Day 8 – 18.03.2018
We woke up really early and got ready quickly to head out and drive into the bush and take a walk for a couple of hours through the park. Unfortunately we had the same guide as the night before and while it was ok because we were able to spot some of the animals ourselves with the spot lamps, and werent as reliant on our guide finding things for us, this morning it would only be our group with the guide and no one else to ask questions or spot animals with. There is no doubt that he knew his stuff but conveying that wasnt his strong suit. He would go on and on and on about things that we werent that interested about, and would skip over quickly the things we were interested in seeing. But back to the morning walk...We drove to a remote spot and waited until the sun was just starting to rise, as we werent allowed to wander around in complete darkness.
Just like with our rhino trekking we had two guides, this time both guides were armed, one explaining everything (literally everything) and the other to in theory walk behind us and protect us from the back. Both walked in front of us trying to spot animals.
Its weird to think that where we were walking there is so much commotion during the night and when we were there we couldnt see a single animal.
An entrance hole for small mammals.
We walked up close to one of the water basins. More than 360 water basins were built all around the park during the beginnings of the park in the 1930s in the hopes to assure all animals would receive enough water to survive.
Water is then pumped from the large basins to water troughs to enable the animals to drink the water. A lot of the water basins now dont hold any water anymore, and were shut down in 1997 because due to the abundance of water, some animal species numbers increased tremendously, while others (whose food was now being eaten by the increased species) numbers decreased. There was an imbalance of the food chain.
„Areas that used to be grazed only seasonally were being grazed year-round due to water being available throughout the year. Researchers believe that this persistent grazing pressure might have changed the vegetation patterns in the park. Herbivore distribution patterns were changed by the addition of permanent water in the landscape and as a consequence, predation patterns also changed.“
Footprints of a heavy buffalo walking around the bush.
The quiet was quite serene while the sun was rising. You could just hear birds chirping away.
We got to a water hole, where you can see that the banks are quite muddy. The more heavy animals stand by its banks, the more and more the sides will fall into the water hole and the larger it will become.
We found a termite hill and were told that all termite hills tilt away from the strong winds for better circulation of air through the hills. On one side there are holes and ventilation channels which run through the whole hill until they exit on the top of the mound. Apparently all the termite hills face towards North, although I havent found any precise information on this on the internet yet.
We then saw our very first animal! An impala running through the bush.
Remnants of a horn. Sometimes buffalos loose their horns in fights.
Thankfully our guides were able to spot the large spider web before we walked into it...
Porcupines dig for roots during the night.
Beautiful birds!
More spider webs, just a little more up close : )!
The remains of civet vomit. They cant really digest horns and bones so they vomit these back out. Apparently only hyenas can eat fully digest bones and horns, which is why some animals will eat hyena poop if they are low on calcium...
After walking around and not finding any animals apart from impalas and zebras we headed back to the car. We were all ready to head back, it was a long walk and quite tiresome listening to a lot of geology and geography with long winding explanations.
BUT! When we headed back we instantly shouted to the guide to stop the car, because just next to the side of the road we saw these beautiful creatures. Spotted wild dogs! They are incredibly rare - there are only 450-500 dogs in the whole of Kruger National Park, and spotting them is a matter of luck.
Definitely the spot of the day! (That made the long long bush walk worth it : )...)
We also spotted our first crocodiles during the day time warming themselves up on the river bank.
After breakfast we headed to our new campsite in Kruger National Park, driving through and exploring more of Kruger.
Elephant selfie!
Such vastness!
At first glance we thought there was a large sack of potatoes lieing on the side of the road until we realised that it was a big pregnant dominant female hyena. Our guide told us that hyenas are led by one dominant female. If she gets pregnant and is ready to give birth, she will set herself apart, have the rest of her pack or clan of hyenas go and hunt for her while she is protected by two or three other hyenas. The puppies of this dominant female are the new generation of the pack and so the next form of survival.
More ostriches!
We then got to the Tropic of Capricorn!
After we had crossed the Tropic of Capricorn we headed on intent on finding a leopard and maybe some lions too. We knew or driver was an ace at spotting them so when he hit the breaks and reversed we knew he had spotted something good. He had spotted a leopard on top of a tree with his prey. Unfortunately the breaks on our van were too loud and when we reversed the leopard was already gone. BUT we could still see its prey in the tree. We waited a bit to see if he would return, but by that time so many other cars had driven up and were waiting that we were sure that the leopard wouldnt return for a long time.
We got talking to a couple who had just spotted some lions nearby and since we hadnt really seen them yet up close, we drove on to find them. When we got to the described place we were able to see three large young make lions. Sleeping away during the heat of the day. Another checked box for the great 5! What beautiful creatures!
We headed on towards our campsite, as we had to get there in time for lunch, and then to head on straight afterwards to our sundowner game drive.
By the way, this was our day to day view of our second home.
When we arrived at the campsite we went for a very quick lunch at the restaurant, overlooking the river with crocodiles and all sorts of animals roaming around. Serene!
Yummy ribs! (Just normal ones!)
Off we went on the sun downer game drive with our very competent guide.
A marabou stork up closer.
The sun setting was just gorgeous. The perfect way to end our last evening on this trip in a national park.
I somehow couldnt stop humming this song during the whole drive, especially when it was getting darker. I still get goosebumps every single time.
And then it happened. We pulled a hard break and even reversed. We wondered why, and then our guide told us that in front of our car was a black mamba. The deadliest of the snakes in the park, as they have a tendency of chasing you if run away. Our guide said that it is why she also reversed as their venom spat out can already be very dangerous. I am so glad we never came across this snake when we were walking around the bush!
Bush hares – so cute!
And back to the campsite. What a wonderful game drive!
We got back and were ready for dinner – the last one together as a group. We had an amazing shepards pie and made smores and talked a bit about the concept of group travelling. When our guides headed into our tents we climbed up onto the van an lay ontop watching the stars. They are just so incredibly clear with no light pollution. It is nights like these that make me want to learn more about astrology!
