Kruger Days

Tuesday, January 27: We got into the park around 12 or 1 pm, immediately seeing impala and warthogs upon entering. We also got news that there were lions not 50 meters up the road, and sure enough there was a male and a female lying right next to the road- so exciting! And one of the big five down in the first couple of minutes! We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around seeing giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, hyena, and hippo. We even saw several black rhino with a baby (two of the big five down!). We stopped for lunch at one of the several camps within Kruger that have a restaurant, small private bungalows and camping grounds.

Around 4pm we arrived at our camp, which consisted of several tents with two beds and a bedside table in each. The camp also had a tented eating area with a picnic table and all the cooking equipment necessary- there was also a chef. But dinner came later, first Megumi and I joined about 20 other campers on a night drive from 5-8. The most exciting thing we saw was elephants (3 out of 5 down!) which came SO close to the vehicle, the guide had to start yelling to scare them off. It was such a cool drive, the sunset was gorgeous, and it was great to be out there even though we didn't see too much after dark other than owls, rabbits, and snakes. Afterward we got back to camp and we had a great dinner waiting for us of miliepap (made from corn, looks like mashed potatos with a thicker consistancy, and is a staple of the African diet eaten at least twice a day), chicken, and sweet potato. Everything was delicious. I took a shower in the campground bathroom (with several huge bugs, I should add) and went to bed early.


We followed these giraffes up the road for about 15 minutes.

Wednesday, January 28: Henry woke us up at 6am (I have never been a morning person -ever- but I should say that never in my life have I woken up early so many days in a row and NEVER minded it. I guess when you are in such a place waking up to new and exciting things makes it that much easier to do.) for a morning drive. About 10 minutes into the drive Henry spotted a leopard in his rear-view mirror, quickly turned around, and we were able to get a good look at it for about 20 seconds before it slinked off into the bush. SO COOL! Leopards are one of the big five that most people don't see, they are hard to spot and don't stick around for long. Henry had thought he had seen something in the bush and had slowed down, then was lucky enough to notice it in his mirror (it was actually the third time that had happened to him, and he was very proud). So after that sighting we were very happy.

We drove the entire day with no set route, just our second camp as the final destination. Henry would come to a crossroads and look both ways, then make a random decision on which way to go. We stopped for lunch at some point, and in the afternoon saw herds of buffalo (all 5 of the Big 5 down!). The weather wasn't great, and for most of the day there was a chilly, misty rain, but we put on our windbreakers and kept the side flaps on the truck up- it was actually kind of nice. Also stopped at several lookout points with awesome views.


Elephants on the night drive.

We arrived at our second camp, Satara, around 5pm and Megumi and I took showers while we waited for our dinner. Our chef tonight was Godsend, who was a very good cook and clearly takes great pride in what he does. He kept saying "Don't try my food, EAT my food" and insisted that everyone have seconds (luckily the food was really good- another traditional meal of rice and beef stew with potatos, carrots, and greenbeans in it, with a greek salad and a side of squash). Megumi, Godsend, Henry and I sat around after dinner for a long time talking- this is when we learned all about Henry's family. He also taught us how they traditionally eat, without any silverware (we didn't know at the time that his instructions would come in handy later).


Camp the second night.

The entire camp of Satara is surrounded by high electric fences for obvious reasons, and our camp site happened to be situated right next to this fence, meaning that the wilderness of Kruger was all of about 10 meters from where I was sleeping. Throughout dinner we could hear a group of lions somewhere in the distance, and afterwards Megumi and I were returning from the bathrooms when Godsend came running up to us- lions had chased down a wilderbeest right on the other side of the fence. We got there just in time to see several lions arriving, and then we heard them make the kill- it was crazy! Half a dozen people from surrounding campsites came over to ours, and they got out the spotlights to see what we could see. The actual kill had been made behind several trees, but we watched about seven lions coming and going for a half hour or so. We were incredibly lucky to see this, and for it to have happened right outside of our camp site. I went to sleep in my little tent literally listening to lions roaring not 100 meters away... probably the only night of my life that I will get to say that.



Thursday, Saturday 29: We woke up five hours later at 3am for a morning walk through the bush. We drove about 45 minutes into the bush and then walked from about 4:30 am until 7:30. Unfortunately, animals are more afraid of us on foot than in the vehicles, so it is hard to see anything from close up- in fact we didn't see anything even remotely close by. By it was a neat feeling to be out there as the sun was coming up, following two armed rangers through the tall grasses. Got back to camp and had a good breakfast, then packed up and again spent most of the day driving with a stop for lunch. We didn't see too much on the last day, I'm not sure why. Henry really wanted to find us a cheetah, but they are almost as hard to spot as the leopard and in the end we didn't have any luck. Today was also different because by day three the giraffes and impala and zebra and even elephants aren't quite as exciting as in the beginning. Plus, Megumi and I were pretty much exhausted, and she actually dozed much of the day. I managed to stay awake and just enjoyed the drive and the scenery. I have never been one for long drives, and every day in Kruger we drove a LOT, but it never felt like it.


On the morning bush walk.

Around 4pm we left the park and drove for about an hour to a village where we got a tour, saw (and took part in) some traditional dancing, and had a traditional meal. It included cooked worms, which actually looked more like thick caterpillars. We were told that it is believed that these worms will ward off AIDS- "if you believe in AIDS", that is. It was pretty gross.


The boys dancing!

Afterward we drove to the lodge that we would be staying in for our final night. When we got there Megumi and I went straight to the bar and hung out with everyone that works at the lodge- a very nice group of South Africans. Megumi went to bed early but I stayed up regardless of the 5am wake up call the next morning-- it was my second to last night in Africa! Ended up having a very good time. And as it turned out, our morning walk was canceled due to torrential rain, which was fine by me. Around 7:30 we had breakfast with monkeys running all around us and trying to steal our food, and then we headed out to meet our transport back to Jo'burg.

Overall I was very happy with the safari. Three full days there was the perfect amount of time- any longer would have been too much. We saw all of the big five (elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, and leopard) plus giraffes, zebras, impalas, hyenas, hippos, kudu, waterbok, wildebeest, warthog, monkeys/baboons, ostrich, rabbits, turtles, owls, bats, snakes, and many birds and eagles. I enjoyed the time with Megumi and Henry and getting to know two people that I never would have otherwise. Plus I think the safari was a good way to end my trip~ it gave me something to look forward to after leaving Cape Town and brought my trip to an end with a bang.

I spent another incredibly comfortable night at Amadwala Lodge, and then flew home on Saturday the 31st, getting into Dulles at 6am after ~19 hours in the air. (In line for customs I found out that the superbowl was that night, and who was playing- all of which was news to me.) And just like that, my winter abroad had come to an end.

The Beginning of the End: My Last Week in South Africa

What a whirlwind of a week it's been. I am home now, sitting in bed. It's 5:30 am and I have been awake since 4:00, but I guess that makes sense seeing as it's a little past noon in South Africa. I am working on organizing my 1500 pictures from the trip into different categories to make them a little more manageable: Bap, Cape Town/Obs, and Kruger. I also have about 20 short videos from my digital camera plus 2 hours of handycam video I still need to upload and edit. This will help pass many hours of time over the next week.

Right, so now there is so much to catch up on! This time one week ago I was departing from Cape Town. I ended up being dropped at the airport by Kenan with everyone in the van because it was on the way to take them to shift in Khayelitsha, so it was nice to be able to have everyone see me off and to get to say a proper goodbye to them all. When I got to the airport I was able to switch my flight home from Feb 2 to Jan 31, so obviously I had made the decision to come home early instead of spend two days in Jo'burg after my safari (later I felt I had made a good decision). So I departed from Cape Town around 12:30 pm, much to my unhappiness. I had no desire to leave, not one. I wanted to continue on to my next shift at Bap with the rest of them, but of course Kruger awaited. (Okay, of course a part of me was excited for the safari, which I am thankful I got to do, but understand that Cape Town and Obs and Bap and the people there were my life for 5 weeks and I would have been very content to stay for another 5). Flying away from Cape Town, I remembered when I arrived and saw Table Mountain for the first time from the air, and how excited and nervous I was, and it seemed like a lifetime ago.

Arrived in Jo'burg and was picked up by my transport to Amadwala Lodge (she held up a sign with my name on it, gotta love that). The lodge was about 45 minutes from the airport, which was another 30 minutes or so from downtown Jo'burg, so Amadwala is pretty much out in the countryside. I had absolutely no idea what to expect with this hotel since my flights, transports, hotel stays before and after, and the safari had all been completely arranged by AVIVA. All that I knew was that Amy and Amanda had looked up the lodge and said that it looked very nice (I didn't Google it- wanted to be surprised). And well, I was- hugely, pleasantly surprised. Immediately upon coming through the gate you can tell that Amadwala is a neat place- you feel like you have just entered the rain forest. There are bamboo and stone walkways throughout which lead to the main office and dining room, and then paths shoot off towards seven small bungalows- number 2 was mine. My room consisted of a gorgeous bathroom with jacuzzi tub, a double bed (great sheets & pillows after AVIVA house), and a private deck off the back. Oh, and it had a thatched roof. Oh, and the caretaker that greeted me told me to just call her Gran (everyone does). She showed me around the whole place, which in addition to the bungalows has really nice platform tents and regular tents for backpackers. There is also a huge chessboard, a chapel for weddings (small, thatched roof, no electricity but dozens of candle holders-- probably the most romantic place for a wedding you can imagine), and a great open air reception/braai area. There's an awesome bar that over looks the gorgeous pool, surrounded by rocks and waterfalls and flowers, and then there is a lookout deck from which you can see the whole countryside. In short, this is the most beautiful place I have ever stayed. And on top of that, I was the only person staying there that night. Gran kept saying what a shame that was (I guess the poolside bar can be pretty hoppin') but I was happy to be completely alone for once after living in a house with 10, plus I was tired and planned to turn in early anyways. So they brought my dinner down to me and set it up out on my deck, and then Gran said goodnight and I really was completely alone. As much as I wish someone had been there to see this place with me, I enjoyed it very much.


A shot from Amadwala.

Woke up at 4:15 am the next day (Tuesday the 27th) for my 5am pick up. It was a five hour drive from Amadwala to the point where my safari guide would pick me up outside of the Kruger gates, so Shaun drove me and four other girls (two Scottish, one Japanese, one Brazilian- all picked up from a hostel near Amadwala), I slept the whole way minus a stop for lunch.

So as it turned out, the Japanese girl, Megumi, was doing the same safari as me. We met up with our guide, Henry, about an hour outside of the southern Kruger gates and climbed on board the open air safari vehicle, in which we would spend much time in the coming days. Basically it is a pickup truck with 3x3 seating attached to the bed of the truck, with a roof and plasic sides and front that stayed rolled up and tied the entire time. We sat in the front row, right behind the cab of the truck and could easily speak with Henry the whole time.


The safari vehicle.

I should start off by saying that for the three days of this safari, it was Henry, Megumi and I by ourselves for the majority of the time- three people that probably could not be more different. Megumi was 33, though she looked about 23. She had just spent the last three years working two jobs to support her family, so her parents finally said it was her turn to take a break and sent her traveling for a year- she had just come from Europe and was headed to India after the safari. While I spent every day in flip flops, shorts, and a tank top, Megumi dressed in shoes, socks, long pants, a shirt, sweater, scarf and hat, and generously applied 70 SPF sunscreen to her hands very frequently. Every time we saw a warthog she would call out, "Pumba! Pumba!" (as in from the Lion King). She spoke pretty good english, but there was of course still a bit of a barrier. Regardless, she was a great person to be on a safari with because every time we saw an animal she would get so incredibly excited, which in this type of situation is contagious and made it that much more fun and exciting for me (I have learned on this trip that both enthusiasm and negativity are contagious, and I am glad that she was the former). All in all, it was really nice to meet her and I was happy for her company.

Henry, our guide, was quite a guy. My guess is that he was somewhere around 45 years old, and he has lived in the bush his entire life (after leaving Kruger he pointed out his village in the distance to us). After dinner on our second night, Megumi, Henry, our chef Godsend (I'll explain about him later) and I -what a group- sat around talking and Henry began to tell us more about his life: He was born in the bush, and at 18 he was sent out for 6 months with no clothes or food and had to survive on his own, part of the process of becoming a man (this practice still goes on, but there are now regulations that only allow them to be sent out for 2 weeks). His father was a traditional medicine man, or healer, a gift that (as Henry says) came to him in a dream as a child, at which point he disappeared and was "taken by the big snake", who taught him how to be a healer. His father had 6 wives and Henry is one of 54 children. Another interesting, yet sad, fact- his cousin was killed by an elephant. So yeah, Henry was pretty legit.

(NOTE: I actually wrote this on Monday, February 2, but have since realized there is way too much to say for one post, so it will have to come in increments!)