We opted for unexplored territory and headed north to see the Limpopo River which separates Kruger from Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It isn’t a very remarkable drive – lots of kilometers but little to see. We did spot an old giraffe, judging by its’ dark coloration and gray head. And later in the day we saw an elderly, gray baboon. For the most part the only other animals were baboons – and a couple of humans, too. After watching a troop of baboons, large male leading and another bringing up the rear, females herding their young while the juveniles scamper along, it doesn’t take much imagination to see our pre-historic ancestors doing much the same thing 40,000 years ago.
We had to detour a lot to get to the river at “Crook’s Corner” due to long (and probably deep) pools on the road. But we made it eventually, ate a quick lunch and started back to Letaba. Just a few kilometers from ‘home’ we got our adventure for the day. Unseen until the last second, an elephant came out of the bushes and almost hit us. He had been down the bank and neither of us could see the other. We were all startled but, given his size, Connie and I probably got the biggest shock.
It’s our final night in Kruger and we’re going on a night drive, again with hopes of seeing a leopard, Like the ditty goes, ‘all I want to see is a leopard in a tree’. As it turns our the night drive was a bit disappointing. The bushes are just too thick to see much and Letaba isn’t as rich in game as the central region. It was cooler through and we did see some African owls and elephants.
Kruger Impressions: The land is vast. Savannahs seem endless, crowned with flat bottomed cumulus clouds. Among the rivers, majestic mareula trees and sycamore figs dominate while farther north is the domain of the mopane shrub and ‘upside-down’ baobab tree.
This is not the Kruger our friends have described. Rather than short brown stubble and denuded trees, Kruger at the end of this rainy season is green. The grass along the roadside is fender high and even the baobabs have leaves. The streams are flowing high and brown, lakes and waterholes are full and casual water abound. This makes animal viewing more difficult and has caused several detours due to flooded roads and submerged bridges. But the animals we have seen are strong and healthy and feed wherever they want. They don’t have to tromp to the waterholes twice a day but can drink almost anywhere.
The animals are amazing – from the pygmy mongoose to the mighty elephant, each – no matter how strange – is uniquely designed to play a role in Kruger. As advanced as we humans like to think of ourselves, left alone out here we would wind up as just another link in the food chain.
Still, it is the birds that most fascinate. Hearing their beautiful songs as we drive along – even if we can’t identify the singer – is wonderful. From the tiny quelea in their great flocks to the myriad of eagles, solitary in their search for prey, the variety astounds. I am especially intrigued by the number and kinds of storks and wading birds but our personal favorites are the lilac breasted roller, the carmine bee-eater and the black headed oriole. We have gotten pretty good at identifying the major groups and several individual species.
Nothing seems to be wasted. The scavengers including vultures, jackals, and hyenas, don’t leave much of a dead animal. Even the dung is recycled. Birds pick through for seeds, butterflies land for the salt, mushrooms sprout readily and the dung beetles stands on his head and rolls it into balls – for what purpose I am not sure.
