Kruger Area Part I - Animals
Since I have quite a few pictures to share, I have broken this entry into two parts. Here’s Kruger Part 1—Animals:
Kruger National Park is world-renowned for its wildlife. It is not uncommon to see all of the big five (lion, cheetah, elephant, black rhino, and hippo) as well as many other animals (zebras, giraffes, etc) in just one day at the park. I have many days here, and will surely have many wildlife encounters (especially given my recent inclination for uninvited wildlife encounters of the mountain lion and moose variety).
My first day in Phalaborwa (a small town on the edge of Kruger), I did nothing. It was Sunday and everything shuts down on Sundays in all but the largest cities in South Africa. It was also my birthday, so I spent the day lounging by the pool and chatting with another traveler—Miriam from Jerusalem.
Turns out the kill was the good kind, the ‘circle of life’ kind. A pride of lions had killed a water buffalo early that morning. They were kind enough to carry out the kill just by the side of the road so that the humans could watch them feast on the massive beast from the safety of our own vehicles. (Visitors are forbidden from getting out of their cars due to all the predators). What a treat for my first day here. And so kind of James and Elise to invited me along.
And, as an added bonus, I saw my first elephants and zebras and warthogs on the drive in.
Night Game Drive
On Monday evening I went on a night game drive coordinated by the park service. We rode in an open 4x4 vehicle and looked for nocturnal animals using spotlights. The tour started slowly, with the first hour feeling more like I was on a bird safari than a game safari (drive five minutes, then stop for five minutes to talk about some bird off in the distance, then repeat over and over and over. Sorry birders, I just can’t get into that.) Rather than get anxious and cranky, I talked myself into just being glad to be in the park, glad to be in Africa out in the bush.
And…it was a good thing I did because we didn’t end up seeing any of the big animals, but I had a great time nonetheless just breathing in the fresh, scented air and taking in the calm 360 degree views. We did see a number of rarely seen animals (ie…a gennet cat, a mother hyena and her cubs, a jackal), so that was quite nice. [I didn’t bother trying to photograph anything since it was dark out and I’m not spiffy enough with my photography equipment to get anything other than blur.]
River Safari
On Wednesday afternoon I went on a river safari along the banks of the Olifants River. James, the hostel owner, drove me out to the launch site and even accompanied me on the cruise. (I am SO glad I am staying at this hostel, “Elephant Walk.” More on that later).
The three hour trip was fabulous, amazing, shocking! It has positively spoiled me for the rest of my trip! Kruger is in the dry season right now—a fantastic time for wildlife viewing, especially along any water source where the hot and thirsty animals congregate in the afternoons. We saw herds of animals all along the shore, from elephants and water buffalos to baboons and giraffes to warthogs and impala and other deer-type animals that I cannot remember the names of. And, in the water, there were hippos and crocodiles all along the river.
What really surprised me was how much the animals intermingled. It was not uncommon to see elephants standing next to water buffalo standing next to baboons and warthogs and impala. I suppose all these herbivores were just too hungry and thirsty to care what any other animal was doing, but wow…it was an amazing sight to see. It was like viewing a real life Eden.
Kruger National Park is world-renowned for its wildlife. It is not uncommon to see all of the big five (lion, cheetah, elephant, black rhino, and hippo) as well as many other animals (zebras, giraffes, etc) in just one day at the park. I have many days here, and will surely have many wildlife encounters (especially given my recent inclination for uninvited wildlife encounters of the mountain lion and moose variety).
My first day in Phalaborwa (a small town on the edge of Kruger), I did nothing. It was Sunday and everything shuts down on Sundays in all but the largest cities in South Africa. It was also my birthday, so I spent the day lounging by the pool and chatting with another traveler—Miriam from Jerusalem.
“The Kill”
On Monday morning, Elise and James (owners of the hostel) came to inform me that there had been “a kill” in the park. They were headed in to see it, and invited me to come along. Being the city girl that I am, I wasn’t sure what they meant by “a kill” (I was hoping an animal hadn’t been killed by a car or something), but I went along assuming that if they wanted to see it, so did I.Turns out the kill was the good kind, the ‘circle of life’ kind. A pride of lions had killed a water buffalo early that morning. They were kind enough to carry out the kill just by the side of the road so that the humans could watch them feast on the massive beast from the safety of our own vehicles. (Visitors are forbidden from getting out of their cars due to all the predators). What a treat for my first day here. And so kind of James and Elise to invited me along.
And, as an added bonus, I saw my first elephants and zebras and warthogs on the drive in.
Night Game Drive
On Monday evening I went on a night game drive coordinated by the park service. We rode in an open 4x4 vehicle and looked for nocturnal animals using spotlights. The tour started slowly, with the first hour feeling more like I was on a bird safari than a game safari (drive five minutes, then stop for five minutes to talk about some bird off in the distance, then repeat over and over and over. Sorry birders, I just can’t get into that.) Rather than get anxious and cranky, I talked myself into just being glad to be in the park, glad to be in Africa out in the bush.
And…it was a good thing I did because we didn’t end up seeing any of the big animals, but I had a great time nonetheless just breathing in the fresh, scented air and taking in the calm 360 degree views. We did see a number of rarely seen animals (ie…a gennet cat, a mother hyena and her cubs, a jackal), so that was quite nice. [I didn’t bother trying to photograph anything since it was dark out and I’m not spiffy enough with my photography equipment to get anything other than blur.]River Safari
On Wednesday afternoon I went on a river safari along the banks of the Olifants River. James, the hostel owner, drove me out to the launch site and even accompanied me on the cruise. (I am SO glad I am staying at this hostel, “Elephant Walk.” More on that later).
The three hour trip was fabulous, amazing, shocking! It has positively spoiled me for the rest of my trip! Kruger is in the dry season right now—a fantastic time for wildlife viewing, especially along any water source where the hot and thirsty animals congregate in the afternoons. We saw herds of animals all along the shore, from elephants and water buffalos to baboons and giraffes to warthogs and impala and other deer-type animals that I cannot remember the names of. And, in the water, there were hippos and crocodiles all along the river.
What really surprised me was how much the animals intermingled. It was not uncommon to see elephants standing next to water buffalo standing next to baboons and warthogs and impala. I suppose all these herbivores were just too hungry and thirsty to care what any other animal was doing, but wow…it was an amazing sight to see. It was like viewing a real life Eden.
The biggest treat was the massive herd of elephants right along the shoreline. There must have been over 60 of them, and we were able to get right up alongside them…close enough to hear them chewing, even close enough to hear their stomachs rumbling! The guide said she had never seen this many elephants in one spot before, and we felt truly lucky as we quietly glided alongside the herd. It was magic!
