Animals spotted: White Rhinos, African Buffalos, Impalas, Kudus, Brown Snake Eagle, Giraffes, Crocodile, Zebras, mangoose, monkey, kudus, waterbuck, leopards, elephants, giraffes
Today I was the only guest so it was just me, Moshe our ranger and Eric our tracker going for the morning drive. Before we started I told Eric that I would like to place an order - I would like to see a herd of elephant bathing by a waterhole. Eric has a nice sense of humour so he nodded in agreement and said he will send the email to the elephants to let them know.
Again it was a slow start but the morning got interesting quick. Eric spotted rhino tracks and they both got off to see where it leads. At one point Moshe gave me an option, would I like to try to track the rhino on foot with him while Eric drives the vehicle ahead? Hell yeah, nothing like a little excitement. Again, before we started he gave me another lecture about not running if we seen anything and that I must listen to his intructions without questions. Hello, I'm not stupid, he's got the gun so I'm sticking to him like glue. It was fun, I was amazed at his tracking ability. First of all, a rhino has 3 toes but its track is only made prominent by 1 toe and the print is only about 2 inches wide and 1 inch long. But trust me, these suckers are big. In case I doubted that Moshe was just putting on a show for the stupid tourist he was teaching me along the way how to spot the track and how to know if it's a fresh track. I was still amazed at how he can stay on its track. It hasn't rained for over 1 wk so the ground was dry. Unfortunately we had to stopped because after about 15 minutes of walking Moshe told me that the rhinos have crossed over another property so that was that.
Moshe got a heads up on a leopard sighting so he headed that way. Ofcourse he kept it a secret and as we drove towards it he pointed to a tree and asked if I noticed anything. It was awesome I could see from a distance that there was something hanging out on the big branch! We got right up to the tree, about 15 feet from the leopard. He was just laying on the the tree branch with its legs hanging from either side. The whole time I was afraid that he could jump down right into our jeep! As expected I took about a million pictures! It's a beautiful animal. As we left it Moshe took me took another spot to see another leopard! This one was on the ground and hanging out. We got off the dirt road and right up to the leopard. No kidding, just a few feet away! THEN, the leopard got up and walked towards our jeep and right in front of it. I whispered to Moshe if he has his gun ready but all it did was walked in front of our jeep to another spot to hang. It was so exciting! By this time we were only about 6 feet from it so even closer than the last one, truly a highlight of the morning! Or so I thought. As we left the leopard Moshe said he has a surprise for me but I knew not to ask so I just sat back to enjoy. As we drove up to the waterhole from yesterday where the hippo was, I could see a herd of elephants, right to order! The sun was out, the sky was blue blue blue with some puffy clouds the water had a nice reflection of the bush and right in the forefront was my herd of elephants, picture perfect! What my camera couldnt quite capture was the elephants drinking out of this hole right next to the pond. The mother and her baby were taking turns sticking their trunks into this little hole and slurping up water and bringing the water to their mouths, it was so much fun to watch. I had this scene all to myself. I heard that in the main national park south of here you might have just as many animals but the difference is that it's a public park and anyone can drive into it, the result is hordes of tourists who have to share a sighting. It's well worth the money to have all this to myself or at most 5 other people in a jeep.
So quiet here with just me as guest! The host and rangers do eat with the guest so I never eat alone. Crystal and Richard lament that they have to keep up with the exercise otherwise they get fat eating all this food! I wondered how they could jog in a place like this where they could stumble upon a leopard or snakes. Richard assured me that the snakes can feel the vibrations of your footsteps and run away. I don’t believe that and will take my chances on getting fat! There is no way I’m dieting here, the food is so wonderful. They have 3 rotating chefs and so you will get different styles.
As we departed for our afternoon drive I told Eric, our tracker, that I am placing an order for buffalos since it’s the last of the Big 5 that I have not seen yet. It’s an ongoing joke between us because Eric usually responds by saying that he will send in the email. And if we don’t see what I ordered he would tell me that the particular animal never got his email. Eric is very nice. He is from a village nearby as well. His English is not very good so he surprised me with his sense of humour. I always wonder how he could not fall off the small seat perched in front of the landrover. We are on a dirt road most of the time and going in and out of ravines so it can get pretty rough. But he sits very calmly in the seat and is constantly scanning the horizon. Sometimes when they see tracks and the “hunt” is on, we would go off road and it’s even rougher, but so exciting!
We saw a lone white rhino taking shade under the tree. It was so cool because we got VERY close to it, much closer than the herd of rhinos on my first day. This one seemed older and slower. He was caked in mud which had dried and cracked, very funny. At one point he got up and started to rub himself against the tree.
SO, wouldn’t you know it, Moshe got wind of a herd of buffalo heading our way. The animals never stay in one spot so a ranger might give info on where he has seen the animal and which direction he’s heading. Then Moshe would know exactly where to go to head them off. Ofcourse he never tells me so it a surprise when he suddenly drives off road and into thick bushed, I keep thinking that he’s going to lose an engine each time he does this! I was very happy to see a small herd of 7 or 8 buffalos grazing. The sun was starting to set so the lighting was nice. Their horns were huge and I was a little nervous being so close to them. Moshe explained that these were the tail end of the herd. So, we left and took a drive to the very spot where the bulk of the herd was moving south and crossing the dirt road. I can’t adequately describe the scene. It was incredible! Must have been at least a hundred of them moving slowly along. Some would stop to graze for a few minutes and then move on. I love my picture of a jeep in front facing ours with buffalos moving past them from the front and back! It was the same for us but I couldn’t quite get out and take a picture of us! Our drive ended with the best sunset I’ve seen so far!
For dinner it was just me, Moshe, Crystal, Richard and John (the owner). We had a special meal of kudu which I had once in cape town. OMG this was so much better. Did not taste gamemy at all and is more tender than a filet mignon. We had grilled vegies on pap as appetizer and baby corn, broccoli with our meat and then apparently a favorite of everyone’s for dessert – a papaya puree topped with chocolate pudding. It was heavenly!
So sad, it’s my last night here! Just when I’m starting to get to know the people here. I hope the next lodge is half as good. I will miss the drum calls to all my meals, I told crystal that I will have to try the same trick with gary when I get home.
This is a 4 star lodge but they act like a 5 star. So many subtle personal touches to make you feel special. It seems like they know when to leave you alone and when to be there if you suddenly want something. After our morning drives I come back to my room and it’s all made up, mosquito net up and there a little wild flower or leaf on my fresh hand towel on the sink counter. Then after coming back from the afternoon drive (it’s dark by the time we get back to the lodge) My room is prepared for the night – the oil lamps are lit in my room and along the pathways, there is a “bedtime story” on a sheet of paper that’s rolled up and wrapped with a straw ribbon with a small green leaf or flower, and a piece of candy. The whole staff knows my name and I feel like a guest in someone’s house.
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