For those of you who regularly read these missives you’ll know that things didn’t go smoothly once we reached South Africa, with the company and guesthouse proving to be unable to organise their way out of a paper bag! We’d ended up being moved to alternative digs (albeit greatly to our advantage) and were told we’d be collected at 8am the following morning to begin our Kruger tour.
You’ve already anticipated the next part, haven’t you?! By 8.30am we were on the phone trying to find out where our transport was – they’d forgotten us. Another phone call and a total waiting time of an hour before a van turned up, expecting to collect 4 people destined for the airport. We simply clambered aboard and told him to take us to Moafrica; he then proceeded to tell us that Viva Safaris were already there waiting for us. He, and indeed all involved, clearly didn’t have a clue what was going on as no-one was waiting for us. Transport finally arrived and we all squeezed into a van and were on our way almost 2 hours behind schedule.
So much for paying for the convenience and luxury of private transport – there wasn’t a great deal of room and again we felt penny-pinching in operation. The morning’s route took us through flat, tedious agricultural land but following the lunch break we entered fabulous mountainous scenery.
Kruger National Park
Day 1
Our first night’s accommodation was in the wonderful Tremisana Lodge where we were warmly welcomed with the lady in charge being efficient and organised. We had a huge beautifully appointed room which far surpassed expectations as we were still using budget category tours. We’re not big fans of all sit around together but the buffet style food was more than ample and very tasty.
Having set off late we didn’t have much time to enjoy the lodge as it was time for our first game drive around Bulela Private Reserve in which the lodge is set. The initial organisation may have been shocking but we sensed the itinerary was going to be fulfilled this time. However, events didn’t commence promisingly when we stopped for 10mins for the guide to waffle on about a fence! Then it transpired that the 8 other members of our group didn’t even know what Africa’s big 5 are. We must have missed the bit that stated this Kruger trip was for numpties and beginners!!
There wasn’t a huge amount of wildlife around and we didn’t spot any ‘new’ species – mind you for everyone else it was all a revelation. A minor highlight was watching a sizeable male warthog bolt from his burrow. However the major highlight of the evening was watching and following a male lion prowling through and scent marking his territory. By this time it was almost dark but he wasn’t in the slightest perturbed by the head lights and spot lamps. He knew he was the boss and he was happy for us to observe him so long as we didn’t cross that invisible line – great stuff. By the way fellow tourists that’s one of the big 5!! Just in case you don’t know:
The big 5 are: elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, lion & leopard
The small 5 are: elephant shrew, rhinoceros beetle, buffalo weaver bird, ant lion & leopard tortoise
The shy 5 are: bat-eared fox, porcupine, meerkat, aardvark & aardwolf
The ugly 5 are: warthog, wildebeest, marabou stork & we’ve yet to pin anyone down on the final 2!
Day 2
Up at 5.30am to grab a warming brew before embarking on a 4 hour bush walk. In actual fact we jumped into the jeep first and were driven about half an hour into the scrub before striking out on foot. With 6 of us plus 2 rangers crashing through the bush not surprisingly we didn’t see much; however, it was an enjoyable walk. At least we were doing something and the tour was actually living up to itinerary expectations.
During the walk we learnt a little more about the flora and fauna of the area and had chance to ask plenty of questions. The highlight was when we took a break perched on some rocks next to the river watching hippos. Following breakfast we had time to enjoy the lodge so Steve and I placed ourselves near their waterhole and were rewarded with sightings of many different birds, slender mongoose and black-backed jackal. No one else showed the slightest interest and we seriously questioned why they’d bothered forking out for this trip. More fool them!
Later that afternoon we went on another game drive but saw very little in the way of wildlife. There were plenty of different species around but not in great numbers and we didn’t get to observe them for long. This is what we did see; impala, vervet monkeys, kudu, steenbok, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, warthog, bushbaby, civet, lion, buffalo, hippopotamus, crocodile, jackal, slender mongoose, squirrel, waterbuck and a fleeting glance of an elephant.
We were then transferred to Marc’s Treehouse Camp about a 45min drive away. This was set in another private reserve with the tents and lodges spread out over a huge area with wildlife free to wander at will. With it being fenced they know there are no big cats or elephants in there so the only possibly dangerous animal you could encounter is buffalo. In fact we almost bumped into these super-sized bovines as we were walking back from dinner one night. Luckily we didn’t spook them so they slowly plodded and munched their way over the path and we could continue on to our chalet.
Marc’s Treehouse Camp was a serious let-down following the luxury of Tremisana Lodge and we felt there were far too many people there for the place to be run smoothly and efficiently. Or maybe the staff just weren’t very organised! The food wasn’t very good and the groups staying there confirmed our suspicions that Kruger budget safaris are for people clueless about wildlife. The food may have been bland but the breakfast area was set on the edge of a pond with loads of birds fluttering around and of course some cheeky vervet monkeys. A treat for us was when the very tame nyalas came down for a drink and a browse – a new antelope species for us and a bonny one at that.
Day 3
By the time we’d all been (dis)organised into jeeps, driven to Kruger’s main gate and done the necessary paperwork it was already 10am. So much for an all-day game drive! Another moan while I’m on; 3 per row in the jeep was too crowded. Considering how much the tour cost we’d have expected to have all been given a ‘window’ seat like we did in South Luangwa National Park. Anyway, we finally entered the park and something we’d long dreamt of doing was happening. Unfortunately our experience that day didn’t live up to expectations and that wonderful thing hindsight, again showed us that we’d approached this national park incorrectly. Kruger National Park is enormous so we hope to revisit one day but next time we’ll hire some wheels, pop a tent and supplies in the boot and spend a few days in there.
However, back to this trip. The main roads through the park are tarmacked and even the dirt tracks are far superior to the bulk of Africa’s roads; negating the need for a jeep. Many people enter the park in private vehicles and for most of the day we felt we were simply driving through a nice part of the world not on safari. The experience wasn’t enhanced by sharing a vehicle with loud, annoying, ignorant young’uns and we’ve vowed to steer clear of budget group tours from now on!
That said we did see a fair range of animals but didn’t find the park to be teaming with wildlife as the blurb would have you believe. We spotted; warthog, impala, wildebeest, giraffes, zebra, waterbuck, buffalo, a brief glimpse of a lion, slender mongoose, tree squirrel, steenbok, hippopotamus, kudu, dwarf mongoose, vervet monkeys, baboons, secretary birds and hundreds of elephants. I can see what people mean when they talk about Kruger having too many pachyderms – they were everywhere and often in huge herds. Some of them approached uncomfortably close to the jeep too.
Obviously one can never tire of seeing giraffes and to my delight we saw plenty of them throughout the day. The lion was hiding in the long grass following a satisfying meal so wasn’t in the mood for going anywhere. Probably the highlight of the day was encountering a massive herd of buffalo with scores of elephants mingling amongst them.
Day 4
Up at 5.45am to join the bush walk around camp but chose not to go as the group was way too big and we knew how loud they all were from the previous day. We really are turning into grumpy old buggers aren’t we, loving it and excelling I feel!! Since we were up anyway we decided to go on our own little walk around the extensive tent, chalet and treehouse site as we’d not had chance to explore. Once again the nyalas were nibbling their way through the undergrowth and we got to watch them at extremely close quarters. Literally, we could have reached out and touched them they simply do not flinch as people walk past.
We bumped into another member of our group who’d been scheduled to go to Kruger with us the previous day but had remained behind as she was feeling poorly. She’d been laid down in her tent while we were driving around the park and thought she could smell burning. She quickly realised it was her tent and scrambled outside only to watch the flames rapidly intensify. By the time she’d run for help and returned minutes later it was too late; the whole lot had been reduced to ashes. Luckily she was safe but all of her possessions including brand new expensive camera, i-phone, money, cash cards, flight tickets and passport had perished in the flames.
Not surprisingly the poor girl was very upset and actually still in a state of shock. The situation wasn’t helped by her feeling that the staff at the camp weren’t doing anything to help her. In actual fact they were organising help and support for her but they should have been communicating that to her and reassuring her. At that time she felt utterly alone and abandoned and just wanted to get home but of course that wasn’t possible as she had no travel documents. We did what we could to help her; took photos of the gutted remains of the tent – you could just make out the melted remains of her lovely camera – to send to the insurance company. Plus we found the Brazilian embassy contact details for her and just kept reminding her that the important thing was she was safe and alive. It certainly put the disappointment of the national park into perspective.
The return journey to Johannesburg used a slightly different route and I’m pleased to say the transport was much more comfortable. After a couple of hours drive we stopped off at Blyde Canyon National Park that proved to be an excellent end to a slightly disappointing trip. We stood on the upper edge of the canyon at 1180m and were rewarded with excellent vistas. There were the ubiquitous souvenir stalls but for once we were in the mood for a browse and in fact bought ourselves a beautiful wooden hippopotamus. With my Asian animal collection remaining in storage for the foreseeable future I’m forced to start my African collection! In fact we wished we’d had more time for more shopping there as the prices were extremely reasonable.
The road steadily wound its way down and out of the beautiful mountains and we were soon trundling back through that boring, flat, farmland. The tour ended, as promised, with us being dropped in Pretoria and in fact directly outside the gates of Hatfield Bed & Breakfast; our last port of call for this trip.
Pretoria
This may have been THE most expensive place we stayed in during the entire year out but it was superb. The room was super-luxurious and we utilised all the mod-cons and facilities to the maximum including; fridge, brew making equipment, oodles of toiletries, vast shower with piping hot water, DSTV and wi-fi. We only had one full day before flying back to Uganda so spent the time buying as much as possible to help make our new home look less like a student flat. Everything in the shops cost a fraction of what it would in Uganda and we wished we could have carried more.
Suffice it to say I can’t tell you much about Pretoria as we didn’t do any sight-seeing. I can tell you that it is a very modern, developed, clean, city and you don’t feel like you’re in Africa at all; it really is the Europe of Africa as the local’s like to describe it. The area we stayed in was very quiet with broad jacaranda lined streets and within walking distance of a shopping and eating area. We couldn’t find a decent pub so decided to grab something from the supermarket and take advantage of our lovely room.
Obviously we had now left all the wildlife behind but we did have a domesticated friend on the premises. When we first arrived and rang the doorbell we peered through the gate to see if anyone had heard us to witness a huge Rottweiler bounding down the drive. It rather unnerved me but this one is so well trained that he quickly realises who is friend and foe and subsequently his demeanour switches from ferocious to friendly. In actual fact he liked to knock on our door to invite us outside to give his tummy a tickle – I never envisaged myself making friends with such a creature.
We thoroughly enjoyed our last couple of days and can’t recommend Hatfield Bed & Breakfast highly enough. The proprietors were very friendly and cooked a fantastic breakfast each morning. When it was time for us to go to the airport they organised a private hire taxi for us that cost a reasonable R430 ($43) and was driven by a lovely, friendly lady. We left feeling we’d love to return to South Africa and explore it at length under our own steam.
