The daily feature film
Trip Start
Apr 19, 2009
1
14
32
Trip End
Dec 20, 2009
Where I stayed
Berg'n Dal, Lower Sabie, Satara
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Monday, May 25, 2009
Stealthily (or as much stealth as you can muster with a 3 ton Diesel generated vehicle in the shape of a big shoe box) we creep along the gravel road in search for the last of the big five. Eyes tearing as we try to look through not at the bush waiting for that tell tale twitch of a tail or ear.....Hours pass. The heat rises....
Wait!!! Stop!!! Enough is enough!!! There are just that many impalas you can admire before you wish they were not prancing around in the grass but rather hanging from the mouth of some huge cat
Mmmmm...Manics
. Our search for leopard, which has prompted us to leave the utmost comfort of our rooftop tent at the crack of dawn 05:30(or if you ask me, in the middle of the night) has been totally in vain. A zebra, a hornbill and some impala....today the movie seems to be one of the boring kind they shown on Saturday between 10am and 11am. We decide it is time for an ad (advertisement) break and take out the coffee mugs, park the car at the side of the road and begin dipping rusks into the warm liquid. A relatively animated discussion between Marvin and myself is just developing whether we were looking at the Greate Blue-Eared Starling or indeed the Cape Glossy Starling...when suddenly I look up at the road ahead of us. The enamel coffee mug nearly spills its hot liquid into my lap as I register what is coming towards us at a slow, dare I say, stealthy, pace. Cat? No, too big. Lion? No, too dark. ...Leopard!Now a frantic but hushed scramble ensues in our little cockpit, the poor starlings having to await more leisurely times for their true identification.
'Camera!'
'Binoculars!'
'Here he comes!
Resting after the excitement
! 3 meters, 2 meters.....! Are you taking pictures????''My hands are shaking Nicole, mist...no I have him...wow, wow, wow....he is beautiful, powerful'
'Don't talk, this is NO time to talk! Are you taking enough pictures? Focus Marvellous, Focus!'
The leopard comes closer, we are the only car around, we have him all to ourselves. The leopard elegantly walks towards us as if on a fashion runway, showing off coming winter's ware. Next to our car it looks up at us, as if to say.... 'phew, starlings, here, I'll give you something to really talk about' and then he jumps, leaps, flies...words escape me... up the next tree. He perches there so that we can take some more profile shots and then, as silently as he came, he leaps down the tree and vanishes into the bush. This wonderful scene can only have lasted 15 minutes in total but is now etched deeply into our memories (needless to say the starling debate is still undecided).
After leaving Moz with all its joys of cheap seafood and lovely roadside tomato sellers we decided to head for the Kruger National Park in South Africa for some infrastructure (electricity, warm water, a bath and even camp Laundromat) before heading into the bush of Botswana
Where are those naughty monkeys
. The first camp we stayed in was the beautiful Berg 'n Dal set along the river in the far south. In the morning we were awakened by the melodic cacophony of bird song only slightly overpowered by the coughing and farting chorus of our fellow campers. Going for our morning run through the camp we realised that we must have hit the pensioner's special here in the park as the average age must have been about 75. Everybody we passed waved in enthusiasm at us from their cleanly swept caravan stoeps, calling out words of encouragement or disbelief (why move so fast if you can move slowly? I think they have a point). The elderly couples here have perfected the art of camping in their own way. Some have realised that less is more and are perfectly happy in a small sedan car with a caravan that offers about the same comfort levels as our rooftop tent. Others it would seem, have now finally got the freedom to go BIG after shedding the burden of school or university going kids. Their caravans rival the size of small villages and are often further extended by 8-10 meter long tents housing a washing up area, kitchen, afternoon rest camp, TV with Satellite dish not to mention an air-conditioner. Advice on the best places to spot lion and how to make really good roosterbrood is free and forthcoming. Some of these seasoned campers have been to the Park for the 50th or even 60th time, often staying for a month or longer
Bokkie
. What a life! MM and I are seriously looking into investing in a pensioner's scheme here. After the age of 70 you get a lifetime Wildcard (I am sure some actuary calculated the risk of that one), making retirement very affordable here. We have met many couples on this trip who have sold their house and just move from one camp to the other. What more do you need?We have loved this atmosphere of a totally relaxed and slow lifestyle and nearly feel bad upping the pace from the usual slow shuffle during our runs.
From Berg 'n Dal we moved on to Lower Sabie and then Satara and in total will have spent 8 nights in the park, each day bringing a new and exciting movie. We have had the privilege of seeing lions in their act of love, a leopard devouring his fresh kill up in a tree, close enough to hear the crunching of bones, a baby buffalo, only minutes old, following its mum, still wet on very wobbly legs and many more of God's lovely creations in their (relatively) natural environments. It has been truly magnificent! Botswana now awaits were we are meeting the four Jones brothers and their wives to go and explore the Delta together. We can't wait to be part of this fun convoy!
