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June 2011

I received a call from Rich … “Hey Wendy! Jeff and I are planning a holiday to celebrate his birthday and we can’t decide between Costa Rica or South Africa …”

Well, it didn’t take me long to convince them that it just HAD to be South Africa. Jeff was going to be celebrating a “special birthday” in December … I promised not to mention any numbers in my Trip Report but if I say “half a century” I’m sure you’ll get my drift!

They were coming to South Africa for 2 weeks and wanted to do EVERYTHING … well, it is just a tiny tip at the bottom of Africa when you look at a map! I gave them some advice, they did a bit of reading up, and they decided they’d spend the first half of their holiday with me, then fly to PE, hire a car, do the Garden Route and spend a few nights in Cape Town before returning to the States.

Kruger was definitely up there on their list of “places to visit” – they’d heard me go on about it so much; on 05 July, we booked 3 nights’ accommodation at Lower Sabie, as well as a Sunrise Drive and Bush Braai that we’d do on Jeff’s birthday.

A little bit of background …

I met Rich and Jeff in Nicaragua in November of 2000. We were backpacking and staying at the same place in Granada and had exchanged the odd “Morning” or “Hiya!” here and there.

After Granada, I moved to an island in the Caribbean called Ometepe. I’d just found a hotel to stay in and was in the courtyard when I heard this American voice. I looked up and it was “one of the American guys from Granada” – we’d never exchanged names.

Bumping into someone you’ve met before when backpacking is a bit like being a San Parks forum mite and bumping into another Yellow Ribbon in the park … within seconds it’s as if you’re long lost buddies and have known each other forever!

We spent the evening exchanging stories about what we’d been up to since we’d seen each other a couple of weeks before (oh, and we exchanged names!) then we spent the next few days on Ometepe chilling in hammocks, swimming in the sea, having a few drinkies, doing a bit more chilling, etc!

Rich and Jeff had to get to Costa Rica as they were meeting friends there for Christmas and New Year; I returned to the mainland and a gorgeous little beach town (it wasn’t a “resort” back then) called San Juan del Sur. We exchanged email addresses and promised to keep in touch …

And we did keep in touch! In April of 2001, Rich emailed me asking when I was due to arrive in Ecuador as Jeff was there for a couple of weeks studying Spanish. I was arriving there the next day so replied and hoped for the best.

On my first day in Ecuador I heard this song that brought back memories of when I’d been on Ometepe with Rich and Jeff; I got a really weird feeling and got goosebumps too!

Well, a couple of hours later I was walking down this REALLY busy street; I looked across and guess who I saw???!!! Yep, Jeff!

It was great catching up again and we had some really fun nights out on the town there!

Once again though, we went our separate ways; Jeff had to go back to Florida and I had a trip to continue with …

My trip came to an end in July 2001; I flew back to the UK via Florida where I managed to meet up with Rich and we spent an afternoon sipping cocktails on Daytona Beach.

The following year they came and visited me in London; the year after that I went to Florida and stayed with them. We kept in touch and met up a few times over the years, the last time being in June 2007 when we met up for a crazy weekend in Madrid just a couple of days before I came out to South Africa!

So, four years had passed and now we were going to have another get together – this time in South Africa!

Sunday 11 December 2011

We left Pretoria around 9:30am and headed up to Sabie. We checked in at our accommodation there then spent a couple of hours checking out some of the beautiful scenery and waterfalls in the area.

The day was cool and although a little cloudy, we were really lucky that it wasn’t foggy.



We had a lovely dinner that evening in Sabie followed by an early night in anticipation of an early start the next morning; our first day in Kruger!

Monday 12 December

We were up around 6am … the B&B owners had told us that breakfast was at 7am so we got ourselves ready, packed the car, and hung outside the room in which we could see breakfast being prepared hoping that they might let us in a little early! No – only at 7 o’clock on the dot did they open the door! We had a lovely breakfast then hit the road to Hazyview to load up with Savannas and Amarulas (just two of the things I got “the boys” hooked on whilst they were here!).

Then, it was just a few more kilometres between Hazyview and Phabeni before I could introduce Rich and Jeff to heaven on earth.

But then I started feeling anxious - anyone who’s ever taken a “newbie” to Kruger will know what I mean …

Would they like it?
Would they be disappointed if we didn’t see “The Big 5”?
Would they get bored?
Would they wish they’d only booked 1 or 2 nights rather than 3?
Would they think I needed my head examined as I was so passionate about the park?

We got to Phabeni Gate around 9:45am; I can’t remember what Rich was trying to find in the back of the car but just check out all those Savannas!!!



Of course, we had to take the obligatory “Tourist” shots …





… then finally entered the park.

Monday 12 December cont …

The first stop was for ……. impala! I was “ooooh-ing” and “aaaah-ing” over the baby impies who I hadn’t seen for three weeks; Rich and Jeff were taking photos, and more photos, and more photos! They couldn’t believe how the impala would just stand there, so close to the car. Next thing, a troop of baboons arrived … more photos!

After about 20 minutes, we moved on. We passed a rhino midden and I pointed out the dung beetles at work … more photos!

Jeff spotted a “big bird” in a tree … it was a bateleur! Further on, and another “big bird” … a fish eagle this time!

We passed a tree full of white backed vultures but couldn’t see what it was they were hanging around for.



We could hear the woodland kingfishers calling all around us; in the distance we spotted buffalo, elephant, a rhino and a few wildebeest.

I got a BBM saying that further along on the S1 there were a pair of mating lions. Shortly after that message, we spotted a few cars at the side of the road; the honeymoon couple were there, panting in the midday sun …





Whilst watching the lions Scipio pulled up and introduced himself. Good to meet you Scipio!

Monday 12 December cont …

We continued on our way and passed this young lad



Next stop was Lake Panic where we were greeted by the locals …







and a few not so locals …





Rich and Jeff just sat there in awe, taking it all in …



We continued on to Skukuza. It saddened me to see this …



What is this world coming to?

Under the lapa, Mummy and baby bat were snuggled up …



All was quiet in the riverbed at Skukuza so we continued on our way to Lower Sabie.

We came across some lovely giraffe (Rich’s favourite!)



warties, vervets, bushbuck, then a car that was stopped at the side of the road with the occupants staring in to the long grass. We stopped and looked but couldn’t see anything so pulled alongside the car to ask what it was they were looking at.

They told us they’d seen a lioness but that she’d disappeared into the thick grass; they then drove off.

Monday 12 December cont …

I asked “the boys” what they wanted to do … “Let’s wait” they replied!

They were both looking into the grass at the side of the road and I was looking in front and to the other side. Next thing the excitement in the car was electrifying … Rich and Jeff had both seen a herd of impala running and had caught sight of the lioness chasing them … it was just like one of those Nat Geo Wild moments!

The impala got away, but we then had a magical sighting as the lioness walked across the road right in front of our car and plonked herself down at the side of the road!









We still had over 2 hours to get to Lower Sabie but at the pace we were going and the amount of time we were stopped to take photos, we decided we’d better continue on our way.

We added leopard tortoise, dwarf mongoose, duiker, and slender mongose to our sightings list for the day before reaching Sunset Dam for a gorgeous African sunset in Kruger.

Tuesday 12 December … Jeff’s “Special” Birthday!

We had to be in the car park at Lower Sabie at 3:45am!!! I arranged to pick Rich and Jeff up from their bungalow at 3:30am; I wasn’t sure if I’d have to wake them, the poor guys were completely jet lagged! Surprise, surprise, I got round there and the lights were on, they’d had coffee, and were raring to go. Of course I had to start the day by singing Happy Birthday to Jeff and handing over a bunch of balloons!

We drove around to the car park and our guide was there. He said that we’d wait another 5 minutes as there was another family who just might be joining us. Standing there in the car park at such a crazy time in the morning was strange … it was pitch black and dead silent apart from the sounds of the bush. We stood there in silence, listening; in the distance we heard lions … I get goosebumps just thinking about it!

We waited 5 minutes and no-one showed up so it was just the three of us on our early morning drive. We had the BIG bus which we were really excited about … we’d be able to stand up and move about in it as we wanted.





We pulled out of Lower Sabie gates and turned right towards Sunset Dam. Rich and Jeff were on “Flashlight duty”.





We stopped at Sunset Dam and shone the flashlights out over the water … hundreds of eyes shone back at us!

One set of eyes was coming closer and closer towards us … it was a big croc with a barbel in his mouth. He waited until his head was completely out of the water before opening his jaw, tossing his head back, snapping his jaw shut and swallowing his prey. What a sight … another Nat Geo Wild moment! Unfortunately it was too dark to take photos.

Tuesday 12 December … Jeff’s “Special” Birthday! cont …


Dawn starting to break and the skies got lighter … hippos were crossing the road ahead of us, making their way down to the river, as were a few rhino; it was then that we decided that the BIG bus wasn’t such a great idea. The noise from the engine was deafening and scaring away anything within about 100m!

Oh well, we weren’t going to let that get us down … it was Jeff’s “Special” birthday, we were HAPPY ….



The baboons weren’t too perturbed with the noise but did seem rather on edge as they walked past …



Mr Raffie stopped eating and turned to see what all the noise was about …



We gave this ellie a fright as we drove by …







Back at Sunset Dam the love birds were watching what was going on …



and the Pied Kingfishers were keeping an eye out for breakfast …



We returned to Lower Sabie for our breakfast …



… birthday cake and coffee, then set off for the Hippo Pools …

Tuesday 12 December … Jeff’s “Special” Birthday! cont …

So, after a few Magic Milk coffees and some birthday cake, we headed off towards the Hippo Pools …

I wanted to take Rich and Jeff to the Ntandanyathi bird hide on the S28 … I’d told them so much about it, especially the story about the impala rescue that I’d witnessed there back in Oct 2010. (Wednesday 06 October and Thursday 07 October in my FIRST EVER TR … viewtopic.php?f=27&t=48237&hilit=Confirmed+Kruger+Camper%27s)

Our first sighting was another Yellow Ribbon! It was CarolV and Wild Image! We had exchanged numbers prior to going to the park and had hoped to meet up for a drink and a braai in camp, but for some reason our SMS messages to each other never got through. It was nice to meet and have a quick chat en route.

My sightings list for our drive that day is not terribly long … we saw a beautiful Agama lizard on our way out of camp, and on our drive to the Hippo Pools and back we saw tree squirrels, warties, a monitor lizard, dwarf mongooses, a hyena, white backed vultures, steenbok, a slender mongoose, kudu, pied kingfishers, 2 rhinos, terrapins, woodland kingfishers, waterbuck and buffalo.

All was quiet at Ntandanyathi bird hide but the boys insisted on scanning the bushes with their binoculars!



But wait … what’s that over there???



Can you believe it …



Okay … not quite true … this wasn’t what the boys spotted from the hide, but what we did see when we first pulled up in the car!

It really is unbelievable how stupid some people are.

We continued on the S28 and I got a call from Anri who’d just arrived at Lower Sabie. I told her where we were and said we’d probably be back at camp around 2pm.

We got to the Hippo Pools to find that Daniel was on holiday!!! ??? Surely his life is a holiday???!!!

There was another guide there … I can’t remember his name though.

We got out the car and walked with him …



down to the Hippo Pools where he clapped his hands, trying to get the attention of the hippos in the water …





I didn’t actually notice it at the time, but Rich and Jeff said they were quite on edge the way he was swinging his gun around …







We returned to Lower Sabie for lunch and a couple of icy cold Savannas. I called Anri but got her voicemail so assumed she’d gone out on an afternoon drive and was without reception at the time. A couple of more Savannas, and we all decided it was time for a siesta before our bush braai that night. Sleeping in the afternoon whilst in Kruger is absolutely unheard of for me, but the 3am wake up combined with Magic Milk Coffees and Savannas meant I could hardly keep my eyes open!

Tuesday 12 December … Jeff’s “Special” Birthday! cont …

We were being collected at 4.45pm for our bush braai which meant an hour of so of shut-eye! I woke from a deep Amarula/Savanna induced sleep and saw that I had a message from Anri … she’d now checked in to Lower Sabie and was going to go down to the restaurant area. I had 15 minutes or so to spare so rushed down there (with my bag adorned with LOADS of Amarula YRs!) and walked about. Unfortunately Anri was now out on a game drive …

I drove round to the boys’ bungalow and shortly after getting there, we saw a safari truck making its way towards us ... driven by the same guy we’d been out with that morning!!!

There were 3 others in the jeep, Mum, Dad, and their 3 kids – on holiday from the UK. We all got chatting and were very excited about the evening ahead of us.



As our drive progressed the clouds rolled in and the wind got up … it looked like we were in for a storm.

The rain started and we were all wondering “what now???”.

Luckily, it was just a shower and soon passed over … the clouds and lightening show was fantastic! I didn’t manage to get a photo of the lightening, but here are a few of the clouds …





At about 7pm we started heading back towards Lower Sabie … we were all wondering if our braai had been cancelled due to the possibility of it being a complete wash out …

Next thing, we turned on to the S82 just before Lower Sabie. About a kilometre or so down the road, we took the No Entry road … Rich and Jeff looked at me with a questioning look on their faces. I explained that it was fine for the guides to go down those roads. Next thing, we took a sharp right and started driving through the bush! No doubt I had a questioning look on my face then … I think Rich and Jeff thought we were about to be hijacked in the Kruger!!!

In the distance we could see a fire, we were heading towards our bush braai site and I must say, it really was “in the bush”!

We arrived there and Martie was waiting to greet us. Before we were allowed off the jeep, we had a briefing … something along the lines of … “Welcome guys, you are about to have an amazing experience but before we start I just want to remind you that this is not “Africa in the Magic Kingdom” we are in the Kruger Park! There are no fences around us, the animals can come and go as they wish. Please stay by the fire and feel free to chat as loudly as you want … the more noise there is, the less likely it is that the animals will come close to us. If, however, at any time I say “In the jeep” please don’t ask any questions and just get into the jeep as fast as you can.”

How exciting!!!!!

We got out of the jeep and pulled our chairs close to the fire. I started taking photos …

The boys enjoying being in the bush at night time …



The “path” to the loo … an eco loo especially for the bush braais!



Martie standing on guard behind us



The fire, our chef, and all the poitjie pots … what a feast we had!



I kept my eye on Martie, I wanted to make sure we were really protected …





Feeling a little reassured – she had a huge rifle, as did two other of the guys who were there – I made my way towards the ice box to get myself a Savanna.

It was then I heard a noise in the bush right next to us … and it sounded like something big …

Tuesday 12 December … Jeff’s “Special” Birthday! cont …

I froze and listened … there it was again. I whispered as loudly as I could … “Martie … quick, there’s something here…”

Martie rushed over to where I was, I made my way back towards the others sitting around the fire (though I must tell you I was seriously thinking about just getting in the jeep and staying there for the rest of the evening!).

Martie shone her flashlight into the darkness … “Oh!” she exclaimed, “It’s our friend, the resident rhino!”

Resident rhino???!!!*** I promise you, he was within 10 metres of where I was standing!

She threw a couple of small stones in his direction and he took off.

Martie then proceeded to tell us that this guy turns up all the time to see what’s going on. Apparently if a couple of days go by without a bush braai at that spot, (they also use Mlondozi Dam for larger groups), when they return to set up for the evening, the resident rhino has moved the eco-loo!!!

We were all REALLY feeling like we were in the bush now and kept looking around us all the time, wondering what would be next to show up!

Dinner was served shortly after this event and we sat at the table that had been set out for us.

Jeff was having difficulty opening his bubbly …



so one of the friendly staff members who was there lent a helping hand …



Before tucking in to his delicious dinner, Jeff felt the need to have a quick check behind him to see if there was anything lurking in the darkness …

Tuesday 12 December … Jeff’s “Special” Birthday! cont …

Jeff was pretty sure there was nothing in the bushes so tucked into dinner. There was steak, wors, chicken, rice, vegetables, pap and sauce, and a variety of salads – it really was way more than I’d expected. The chicken was my favourite, but Rich and Jeff really liked the pap – a taste I’ve yet to acquire after 5 years in South Africa!

Whilst we were eating, Martie and the other two guys with rifles were on the lookout. We were all really relaxed and enjoying every moment of this amazing experience. We were more than half way through our meal when all of a sudden there was a loud “SSSHHH …” We all “ssshhh’d” straight away and froze. Martie and one of the guys with a rifle went rushing off into the bush behind Jeff, shining their flashlights into the darkness …



I started to look around me … (a) to see how far we were from the jeep if we had to make a run for safety, and (b) to make sure there was still someone with a rifle close by.

Our “protection” was right beside us and the jeep was only a hop, skip and jump away.

Next thing, Martie and the other guy came back to give us the “All Clear” – it was Roger the Resident Rhino again, insistent on seeing what we were up to!

After the 2nd episode of “rhino excitement” it was time for dessert – malva pudding and Amarula custard – Deelish!

Unfortunately the evening came to an end; we said our thanks, left tips, and climbed back into the jeep for the short drive back to Lower Sabie.

Back at camp the Birthday Boy crashed … he was exhausted – what a birthday he’d had!



Rich and I sat on the stoep with Magic Milk Coffees; what a great day we’d had. I can’t imagine what he and Jeff were thinking, but for me, the bush braai definitely goes up there in my top 10 lifetime experiences!

So, we had one full day left … Rich wanted to go and see the Boabab Tree, Jeff wanted to go to Transport Dam as he’d recently seen the video of Battle of the Kruger, and I wanted them both to experience a do it yourself breakfast in the bush!

We decided that today we’d do two of the three, DIY breakfast in the bush and the Boabab Tree, and tomorrow, we’d stop by Transport Dam on our way out of the park.

We were all up and raring to go at gate opening time again, and headed off to Tshokwane via Mlondozi.

The sun was just rising as we crossed over Lower Sabie bridge …



There wasn’t a lot of water at Mlondozi considering it was December; the hippos seemed to be content in the muddy water though …



We heard a lion roaring but goodness knows how far away it was …

We were, however, content with the view and the evidence that lots of game had been around …





At one point Jeff whispered to me … “Wendy, look …” as he pointed to the area near the toilets. Standing watching us was a gorgeous little bush buck!

We all appreciated how this could have been a leopard, lion, angry elephant, or goodness knows what, so decided to get back in the car and continue north to Tshokwane!

Wednesday 13 December cont …

On our drive to Tshokwane I was delighted to find this reedbuck trying its best to hide!



We also saw baboons, wildebeest, ellies, a ground hornbill, and at one point we could see something moving in the long grass … we spotted a horn so waited …





Just past the rhino sighting, a safari jeep pulled up to us … it was Tiny on one of his “Awesome Kruger Tours”! It was great having a quick chat en route … it had been over a year since we’d met on the main road heading north from Satara!

Further on and Rich, Jeff and I added steenbok, zebra, giraffe, a fish eagle and 2 more rhino to our sightings for the day.

At Tshokwane we got our braai and I started breakfast.



After last night’s bush braai, Rich had to go and get some pap to add to the rest of the goodies we were having for brekkie that morning!





The vervets were there to watch the goings-on, hoping that something would be dropped or that some ignorant tourist would tempt them with food in order to try and get a better photo.