Corona - but we make the best out of it!!!
During Lock-Down, Kruger Park are doing 2 game drives a day, which you can watch live on YouTube. Morning drive is 5.30 am - 8.30 am and afternoon drive is 3.30 pm - 6.30 pm. The site is called Wild Earth. I went last year to Kruger Park and below is my experience and view from the unforgettable day…
Our guide from Echo Safari picked us up on time. Everyone was relieved for the blankets given by the game rangers company. Wrapped up in one of them I was more than ready and super excited for my first guided game drive in an open Jeep. One of the best times to go to Krugerpark is literally during winter and spring season. Trees are leafless, bushes are semi bare, perfect conditions to spot lots of different animals. But believe me, you will only see wildlife if they want to be seen! Always remember we are in their natural habitat and not visa versa.
Here we are, eight tourists from different countries and myself looking forward to see looots of wildlife. Obviously dreaming to see our big Fives. I couldn’t stop grinning listening to the debate between the tourists which ones are our big Fives. Animals like Giraffes, Crocodiles and Hippos were mentioned. Giraffes? Crocodiles? Hippos? Noooo!!! Definitely not. Our big Fives are Elephants, Lions, Rhinos, Buffaloes and Leopards. They are referred as the big Fives because those are the most difficult animals to hunt on foot – according to the guide.
Finally, paperwork done; we are through the entrance. First half an hour went very quiet. Nothing spotted. All eyes scanning through the open bushland. No movements detected; no animals in sight. Driving in semi darkness, starring into woodland and open fields, chilly air, cold wind in the face I thought of closing my eyes for a bit when suddenly the Jeep came to an hold!!!
I tried to see the reason what made us standstill so abruptly. Of course it must be an animal, what else? Aaagh, a sleeping Rhinoceros. I wanted to speak…. but stopped at the look of the game rangers faces.
Lots of game rangers running around? Helicopters? Why? Something terrible must have happened. Nothing, really nothing prepared us for the terrible, devastating situation right in front of our eyes. We were witnesses at what was left after a horrific criminal act of poaching!!! Cold-bloodedly, brutally murdered, the rhino laying on his side, fresh blood still running down both sides where his horn used to be, a large wound marked the face and his tail, his tail halfway ripped open. It was horrific and devastating. The reality was hard to bear. Everyone felt miserable, ill, shocked; nobody said anything, silence…all we heard was the noise of the helicopter flying across the area; most likely on the lookout for these criminals. Knowing about the poaching is already terrible but it becomes cruel reality to see first hand such an act of animal abuse. Our guide told us that in the future our children’s children will not be able to see Rhinos alive at the rate of the killing. A solution is urgently, very urgently needed and all I can hope for is that game rangers are succeeding bringing down the poachers for justice will be done in the unfair battle for greed and power! How cruel people can be when money rules.
That experience was a wake up call. It influenced the atmosphere, brought the excitement quite down, nobody spoke a word for some time but thank goodness during our ongoing drive we got very much spoiled seeing loooots of different wild animals. One of my favourite – the Giraffe – showed up almost every valley we went through; what a graceful animal. Same with the Elephants, such majestic creatures. They are huge and one would think that it is easy to see them. No, no, no. Almost every animal blends in easily with nature. One minute can make a big difference in spotting wild animals and just before lunchtime we have been blessed to see a huge variety of the wildlife; Zebras, Buffaloes, Kudus, Hippos, Crocodiles, Monkeys, Impalas, Elephants, Giraffes and even a Leopard. The Leopard unfortunately was so far away that I wasn’t able to see him clearly. Therefore, I decided not to tick the Leopard as “seen” although I was privileged to see in August a Leopard and Cheetah.
As the sun warmed up nicely, in fact it became hot, by one o clock almost each animal was looking for some shade. That’s why we opted for a lunch break and were dropped at the Skukuza camp. Skukuza camp is a neat, beautiful little village and offers a fantastic shop to buy all sorts of items such as camping tools, beauty products up to jewellery, clothing, accessories, alcohol and grocery products.
The variety of food offered by the food court is excellent however the service or the operating system needs improvement. Somehow the system is too slow to handle the amount of visitors and you might wait a while before you get your order. The outside area is also in need for more chairs and tables to sit down. But overall it’s a beautiful, relaxing, comfortable place to enjoy a break.
After lunch near the end of our game drive we saw few cars standing on the road. Driving slowly towards the spot it was amazing and incredible what we spotted. Lions! Lots of lions. Unbelievable how quickly in a short time people must have noticed that a herd of lions resting very close to the road. In less than 5 minutes every space available on the road was taken by cars. We were lucky to sit quiet high which provided excellent view especially for taking pictures.
Typically, the best came towards the end! We saw two lions resting comfortable under bushes while another three to four lions and a crocodile were taking a feast of a buffalo they were hunting during the night. It was incredible to view the scenario. Lions together with the crocodile were fighting for the best meat available while vultures were waiting respectively in the background. An unforgettable, incredible experience.
Around three pm it was time to head back to the camp. Tired, exhausted, pensive but also happy, excited and thankful for the opportunity to explore the park at its best (and worst) we arrived safe inside the Nkambeni camp. In my opinion it is absolutely worthwhile to book a guided game drive. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable. He explained to our satisfaction very informative the different game, various birdies we came across, the nature, plants and bushes. A huge thank you to Echo Safari for an interesting and amazing experience.