet (one of the smaller cat species, with a long striped tail) up in a tree like a Cheshire cat, and two spring hare (rabbit-like rodents but with long tufted tails). Truly a memorable experience, seeing those bright eyes peering at us from out of the darkness. And fortunately the animals seemed remarkably unperturbed by our presence and our lights.
Yesterday (Saturday) was a laid back day, spent mostly around camp. We enjoyed a leisurely time at the wonderful elephant museum here, with great exhibits and the skulls and tusks of seven of the historic great “tuskers” here at Kruger, then did some shopping at the camp store. Perry and Beth did a trial run on setting up the tent on top of their Land Rover in preparation for their continued trekking through Africa after we return home. And we all had laundry to do.
We were intrigued by the colorful weaver birds, yellow with bright red heads, building their lacy condo-style nests, hanging from the trees, swinging in the breeze. It’s the males who build the nests, and we watched them for quite a while. Late in the morning, mischievous monkeys invaded the campground, racing around, stealing food from unwary campers, scampering over the ground and through the trees. A big nuisance but fun to watch! The camp also has quite a few resident bushbuck who placidly wander around hoping to be fed, which is, of course, against the rules, as well as not being good for the animals. They often are accompanied, sometimes to their annoyance and vigorous head shaking, by red-billed ox peckers, who hop all over their bodies, pecking away at the ticks who dwell in their hair. A sight to see.
A late afternoon drive, mostly along the river, was pleasant, but didn’t reveal much game – some elephants, water buck, and saddle-billed storks. We had thought the hot, dry weather (one visitor said this was the driest he has ever seen it) would draw more animals to the water, but if that is the case, they must be sneaking in when we aren’t looking!
Saturday evening we enjoyed a great National Geographic film on elephants, shown at the camp’s outdoor amphitheater. Such noble, gentle, and family-oriented creatures. We were impressed at the tenderness displayed toward both the young and the dying. After the film, we sat on our verandah huddled around the computer and showed Beth and Perry our pictures from Zambia, bringing back for us many recent memories of the people we encountered there and touching our hearts once again. We have one more full day ahead of us in South Africa, and are beginning to shift into re-entry mode.
Paula and Bruce