South Africa: trip report
Jan 1st, 2010, 04:11 AM
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South Africa: trip report
On this trip we went to South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. I'm glad we went to Zimbabwe when we did because it's definatley not a safe place to go now!
See my personal photos from this trip at: www.ThompsonTravelinfo.com
We left Grand Rapids at 430PM on September 11 and arrived into Hoedspruit airport, South Africa, on September 13 around noon. Our flights took us from Grand Rapids to Chicago, then to Zurich, Switzerland, (where we had a 12 hour layover), then to Johannesburg (South Africa), then to Hoedspruit.
Zurich airport has “Day Rooms” that can be reserved in advance. The room has 2 very comfortable beds and a sink. Towels are provided if a person wants to wash up in the room or take a shower in the shower room down the hall. There’s also a lounge with books and a TV but we just enjoyed being able to stretch out and get several hours of sleep. Check out time was 2 hours before our Zurich to Johannesburg flight departed. It was 8 ½ hours from Chicago to Zurich then 10 ½ hours from Zurich to Johannesburg, then finally, about 50 minutes to fly to Hoedspruit airport.
Hoedspruit airport was our favorite airport of all the airports we were in on this vacation. It’s very small, an old military airport complete with an abandoned guard tower at the entrance/exit gate. The airport has a clean and comfortable outdoor waiting area with tables and chairs set in a garden like area with fragrant flowering trees and bushes.
A representative from Budget car rental was waiting for us with our car at the airport. It was about half an hour drive from the airport to our home for the next 6 nights at GwalaGwala Game Reserve.
We weren’t more than a mile from the airport when we spotted 3 giraffes in the trees right beside the road. There were more giraffe as we were driving down the dirt road to Gwala Gwala.
Our tent is really nice and over looks a stream with a little waterfall. It’s nice to hear the sound of water right from our tent. Our tent is raised off the ground and we climb about 8 steps which takes us to the front deck. On the deck is a table and chairs. As we unzip the front fly of the tent we walk straight into the bedroom with a Queen size bed covered with a fluffy down comforter. At the very back of the tent is the bathroom with a dressing room with 2 large cabinets and then a sink area. There is a huge open shower area made with slate tiles. The bathroom walls are made with vertical bamboo sticks. You can see the light from outside peeking through between some of the sticks. The rest of the tent has lots of flaps that are open to allow the air to flow through the tent and keep us comfortable. At night, they come in and turn down the flaps so we’ll stay warmer. We also have a electric blanket on the bed which we used almost every night.
After lunch at the main lodge/gathering place, Ken and I took a walk and saw 2 groups of giraffe, some impala, and heard a troop of baboon. The male leader was yelling out at the other baboons probably warning them humans were in the area. We must have been able to hear him a mile away, that’s how we knew they were there. We could see the movement of the trees where they were across the stream but they were too camouflaged by the thick brush for us to see them very clearly. Anyway, the way the troop leader was barking orders, it’s probably a good idea we had the stream between us and them.
Last night at dinner there were a couple of bush babies and a wild stripped cat with an especially long tail hanging around where we all were eating. The cat (not at all related to the domestic cat) is called a Genet. They were hoping to sneak scraps.
Dinner was served outside but in a circular bamboo enclosed area called a Bomba. It was chilly but there was a camp fire in the middle which served to warm us but also to grill the chicken. There are 3 other couples here besides us. We all take our meals together along with the safari driver/hosts & his wife, Pierre & Jean. The owners, Dorian & Ann pop in briefly during meals. Later in our stay, Pierre & Jean would be leaving and Dorian and Ann would be there for every meal and the game drives on GwalaGwala.
Thurs., Sept. 14
Highlights:
1. Walking with the Giraffes
2. The mother leopard & cubs
3. So close to the lions!
It was 44 degrees this morning in our tent. Chilly, but cozy and warm as long as we stayed in bed with our electric blanket on. At 7AM, we woke up, met for tea, coffee, and a traditional bread/biscuit called Rusk. Rusks tastes like a very thick bread or sugarless coffee cake that someone forgot to put away a few weeks ago. I can’t believe people would actually purchase this much less actually choose to eat it!
Ken and I and a guy named Kevin, (from Cape town, South Africa), went on a game drive here at GwalaGwala. We were gone about 3 hours and saw Impala, water bucks, wart hogs, mongoose, & vervet monkeys. When the wart hogs see us, they stare at us for a moment but then raise their tails in the air like little antennas and run away. The raised tails, Pierre told us, are a way for the wart hogs to follow each other through the thick grasses. Similarly, lions have black tipped ears and black tipped tails making it easier for them to stay together when they are so easily camouflaged in the brown grasses.
At one point we got out of the safari jeep and tracked a group of giraffe on foot. The giraffe were aware we were there but we were able to get pretty close. It’s funny that if a giraffe has his head behind some tree branches he thinks he’s hidden even if his body is in plain sight.
When we got back we went up into the tree house to have breakfast in the open air restaurant/lounge. We could see Vervet Monkeys all over. They were anxious for us to leave so they could come down out of the trees and steal leftovers. When we went back to our tent, we saw several monkeys in the trees right in front of our tent and near the stream.
In the afternoon, we went of a game drive to neighboring Thorny Bush game reserve. Our guide was Tasha and the spotter was Lawrence. Lawrence’s job is to sit in a special seat that extends from the front of the safari jeep and look for tracks so he can tell the driver which way to go to find the animals. We drove right through a heard of about 100 Cape Buffalo! They surrounded us. There were a few babies in the heard trying to nurse on their moms. The babies, unlike cows or deer, nurse from behind instead of standing on the side to get the milk. Since we have always heard how unpredictable and dangerous the Cape Buffalo can be, we were surprise how close we were to them.
A little later in the same game drive, we saw a mother leopard with two cubs! At first the cubs were nursing on the mother then when they finished they got up and were wrestling around with each other, with us just 20 feet away! The leopard was the animal I most wanted to see but also the animal that I least expected to see because they are so allusive. Ken and I both got wonderful footage of the leopard cubs. On the plane on the way to Africa, I told Ken that there will be one day that we’ll say to ourselves, “just this one day was worth the entire trip”. Being able to see the leopard cubs and photograph them was “that one day”….and there will be another and another, each day making the entire trip worthwhile for that single day.
September 15
Highlights:
Being charged by the bull elephant
Monkey stealing a roll from inside our car
Today we woke up at 5:00AM, got ready, then drove to the Kruger Park, about 40 minutes away. Kruger is South Africa’s most impressive natural game reserve. It covers the area in size of a small country. The park opens & closes at 6 o’clock so we wanted to be sure to get an early start and see all we could and still be able to be out by 6 to avoid heavy fines for being in the park after dark. We entered in the Opren Gate where the guy reminded Ken not to let the lions eat me. We took a side gravel road but it was really slow going because of the washboard condition of the road. After getting back on the main “tarred” road we actually saw more animals and it was a more pleasant ride. There were all type of deer and antelope along the way, a heard of about 20 elephants, zebras, cape buffalo, countless giraffes, more elephants (bulls this time), hippos in a stream, a monkey, baboons, more elephants….
My long lens on the camera worked well for shots like the hippos that were down stream but for many of the animals we are seeing, the long lens is just too powerful and allows me to only get partial body shots because the animals are so close..
We stopped to photograph a troop of baboons crossing the road in front of us and didn’t see, at first, the bull elephant munching on tree leaves right on the shoulder of the road next to our car. When I stood up through the open sunroof top to take a photo, he only tolerated it for a minute then charged! Ken was video taping and I said “Go, Go”! He didn’t waste any time getting us out of there and away from the charging elephant. We would’ve never approached so close to him but we didn’t know he was there. That really got my heart racing!
No one is supposed to get out of their vehicles for obvious reasons (lions…) but at an overlook turn off we got out briefly to photograph some hippos in the stream below. When we started walking back to the car we saw a monkey running away from our car with a breakfast roll in his hand! We had left the doors open and he sneaked in, climbed onto the back seat, and helped himself to a roll that was in a bag. All this before we even knew he was there. He was a cute little guy with a face that looked like black velvet. He’s called a “Vervet Monkey”.
September 16
Highlights
• Being alone at Gwala Gwala at the bird blind
• Watching the giraffe drink in the stream, impala heard, wart hog family
• Leopard!
This morning we decided to pass on the morning game drive and bush walk. We decided to just sleep in and have a no rush, relaxing morning. I’m sitting on our balcony with the sun over my left shoulder, enjoying the sound of the rushing stream and the call of the birds. I just saw a quick movement across the stream of a large brown animal but I looked up too late to be able to identify it.
It gets chilly at night where we are now in South Africa. One morning when we woke up it was 41 degrees! It’s 830AM now and feels like 70 degrees outside. The sun is shining as it has every day. There are virtually no mosquitoes or flies. The days warm up very quickly. This is a great time of year to come. The weather is nice and it is near the end of the dry season so the grasses aren’t tall and it’s easier to spot animals. There are fewer places for animals to find water so it’s more likely they’ll congregate around remaining water holes making it easier to find them than if there was abundant water all over.
When going for bush walks here at GwalaGwala, they suggest tracking animals with the wind at your face so the animals won’t be as likely to smell a human coming. It also helps to keep the sun behind you which makes it harder for the animals to see you coming if they have to look into the sun.
After breakfast in the tree house, Ken and I walked to the “bird hide”, a thatch roof blind. It’s situated on a pond that has a stream flowing at each end. Ken sat up his video camera on a tri-pod and we waited… Before long a mother wart hog brought her 3 babies down for a drink and to waller in the mud. They also found enjoyment rubbing and scratching themselves on a tree trunk and on a rock. Once they got cooled off and were slathered in mud, they headed back up the slope to snooze in the shade again. I wonder how many times a day they repeat this. What a life!
Later a heard Impala came pouring down to the waterhole. There were 60-70 of them. The males all had spiked antlers that looked like swirls had been carved into them from the base upward. While we were watching them spread out in line to drink at the water’s edge we noticed giraffes coming up stream. At first there were 3, then 4, then maybe 1 or 2 more. It was hard to get a good count because some would come in and leave then more would appear. We photographed them as they contorted their long legs so they could get low enough to put their mouths to the water. While they were drinking wart hogs came in right where the giraffes were standing. With all the photos & video we are taking, I told Ken that Jim Swan won’t be able to leave for Florida now until January because we’ll want him to see all of our photos & video. (he normally leaves in October)
Now we’re off for another “Big 5 Game Drive” at Thorny Bush. During the game drive we saw a pride of lions lounging by a waterhole, their images reflecting off the water. Later, we saw a single male lion laying, completely filled, with his Wildebeast kill laying nearby. His whiskers still were blood stained and he was so full, he only expended enough energy to open 1 eye to check us out. There were 2 adult elephants and a baby just a few weeks old, more Cape Buffalo, and a male leopard. The leopard was laying down facing away from us when our safari vehicle first got there but then he got up and walked around providing excellent photo & video opportunities. At one point he came within a few feet of our jeep! I’m still excited to go to Botswana but along with that excitement, now, I’m even excited to get home and see Ken’s high definition video on our big screen TV. He got some amazing footage today!
September 17 & 18
Highlights
• Elephants feeding on trees
• A Jackal
• Vultures
When Ann & Dorian buy chicken meat for their employees, they find that their employees prefer to eat chicken feet!
There are English speaking Africans, Africanas (a mixture of Dutch, German & French heritage people that speak Africana), Colored people (Black mixed), and Blacks. This all was explained to us by South African Gwala Gwala guests, Michelle & Kevin. It’s all quite confusing. There are 14 official languages in South Africa.
Dorian took just Ken and I on a game drive around Gwala Gwala this afternoon. I thought it was really nice that he took the time to take just the two of us. I think he did it because they know Ken and I enjoy doing things without a bunch of other people. We saw lots of giraffes and were able to stop, get out the safari jeep, and walk with them. It was a quiet and peaceful drive. When we got back to camp it was after dark. Ken shinned the spotlight through the bushes as we drove back to try to spot the animals at night. The spot light picked out some impala and giraffes. They try not to have the light on the impala for very long because having them illuminated at night creates an unfair advantage for the predators. At Gwala Gwala, the only predators would be the hyenas that come out at night.
During dinner, we talked about U.S. politics with Dorian and a guest that lives in South Africa. They, like another South African guest that was here earlier think the U.S. is a bully because of our politics and world involvement (intervention). All they see on the news is negative information about the U.S. That’s the only information that they have to go on. Hopefully people are smart enough to separate U.S. government from U.S. people.
Ann told us an elephant is born with 8 full sets of teeth. Because of the roughage and tree branches they munch on, the teeth wear down. When one set is worn down to nothing, a new set will come through. After the 8th set is finished, there are no more teeth. The elephant can’t eat and will slowly starve until he dies.
The female giraffes are a couple of feet shorter than the males. They have skinnier horns on their head that are covered with hair. Males are taller, have thicker horns, and are bald on top of their horns probably from rousting with other males. Males are normally 18’ plus their necks can stretch up and their tongues must add another 1 ½ fee to their reach. We’ve even seen a couple of giraffes BEND OVER to eat leaves off the TOP of a tree!
The name Gwala Gwala is given by the Zulus to the Purple-Crested Lourie bird which can be found in the area where Gwala Gwala is located. Gwala Gwala is located in Limpopo Province. It’s 40 minutes from Kruger’s “Orpen Gate” entrance. Gwala Gwala size is 500 hectres (1236 acres). There’s a fence around the Gwala Gwala property to keep the predators out so it’s safe to walk around during the day. There are hyenas on the property so no one is allowed to walk at night when the hyenas are most likely to be active. The mountains seen from this area are the Drankensburg Escarpment. The Klaserie River runs in front of our tent. This is a “low risk” malaria area. More than 28 mammal species can be found at Gwala Gwala.
We saw the Southern Cross in the sky at night. It’s actually in the shape of an X …not shaped like a religious cross like I had imagined it. The Southern Cross is only visible from below the equator. They see a completely different set of stars than we do in the Northern Hemisphere.
The zebra’s stripes are a protective measure provided to them by nature. A lion only sees in black and white. When the zebras are together in a heard the stripes create confusing patterns for the predator which makes it hard to single out just one zebra. Some Zebras have black and white stripes. Some have black white and grey patterns.
There are a few park rangers in the Kruger Park that patrol on bicycles. They carry guns strapped on the front handlebars of the bikes. The locals call those volunteer rangers “Meals on Wheels” (for the animals)
There is a lizard in our bathroom right now. Cute little guy about 8” long.
On the drive to Kruger we noticed that as we passed people on the road they may look at us but show no reaction. As soon as we’d wave to them, their whole face would light up in a smile and they’ve wave back. Dorian explained that right or wrong they feel beneath a white person and wait until acknowledged or given permission before they respond. Dorian also told us it’s thought of to be impolite if you don’t start the conversation with “How are you”. I remember this and throughout our travels in Africa, I remembered to greet someone in this manner. It made a huge difference in getting a very friendly reply.
We’ve been lazing around the tent today which is just fine with me. At 23PM we’ll go up to the main building and meet for the afternoon game drive. Tomorrow morning we leave. We’ll fly back to Johannesburg, spend the night at the hotel near the airport then fly out the next morning to Maun, Botswana where our safari guide will meet us. We’ll fly from Maun on a small plane that will take us to our first campsite in the Okavango Delta. Should be exciting!
In an African Geographic magazine, they said “Botswana is one of the world’s last wild frontiers”.
On the game drive this afternoon we saw a pride of lions laying beside a small lake, water buffalo sparring & crashing horns, and a few more lions.
Tasha was our driver for 2 of our game drives at Thornybush. He was our favorite. Lawrence was the tracker on each of the drives. He sat up front on the “tracker’s seat”. Lawrence takes a lot of pride in being able to find the animals when the other trackers can’t. This afternoon we were able to smell the Cape Buffalo before they actually came into sight!
September 19
Highlights
• A Hyena behind our tent!
Last night, about 3AM, we heard the “whoop” call of a hyena and then something walking right behind our tent. Next we heard what sounded like a guttural bark. In the morning when we went out to look for tracks, we saw Hyena tracks just a few feet behind our tent. Ann said the Hyena was probably stalking a Water Buck and the barking noise was the noise the Water Buck makes in warning.
On the way back from the game drive yesterday 2 Cape Buffalos ran out in front of the safari jeep. They were butting horns and were so intent in sparring with each other, they didn’t even seem to notice the safari jeep. The driver had to back up so they wouldn’t ram in to us.
There were 2 Nyala (large deer like animals with spiraled horns, a slightly shaggy coat, and a few white strips across their rib area) across the stream from our tent this morning.
We are back in Johannesburg now staying at the Sun Inter-Continental Hotel just a couple of blocks from the airport. It’s 3PM so we’ll just relax and have dinner here at the hotel. Our flight to Maun, Botswana leaves at 10:00 in the morning. For dinner, I had just 2 bites of the nastiest hamburger I’ve ever had. It was supposed to have been beef. Ken didn’t like his either but must have been very hungry because he ate all of his.
A breakfast buffet was included in our stay so at least we had a nice choice of things to eat at breakfast.
Ken was worried about the 8 passenger plane we had to take once we got to Maun but he had no problems at all. That’s a huge relief because I know he would’ve been miserable if he’d have gotten sick from flying especially knowing there was more flights to come in the small planes.
The pilot, before take off, told us he wasn’t going to bother going over the standard safety talk because if we crashed no one would survive anyway. Thank you very much!
See my personal photos from this trip at: www.ThompsonTravelinfo.com
We left Grand Rapids at 430PM on September 11 and arrived into Hoedspruit airport, South Africa, on September 13 around noon. Our flights took us from Grand Rapids to Chicago, then to Zurich, Switzerland, (where we had a 12 hour layover), then to Johannesburg (South Africa), then to Hoedspruit.
Zurich airport has “Day Rooms” that can be reserved in advance. The room has 2 very comfortable beds and a sink. Towels are provided if a person wants to wash up in the room or take a shower in the shower room down the hall. There’s also a lounge with books and a TV but we just enjoyed being able to stretch out and get several hours of sleep. Check out time was 2 hours before our Zurich to Johannesburg flight departed. It was 8 ½ hours from Chicago to Zurich then 10 ½ hours from Zurich to Johannesburg, then finally, about 50 minutes to fly to Hoedspruit airport.
Hoedspruit airport was our favorite airport of all the airports we were in on this vacation. It’s very small, an old military airport complete with an abandoned guard tower at the entrance/exit gate. The airport has a clean and comfortable outdoor waiting area with tables and chairs set in a garden like area with fragrant flowering trees and bushes.
A representative from Budget car rental was waiting for us with our car at the airport. It was about half an hour drive from the airport to our home for the next 6 nights at GwalaGwala Game Reserve.
We weren’t more than a mile from the airport when we spotted 3 giraffes in the trees right beside the road. There were more giraffe as we were driving down the dirt road to Gwala Gwala.
Our tent is really nice and over looks a stream with a little waterfall. It’s nice to hear the sound of water right from our tent. Our tent is raised off the ground and we climb about 8 steps which takes us to the front deck. On the deck is a table and chairs. As we unzip the front fly of the tent we walk straight into the bedroom with a Queen size bed covered with a fluffy down comforter. At the very back of the tent is the bathroom with a dressing room with 2 large cabinets and then a sink area. There is a huge open shower area made with slate tiles. The bathroom walls are made with vertical bamboo sticks. You can see the light from outside peeking through between some of the sticks. The rest of the tent has lots of flaps that are open to allow the air to flow through the tent and keep us comfortable. At night, they come in and turn down the flaps so we’ll stay warmer. We also have a electric blanket on the bed which we used almost every night.
After lunch at the main lodge/gathering place, Ken and I took a walk and saw 2 groups of giraffe, some impala, and heard a troop of baboon. The male leader was yelling out at the other baboons probably warning them humans were in the area. We must have been able to hear him a mile away, that’s how we knew they were there. We could see the movement of the trees where they were across the stream but they were too camouflaged by the thick brush for us to see them very clearly. Anyway, the way the troop leader was barking orders, it’s probably a good idea we had the stream between us and them.
Last night at dinner there were a couple of bush babies and a wild stripped cat with an especially long tail hanging around where we all were eating. The cat (not at all related to the domestic cat) is called a Genet. They were hoping to sneak scraps.
Dinner was served outside but in a circular bamboo enclosed area called a Bomba. It was chilly but there was a camp fire in the middle which served to warm us but also to grill the chicken. There are 3 other couples here besides us. We all take our meals together along with the safari driver/hosts & his wife, Pierre & Jean. The owners, Dorian & Ann pop in briefly during meals. Later in our stay, Pierre & Jean would be leaving and Dorian and Ann would be there for every meal and the game drives on GwalaGwala.
Thurs., Sept. 14
Highlights:
1. Walking with the Giraffes
2. The mother leopard & cubs
3. So close to the lions!
It was 44 degrees this morning in our tent. Chilly, but cozy and warm as long as we stayed in bed with our electric blanket on. At 7AM, we woke up, met for tea, coffee, and a traditional bread/biscuit called Rusk. Rusks tastes like a very thick bread or sugarless coffee cake that someone forgot to put away a few weeks ago. I can’t believe people would actually purchase this much less actually choose to eat it!
Ken and I and a guy named Kevin, (from Cape town, South Africa), went on a game drive here at GwalaGwala. We were gone about 3 hours and saw Impala, water bucks, wart hogs, mongoose, & vervet monkeys. When the wart hogs see us, they stare at us for a moment but then raise their tails in the air like little antennas and run away. The raised tails, Pierre told us, are a way for the wart hogs to follow each other through the thick grasses. Similarly, lions have black tipped ears and black tipped tails making it easier for them to stay together when they are so easily camouflaged in the brown grasses.
At one point we got out of the safari jeep and tracked a group of giraffe on foot. The giraffe were aware we were there but we were able to get pretty close. It’s funny that if a giraffe has his head behind some tree branches he thinks he’s hidden even if his body is in plain sight.
When we got back we went up into the tree house to have breakfast in the open air restaurant/lounge. We could see Vervet Monkeys all over. They were anxious for us to leave so they could come down out of the trees and steal leftovers. When we went back to our tent, we saw several monkeys in the trees right in front of our tent and near the stream.
In the afternoon, we went of a game drive to neighboring Thorny Bush game reserve. Our guide was Tasha and the spotter was Lawrence. Lawrence’s job is to sit in a special seat that extends from the front of the safari jeep and look for tracks so he can tell the driver which way to go to find the animals. We drove right through a heard of about 100 Cape Buffalo! They surrounded us. There were a few babies in the heard trying to nurse on their moms. The babies, unlike cows or deer, nurse from behind instead of standing on the side to get the milk. Since we have always heard how unpredictable and dangerous the Cape Buffalo can be, we were surprise how close we were to them.
A little later in the same game drive, we saw a mother leopard with two cubs! At first the cubs were nursing on the mother then when they finished they got up and were wrestling around with each other, with us just 20 feet away! The leopard was the animal I most wanted to see but also the animal that I least expected to see because they are so allusive. Ken and I both got wonderful footage of the leopard cubs. On the plane on the way to Africa, I told Ken that there will be one day that we’ll say to ourselves, “just this one day was worth the entire trip”. Being able to see the leopard cubs and photograph them was “that one day”….and there will be another and another, each day making the entire trip worthwhile for that single day.
September 15
Highlights:
Being charged by the bull elephant
Monkey stealing a roll from inside our car
Today we woke up at 5:00AM, got ready, then drove to the Kruger Park, about 40 minutes away. Kruger is South Africa’s most impressive natural game reserve. It covers the area in size of a small country. The park opens & closes at 6 o’clock so we wanted to be sure to get an early start and see all we could and still be able to be out by 6 to avoid heavy fines for being in the park after dark. We entered in the Opren Gate where the guy reminded Ken not to let the lions eat me. We took a side gravel road but it was really slow going because of the washboard condition of the road. After getting back on the main “tarred” road we actually saw more animals and it was a more pleasant ride. There were all type of deer and antelope along the way, a heard of about 20 elephants, zebras, cape buffalo, countless giraffes, more elephants (bulls this time), hippos in a stream, a monkey, baboons, more elephants….
My long lens on the camera worked well for shots like the hippos that were down stream but for many of the animals we are seeing, the long lens is just too powerful and allows me to only get partial body shots because the animals are so close..
We stopped to photograph a troop of baboons crossing the road in front of us and didn’t see, at first, the bull elephant munching on tree leaves right on the shoulder of the road next to our car. When I stood up through the open sunroof top to take a photo, he only tolerated it for a minute then charged! Ken was video taping and I said “Go, Go”! He didn’t waste any time getting us out of there and away from the charging elephant. We would’ve never approached so close to him but we didn’t know he was there. That really got my heart racing!
No one is supposed to get out of their vehicles for obvious reasons (lions…) but at an overlook turn off we got out briefly to photograph some hippos in the stream below. When we started walking back to the car we saw a monkey running away from our car with a breakfast roll in his hand! We had left the doors open and he sneaked in, climbed onto the back seat, and helped himself to a roll that was in a bag. All this before we even knew he was there. He was a cute little guy with a face that looked like black velvet. He’s called a “Vervet Monkey”.
September 16
Highlights
• Being alone at Gwala Gwala at the bird blind
• Watching the giraffe drink in the stream, impala heard, wart hog family
• Leopard!
This morning we decided to pass on the morning game drive and bush walk. We decided to just sleep in and have a no rush, relaxing morning. I’m sitting on our balcony with the sun over my left shoulder, enjoying the sound of the rushing stream and the call of the birds. I just saw a quick movement across the stream of a large brown animal but I looked up too late to be able to identify it.
It gets chilly at night where we are now in South Africa. One morning when we woke up it was 41 degrees! It’s 830AM now and feels like 70 degrees outside. The sun is shining as it has every day. There are virtually no mosquitoes or flies. The days warm up very quickly. This is a great time of year to come. The weather is nice and it is near the end of the dry season so the grasses aren’t tall and it’s easier to spot animals. There are fewer places for animals to find water so it’s more likely they’ll congregate around remaining water holes making it easier to find them than if there was abundant water all over.
When going for bush walks here at GwalaGwala, they suggest tracking animals with the wind at your face so the animals won’t be as likely to smell a human coming. It also helps to keep the sun behind you which makes it harder for the animals to see you coming if they have to look into the sun.
After breakfast in the tree house, Ken and I walked to the “bird hide”, a thatch roof blind. It’s situated on a pond that has a stream flowing at each end. Ken sat up his video camera on a tri-pod and we waited… Before long a mother wart hog brought her 3 babies down for a drink and to waller in the mud. They also found enjoyment rubbing and scratching themselves on a tree trunk and on a rock. Once they got cooled off and were slathered in mud, they headed back up the slope to snooze in the shade again. I wonder how many times a day they repeat this. What a life!
Later a heard Impala came pouring down to the waterhole. There were 60-70 of them. The males all had spiked antlers that looked like swirls had been carved into them from the base upward. While we were watching them spread out in line to drink at the water’s edge we noticed giraffes coming up stream. At first there were 3, then 4, then maybe 1 or 2 more. It was hard to get a good count because some would come in and leave then more would appear. We photographed them as they contorted their long legs so they could get low enough to put their mouths to the water. While they were drinking wart hogs came in right where the giraffes were standing. With all the photos & video we are taking, I told Ken that Jim Swan won’t be able to leave for Florida now until January because we’ll want him to see all of our photos & video. (he normally leaves in October)
Now we’re off for another “Big 5 Game Drive” at Thorny Bush. During the game drive we saw a pride of lions lounging by a waterhole, their images reflecting off the water. Later, we saw a single male lion laying, completely filled, with his Wildebeast kill laying nearby. His whiskers still were blood stained and he was so full, he only expended enough energy to open 1 eye to check us out. There were 2 adult elephants and a baby just a few weeks old, more Cape Buffalo, and a male leopard. The leopard was laying down facing away from us when our safari vehicle first got there but then he got up and walked around providing excellent photo & video opportunities. At one point he came within a few feet of our jeep! I’m still excited to go to Botswana but along with that excitement, now, I’m even excited to get home and see Ken’s high definition video on our big screen TV. He got some amazing footage today!
September 17 & 18
Highlights
• Elephants feeding on trees
• A Jackal
• Vultures
When Ann & Dorian buy chicken meat for their employees, they find that their employees prefer to eat chicken feet!
There are English speaking Africans, Africanas (a mixture of Dutch, German & French heritage people that speak Africana), Colored people (Black mixed), and Blacks. This all was explained to us by South African Gwala Gwala guests, Michelle & Kevin. It’s all quite confusing. There are 14 official languages in South Africa.
Dorian took just Ken and I on a game drive around Gwala Gwala this afternoon. I thought it was really nice that he took the time to take just the two of us. I think he did it because they know Ken and I enjoy doing things without a bunch of other people. We saw lots of giraffes and were able to stop, get out the safari jeep, and walk with them. It was a quiet and peaceful drive. When we got back to camp it was after dark. Ken shinned the spotlight through the bushes as we drove back to try to spot the animals at night. The spot light picked out some impala and giraffes. They try not to have the light on the impala for very long because having them illuminated at night creates an unfair advantage for the predators. At Gwala Gwala, the only predators would be the hyenas that come out at night.
During dinner, we talked about U.S. politics with Dorian and a guest that lives in South Africa. They, like another South African guest that was here earlier think the U.S. is a bully because of our politics and world involvement (intervention). All they see on the news is negative information about the U.S. That’s the only information that they have to go on. Hopefully people are smart enough to separate U.S. government from U.S. people.
Ann told us an elephant is born with 8 full sets of teeth. Because of the roughage and tree branches they munch on, the teeth wear down. When one set is worn down to nothing, a new set will come through. After the 8th set is finished, there are no more teeth. The elephant can’t eat and will slowly starve until he dies.
The female giraffes are a couple of feet shorter than the males. They have skinnier horns on their head that are covered with hair. Males are taller, have thicker horns, and are bald on top of their horns probably from rousting with other males. Males are normally 18’ plus their necks can stretch up and their tongues must add another 1 ½ fee to their reach. We’ve even seen a couple of giraffes BEND OVER to eat leaves off the TOP of a tree!
The name Gwala Gwala is given by the Zulus to the Purple-Crested Lourie bird which can be found in the area where Gwala Gwala is located. Gwala Gwala is located in Limpopo Province. It’s 40 minutes from Kruger’s “Orpen Gate” entrance. Gwala Gwala size is 500 hectres (1236 acres). There’s a fence around the Gwala Gwala property to keep the predators out so it’s safe to walk around during the day. There are hyenas on the property so no one is allowed to walk at night when the hyenas are most likely to be active. The mountains seen from this area are the Drankensburg Escarpment. The Klaserie River runs in front of our tent. This is a “low risk” malaria area. More than 28 mammal species can be found at Gwala Gwala.
We saw the Southern Cross in the sky at night. It’s actually in the shape of an X …not shaped like a religious cross like I had imagined it. The Southern Cross is only visible from below the equator. They see a completely different set of stars than we do in the Northern Hemisphere.
The zebra’s stripes are a protective measure provided to them by nature. A lion only sees in black and white. When the zebras are together in a heard the stripes create confusing patterns for the predator which makes it hard to single out just one zebra. Some Zebras have black and white stripes. Some have black white and grey patterns.
There are a few park rangers in the Kruger Park that patrol on bicycles. They carry guns strapped on the front handlebars of the bikes. The locals call those volunteer rangers “Meals on Wheels” (for the animals)
There is a lizard in our bathroom right now. Cute little guy about 8” long.
On the drive to Kruger we noticed that as we passed people on the road they may look at us but show no reaction. As soon as we’d wave to them, their whole face would light up in a smile and they’ve wave back. Dorian explained that right or wrong they feel beneath a white person and wait until acknowledged or given permission before they respond. Dorian also told us it’s thought of to be impolite if you don’t start the conversation with “How are you”. I remember this and throughout our travels in Africa, I remembered to greet someone in this manner. It made a huge difference in getting a very friendly reply.
We’ve been lazing around the tent today which is just fine with me. At 23PM we’ll go up to the main building and meet for the afternoon game drive. Tomorrow morning we leave. We’ll fly back to Johannesburg, spend the night at the hotel near the airport then fly out the next morning to Maun, Botswana where our safari guide will meet us. We’ll fly from Maun on a small plane that will take us to our first campsite in the Okavango Delta. Should be exciting!
In an African Geographic magazine, they said “Botswana is one of the world’s last wild frontiers”.
On the game drive this afternoon we saw a pride of lions laying beside a small lake, water buffalo sparring & crashing horns, and a few more lions.
Tasha was our driver for 2 of our game drives at Thornybush. He was our favorite. Lawrence was the tracker on each of the drives. He sat up front on the “tracker’s seat”. Lawrence takes a lot of pride in being able to find the animals when the other trackers can’t. This afternoon we were able to smell the Cape Buffalo before they actually came into sight!
September 19
Highlights
• A Hyena behind our tent!
Last night, about 3AM, we heard the “whoop” call of a hyena and then something walking right behind our tent. Next we heard what sounded like a guttural bark. In the morning when we went out to look for tracks, we saw Hyena tracks just a few feet behind our tent. Ann said the Hyena was probably stalking a Water Buck and the barking noise was the noise the Water Buck makes in warning.
On the way back from the game drive yesterday 2 Cape Buffalos ran out in front of the safari jeep. They were butting horns and were so intent in sparring with each other, they didn’t even seem to notice the safari jeep. The driver had to back up so they wouldn’t ram in to us.
There were 2 Nyala (large deer like animals with spiraled horns, a slightly shaggy coat, and a few white strips across their rib area) across the stream from our tent this morning.
We are back in Johannesburg now staying at the Sun Inter-Continental Hotel just a couple of blocks from the airport. It’s 3PM so we’ll just relax and have dinner here at the hotel. Our flight to Maun, Botswana leaves at 10:00 in the morning. For dinner, I had just 2 bites of the nastiest hamburger I’ve ever had. It was supposed to have been beef. Ken didn’t like his either but must have been very hungry because he ate all of his.
A breakfast buffet was included in our stay so at least we had a nice choice of things to eat at breakfast.
Ken was worried about the 8 passenger plane we had to take once we got to Maun but he had no problems at all. That’s a huge relief because I know he would’ve been miserable if he’d have gotten sick from flying especially knowing there was more flights to come in the small planes.
The pilot, before take off, told us he wasn’t going to bother going over the standard safety talk because if we crashed no one would survive anyway. Thank you very much!
Jan 1st, 2010, 07:12 AM
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Leopard cubs, wow! 2 of them!
Most people do not mention favorite airports. Interesting observation you made. Plus the pre-take-off safety procedures (or lack thereof)!
Long lens is too long is yet another charm of Africa. Amazing to get so close to everything, including your resident lizard.
Nice to see Nyala. They are my fav antelope.
Cool to do your own tracking, and right behind your tent.
Too bad about the icky burger, but hope that's the sole negative on the trip.
Are you saying that you believe the conditions in Zim have changed substantially from Sept to now?
Thanks for your report!
Most people do not mention favorite airports. Interesting observation you made. Plus the pre-take-off safety procedures (or lack thereof)!
Long lens is too long is yet another charm of Africa. Amazing to get so close to everything, including your resident lizard.
Nice to see Nyala. They are my fav antelope.
Cool to do your own tracking, and right behind your tent.
Too bad about the icky burger, but hope that's the sole negative on the trip.
Are you saying that you believe the conditions in Zim have changed substantially from Sept to now?
Thanks for your report!
Jan 1st, 2010, 02:40 PM
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Love your pics/ and a fun report..look forward to more! I did also enjoy the tidbits of teeth, horns and stripes. A great way to start a new year reading your report!
Are you prof. photographers associated with the travel agency, or are you with the travel agency (just curious as I wanted to talk to someone about a family reunion in Barbados - I know, off topic, but it's on Thompson Travel info,etc!)
Thanks!
FP
Are you prof. photographers associated with the travel agency, or are you with the travel agency (just curious as I wanted to talk to someone about a family reunion in Barbados - I know, off topic, but it's on Thompson Travel info,etc!)
Thanks!
FP
Jan 2nd, 2010, 02:30 AM
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Hey Tom,
I was just laughing (LOL) at a number of things (including the link). The trip report is very good and very detailed (but incorporates a couple of new facts about animals and people that I didn't know). Some very valuable insights and observations nonetheless (e.g. the greeting procedure in Africa - the "How are you?" being the courteous greeting).
Many local folk do eat chicken feet (called "runaways") or a combo of heads and feet (called "walkie-talkies"). This is more of a budget issue than a culinary preference though.
But I was also remembering some air trips in the Okavango Delta. Some of the runways are rather short, which makes for interesting take-offs and landings. Once an ellie ran onto the runway as we were about to touch down, and on one occasion I had to hold a guy's hand while he kept his eyes tightly shut for the duration of the flight. Certainly made for memorable moments (btw, the Maun pilots are some of the best ever, and you can be assured of being in the most capable hands - even if they do look 20 years old - LOL!).
I was in Zim at Vic Falls in November, and loved it (but Vic Falls is very different to other parts of Zim. I wouldn't venture much further than that at the moment).
I was just laughing (LOL) at a number of things (including the link). The trip report is very good and very detailed (but incorporates a couple of new facts about animals and people that I didn't know). Some very valuable insights and observations nonetheless (e.g. the greeting procedure in Africa - the "How are you?" being the courteous greeting).
Many local folk do eat chicken feet (called "runaways") or a combo of heads and feet (called "walkie-talkies"). This is more of a budget issue than a culinary preference though.
But I was also remembering some air trips in the Okavango Delta. Some of the runways are rather short, which makes for interesting take-offs and landings. Once an ellie ran onto the runway as we were about to touch down, and on one occasion I had to hold a guy's hand while he kept his eyes tightly shut for the duration of the flight. Certainly made for memorable moments (btw, the Maun pilots are some of the best ever, and you can be assured of being in the most capable hands - even if they do look 20 years old - LOL!).
I was in Zim at Vic Falls in November, and loved it (but Vic Falls is very different to other parts of Zim. I wouldn't venture much further than that at the moment).
Jan 2nd, 2010, 05:14 AM
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I have been told the president of Zimbabwe does not want white people entering his country. I think that's why the OP says it's no longer safe. If that is true then it's a shame that guy is cutting the throat of tourism in his country.
Jan 2nd, 2010, 05:48 AM
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Unfortunately, the president of Zimbabwe has been cutting the throat of his country for years (sanctioned in the early days by western powers).
When I was at Vic Falls, the local folk still seemed to believe that western countries are damaging their economy. They don't see that their fist-shaking president has chased an industry worth many millions of dollars to Livingstone, 5kms away on the other side of the river (just for starters).
Regrettably, until their own people accept that their president's rantings are responsible for their woes,there will be little reprieve for them. Unfortunately, it will take years, if not generations, to undo the damage.
When I was at Vic Falls, the local folk still seemed to believe that western countries are damaging their economy. They don't see that their fist-shaking president has chased an industry worth many millions of dollars to Livingstone, 5kms away on the other side of the river (just for starters).
Regrettably, until their own people accept that their president's rantings are responsible for their woes,there will be little reprieve for them. Unfortunately, it will take years, if not generations, to undo the damage.
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