Trip Report – South Africa (Kwazulu-Natal and Northern Cape) and Lesotho
Jul 13th, 2006, 08:42 AM
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Trip Report – South Africa (Kwazulu-Natal and Northern Cape) and Lesotho
Background
Since 1999, I had been making almost annual trips to Africa for safaris, but I didn’t get to Africa in 2004, and while I made two visits to Africa in 2005, neither were for safaris (Madagascar in May 2005 and Tunisia in December 2005). So, in Summer 2005, I began thinking about a safari in 2006 – I wanted to visit a park I hadn’t been to, preferably one with different types of animals, landscape and flora. My prior safaris to Africa were:
August 1999: Kenya (Masai Mara and Amboseli) and Tanzania (Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater)
June 2000: South Africa (Kruger, Sabi Sands and Cape Town)
August 2001: Bostwana (Okavango Delta area (Chitabe and Savuti) and Chobe), Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls and Harare), Zambia (South Luangwa) and Malawi (Lake Malawi)
August 2002: Swaziland (Mkhaya), Mozambique (Maputo), Namibia (Ongava, Etosha and Sossosvlei) and Cape Town (shark diving at Dyer Island)
August 2003: Uganda (Queen Elizabeth NP and Bwindi), Rwanda (Parc Nacional Volcans) and Kenya (Samburu and Buffalo Springs)
Since I hadn’t been to any of the major desert parks, I began considering Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, which is a self-drive destination, and I really enjoyed my two prior self-drive trips to Kruger and Etosha. I did most of the research regarding Kgalagadi on the South Africa National Parks website (http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kgalagadi/), and I booked directly (I am impatient, so I called the office in Pretoria, but they can also be reached via e-mail). After deciding on Kgalagadi, in May 2005 (approximately 11 months prior to my planned departure) I used Delta SkyMiles to book a flight on South African Airways for late June 2006. I also began investigating parks to combine with a visit to Kgalagadi, and I decided to visit Hluhluwe, and then added a short visit to Lesotho to my itinerary.
Trip
Wednesday, June 28 and Thursday, June 29 – I flew SAA from JFK to Johannesburg, connected to a flight to Durban, and was then transferred by my hotel (Protea Imperial) to Pietermaritzburg, about an hour west of Durban, and nearer to Underberg, my first destination.
Friday, June 30 – Around 6:30 a.m., I picked up my rental car (Mercedes C-180 from Avis) and drove to Underberg (around two hours from Pietermaritzburg). I had booked a trip with Sani Pass Tours to drive up the pass into Lesotho (the road is not navigable in a 2WD car), and we departed at 9:30 a.m., drove through the southern Drakensbergs (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and arrived in Lesotho around noon. We visited a village and then spent the afternoon at the Sani Pass Chalet (the highest pub in Africa), where I was able to photograph Orange-breasted (or Drakensberg) rock-jumpers, endemic to the Eastern Cape, Lesotho and the southern Drakensberg, and which are easily observed on the grounds of the Sani Pass Chalet. On the trip down the pass, we saw several eland (I think the first large animal I had seen outside a national park), as well as several jackal buzzards. I spent the night in the Himeville Arms Hotel (established in 1904).
Saturday, July 1 – I left Himeville around 7:00 a.m. for the drive to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, and arrived in the Umfolozi section around 10:30 (most of the drive was on the N2 and N3, national tollways, that are excellent – you can average 120 kpm, although many go faster, some much faster). Within 10 minutes of my arrival, I saw my first white rhino, which bode well – Hluhluwe is well-known for rhino (both white and black), and while the black rhinos are better hidden and not as frequently encountered, the white rhinos are fairly common (and I saw many during my two days in the park). After lunch at Hilltop Camp, the principal lodge in the Hluhluwe section, I drove through the Hluhluwe section (some of which is very hilly and covered in thick brush) and saw several elephant, many nyala, impala, wildebeest, buffalo and zebra.
Sunday, July 2 – I left camp around 6:30 a.m., intending to spend the entire day on a game drive, the morning in Hluhluwe and the afternoon in Umfolozi (much of which is open savannah). I encountered two spotted-hyena and some elephants, and then, while driving in one of the loops of the main road, I encountered a male lion, and I spent around 10 minutes watching the lion, until he walked off into the shrubs – during this time, I was the only person with the lion. In the afternoon, I headed into the Umfolozi section, and saw giraffe, several white rhino, zebra, nyala, kudu, warthog and impala. I returned to Hilltop and joined the sunset drive (which is allowed to stay out after the camp gates close) and we saw several groups of elephant and buffalo on the drive, plus lots of giraffe, nyala and zebra.
Monday, July 3 – I left early and drove to St. Lucia, the gateway to the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Reserve (UNESCO World Heritage Site). I joined the 10:00 a.m. boat launch, and saw several crocodiles and many hippos in the estuary, plus numerous birds, including goliath heron and three different kingfishers (pied, giant and half-collared). After the launch, I drove to Cape Vidal, primarily to see samango (or blue) monkeys, of which there were several. After lunch in St. Lucia, I drove to Durban’s airport for my trip to JNB, where I stayed at the Southern Sun.
Tuesday, July 4 – Morning flight to Upington, the airport nearest Kgalagadi. I picked up my rental car (Audi A4 from Avis), and drove to Kgalagadi (around three hours, the first two on excellent road and the final hour on a dirt/gravel road). I had arranged to spend the first night at Twee Rivieren, the largest and least attractive camp, but it allowed me to purchase supplies at its store (the largest in the park). After a drive, I returned and joined the park’s sunset drive, during which I saw several steenbok, cape foxes and bat-eared foxes, plus three different owls (spotted eagle-owl, Verreaux’s, or giant, eagle-owl and white-faced Scops owl).
Wednesday, July 5 – I left early and headed up the dry Nossob river bed to Nossob camp. Kgalagadi has four principal roads, one each up the two dry river beds, and two roads across the dunes connecting these two river bed roads. On the drive to Nossob, I saw more steenbok, several African wild cats, many black-backed jackals, Brants’ whistling rats, and lots of wildebeest, springbok and gemsbok (these three are, by far, the most common large mammals in the park), kudu and red hartebeest, and many birds, including large groups of ostriches, several kori bustards and secretarybirds and a lot of raptors (including white-backed vultures, lapped-faced vultures, bateleur eagles, martial eagles, southern pale chanting goshawks and lanner falcons).
Thursday, July 6 – I left Nossob early to drive to Kalahari Tent Camp, the nicest in the park (and I would rank the quality of the accommodations as equal to a Wilderness Safaris five-paw tent). I saw the usual suspects, but around 1:00 p.m. I came across a pair of cheetah. I spent an hour or so with the cheetah, went to the camp to check-in and returned and spent the rest of the day watching the cheetahs, who at the end of the day, each chased and caught a springbok.
Friday, July 7 – I drove along the Auob River road, where I came across a few giraffe (there are very few in the park), and also saw lilac-breasted rollers, swallow-tailed bee-eaters, cape crows, fork-tailed drongos, southern yellow-billed hornbills, crimson-breasted shrikes and cape glossy starlings. I arrived at 4:00 p.m. in Upington, where I stayed at Le Must River Residence and had dinner at their restaurant, regularly ranked as among the finest in South Africa.
Saturday, July 8 – I flew to JNB, went to Sandton for lunch (at the Butcher Shop) and flew back to JFK.
A few photos: http://tinyurl.com/hffwa
Since 1999, I had been making almost annual trips to Africa for safaris, but I didn’t get to Africa in 2004, and while I made two visits to Africa in 2005, neither were for safaris (Madagascar in May 2005 and Tunisia in December 2005). So, in Summer 2005, I began thinking about a safari in 2006 – I wanted to visit a park I hadn’t been to, preferably one with different types of animals, landscape and flora. My prior safaris to Africa were:
August 1999: Kenya (Masai Mara and Amboseli) and Tanzania (Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater)
June 2000: South Africa (Kruger, Sabi Sands and Cape Town)
August 2001: Bostwana (Okavango Delta area (Chitabe and Savuti) and Chobe), Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls and Harare), Zambia (South Luangwa) and Malawi (Lake Malawi)
August 2002: Swaziland (Mkhaya), Mozambique (Maputo), Namibia (Ongava, Etosha and Sossosvlei) and Cape Town (shark diving at Dyer Island)
August 2003: Uganda (Queen Elizabeth NP and Bwindi), Rwanda (Parc Nacional Volcans) and Kenya (Samburu and Buffalo Springs)
Since I hadn’t been to any of the major desert parks, I began considering Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, which is a self-drive destination, and I really enjoyed my two prior self-drive trips to Kruger and Etosha. I did most of the research regarding Kgalagadi on the South Africa National Parks website (http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kgalagadi/), and I booked directly (I am impatient, so I called the office in Pretoria, but they can also be reached via e-mail). After deciding on Kgalagadi, in May 2005 (approximately 11 months prior to my planned departure) I used Delta SkyMiles to book a flight on South African Airways for late June 2006. I also began investigating parks to combine with a visit to Kgalagadi, and I decided to visit Hluhluwe, and then added a short visit to Lesotho to my itinerary.
Trip
Wednesday, June 28 and Thursday, June 29 – I flew SAA from JFK to Johannesburg, connected to a flight to Durban, and was then transferred by my hotel (Protea Imperial) to Pietermaritzburg, about an hour west of Durban, and nearer to Underberg, my first destination.
Friday, June 30 – Around 6:30 a.m., I picked up my rental car (Mercedes C-180 from Avis) and drove to Underberg (around two hours from Pietermaritzburg). I had booked a trip with Sani Pass Tours to drive up the pass into Lesotho (the road is not navigable in a 2WD car), and we departed at 9:30 a.m., drove through the southern Drakensbergs (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and arrived in Lesotho around noon. We visited a village and then spent the afternoon at the Sani Pass Chalet (the highest pub in Africa), where I was able to photograph Orange-breasted (or Drakensberg) rock-jumpers, endemic to the Eastern Cape, Lesotho and the southern Drakensberg, and which are easily observed on the grounds of the Sani Pass Chalet. On the trip down the pass, we saw several eland (I think the first large animal I had seen outside a national park), as well as several jackal buzzards. I spent the night in the Himeville Arms Hotel (established in 1904).
Saturday, July 1 – I left Himeville around 7:00 a.m. for the drive to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, and arrived in the Umfolozi section around 10:30 (most of the drive was on the N2 and N3, national tollways, that are excellent – you can average 120 kpm, although many go faster, some much faster). Within 10 minutes of my arrival, I saw my first white rhino, which bode well – Hluhluwe is well-known for rhino (both white and black), and while the black rhinos are better hidden and not as frequently encountered, the white rhinos are fairly common (and I saw many during my two days in the park). After lunch at Hilltop Camp, the principal lodge in the Hluhluwe section, I drove through the Hluhluwe section (some of which is very hilly and covered in thick brush) and saw several elephant, many nyala, impala, wildebeest, buffalo and zebra.
Sunday, July 2 – I left camp around 6:30 a.m., intending to spend the entire day on a game drive, the morning in Hluhluwe and the afternoon in Umfolozi (much of which is open savannah). I encountered two spotted-hyena and some elephants, and then, while driving in one of the loops of the main road, I encountered a male lion, and I spent around 10 minutes watching the lion, until he walked off into the shrubs – during this time, I was the only person with the lion. In the afternoon, I headed into the Umfolozi section, and saw giraffe, several white rhino, zebra, nyala, kudu, warthog and impala. I returned to Hilltop and joined the sunset drive (which is allowed to stay out after the camp gates close) and we saw several groups of elephant and buffalo on the drive, plus lots of giraffe, nyala and zebra.
Monday, July 3 – I left early and drove to St. Lucia, the gateway to the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Reserve (UNESCO World Heritage Site). I joined the 10:00 a.m. boat launch, and saw several crocodiles and many hippos in the estuary, plus numerous birds, including goliath heron and three different kingfishers (pied, giant and half-collared). After the launch, I drove to Cape Vidal, primarily to see samango (or blue) monkeys, of which there were several. After lunch in St. Lucia, I drove to Durban’s airport for my trip to JNB, where I stayed at the Southern Sun.
Tuesday, July 4 – Morning flight to Upington, the airport nearest Kgalagadi. I picked up my rental car (Audi A4 from Avis), and drove to Kgalagadi (around three hours, the first two on excellent road and the final hour on a dirt/gravel road). I had arranged to spend the first night at Twee Rivieren, the largest and least attractive camp, but it allowed me to purchase supplies at its store (the largest in the park). After a drive, I returned and joined the park’s sunset drive, during which I saw several steenbok, cape foxes and bat-eared foxes, plus three different owls (spotted eagle-owl, Verreaux’s, or giant, eagle-owl and white-faced Scops owl).
Wednesday, July 5 – I left early and headed up the dry Nossob river bed to Nossob camp. Kgalagadi has four principal roads, one each up the two dry river beds, and two roads across the dunes connecting these two river bed roads. On the drive to Nossob, I saw more steenbok, several African wild cats, many black-backed jackals, Brants’ whistling rats, and lots of wildebeest, springbok and gemsbok (these three are, by far, the most common large mammals in the park), kudu and red hartebeest, and many birds, including large groups of ostriches, several kori bustards and secretarybirds and a lot of raptors (including white-backed vultures, lapped-faced vultures, bateleur eagles, martial eagles, southern pale chanting goshawks and lanner falcons).
Thursday, July 6 – I left Nossob early to drive to Kalahari Tent Camp, the nicest in the park (and I would rank the quality of the accommodations as equal to a Wilderness Safaris five-paw tent). I saw the usual suspects, but around 1:00 p.m. I came across a pair of cheetah. I spent an hour or so with the cheetah, went to the camp to check-in and returned and spent the rest of the day watching the cheetahs, who at the end of the day, each chased and caught a springbok.
Friday, July 7 – I drove along the Auob River road, where I came across a few giraffe (there are very few in the park), and also saw lilac-breasted rollers, swallow-tailed bee-eaters, cape crows, fork-tailed drongos, southern yellow-billed hornbills, crimson-breasted shrikes and cape glossy starlings. I arrived at 4:00 p.m. in Upington, where I stayed at Le Must River Residence and had dinner at their restaurant, regularly ranked as among the finest in South Africa.
Saturday, July 8 – I flew to JNB, went to Sandton for lunch (at the Butcher Shop) and flew back to JFK.
A few photos: http://tinyurl.com/hffwa
Jul 13th, 2006, 08:57 AM
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Many thanks for the report, Michael, sounds like a good trip and I saw your comment elsewhere that of the many parks you've been to you'd like to return to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park again, which is a good endorsement.
How did you find the accommodations?
How did you find the accommodations?
Jul 13th, 2006, 09:12 AM
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Dennis, it would be unfair to claim that the park is as quiet as the private concessions, be they in South Africa, Botswana or elsewhere, but Kgalagadi is a large park, and other than in the areas immediatey around the camps, the park is quiet (you pass cars from time to time, but it doesn't seem intrusive). At a popular sighting, like the cheetahs, for example, several cars will gather over time, but since we found the cheetahs in the northwesternmost corner, where there are two small camps, it wasn't that crowded. But, national parks are more heavily trafficked than private concessions.
Kavey, Kgalagadi has three larger camps (Twee Rivieren, Nossob and Mata Mata) and six small camps (but only four, I think, are accessible by 2WD vehicles). I stayed at two of the larger parks: Twee Rivieren (which was perfectly acceptable, but nothing spectacular) and Nossob (which is more remote, smaller and has an excellent hide, that was visited by many bat-eared foxes and jackals, and its rooms are much nicer than at Twee Rivieren). I also stayed at Kalahari Tented Camp, which was stunning in every respect -- location, quality, isolation, game viewing. I chose these three camps because they are at the points of a triangle, with about three hours of driving between any two camps, and that allowed me to make a counterclockwise visit without backtracking.
When I revisit, I will stay at the smaller camps, and for at least a couple of nights each -- it really is an interesting park.
But, the game is not as prevalent as in Kruger or Hluhluwe -- Kgalagadi is a desert and its much harsher, but its much more peaceful than either of Kruger and Hluhluwe.
Kavey, Kgalagadi has three larger camps (Twee Rivieren, Nossob and Mata Mata) and six small camps (but only four, I think, are accessible by 2WD vehicles). I stayed at two of the larger parks: Twee Rivieren (which was perfectly acceptable, but nothing spectacular) and Nossob (which is more remote, smaller and has an excellent hide, that was visited by many bat-eared foxes and jackals, and its rooms are much nicer than at Twee Rivieren). I also stayed at Kalahari Tented Camp, which was stunning in every respect -- location, quality, isolation, game viewing. I chose these three camps because they are at the points of a triangle, with about three hours of driving between any two camps, and that allowed me to make a counterclockwise visit without backtracking.
When I revisit, I will stay at the smaller camps, and for at least a couple of nights each -- it really is an interesting park.
But, the game is not as prevalent as in Kruger or Hluhluwe -- Kgalagadi is a desert and its much harsher, but its much more peaceful than either of Kruger and Hluhluwe.
Jul 13th, 2006, 09:21 AM
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Sounds good. One of my favourite self-drive parks on the 2004 trip was Ithala - we didn't see much game but it was so beautiful and so peaceful I fell in love with it. The NamibRand is another favourite place of mine and similarly it has fewer animals but is a beautiful, desert environment.
Jul 14th, 2006, 06:03 AM
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Sani Pass -- I did it as a day trip, as I think most do, but if you have more time, I think you can arrange to spend the night in Lesotho, at the Sani Pass Chalet. I also believe you need to book in advance -- several 4WD vehicles make the daily trip, and they all seemed full. If I hadn't reserved, I don't think there would have been an available seat. But, its easy to reserve -- I did so by email.
Its a very interesting trip, through the southern Drakensbergs, which are beautiful, and its very interesting in Winter, when the waterfalls along the pass are frozen, and there is snow along the road (I hadn't seen snow in Africa before, other than the top of Kiliminjaro from a distance). Its a full day trip (we left around 9:30, and I don't think we returned to Underberg until 3:30 or so, but we stopped to watch eland for 15 minutes on the descent).
I went with Sani Pass Tours.
Its a very interesting trip, through the southern Drakensbergs, which are beautiful, and its very interesting in Winter, when the waterfalls along the pass are frozen, and there is snow along the road (I hadn't seen snow in Africa before, other than the top of Kiliminjaro from a distance). Its a full day trip (we left around 9:30, and I don't think we returned to Underberg until 3:30 or so, but we stopped to watch eland for 15 minutes on the descent).
I went with Sani Pass Tours.
Jul 14th, 2006, 06:49 AM
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Thanks for writing such an informative report about Kgalagadi. I followed your link to read more about it and look at the map. It really is huge. I can see why you'd want to spend more nights there next time. I also enjoyed your photos, especially of the smaller animals, and, of course, the hippo in the road.
Is the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Reserve still suffering from drought?
Thanks,
CW
Is the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Reserve still suffering from drought?
Thanks,
CW
Jul 14th, 2006, 07:04 AM
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cw, I'm not as good a photographer as I thought -- its a rhino on the road, not a hippo.
St. Lucia is suffering from drought, but its not evident at the southern area of the park, from where we took the boat launch, but it is apparently much more evident in the northern areas, to where we did not travel.
The map of Kgalagadi was my screen saver from when I began thinking about the trip, and I need now to change it (next trip is in August to the Balkan nations -- Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedona -- I need to find a good map for my screen saver).
St. Lucia is suffering from drought, but its not evident at the southern area of the park, from where we took the boat launch, but it is apparently much more evident in the northern areas, to where we did not travel.
The map of Kgalagadi was my screen saver from when I began thinking about the trip, and I need now to change it (next trip is in August to the Balkan nations -- Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedona -- I need to find a good map for my screen saver).
Jul 14th, 2006, 07:36 AM
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Duh--I typed hippo as I was seeing rhino. Maybe more coffee will help my brain/finger coordination.
Thanks for the information on St. Lucia. Have a great trip in August, hope your new screensaver is as tantalizing as that of Kgalagadi.
CW
Thanks for the information on St. Lucia. Have a great trip in August, hope your new screensaver is as tantalizing as that of Kgalagadi.
CW
Jul 14th, 2006, 08:01 AM
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Michael, I think Jim and I stayed at the Sani Pass Chalet in 1980, on a wonderfully romantic weekend trip to Lesotho. We were living in Jo'burg at the time. It was winter, and we, like you, enjoyed seeing the snow. As I remember, the waterfalls weren't frozen -- I'll have to dig out the old pictures and check. We were the only guests at the chalet, which made it seem even more magical.
Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks for the reminder!
Jul 14th, 2006, 01:35 PM
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Thanks for the great report and pictures. 
Do be careful in August. What the Bermuda Triangle is to ships the Macedonian Triangle is to cars. Except the Macedonian Triangle is real and has a plainly terrestrial origin: crazy drivers!
Do be careful in August. What the Bermuda Triangle is to ships the Macedonian Triangle is to cars. Except the Macedonian Triangle is real and has a plainly terrestrial origin: crazy drivers!
Jul 14th, 2006, 05:43 PM
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Thanks for the info on Macedonian roads, but I will not be driving -- I will be relying on trains (from Sarajevo to Mostar), buses and shared taxis (I really want to do the trip by public transport, so I'll try to avoid private taxis, which make the trip much easier).
Mar 14th, 2007, 04:57 AM
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Thanks, thit_cho, for your report on Hluhluwe-Umfolozi. We are now in the midst of planning a trip to South Africa and I wanted to confine it to KwaZulu Natal, but was beginning to have second thoughts that we might have to go to Kruger to see all the game we wanted to see. Your report convinced me that we will see plenty of game in Hluhluwe-Umfolozi.
I was thinking about doing the weekend safari walk in Umfolozi and then staying two extra days (Hilltop?) Do you think 5 days in the park is too much? What would you recommend?
Thanks for any suggestions!
I was thinking about doing the weekend safari walk in Umfolozi and then staying two extra days (Hilltop?) Do you think 5 days in the park is too much? What would you recommend?
Thanks for any suggestions!
