Holiday in Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park
Spread over an area that's bigger than countries like Fiji and Kuwait and as big as Israel(19,000 square KMs) in the North-Eastern part of South Africa, the grasslands of Kruger National Park is a heaven for animal and nature lovers. A heaven in which one can self-drive. The joy that comes of driving around a forest, responsible for one's own sightings and safety is something I had never experienced before and once having got a taste of it, just couldn't get enough of it.

A Burchell's Zebra rests his head on the back of another in an affectionate gesture between close members of a herd. They also turn around while maintaining this position. 

Initially spotting the grazers like Impalas, Zebras, Wildebeest, Buffaloes (which are all common enough) Kudus and even Giraffes (not as common) is a matter of great joy but by and by there comes a time when one doesn't really stop for them unless they choose to park themselves on the road and force us to admire them all over again. 

A siesta by the river(Road H4-2). Male African Buffaloes of the herd banded together while a Red-billed Oxpecker rests on one of them in between its 'pecking'. As calm as they look here, with their unpredictable nature they are one of the most dangerous animals in the wild with individual strength and herd numbers that make even top predators to take them very seriously.     

A 'Zebra-crossing'...Zebras by themselves or many a times in the company of Wildebeest, Impalas and even Giraffes are grazing all the time, so any time they are not grazing makes for great photos.

A herd of Giraffes grazing in the evening(S93). Of all the animals in the wild, Impalas, Zebras and Giraffes take a moment to look up at the vehicles as we drive past or stop close-by to look at them. I found Impalas to be the most fearless, Giraffes gaze upon us sometimes 'wondering at us' and at others a little curious of us and Zebras almost always look at us with wariness. Almost all other animals ignore us. My theory is, we don't belong in the forest, we are not any one's natural food and there is nothing they can do about our presence so best not even to acknowledge us. Humans practice this trick too.     

Taken from a moving safari vehicle on a sunset drive, though not a good photograph, I like it for its composition. A Giraffe stands in the middle of the road watching the big vehicle coming towards him probably thinking, 'Here it comes again.' and a flock of Helmeted Guineafowls are wandering some distance behind the Giraffe. The grassland and the far off Lebombo mountain adore the skyline(S93). Below is a video of a Giraffe running, not sure what spooked the Giraffe but it definitely wasn't us.   

A mixed group of Zebras, Wildebeest, Impalas and Greater Kudus (the last 2 just about visible at the back of the group) grazing together, each bringing their strengths into the group to better protect the group from attacks from predators.

A male Greater Kudu in a part of the park with very less traffic(S37- near Sweni Bird Hide). We went the longest on this stretch of road without encountering another vehicle - 24 KMs to be precise. Though, there were no predators here (we were getting desperate to see a few of them) we saw Ostriches for the first time and many grazers who were obviously relishing in the relative calm. Running parallel to the Lebombo mountains which forms a natural boundary with Mozambique, it was an interesting drive with the subtle change in vegetation as we lost altitude(not a very significant drop)     

As the day ripens, grazers flock to waterbodies to quench their thirst (Shitlhave dam near Pretoriuskop).The Buffaloes are spread across the length of the dam but Elephants have managed to keep a portion (on the left) clear of the Buffaloes. Many families of Elephants came down for a quick drink(it was just 11 AM in winter), it was interesting to see them interacting with a few of the Elephants and ignoring some of the others. A few adolescent male Elephants also tried to shoo the Buffaloes but they stood their ground. This was our first mass sighting in the park on the first day and we spent close to a half hour here. As we were about to leave one of the adolescent Elephants managed to get the Buffalo herd moving. The Waterbucks are on the opposite bank of the dam keeping a safe distance from the 2 heavyweights.     

Male Waterbucks in a mock fight 

A Wildebeest takes time off grazing to check us out. 

A Warthog and the beautiful winter landscape of Kruger  

A Chacma Baboon walks on the gravel road(easier on the feet and palms) in between his foraging in the vegetation. Baboons and Monkeys are 2 of the mammals smart enough to have worked out how to enter the camps despite the electric fencing (not entirely without injuries and casualties) around the camps but their behavior in the wild suggests that they don't associate humans with food which is good for them.     

A Steenbok(a small antelope) feasting on the vegetation on a boulder. A mostly solitary and shy animal, finding one is as much a matter of chance as is a Leopard or Cheetah.     

A conversation by a waterhole

Elephants drinking water off a watertank(N'waswitshaka waterhole on S65). We passed this waterhole twice once in the early morning (without any activity at the tank) and another time at mid-day. The mid-day drive was a bonanza. There were about 20 Elephants and given the not-so-friendly mood it looked like they didn't all belong to the same herd. The area was too confined for comfort and people in a couple of cars waiting at a distance were as uncomfortable but the matriarchs kept their cool, the herd that had already had a drink departed and the incoming herd had their drink. There was a flat stone near the base of the tank on which the shorter Elephants stood to reach the water in the tank.    

A Half hour that I will cherish all my life. It was around 10:30AM, we had been at the bird hide(Muzandzeni on S36) overlooking the waterhole for sometime watching the Hippos, birds and a few scattered Crocodiles. A family of Francolins foraging just by the bird-hide kept us amused by their high-pitched calls every now and then. And as the Hippos all waded out of water and settled down on the sandy clearing on the bank for a nap(in the background of the photo), we decided to leave. Just then a herd of Elephants in a single file, led by the matriarch crossed the water from our side to the opposite bank of the water. As she came parallel to a Crocodile, she stopped and let other members proceed to the water(the left most Elephant in the photo standing behind the Crocodile) In a few more seconds the Crocodile decided it was too dangerous for her and took to water. The Elephants took their time and had their fill and then proceeded to take a mud-bath in the wet mud just off the water. An adolescent Elephant also took a short detour to threaten the Hippos by flapping his ears at them but the Hippos took no notice as there was quite a distance between them and the teenager clearly didn't want to stray too far from his family. Drinking and bathing done, the matriarch led her family onwards for some snacks perhaps. Video of the same herd and another of 2 male Elephants at the same place are below       

A mud-bathing herd of Elephants. Elephants take regular mud-baths and the one we were privileged to witness at a waterhole (as I described above) had a ritualistic quality to it. They drank their fill of water first and then the calves rolled around in the wet mud just off the water's edge while the others sprinkled the wet mud over their body. It wasn't something that they did because they had to but clearly enjoyed doing it.    

A line-up at the waterhole. There is nothing homogeneous about a group of Elephants. Unlike other grazers, every Elephant is a thinking individual doing his/her own thing or probably it's the movement of their trunks that make us look at them as a group of individuals rather than just a group. 

This was in the afternoon, a cool breeze was blowing by the Sabie river just off the Lower Sabie camp. We had been watching a Lion and a Lioness napping on the bank of the river for over an hour. There wasn't much happening on the Lion front but from the same position we witnessed this Elephant-Hippo confrontation. Not so much a confrontation as a teenage Elephant seeing how much he could push his luck. The Hippos had been napping on the bank of the river, the Elephants came over for a drink, post the drink the teenager thought the Hippos weren't paying him enough respect so he moved close to them and flapped his ears at them. The distance was too close for comfort for the Hippos and they stood up(as seen in the photo, one thick-headed Hippo further away from the Elephants continues to sleep). It's funny how in the photo, the teenager looks at his family while he's going about unsettling the Hippos. The matriarch has probably calculated that with so many of them close at hand, he's in no real danger and the Elephants ignore him.     

We had gone for a morning 'river walk' on the banks of Olifants river. We were on a higher ground, where the banks of the river would be in summer when the rains filled the river. There were Crocodiles, Waterbucks, 3-4 species of birds and of course, these Hippos. As we (5 of us including 2 armed guides) stood taking in the scene almost all the Hippos in the river turned to us and they kept looking at us till the time we moved away.      

'Hippo heaven' - Safe in being huddled together on a lovely winter morning with Oxpeckers at service and no teenage Elephants to disturb their nap(Muzandzeni on S36). Seeing the Hippos like this it is hard to believe they are one of the most dangerous animals in the wild and even a Crocodile which shares its habitat with them gives them a wide berth. Despite this aggression, they are classified 'vulnerable' due to habitat loss and poaching for meat and ivory canine teeth.    

A territorial fight between 2 males that the females(probably)are eagerly watching.(Lake Panic hide on S42 near Skukuza camp) Hippos spend most of the day in and around quiet waters and graze during night. 

Hippos resting in water just before sunrise after having fed through the night. (Lake Panic hide on S42 near Skukuza camp).  

Rhinos breakfasting on a crisp winter morning. The Cape Glossy Starling tags along with them hoping to make a meal of insects disturbed by their grazing and the Rhinos took as much notice of us as they did of the bird.(In keeping with the practice of the park, am not revealing the location of this sighting, not that the Rhinos will be still hanging around that place) These animals have been around for about 10 million years but today almost all species of Rhinos are 'Threatened' with at least 3 species being 'critically threatened' as their numbers have been wiped out due to poaching for its horn, the primary demand of which is from Vietnam where the powdered horn is inhaled by the wealthy in a show of status. It is also used in traditional Chinese medicine.   

In 4 days of driving around Kruger we weren't very lucky with our cat sightings. We had seen a Lion and Lioness almost completely hidden by the grass around which they were resting, had seen a Leopard resting on a far off tree on a Sunset drive in the last few seconds of natural light and another Leopard on a night drive jumping at something in the tree before vanishing into the dark, away from our soft spotlights. We had no luck with Cheetah at all. We did see a Genet and a wild cat on night drives but were still craving for some good sightings. On the day we were leaving Kruger we had a reasonably good sighting of a Leopard resting on a far off tree but the position of the tree vis a vis the sun and the pile-up of vehicles left us feeling a bit saddened by our lack of luck. After a couple of days of staying outside Kruger we decided to come back to try our luck again and within half a day we came upon a Leopard 5 feet away from the car (On S25). He crossed the road behind our car and walked away from us without even a side-ways glance at the couple of vehicles in his path.    

The same Leopard which crossed our path. The effect of sunlight on his skin made it even more beautiful. He walked a short distance and sat down for few seconds before disappearing from our view. If not for the lovely photos of this encounter it wouldn't be difficult for us to believe that we had dreamt this sighting. 

Sighting grazers and watching them from close-up is one thing but to see a predator is quite another. They hold the fate of the grazers we gazed upon in their paws. It's the predators that make the forest. Hunted by men, pushed into ever tighter spots by habitat and consequent prey loss, poached for their skin and other body parts - in short having been pushed to the edge of the precipice, somehow they are still holding on. They deserve our respect and more importantly if nothing else, they deserve to be left alone.     

A Lion and Lioness sleeping off the day light hours by the river. We had not been very lucky with our sightings of big predators on the first visit to Kruger then we returned and so did our elusive luck. After the gorgeous Leopard who walked right past us, a good Lion sighting seemed just around the corner. We just had another 3 hours at Kruger. We decided to check the sightings board at Lower Sabie camp before proceeding in the direction of the Lion sighting which we hoped would be on the way to the park exit as well. I don't recall the sightings board but as we headed out via the same route we had just traversed to reach the camp, first off was a dead Impala on a tree right in the open by the road, then we passed by the place where less than half hour back we had been waylaid by multiple herds of Elephants crossing the road. There were no Elephants in sight but a little ahead were these Lions. By the bank of the Sabie river resting not in shade but in the sun, visible from a wide stretch of the road. There was a pleasant breeze blowing so the Lions and humans alike settled down in comfortable position to watch and be watched.     

We watched the Lions for almost an hour when we heard of a Leopard in the vicinity. As the Lions were not going anywhere we left our post to see the Leopard who was sitting on a huge boulder in the middle of the river. A 'guest appearance' and off he went in amidst the tall grass. And just as if to show not all predators were sleepy in the afternoon just a little ahead was a Grey Heron in action. We came back to the Lions after the Heron had consumed his lunch and parked ourselves for another hour to watch the Lions. The Lion did move a bit, re-position himself and a bit more but the Lioness hardly moved. We had another 30 KMs to travel to the exit so we reluctantly left the Lions wishing we were staying at Lower Sabie that night. But within an hour we saw a pride of 3 Lioness resting in grass, hardly moving even though a flock of boisterous Guineafowls were close-by.

Our first sighting of a Lion in Kruger. More than the joy of having seen the Lions, our first sighting let us understand just how difficult it would be to see Lions, 'Nat Geo' style. When sitting in the grass, especially the dry winter grass they just seamlessly blend in. The same would be true of any of the big predators who are all stealth hunting experts.  

We had heard the 'laughing' and had tracked a spotted Hyena amongst the dry portion of the Olifants river bed just the previous day but that was the first of countless sightings of this animal. We saw them on night drives, in the evening at a Bird Hide with a couple of Thick Knees spreading their wings and threatening the probably scouting lone Hyena as he got too close to them but by far this was the closest we saw this animal. Lying by the road in the morning, close to the Olifants camp entrance, she seemed oblivious to our presence. Her position initially had me even wondering if she was hurt. A couple of minutes spent with her and her movements seemed fine. She was probably just tired after the night's activity or stealing some quiet time away from her pups.   

We were heading to the Satara camp to make it to the camp at the gate closing time at Sun down. The one hour before Sunset is what I call the Golden hour. The activity in the forest, in nature for that matter, is beautiful at that hour. On the road we were repeatedly stopped by Francolins, Spurfowls, Mongoose, Guineafowls and Elephants. Of all of these I feared the appearance of the Elephants the most as a herd crossing a road is another ritualistic affair. Matriarch waits at the edge of the road, vehicles on either side of her stops at a safe distance, thus having ensured safety she leads her herd across the road. This takes up quite a bit of  time which at any other time of the day is welcome but in the Golden hour you feel for every minute that's spent in this fashion. Coming back to this photo, these Spotted Hyenas(which I initially thought were Hyenas and then I got excited thinking they were the critically endangered African Wild Dogs) were right on the road comfortably stretched out on the correct side of the road(being close to gate close hour, there would have been no vehicles on that side going away from a camp). The one predator who did follow our every movement, almost like a domestic Dog. Probably the reason why Dogs were domesticated, the other predators do well to ignore us.          

With the return to Kruger, our luck gifted us this unlikely spotting that we wouldn't have spotted if not for a private safari guide having spotted it. The curious Squirrel inspects the Python who's sleeping in the hollow in a tree. Had seen on TV, a mother Squirrel taking on a snake to protect her babies(and she won) but for a Squirrel to inspect a sleeping Python seemed rather impertinent. He would go close and then move away and then go close again almost teasing the snake(S25).   

One man's trash is another man's treasure. A Squirrel sits on Elephant dung eating undigested bits from it. An Elephant with its poor digestion feeds many animals like this and the unconsumed seeds germinate. The Elephants are the gardeners of the forest.

A Dwarf Mongoose bravely looks at the big safari vehicle.(Close to the entrance of Satara camp on a Sun set drive)    

Documentaries on the bird seen on TV notwithstanding, I was surprised by the size of the Ostrich. In the quieter part of the park (Road S37)the birds were at a distance from the road but there was no missing such a huge bird. We watched the birds for a while, this male in the company of 2 females of a dull brown plumage. It is surprising to me that a bird that comes loaded with strengths to survive in the wild making up for its inability to fly has been farmed for its feather, skin and meat, has been used in racing, for even pulling carriages! It should have stuck with flight and we would have probably left it alone.    

A common enough scene in the wild. A (Nile) Crocodile resting on land either has the birds' fooled or is of no danger to them. An African Jacana is next to it and a couple of Hadeda Ibis are in the photo as well. 

White-backed Vultures (close to Satara camp) waiting for the day to heat up to soar on the rising warm air to search for food. Spotting Vultures soaring on the thermals and circling around a place got us excited many times,wondering if there were some predators at work there, it all came to naught. There was also one time where couple of species of Vultures were sitting on the ground with Hyenas around as well and Zebras and Wildebeest a short distance off. They were some distance from the road with a lot of dry grass around and none of us could spot anything else in the scene, it bore every resemblance to a crime scene except we didn't know what the crime was. This is a Critically threatened bird like many raptors primarily due to habitat loss.

A huge bird of prey - Martial Eagle which hunts even mammals like Steenbok. The only thing vulnerable about this Lion among birds is its conservation status.

A Secretarybird, another bird of prey but with its lovely colours it had me fooled but there is no mistaking the look in his eyes or the shape of his bill. The bird is a snake specialist which hunts mainly on foot because of which it is kept in captivity to keep snake numbers in check on farms. They would have done better to hunt in air like other snake specialists, would not have given us ideas. Another bird classified as Vulnerable.

An African Fish Eagle

A Brown Snake Eagle. Another Snake specialist with hunting technique more air-borne than the Secretarybird, consequently its conservation status is 'Least Concern'.   

A Southern-White-faced Owl seen on a Sun-set drive and photographed by the light of a spot-light. The entire time the light was shone on him, he sat there unconcerned.  

A Hamerkop, a Wildebeest of the bird world for its funny looks. We saw this bird in the water many times but there always was a bigger animal to be photographing and given the indistinct colouration, never managed to get a good photo of the odd photo clicked of the bird. Quite like the Leopard who walked right into our path, the bird flew right by our side. The bird is a compulsive nest-builder building huge nests(4 feet wide) on which even Leopard's rest, had I known this fact earlier I would have been looking for the nest, but back then I didn't even know the bird's name.  

A Black-bellied Bustard. The bird was about to cross the gravel road from behind the tall dry grass, as we got closer he drew back but still seemed inclined on crossing the road so we turned off the car and the next instant he came out of the cover. The ease with which he was comforted made me wonder if that was the reason why his cousin, the Great Indian Bustard of which there are around 300 individuals left in the wild today came to be thus critically endangered. And yet the royalty from ME make annual trips to Pakistan to hunt these birds.   

An Egyptian Geese couple at the Olifants river. A very common bird who go about their business noisily. They had been domesticated by ancient Egyptians and the practice continues.

A Brown-headed Parrot(S25). Its sweet temperament and relatively quieter trait makes them popular bird pets.

A Yellow-billed Hornbill. A very common bird in Kruger and in the afternoons their habit of descending onto the roads to pick up insects makes it for very difficult driving.  

A Grey Heron we witnessed in action in the Sabie river in the company of Lions, a Leopard, Elephants and Hippos amongst others. The bird trying to swallow the fish was a sight to watch. If ever there was a creature who found the catching to be easier than eating, it was this bird.  

The Crocodile Bridge exit of Kruger National Park and the line of vehicles who got out at the gate close time.

The Kruger National Park has a total of 23 camps spread across the length and breath of the huge forest. Accommodation as well as activities can be booked online at www.sanparks.org

Of the 23 camps, 12 of them are main camps which are self-sufficient units, complete with a restaurant, a fuel station, ATM and a store selling essentials, food and souvenirs. It's possible to enter Kruger and explore its various regions without having to step out of the park for as long as one wishes to. Accommodation in Kruger sells like hot cakes, best to book in advance but there are always cancellations that lead to availability. Day visits are also possible, either ways, there's a conservation fees which is ZAR 304 and ZAR 152 for Non-South African adult and child respectively per day or night as the case may be.

   

The dry winter months from May-September are the best for sighting of animals due to less vegetation. The rains come in the summer months and the lush vegetation makes it difficult to spot animals, but having seen the forest in winter, I would love to see the forest when it's bountiful. 

There are gate opening and closing time to be followed. With individual camp gates closed, park authority conducted activities like Morning drive, Sun-set drive and Night drive will give another shot at exploring the forest. Other than that, walks are also possible with armed guides to accompany and guide. To self-drive around the park the essentials are: A car(obviously), a map(though GPS works there's nothing like using a map), a good pair of binoculars, and a love for nature. When the love for nature weens a bit especially when sightings are low, a car-recharging coffee warmer goes a long way in restoring the love.

Driving in South Africa is allowed on a license issued by any country as long as it's in English. Just to be on the safer side, do write to the car hire company and confirm before renting the car. Getting a visa for visiting South Africa is a simple enough process, visit the embassy/consulate with country specific, home-printed filled-in application form and it would be ready in about 5 working days. There is no visa fees for Indians.       

In a nut-shell, to repeat what I said, it's a heaven, in the forest and within the comfortable camps. It's also a heaven for the animals themselves which make a home in Kruger as there are any number of 'game reserves' on the continent where for a payment one gets to shoot the animals for fun.   

Panorama route

This is a scenic route not very far from Kruger National park which has a number of natural as well as historical sites. Anyone visiting Kruger should reserve a day to travel the Panorama route. 

The route is peppered with: 

 - Waterfalls(Lisbon, Bride's veil, Berlin, Mac-mac and more) 

 - Viewpoints (God's window, Long tom pass and more)  

 - Natural phenomenon (Blyde river canyon, Bourke's Luck Potholes, Three Rondavels, The Pinnacle, Sudwala caves (200+ Million years old) and Echo caves 

 - Towns of historical importance - Pilgrim's rest and Sabie(gold-mining days of 19th century), Graskop (timber growing) and more  

The Panorama route - timber plantations stretch all along the way on the route. Row upon row of various types of timber trees.

View from God's window - This is a beautiful viewpoint with a over 2000 ft drop and a gorgeous view of the low altitude grassland

The walk up to the God's Window. This is a Mist belt amidst low altitude grassland (Lowveld). Warm moist air from the grassland condenses when it reaches higher altitude which leads to high rainfall in this zone and thus is also many rivers' catchment area. Walking through a rain forest in the middle of a grassland astounded me. It seemed like a miracle fit to be called God's home.     

Bourke's Luck Potholes - 2 rivers (Treur ['sorrow']and Blyde ['joy']) flowing through sandstone beds carrying sand and rocks over millennia has formed these beautiful natural geological formations. 

Blyde River Canyon - 2.5 KM of red sandstone carved by the water flowing through it over time into the deep gorges we see today. This area is a nature reserve and this is one of the largest canyons in the world 

Three Rondavels - named for their resemblance to grass huts, the softer limestone has eroded over time and what remains in the form of grass huts is the harder quartz. Local legend calls the flat top peak as a chief and the 3 rondavels as his 3 wives.