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Thank you guys and girls for welcoming us back from our hell trip to Tsendze!

The bush was fine and the animals great, but Tsendze was a disappointment!

We will get this report going ASAP. My Tannie got her final warning for breaking Rule 22 and she is a bit hesitant to say much at this stage.
Does anybody know what Rule 22 is all about?

Right, let’s get this show on the road!

At 01:00 I was up and found Elzet in the bathroom getting ready for bed!!

NO, NO, NO… I said! You can sleep in the car…LET’S GOOOO!

Three hours later Elzet finished her packing and off we went.

The drive to Phalaborwa was a joy. Elzet and I have met in Polokwane many moons ago, so we went and have a look at the houses where we have stayed....We were coming home again! Seeing the houses and the area after many years were an eye opener...the trees have grown and everything looks different!

Magoebaskloof was beautiful with huge trees and we spotted a few monkeys as well. Memories were flooding back of years gone by. We had a good laugh remembering our (my brother and I) swim in the dam at the cherry farm with a bus load of visitors eyeballing us, but that is another story!

Passing Lakeside Elzet and I smiled at each other...that was where everything had started for us, but that is definitely another story and not SANParks related!

Round about 09:00 we arrived in Phalagat and had coffee with Sprocky at the gate after seeing a baboon crossing the road in town. It was great meeting you again Sprocky! I do miss you on the forums though. I hope to see you soon on here again…you have contributed a lot and I’m know you have a lot more to offer!

After our coffee break we enter the gate after I had declared my firearm…there was no bag for it, not even a brown rubbish bag, so I just put it away in the cubby-hole. Well it was fine with me to have my firearm ready, after all we were entering darkest Africa and one never knows!

Phalaborwa gate was a first for Elzet. I have entered there before with my parents many years ago and we decided to take the H14 (Phalaborwa-Mopani) road and skipped Letaba.

First stop was at Sable hide. What a great place and we will surely stay over there in the future.

Next this tusker:



We couldn’t identify him…he refused to turn around and off we went. Next was this hyena taking a bit of a nap next to the road:



And this bokkie (oops, sorry the legs are gone! ):



The next moment we spotted something in the distance…I thought it was a hyena, but it soon became clear that it was a leopard right in the middle of the road. He was huge and absolutely beautiful sitting in the road and at one stage he even walked next to our car. This leopard made little calling sounds which were a bit strange....he was calling his mate or something :











Look at his paws...just beautiful :



This leopard sighting was one of our best sightings EVER in Kruger! We were the only visitors there and had this magnificent sighting all to ourselves!


We were by now very excited seeing such lovely animals. At the Letaba river crossing this magnificent Kudu:



And a Hammerhead:



Elzet saw a lioness in the reeds, but the LO and I couldn’t spot it after some serious attempts…I only saw grass and was feeling a bit not seeing it! (Between us, I don't think there was a lioness! )

These youngsters playing next to the road:



The weather was cool and they were bundles of energy!

At Mopani the admin was sorted out in no time and after buying some wood we were off to Tsendze looking forward to our four nights in this jewel of a rustic camp.

On our way to Tsendze it started to drizzle a bit and we were rather surprised about this winter rain in Kruger.

In the following report: Tsendze!

Say what??!! The Oom actually managed to post the first instalment? Wow, must be the Salusa 55 he is taking!


Thanks to all who have stuck around through thick and thin on this thread. I hope to respond over the weekend. (And to catch up on PMs and TRs). And I think I need to take over from the Oom from hereon.


It also seems as if Theuns omitted a few facts from his first instalment. We gave each other twinkly-eyed looks as we drove past places where we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company in and around Polokwane (a petrol station has been erected where the drive-in used to be ), and at the Ebenhaeser Dam, and in Magoebaskloof (I wonder how Mr and Mrs Smith are doing nowadays? ), and in Tzaneen, and in the Wolkberg Mountains... and, other places too personal to mention. And we had to exchange these looks without the LO catching on. And without me blushing from head to toe.


Theuns asked me tonight not to refer to him in future as 'Oom' on the Forum. So I'll refer to him as Pinkenolsie, if that is ok with you all?


Hopeful to be back soon to start with my version of events, which by the way, is the true version.

Anne-marie, this is specially for you!

Check out the seven man tent!:


Another view from the back:


A view to the fence:


This was site number 26...a favorite for many!

Hiya all, thanks for popping in again and posting. I'll try to catch up with your comments soon.


However, if I don't get this TR on the way, I might never do so again.


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The Oom neglected to say that I woke him up at 01:00. I was so excited to go camping again, I did not want to waste another minute. However, it took him three hours to finish the packing. He was dragging his feet, clearly not in the mood for camping. I, on the other hand, dive bombed into the bath, dive bombed into my clothes, threw everything for the week in a bag and was ready to leave at 01:15.


I was baffled by the Oom's behaviour. Usually he can't wait to hit the road....


The LO too. She was whining, begging him to hurry up. But he took his time. If I didn't know any better, I thought he was buying time... not wanting to leave the comfort of home, Sealy Posturepedic, electric blanket, the roof over his head...


I was so excited to get to Kruger, and so sleepy by 04:00, that I immediately fell asleep as we left Pretoria. And woke up outside Polokwane/Pietersburg. Excitement does that to me. It makes me sleepy.

After sharing a nice cuppa with a shivering Sprocks (the ol' boy was cold - for the Tshwaneans the freezing weather nothing new, for the Phalagatte it was like a blizzard), we went through the Gate. With a hitch or two. (No firearm bags). We watched the security guard running up and down... fetching a loaf of bread. Still no gun bag.


At Sable Hide we stretched our legs, and I spent a quarter of an hour trying to convince the Oom that this hide is a must for our next trip to Kruger. He was not taken by the idea. I could see him calculate the lack of amenities. The isolation. The cold. The barrenness. I decided to work on him for the rest of the week, trying to persuade him to rough it out next time we visit. I knew that it was going to be a slow process. Knowing that for him, facing our camping spree for the next week, was already tough enough. That I should knead his thought processes (processes is a bit of an exaggeration ) like kneading dough for roosterkoeke. To slowly, but surely make him see the light. That we needed this 'nothingness' in our lives. Desperately so.

When the LO and I saw the lioness hidden in the grass from the bridge, and the Oom missed the opportunity, he sulked even more. When it started to drizzle and he realised that he had to erect the tent in the rain, his mood hit rock bottom. Rock bottom, I tell you. I had to do everything in my power to cheer him up to prevent him from spoiling the holiday for us all.


In Mopani I could see him slyly looking in the direction of the bungalows. I could see his longing to stay in one of those luxury huts. When I insisted on a braai that evening, he bought firewood with a huge sigh. He said he was more in the mood for cute triangular sandwiches with cucumber. I insisted - I was hungry and I wanted a Blue Bull steak all to myself.


The weather was gloomy. The Oom's mood was gloomy. I was over the moon, esp so when I had to get out in the rain and open Tsendze's gate... We were back in my beloved SMT.

When it started to drizzle, I noticed fear. Raw fear. It is not always nice to notice raw fear on your hero's face. But I looked the other way. The tent had to be erected. The Oom wanted to get out of the cold and the wet.


So he gave orders from the car, whilst the LO and I struggled to pitch the SMT. We pitched the tent the wrong way around. The 'front door' (well, uhmmm... the only door, that is), was facing inwards - with a beautiful view of the ablutions. So I had to remove the pegs again, turn the tent in the right direction, and had to start all over again. Yet I did not mind. I was elated. The water in my hair was just the thing my curly hair needed. The frizz was begging for more. The weather obliged.


I stroked her lovingly (the SMT), telling her that all was well, that we were back, and that we were going to enjoy her spaciousness for the next four nights. Her hospitality. Her sails, stretching against the changing winds of time. I pumped and pumped and pumped - and soon both mattresses were fertile soil for weary bones. Before we left, I insisted that the Oom should procure a new mattress. I did not want him to sleep on the ground again. I knew that this would contribute to his negative outlook on camping. And we don't want that, now do we?

Time to get a move on with this TR. I hope that I have caught up with all posts to date. Again, thank you for popping into our wonderful SMT from time to time, and for the patience exhibited in this regard , especially CVal.


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I made a huge fire that first night. To protect the Oom and the LO against the blazing blizzard. To celebrate our homecoming. I cooked raw meat to perfection. The Oom complained about the weather conditions. I sweetly told him there was nothing that I could do about it. He decided to seek the comfort of the tent, waiting to be served on. I did my duty as wife. We had a good dinner, even if I must say so myself.


We went to sleep under the glorious Kruger sky.


------


At 04:00 I woke the Oom and LO up. I was rummaging through the white elephant, looking for the primus and gas stove. It was time to make coffee and padkos. It was a cold, windy, wet morning, but nothing I could not handle. In fact, I felt very much alive with the icicles in my hair and face.


The next moment I heard the Oom's stomach rumble in the jungle. It was not a good sound. It was quite ominous. I recalled that I was on porta-potty duty. So I asked the Oom if he was hearing it too. He denied it. So I thought. Why would he acknowledge? Five minutes later I heard it again. I was very worried.


And then it all became crystal clear... like DQ would say. Crystal clear.



Yes, clear as daylight.



Very clear.



Abundantly so.



There was a huge elephant sleeping next to the fence. It was his stomach! True story! And how relieved I was. Porta-potty duty was no longer too much of an obstacle, if you get my drift.

Our early morn' visitor with the rumbling stomach... (hope you can see him...)











He became unduly interested in me as I was standing relatively close to the fence when I initially saw him. We retreated quite quickly.


Note the icicles on the camera's lens.






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Awww, thank you ever so kindly, Pumbaa. The truth shall send you free. Or something like that.

What a glorious way to wake up in the bush. With a majestic giant sleep-grazing next to the fence.


Soon I wrapped up everything, and we set off for the day. Our morning visitor was grazing close to Tsendze's Gate. Mooiplaas and then the Capricorn loop.


Two magnificent elephants were blocking the road at the T-junction at the Nshawu waterhole. This one could be a tusker. No comparison with a traffic jam in Gautvol.






I managed to stay awake until we reached Tihongonyeni, which was unusually quiet. However, I do not recall ever seeing so many Kori Buzzards together - at times, 12 of them in the same vicinity, each on his/her own mission.





Zebras came down for a drink.







I remember very little after that. Until I was woken up by the excited chirps of the LO. They have just bumped into Odds at the shop in Mopani. I was happy that I was asleep in the car. I did not want to scare the young gun away so early in our stay at Tsendze.


The Oom could not wait to get back to the comfort of the tent. It was time for our midday snooze.

Tight rope = Noose?


The Oom was grumpy when I started to boil the water for our afternoon coffee. He was not very willing to trade the comfort of the tent for the open road in Kruger. But I gently persuaded him. Gently so.


We did the loops around Tsendze, but it was filled with elephants. Of all shapes and sizes. And the Oom was fearful that we would get trapped in one of the loops by a marauding herd. So we opted for Mopani (I needed fire wood and Dom P for the Oom). And then off to Mooiplaas waterhole again.


There were a few Mastodontes leaving. They all seemed quite thirsty. This one with the peculiar stumpy for a tusk caught the eye.







Soon we were back in camp. In no time I had the fire raging, the potatoes boiling. I was cooking, by way of speech. Rodger and Elinah did their evening rounds.


And we had an unexpected visitor.

I'm back from the spa and had a lovely all over massage!

My bruid...my bruid (my wife...my wife), it's wonderful to know that you are enjoying camping even more than I do, and for that I think we should drop our South Coast plans for December and rather go to Tsendze!! How about that!?

I have put a name to that one huge ellie. His name is Nshawani...I think! It is this one:



Thank you for ALL your super comments!

Thanks to everyone who have been popping in for time to time... If you don't return, I'll blame it on the Oom's Juju-avvie...


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Soon we were back in camp. In no time I had the fire raging, the potatoes boiling. I was cooking, by way of speech. Rodger and Elinah did their evening rounds.


And we had an unexpected visitor...

Now I for one do not believe in ghosts. Well, not completely. But we had a feeling that Boorgatspook was around... However, there is nothing wrong with the picture we took of the borehole a few metres beyond the fence.




Quite unexpectedly Odds sauntered into camp. I was looking my best. I do not think he has ever seen anybody looking so good whilst camping. The Oom, on the other hand, looked as if he has been through an automatic washing machine – but not on the delicate cycle. It was lovely to meet one of my fav’ young guns at last – Odds – sharing many interactions over many years in the quizzes. He did not stay too long, as his Dad had a fire going. It was also getting time for me to braai.


After a most delicious dinner, even if I must say so myself, we headed to the comfort and warmth of our SSMT. Aaaaah, it was good to be in the bush, with such cold weather, drizzle in between, and... yes, you should know by now, camping in my beloved SSMT.