You got to get an early start to fully appreciate Kruger, so we woke up at 3am. Since that was an hour and a half too early we tried to sleep some more, but eventually gave up, got dressed and packed our bags for the day. Ate breakfast at 4:30 and our guide picked us up at 5am. Still dark, very dark. We drove an hour or so and arrived at the Phalaborwa entrance to Kruger park where we transferred into an open-air jeep-like safari vehicle. Kruger is criss-crossed by well maintained paved roads – you can go on dirt roads with permission, but is not necessary to see the wildlife. There are several campgrounds inside the park (behind high fences!). All of the shops, restroooms and camps are sparkling clean and neat. I was consistently amazed at how orderly and clean everything is, in the face of the wilderness surrounding us. I was also amazed at the amount of food available, dairy and fresh fruit!
The experience of Kruger was very different than the game drive at Edeni. The private game reserves tend to overstock their property and with their sophisticated tracking system can provide a more “entertaining” experience, with consistant sightings of “the bg 5″ and animals within a few yards of the game vehicles. It is controversial, because in some ways it amounts to more of a glorified zoo, in that the animals are not living as they truly would in the wild, but all mostly agree it is better than cages. Most of the time in Kruger, the animals were 100 yards away or greater. A good camera lens and binoculars were essential. As we had 1 camera and 2 binoculars we were in constant negotiation over them.
So, Kruger is a huge park and we saw about 1% of it, after driving around for 8 hours (my back is killing me by the end of the day). But, it was amazing. We had a Danish couple that took us around, the husband drove, the wife did commentary on what we saw. She was good at spotting animals we would have missed. It becomes apparent why animals are marked the way the are, they seem to disappear in the bush. A giraffe would be standing 10 feet away and we wouldn’t see it as it was absolutly still.
We saw many bull elephants, most by themselves, a few times there were two traveling together. This is normal elephant behavior. They are just huge animals, and quite stunning to come up upon around a corner. We saw hundreds of impala, usually in herds of 30 or more. Lots of warthogs, ugliest little animals, but when moving with the little tails held high, they have a certain grace. Many giraffe, mostly standing stock still with their heads in trees, but when moving fast – a beautiful sight. In the zoos, there is never enough space for the animals to get up speed and cover alot of ground, but in the “wild” the most amazing thing is to see them running across a large distance.
Saw quite a few groups of water buffalo, another rather ugly creature. This animal is considered one of the “big 5″ as in one of the most dangerous animals to hunt. They are incredibly smart. We saw a baby nursing it’s mom. The baby nurses from behind, not the side like most cattle. Not sure why. These animals were very close to the road so we got a good look at them and some good photos.
Also, saw many herds of zebra. According to park literature, there are about 32,000 zebra in the park. So, after awhile it was just “oh, another zebra”. We did come across several groups crossing the road. They are not phased by the cars as all the cars stop, but they are cautious. On one occasion, most of the herd had crossed, but a mom and a baby were hesitant. The mom kept approaching the road, but then shying back. She eventually run up the road from us, about 50 yards, got herself between us and her baby and then dashed across the road, the baby stuck by her side.
Kruger practices controlled burning. They burn up to 100-200 yards on either side of the roads at certain spots in the park, I think they rotate the burns. They do this because of the stupid tourists who flick cigarette butts out of their cars. This area has not had enough rainfall in the last few years (but you get a different story depending on who you speak to), and Kruger park is very dry. They keep the dry vegetation low by the roads, to try and reduce the possibility of a huge fire spreading uncontrolled, through the park. It is not the most attractive thing to see, a burnt swath for miles. Apparently, the animals and the bush recover quickly. Along one of the burnt patches, we spotted a lone jackal, intent on some purpose we could not ascertain.
By the end of the day, we had seen seventeen species of animals, not including some amazing birds. The highlights were lions, of course – although they were furtherest from the car, laying on top of a hill next to a watering hole. They are majestic, even while squinting thru binoculars. Also, we observed a group of baboons yelling and skirmishing, they are quite loud and boisterous. One big male jumped (or fell) from a branch at least 20 ft off of the ground, it seemed as if he was irritated with some of the younger baboons and was hollaring and chasing them. Later, we pulled up to a beautiful waterhole, a group of baboon and impala were hanging out together. A few waterbucks were standing around. There were several hippos in the water with just their ears and eyes poking out. I’m sure these animals enjoyed this spot during the day,when the lions are sleeping, but got the hell out of there at night.
We arrived home, after nightfall. In all about 14 hours of driving that day.
Check out all of our Kruger Park Photos! Check out all of our Kruger Park Photos!
The Next South Africa Entry: Driving Tour to Tzaneen and Haenertsburg
The Whole Trip: South Africa – The Summary