Sunset XXIV - Kruger National Park
Our first full day in Kruger started in the pitch of night with a subtle knock on our bungalow door at 5:00am. We’d been up for over an hour and already showered and dressed, so enjoyed a coffee and some African rusks on the deck while waiting on the others. Life at Hoyo Hoyo starts and ends daily with a short safari through the park with some free hours in between to relax around camp or watch the waterhole for any animal action. So under the cover of darkness we left Hoyo in the lodge’s private Landcruiser and headed deep into the unknown looking for those allusive locals. With sunrise the wildlife begins to stir with the cooler part of day being a preferred eating / hunting time. We spotted the usual savannah suspects - impala, zebra, giraffe and elephant - along with dozen of various bird species throughout the morning. None of the other Big Five as yet sadly, but having ticked off that box all the way back in Botswana we were more than happy with what Kruger was presenting.
Morning safaris have their traditions too and Janine pulled over for us to stretch our legs and enjoy a cuppa. With tea and coffee on offer, indulgent hot chocolate became our choice with an added sweetener being a good slug of Amarula. Holy Cow. What a way to enjoy South Africa. The sun was in full swing by now but the air held the chill just a little longer to help offset the hot chocolate. On a mound with clear views in all directions selected for its safety, Kruger reflected a golden palette of brown and yellow with the darker tones of wooded areas and the greenery of shrubs the only change. Except however for one little fellow known to bring some much needed colour to the grasslands. Commonly known as the Impala Lily, this small, succulent tree is native to South Africa with dry woods or grassland its native habitat. Flowering typically in winter, its five petals can be red, pink, or white bringing with them a vibrant splash to the otherwise common earthy tones. It is extremely drought tolerant and possesses a milky latex with toxic alkaloids used as an arrow poison or a fish stunning poison.
Back on the road we meandered through the park based on radio chatter piped directly into Janine’s ear piece or from sightings passed on by other guides. There is always something to see on safari, even if no animals are around, but its only weeks after when collating photographs does one realise just how many animals we did actually see and why every one of those sightings warranted more photos despite having dozens similar already on the hard drive. This morning was a little like that with scores of giraffes out and about, capturing our attention as always with their majestic strides, Stevie Wonder head sways and the most gorgeous hides perhaps of any animal. While each animal has its own distainct pattern, those fur patterns differ in overall design based on the region in which the giraffre is found. Lurking within the tress, they are at times hard to notice, but when locked on are usually found in groups making it even the better.
A member of the Big Five is the Cape Buffalo and we saw quite a few of them on todays safari. Characterised by their distinctive head, the cape buffalo’s horns have fused bases forming a continuous bone shield referred to as a "boss" across the top of their head. More closely related to other buffalo species than it is to other bovids such as the American bison or domestic cattle, its closest living relative is the Asian water buffalo. However its unpredictable temperament may be part of the reason the African buffalo has never been domesticated like the wild yak or wild water buffalo. Or perhaps it could be through generations of self preservation being one of the Big Five game animals and a sought after trophy in hunting. Either way these creatures are actually really graceful, and like the wildebeest, too often looked over for the prettier animals on the plains.
The buffalo have a complex symbiotic relationship with the oxpecker bird which is semi-parasitic feeding on blood and open wounds in addition to ticks and dead skin found on the cape buffalo. Providing a mobile grooming service for their hosts, these canny birds also act as lookouts using warning calls to alert the buffalo of approaching predators.
The Cape Buffalo
Perhaps not the most common of sightings, but still prevalent in the park was the Waterbuck. Agreed to be our favourite of the antelope family, these massive, almost gentlemanly beasts command respect when stationary with their head almost frozen holding the weight of their near symmetrical horns. Widely found in sub-saharan Africa, the waterbuck was first described by an Irish naturalist in 1833. Their coat colour varies from brown to grey with the long, spiral horns of the male curving backward, then forward up to a metre in length. Waterbucks are rather sedentary in nature and form herds consisting of six to thirty individuals. These groups are either nursery herds with females and their offspring or bachelor herds. The waterbuck cannot tolerate dehydration in hot weather and thus inhabits areas close to sources of water earning them their obvious name. The waterbuck is a really cool animal, like the big brother of the impala, keeping mostly to themselves and avoiding trouble, but showing without question that if any was found they could hold their own.
The Waterbuck
Mid morning we arrived back at camp after a pretty exciting safari to be ushered to our eating pavilion and shown a breakfast menu we honestly didn’t really need. It was however spectacular and we relished every morsel to promptly undo the top button of the trousers and sink into the lounge to watch the waterhole for a while. Perhaps no more than 20 metres from the edge of Hoyo’s outdoor decking stood a manmade reservoir collecting all waste and rain water from the lodge. Adjacent to a natural waterhole filled with muddier water used for bathing, this reservoir is well know to the animals with many passing by for a drink pretty much all throughout the day. Feeling like elephants ourselves, we sprang to life and grabbed the cameras when a herd of elephants casually arrived on scene for a short drink and for some, a mud bath.
Elephant herds are family-based social units led by a matriarch, the oldest and wisest female. These herds provide protection, guidance, and social support for their members with the females remaining for life and the males typically leaving around 12-13 years old to sometimes form bachelor groups. The matriarch guides the herd finding food and water, and protecting the group especially the young. In a herd elephants display strong social bonds communicating through touch, scent, sight, and sound, including infrasound and seismic signals. While not all of these forms of communication were apparent, we could clearly see the group working almost as one ensuring all members were adequately watered and the young where protected from all angles.
Elephants are the largest living land animals and found throughout sub-saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia in habitats including savannahs, forests, deserts, and marshes. They are herbivorous and stay near water when possible and considered to be a keystone species due to their impact on their environments. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae with extinct relatives including mammoths and mastodons.
It was simply amazing to witness. While we have seen hundreds of elephants on this tour, this one from the comfort of deck chairs, and only metres away was maybe the best as evidenced by the dozens of photos posted here. Overkill? We don’t care.
Having refreshed themselves internally many moved behind the bushes and unfortunately out of sight for a little mud bath. This is done as a means of cooling themselves down and also providing a protective barrier to the suns rays on their skin. Emerging from their mud baths like Beverly Hills housewives in single file they took turns in rubbing the collected mud further into their skin against a nearby tree trunk already layered in residual from other baths. A baby mirroring his mothers every move, was at his cutest with his back scratching up and down the tree base. And as quickly as they arrived they disappeared back into the woodlands. Elephants would return many times over the days we were at Hoyo Hoyo, maybe in different herds, or maybe the same as a known source of water, either way we didn’t mind, all elephants are good elephants and we loved seeing them all.
South African temperatures in May can reach 27C degrees. While maybe not that hot for us, it was still warm and with an onsite pool we just couldn’t resist getting our moneys worth. Well, it was refreshing, but to swim and only have to look past the rope fence to see elephants rummaging in the bushes puts this swim into its own category of unique. We perfected relaxing for the while because thats what you do at Hoyo before the G & T’s began their blackhole vortex-like dance and lunch being served seemingly hot on the heels of breakfast. It was lamb koftas today which as usual didn’t disappoint.
The rest of the afternoon quickly vanished before Janine was soon enough tooting the cruiser’s horn out in the courtyard ready for another safari. Strapped in for another tour of uncertainty, we spotted all the usual culprits at various times however the leopard and lion still evaded us. It is told by many a traveller to Africa of their disappointment in missing out on certain animals. We had been extremely lucky to date with pretty much all species sighted at least once. If Kruger didn’t produce a lion or leopard we would not be disappointed but looked for them with detective eyes every chance we got.
We did however chance upon a new sighting, that of a pair of male Greater Kudus only metres from the road but so well camouflaged we had difficulty in finding them. The kudu is a large woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory they are sparsely populated in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation and poaching. With a narrow body and long legs, their coats can range from brown/bluish grey to reddish brown and possess between 4 and 12 vertical white stripes along their torso. The kudu is one of the largest species of antelope and occupy savannah near acacia and commiphora shrubs relying on the thickets for protection so are rarely seen in the open.
Part of our pattern of daily tours was a visit to a local damn where wildlife can often be found drinking, or if a predator, waiting for a kill. As yet we’ve had no such luck but today managed to spot a wattled crane by the waters edge just chillin as they often do. With a few hippos wallowing not far away, we both focused on the crane for some mandatory shots because, well, we are in Africa. Nothing spectacular really and probably nothing that would make the final cut. It was only later that evening when scanning our photos through the cameras back lit LCD screen did we notice what we hope you all did. In the foreground of that crane shot, lying dead still, camouflaged as rock like Peeta Mellark, sat the lone Nile Crocodile resident of the damn. From our vantage point we couldn’t see him at all and through the lens at distance completely missed him as well.
Sundowners beckoned as the safari was winding down due to less than adequate animal activity and we returned to the favoured, and safe spot high on a central mound. The sun did what it’s come to be known for in these here parts and the Bombay Sapphire made a triumphal return. A virtual carbon copy of last nights play, this could never get tiresome, and to prove it we were prepared to stay forever to test the theory. Alas we couldn’t, so after the hot, churning plasma of hydrogen and helium left us with nautical twilight we packed up the cruiser and headed back to camp in the now slightly coldish night air.
Twice a week there is a communal dinner at Hoyo Hoyo with all guests seated together as a means of socialisation. Tonight was one of those nights and we not only ate extremely well as expected, but got to know our fellow travellers from South Africa, England and France a little better. A right South African braai slowly cooked over an open fire as accompanying red wines were selected by our waiter for the night, Morgan, in fishbowls that would be rude to refuse. The stars came out to play at an appropriate time and we saw the last of them, along with the resort’s final bottle of Amarula too close to midnight. Back in our bungalow Fatpap did his best witch doctor impersonation using the rooms display pieces to try and scare the bejesus out of Lyndall. It failed of course, managing only laughter and the too often uttered claim of “you’re and idiot.”
