Animals from the car window

Fri 6 May 2016 - Kruger NP

When the alarm rang we sprang (maybe it was more lethargically rolled) out of bed, showered, breakfasted and were ready to leave by 0540. The short journey to the park gate in darkness soon passed and we completed the large amount of paperwork to gain entry and were in the park just after it opened at 0600.

Starting at this time gave us the best chance to see the animals, especially the big cats, in the cool when they are more active. We didn’t see any. Our first encounter with anything meaningful was at a waterhole just after 0700 when, first a trickle of Impala, then a mob of them all turned up to quench their thirst. Having spent a while watching them we began driving the car away when Yvonne spotted something from the corner of her eye. We stopped the car and watched four Elephants emerge from the bush to plod over to the large cylindrical tank that had been erected especially for them to reach their trunks over. We watched for a good while as the mother and three young had a good drink then slowly more and more of them appeared until there must have been about 30 gently jostling for the best position at the hole.

As time pushed on we left the hole and drove on some more. Before long we spotted all manner of antelope, more elephants, cape buffalo and a couple of warthogs but still no sign of any cats. We drove a good way through varied terrain with only these animals to see until we arrived at a small area where we stopped for lunch.

As we spread the makings of our lunch over a picnic bench a guy came to warn us of the thieving monkeys that sneak up to grab your food. Yvonne has never been a fan of monkeys and this only raised her natural phobia to a mild paranoia. Carefully, but swiftly, we made and ate our sandwiches as we watched a couple of our primate cousins jump onto a bbq while the cook was away for a short while. As we munched on our apples Yvonne suddenly leapt from her seat shouting and kicking at a monkey she’d just noticed sitting by her feet waiting for his opportunity. Despite the commotion he merely retreated to the next table and waited for the fuss to die down. It was only when Glenn found a stick that it showed any sign of trepidation and fled a safe distance.

We were soon back in the car, driving through the midday sun and optimistically looking out for more wildlife. Soon we’d spotted some hippo’s and crocs at another waterhole then watched a herd of elephants splash around in some water and scratch themselves against a tree in ecstasy. As we still had some way to go we started to drive a little faster to get to the Oliphants resort for the night before the gate was shut at 1730. However, on the way we finally saw some giraffes, noticed a flock of huge vultures picking away at something hidden by a bush and pulled up behind another car to see a rhino trying, but not succeeding, to lie out of the sun.

With just under an hour to spare we arrived at Oliphants, checked in to our rondavel then went straight to the viewing platform that overlooks the river some 30m below. With the sun casting warm golden light on the red rocks we scoured the area with our binoculars to find the last few animals before darkness fell. Shattered after a long day we quickly grabbed some dinner then turned in for an early night.

These hornbills (the Zazoo character in Lion King) are everywhere.

At the waterhole

 

Home for the night