I am writing this from the Bushman Camp, 20 miles or so from Berg-en-dal as we siesta during the hottest part of the day. We hiked several miles this morning, leaving at 6:00am. It was nice to be on foot after spending so much time in the car. There are 11 of us in camp – four couples each with our own rondaval, two guides, Leon and Benito, and a cook, Elson. On trail the guides carry rifles – just in case!
The trip in to Bushman Camp late yesterday followed our epic journey to get to Bergen-dal. We had planned to take our time and drive from Satara to Crocodile Bridge, then take dirt roads along the Crocodile River. Due to the heavy rains last night, all the dirt roads were closed. Even the Crocodile Bridge gate was closed so we had to rush north to Skakuza and down to Berg-en-dal, a 160 kilometer detour. But we made it.
The trip to camp was in a Nissan 4X4 with stadium seating for 12. It was rough going on slippery mud roads in the rain with several stream crossings but we were treated to our first rhinos – seven white rhinos I fact. Both the whites (5000) and blacks (less than 1000) are gray. The whiles are larger have a wide, square jaw and graze grass in groups of three to dozens while the blacks are solitary and eat tree and shrub leaves.
Dinner was salad, lamb stew and rice cooked over open fires. We dined under kerosene lamp light with Leon, the white guide while the Africans squated alone by the fire with their food. We spent a very peaceful night safe in our huts, fenced in to keep the predators out, of course. There are flush toilets and hot showers too. This morning’s hike was pretty but not very productive. Impala, several kudos, some giraffes and elephant but no rhino. Maybe we’ll have better luck this evening.
