Second day driving. I guess I hadn’t learned anything from getting lost yesterday. I thought we would take the back roads over to Genie’s place. It looked to be almost the same distance, and why not get out into the South African country side a bit?
The road was gorgeous, but much longer than anticipated. We got slightly lost, but we quickly recovered our tracks. When we once stopped to ask for directions, I felt uncomfortable for the only time. The guys we asked directions jeered at us, which was not fun.
After about 4 hours drive we arrived at Genie’s place. We thought our original hotel was off the beaten path? Ohh this was glorious. Genie lived in Marloth Park adjacent to Kruger. Through dirt roads, and entry in to the park we were now in wilderness country. We saw a few animals on our way up to Genie
When we finally arrived Genie, Andre and Janine warmly greeted us.
After some pie and other goodies Janine drove the truck with all of us sitting in the back. This little impromptu drive in Marloth Park displayed Kudu, Zebra and several other critters. Genie immediately impressed us with her ability to notice even the slightest movement in the brush.
Back home Andre had started the braai, which is South African for grill. We got snacks and Janine fed the bush babies and tree rat their regular banana snack.
Dinner was scrumptious. The company was wonderful. The stories of the bush around us had started.
While we went to bed early, I had trouble sleeping. Some time in the middle of the night I got up and sat back out on the porch. I heard lions in the distance. My heart pounded a little fast.
Morning dawned. We departed at 5:30 am with Genie behind the wheel. I was all too thrilled to let go of the driving.
Kruger did not disappoint. The rains had recently started and it was getting greener by the day. The brush with a few trees reminded me a little about California – but in California one does not have a chance of running in to lions! The brush was much denser than back home.
The first animals we saw were the ever-present impala. Genie explained how the impala can hold on to their young and wait to give birth for several weeks until the rains and the greening have started so there is plenty of food.
An exciting sighting was a large python lying close by the road. Its camouflage was excellent, but there is no doubt – it was a large python. It had just had a meal and was a little slow.
We also saw several spots where rhino left their dung. They prefer to leave their dung in the same area and a few areas instead of scattering it around.
I am sure that helps the dung beetles who wrap rhino dung around their eggs and bury them deep in the ground.
There was no shortage of wild life as we drove. Kudus, zebra, giraffes, fish eagles, vultures, impala, warthog, vervet monkeys, baboons, a hippo in the distance, and an amazing array of birds spotted by Genie’s ever present sharp eyes. We also saw both dwarf and mid size mongoose. The dwarf mongoose is especially rare.
At our first rest stop we saw some amazing colorful small lizards, and some vervet monkeys that ran down and stole food right underneath the eyes of some neighbors – right off their table.
Onwards we drove – and stopped at an amazing built out bird rest stop. We left the car and walked quietly up to a small building beside a lake with an incredible view of bird life, including a giant heron on her nest.
As we approached our second rest stop we saw a large congregation of cars looking at something. When we asked, they pointed out a dead impala hanging over a branch 15 feet into a tree. Obviously a leopard had dragged the impala there. It was amazing to imagine the strength of the cat dragging such a large prey high into the tree.
Our second rest stop included a lean to with hundreds of bats hanging up side down asleep for the day. A short walk introduced us to graves of the ranger’s dogs that had been killed by lions or other wild life. Usually protecting the rangers from the wild life.
For some strange reason, Genie seemed “disappointed” that we had not seen any of the more rare animals. I was so full up of all the amazing animals we had seen.
The day’s last large gift was a nice size herd of breeding elephants. They were mothers and youngsters. Wonderful. The elephants can be quite violent to the trees. Leaning on them until they completely break or stripping them off so much bark that they die.
Then we returned to our hotel – full of experiences and drop dead exhausted.
Besides showing the wild life Genie told amazing stories about what we saw. Genie’s knowledge about the environment joyfully bombarded us for all 3 days.
At the hotel we relaxed a bit and then met for drinks before dinner. Though tired during dinner, it remained wonderful to talk to Genie. As time progressed, we got to know her so well.
Day 2 in Kruger Park
Our second day in the bush started a little later – we were simply too tired. But it continued much like the day before.
Day 2 took us deeper into the bush and into some roads with few tourists. The rock formations and color of the earth took our breath away. It was truly amazing country.
There was no shortage of exciting animal sightings. A rhino with a few cleaner birds on its head crossed the road in front of us. A little later two male African buffalo did the same. Their ever-present white birds that clean their hide accompanied them. One decided our car was too close and as we parked he told us to move on. The threatening looks made Genie immediately back away. He was giant and there was no doubt why the buffalo is on the “big 5” list.
We passed a gorgeous herd of wildebeests, and a few lone elephant bulls in the distance.
While we had some spectacular animal sightings on day two the driving was tiring. I think I drifted deeper into Africa. I felt the earth underneath and the primordial wildness. I had fallen in love with Africa.
Genie continued to talk about what we saw. From the foaming frog eggs attached to branches just above the tiny water holes to the signs of grazing rhino having ripped everything off the earth in a wide path, the low veldt came to life. Shimmering red earth, wild and jagged rock formations, the mysterious large cats we had not yet seen and the abundance of wild life transported me to a different time. Is this when Africa started to enter into my soul?
Our second day ended at the Marloth Bush Retreat with Andre and Janine again. Another wonderful braai ensued. We had really gotten to know our hosts, and retiring early was impossible. There was so much to talk about. How had I become so close to these people so fast?
Kudu and wildebeests passed through the garden as dinner cooked on the grill. Later in the evening, the terrace lights attracted unusually large bugs and a large scorpion walked along the terrace.
We finally made it to bed, knowing another exciting day waited for us tomorrow.
Again, I woke up before dawn and sat outside. A large band of banded mongoose played on the neighbor’s grounds. I heard the rustling of animals as the country slowly woke up.
Day 3 in Kruger Park
Day 3 dawned rainy. We had been lucky with little rain so far, but on the third day the rainy season asserted itself.
Again we drove out early. As we left Marloth Park at the edge of dawn we saw some giraffes. Today was greener than any other day. The green was so vibrant due to the rain. Other days it had been the red of the earth that stood out, but today it was the shimmering emerald green.
It was a quiet day due to the rain. A large buffalo laid by the side of the road getting cleaned. A single bull elephant was busy feeding.
Long stretches of gorgeous shimmering low veldt with few animals underscored our fatigue. We had still not seen the big cats, but somehow it didn’t matter much. We had seen so much, and were almost overwhelmed by experiences. I had a tough time staying awake. Maybe we all had a struggle to stay awake that early morning.
We all seemed a bit peaked and tired during our mid morning break.
I started to wake up as we continued onwards. The low veldt was still amazing, vibrant, alive, and breathtaking. We stopped at another birding perch with a small tortoise in the water, and no shortage of birds.
Many animals seemed to have melted away for the day though.
A congregation of cars up ahead appeared as we neared our lunch stop. They were looking at something amazing. 4 male lions lay among the shimmering green, hung out together and played. The oldest bellowed a lot. Their cream color contrasted to the green. It was an amazing experience. This proud animal – free, magnificent. Free. I felt breathless. In some way, it was just another pussycat. When one rolled over I wanted to stroke its soft tummy. Yet it was also the most fearful predator of the low veldt. I would barely be snack sized for that guy. The bellowing went on and on. Genie thought he was probably bellowing for a mate. In some ways the bellowing was funny, in other ways the primordial experience of the lion set my heart to race. I never again want to see a lion in a zoo. He belongs free on the African savannah.
What a truly amazing experience.
Soon after we stopped for lunch. Invigorated and excited our talk was mostly of the lions.
After lunch we drove on, but it felt almost anti climactic. We saw another large male elephant.
Then a strange sound started from under the car. It did not sound right, and due to our tiredness, the rain and the sound we left the park to investigate the problem.
As we drove up to the gate, we discovered a piece of plastic that protects the radiator had almost come off and dragged on the asphalt. One of the guys by the gate tied it back with some metal string and we drove on.
The metal string did not last, to no one’s surprise. The sound returned as we approached Marloth Park. We pulled into a Swazi pottery stall. I decided to call for roadside assistance. After several calls back and forth on Genie’s cell phone because our rented cell phone did not work, we were told to cut the plastic piece off. No worries about where we were, or whom we would find to do that. So Genie called Janine, who brought some wire cutters. Roadside assistance was definitely not AAA! Thanks to Genie and Janine we continued with minimal additional discomfort.
We said good-bye to Genie and Janine in the drizzle and worried about driving the Marloth Park dirt roads. It felt sad and not right saying good-bye under those conditions, but we drove on.
As we drove on I worried about the car. I knew we would run in to more dirt roads. The rainy season now really asserted itself and the rain progressed from a drizzle to hard, driving, visibility limiting rain.
We returned to the hotel exhausted at around 5 pm. What an experience. We were breathless, and so tired. It was almost impossible to put words to all we had experienced.
It was nice to relax before dinner.
Wednesday
Wednesday morning dawned drizzly again. We slept in with relish, and then returned to the hotel’s amazing and scrumptious buffet breakfast. Craig and I explored the hotel grounds while my mom wrote post cards at the chalet. After several hours, we took a small shopping excursion to Hazyview, a tiny community with just a couple of streets.
We had a wonderful lunch in Hazyview, then began looking for batteries for our dead cell phone. At one store, they had no batteries, but knew the store we should go to. The directions included passing two robots. We left the store discussing what a robot could be, deciding on a store. We never found the store, but found many wonderful souvenirs both in little stands by the street and in a larger store. We later learned that robots are streetlights.
Happy with our souvenirs, we returned to the hotel for dinner. Still tired from Kruger, we retired early.
Thursday
Thursday we skipped breakfast and slept in. The day was clear and sunny. Craig woke up early and explored the grounds, which were basically an extension of Kruger, and while there was a small fence between the hotel grounds and Kruger many animals pay little attention to those fences.
When my mom and I woke, we all went to lunch and sat by the pool overlooking Kruger National Park. The vervet monkeys and a couple of deer appeared. The surroundings just couldn’t be more idyllic.
A few hours after lunch we went to the hotel reception area for our pick-up for the wilderness night drive.
The wilderness night drive took us into the Sabi Reserve adjacent to Kruger. We started at 3:30 pm with pick-up at the hotel. A one-hour drive into Sabi followed. There are no fences between Sabi and Kruger. We saw a large male elephant right by the road.
We got tea and cookies at our host site in Sabi, and then started out at around 5 pm. The setup was quite interesting. We sat in a tall jeep, very similar to a safari vehicle, with a driver and a guide. The guide “sat” on the car hood – with no seat belt. Just a small handle next to his right hand to grab at bumps. With a couple of hours of daylight left, we first passed very close to an underground cave home of two really cute hyena pups, who were lying in the mouth. Obviously used to tourists, they sat completely relaxed within two large steps from the car. I have always disliked hyenas, but these were too adorable.
The guides then drove us completely off road. We got so close to a few rhino including a baby that I could smell them. As we drove on, the baby rhino decided to display its bravery by trying to chase us off. Too Cute! He returned to this mom’s side – satisfied that he had done his job and that he was a mighty rhino. We also saw buffalo and wildebeests.
In the distance, where the drivers could not go, we saw a little creamy and black colored splotch. It was a leopard. I wish I could have gotten closer, but that was the closest I got to a leopard on this trip.
Half way through the drive, at sunset the drivers stopped on top of a small “hill”. We were allowed out of the car for snacks and drinks. My heart skipped a beat as I stepped foot away from the car. I had heard so many warnings about the dangers of walking in the bush, but I figured the guides knew what they were doing. The view was wonderful.
The night was falling quickly as continued to look for leopard, but the darkness obscured our view. The sounds of the bush were wonderful. The stars were bright above. I wished I could find somewhere to settle in outside for the night to listen to the bush. My love for wild places, especially at night, has long been established and I was breathing it in. The bush became larger in the darkness. The vibrancy stirred me. Africa was tugging at me – and all I wanted was to stay outside all night.
But this was a relatively short drive, and the guides continued to find wonderful stuff. A chameleon, the mother hyena, birds of prey and other critters appeared. It never stopped.
We got a nice dinner back at the restaurant, and then returned to the hotel.
Friday
Friday morning was check out time. It wasn’t easy to leave, and it had been a busy week, but another busy week lay ahead.
We skipped breakfast and hit the road at 7 am. We wanted to leave early to stop by Genie’s place and say a real good bye to her, Andre and Janine. The hurried way we had left felt so unfinished.
I drove as hard as I could and arrived at Genie’s place just after 10 am. It was wonderful to sit down with Genie, Andre and Janine and really say a good bye. It was so hard to leave. But after 45 minutes, and several pictures we had to hit the road. We had an appointment to meet with our guide on the entry point to Swaziland around 11:30 am.
I continued to drive hard towards Swaziland. Thankfully we knew exactly where we were going, and the roads had excellent signage. Two thirds of the way there I ended up behind a huge tour bus. The roads in South Africa usually only have one lane in each direction, so to pass you must hit a spot where the road ahead is open and you can see far enough ahead to know it is safe. When you hit a spot there must be no oncoming traffic. I kept trying to pass that big behemoth, and was foiled for several miles. Finally, a mile or two before the Swaziland entry checkpoint, I managed to pass the bus. Yay!
At the border crossing, first we needed some paperwork to leave South Africa – then we had to go through passport check to enter Swaziland. This is not done from the comfort of the car. We had to get out and stand in lines. The process was a little confusing – and around us were several local folks chilling for the day. As in other hot regions, things happen at their own pace. We got into the Swaziland passport line 2 – 3 minutes before the tourists from the big bus hit. Holy cow! I was so happy I passed that guy. I could imagine how much longer it would have taken BEHIND the big line of 50+ people. The 10 or so people ahead of us already took a while! I had to laugh while we were in line. It was hilarious. This border crossing reminded me of movies of Africa. Lots of loud people milling around. A multitude of languages, some including clicks. The tour bus brought many French, including one slightly nuts lady yelling and screaming that she MUST go in first because she was South African. I am not sure what her problem was.
After passport check, there was more Swazi paperwork before entering the country. But it finally finished.
I began keeping an eagle eye out for our guide – Mandla. I thought I had seen a picture of him online and expected a middle aged black man. As we headed back to the car I scanned around me and no one looked like Mandla. But the only guy that possibly looked like a guide was way too young. So we got into the car. The younger guy approached us and said he was looking for some friends. Surprised, I asked if he was Mandla, and we found our guide. I just had not seen the right picture. The Internet is not always reliable!
