Buffalo herd crossing
Tuesday, Oct 11
Animals spotted today: Leopard (with dead warthog in the tree!), waterbuck, zebra, 2 giraffes about to mate, lions and baby cubs, elephants, african buffalos, spotted hyaenas
This morning Moshe came by with his usual wake up call. I thought it was strange that he hung around outside. When I came out he asked if I heard anything during the night. I told him no. Apparently an elephant had broken through the fence that borders the lodge and did some damage. Moshe showed me the broken branches and tracks right outside my window and in front of my door! Holy cow, of all the nights for me to sleep right through the night! It was my one chance to blow on the whistle and see how fast the rangers come running. I was really bummed about that. John was not happy at the damages the elephant did. Mostly it was foliage it was looking for so some bushes got trampled and one small palm tree by the pool is now bald.
My last game drive with the guys. I am really getting spoiled being the only guest. I love it when other jeeps come by loaded with guests and I have our jeep to myself. They must think I’m loaded to book a private tour.
The highlight of this morning drive was another leopard sighting. Moshe got word of a leopard in the area so he got Eric in the jeep and sped through the bush to get to a certain location. Once again it was a surprise for me. Just as we got there the leopard that has been up a tree got shy and climbed down a tree. We went off road to track it down but it was elusive. Moshe drove back to the tree and showed me the dead warthog that the leopard had killed and hung up the tree, actually draped it over a big branch. Moshe suggested that we find a spot nearby and have our morning cup of tea and wait for the leopard to come back. There’s a good chance it will because its food is up on a branch! After a 15 min break by a watering hole we head back. Sure enough the leopard was up on the tree. I got some great shows so I’m so glad we waited around. Moshe returned the favor and gave another ranger a heads up on the sighting. So we waited around for the other jeep to come (Moshe was afraid to start up the engine and scare the leopard into moving again. Unfortunately as the other jeep approached the animal did get spooked and went down the tree! Moshe asked me if it was ok if we helped the other jeep track down the leopard. It sounded like fun to me so what the heck. We did find the animal and for the next half hour proceeded to track it. It was a cat and mouse game. It was neat to see how well the leopard can hide itself in the tall grass or behind a bush. It can remain absolutely still so you have to be patient to wait it out. Each time it starts to move our 2 vehicles would strategically move so as to block it from going too far in one direction. We did manage to get in very close. Many times you catch it staring towards the direction of its kill hanging in the tree. Great morning drive.
I got in a last breakfast with the staff and the driver came for me at 10:30 so it was time to say goodbye to Kambaku. Everyone saw me off with a final wave. I miss them already! John and I exchanged emails. Him and the family will emigrate to Phx this December so we promised to keep in touch. He was happy when I promised to show Tanya my favorite spas in Phx. Cool, another spa girl!
It was about an hour drive northwest to another area of greater kruger, called Balule private reserve. My next 4 days will be spent at Billy’s Lodge. My first impression of this place was disappointment only because I was still comparing it with the tranquility and beauty of the last lodge. But have to say that it did grow on me over time. My room seem older and darker and not as spotless and in need of renovation. However, the main lodge area more than made up for that. Gorgeous huge open deck with plenty of comfortable leather couches. The main lodge is built high up, on a tree so it’s kind of a tree house but much fancier. It leads to a high wooden walkway about 30 feet above the ground so you can view wildlife safely. The long walkway leads to a wonderful deck covered with a thatched roof. It’s littered with leather chairs and couches. I promptly took a nap on one of the leather couch to the sounds of the bush lulling me asleep. This is heaven!
Lunch was at 2:30 and they set a nice table on the deck for us. Just a simple salad, cheese & crackers and a platter of sweet and savory crepes. I met the other 4 guests at lunchtime. They seat the guests together so you get to know people. These were 2 couples from seattle and Houston, both much older than me.
On my first afternoon game drive with them I quickly realize that it’s much denser here and the roads are even rougher. Almost immediately our ranger Rex takes us off road for a VERY rough ride. I was wondering where the hell he was taking us. The whiplash was well worth it when we got to a group of lion. First it was a group of 4-5 female lions lazing the afternoon away. Then we drove behind the wash and hidden away was the momma lion and poppa lion and the 2 most adorable baby cubs. We parked literally 6 feet away from the group and just hung out to observe the 2 cubs being playing. The male lion got up for a few seconds when we drove up but then promptly fell back down again. The mama lion was laying down the whole time napping while the cubs were jockeying for position by her belly for feeding. It was the most precious sight! This is right up there with the leopard sightings.
The other fun experience on this drive was 2 giraffes about to mate. It was a big male giraffe and a much smaller female giraffe. I didn’t realize what was happening at first and thought it was just another giraffe, I didn’t even have my camera ready because I have too many pics of giraffes already. Then one of the group said he’s getting ready to mate, look at his ding a ling. Sure enough that thing was long and red and sticking right out! It was one of those things you just couldn’t look away! We must have sat there for a good 15 minutes to wait for the main event but the male giraffe would get behind his girl and she would then move away. At one point he made a move to jump her and she shied away. He then lost his “urge” and it wasn’t showing anymore. But a few minutes later he was primed again, lol! The ranger told us that it’s a quick thing because the male has to put his 2 front paws on the back of the female and it’s not a comfortable position for them. We never did see the deed but it was interesting to see the process. We think that they knew we were there and felt shy. If the female was not interested she would have gone away but they stayed closed together the whole time.
The group I was with had seen 4 of the big 5 and were missing the leopard on their list. One couple was leaving the next morning so they really wanted to see the leopard. As we approached dusk Rex excitedly pointed out a leopard getting a drink at a water hole. It quickly moved away and we all only caught a glimpse of it. We proceeded to try to track it for the next 20 minutes but without luck. It was a small cub, daylight was fading and it was really thick underbrush area so that cub can hide very well. I have had 3 fantastic leopard sightings in the last 2 days in Timbavati so I was fine if we didn’t find it. The other 2 couples were somewhat happy because now they can at least claim that they completed their big 5 list, even though they didn’t get a picture of it.
Have I mentioned that I am SO glad I have such a nice camera lens? Gary gave me a really nice zoom lens a few years back and I am just using it for the first time. It’s made for a trip like this where you can zoom right in on the animal. I get a nice depth of feel with the pics. Everyone raves about my pictures and I have to say they are pretty nice. After each game drive I get impatient to load them on my macair and start editing. I am averaging about 25% of pictures that are kept, the rest I have to delete. I suspect I’ll end up with over 250 good pictures from this safari!
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