S African Safari 4. Back to Basics

 

The 4 Day Kruger Safari offers one day in the park, two days of travel to and from the park, and one extra day to explore the private lands that, because of their proximity to the national park, get you close to a large number of African animals. Unfortunately for us, this extra day turned out to be the hottest of the year.  

We sat in a crowded open jeep and sweated. Very few animals were taking the time to show themselves in the heat, but our driver was determined to get us our money's worth and put in a valiant effort to find a black rhino. He explained that we had a better chance of seeing a 'hooked lipped' (or black) than a 'square lipped' (or white) rhino in these parts even though they are much rarer due to their endangered status.

Square lipped are grazers and usually seen in open pasture. I now realize that we had very little chance of seeing any rhino, whatever the color. Our guide claimed he had found tracks and scattered dung, a sign of them marking their territory. We also looked at twigs that he claimed were chewed by a hooked lipped rhino. Really we were just going for a ride along rutted tracks, dry stream beds and over fallen logs.  More than once I imagined the jeep tipping over and killing us all.  We chased after several giraffes, but even the water holes were empty because of the heat. 

We disturbed a large bull elephant who trumpeted loudly and charged. The jeep engine chose that moment to stall, and our driver had to jump out and shoo the elephant away by clapping his hands and yelling "Get!"  However, like the giraffes, the elephant didn't want to bother with us in the heat of the day. Fortunately, we got the motor going again and were able to head off to our next accommodation, Marc's Treehouse Camp. 

This was to be our camping experience on safari.  That camp had seen better days and many of the tents were underwater from previous flooding. We had treehouses, which were really tents on stilts. We decided favorably towards our treehouse due to the fact that there was a giraffe standing outside when we arrived. Without sides, and only a grass roof, plenty of wildlife had found itself inside with us for the night.

It stormed during the night, and several other huts leaked, and one of our party reported rodents running along the bed headboard.  We had frogs and lots of spiders in the shower. But it was exciting, and a unique experience. While our German friends complained and longed for a decent hotel room, we went out exploring. The second night Jon heard some snorting in the undergrowth and wanted to see what was out there. A flashlight lit up a large African buffalo who was probably on its way down to the river below our hut. Buffalos are considered extremely dangerous, so we didn't bother it, and went back to bed under our mosquito net. 

The buffalo was still lurking around our dining area the next morning.  It was joined by a group of nyala antelope and vervet monkeys in the trees above the pool. The reason for the proximity of these animals is not that they are pets, fenced in or attracted by our food. Recently there has been a movement to take down all fences between the national park and surrounding private land to allow animals free range. Everything has become their domain, and only the busy roads are off limits for their grazing and hunting.

As exciting as it is to be so up close and personal with nature, it is also unnerving to discover that the animal noise I hear not too far away is the roaring of lions. The truth is... most animals are thriving despite their contact with humans.  Most take little notice of us, or politely avoid us. It is rare that a large predator like a lion will take a human.  Our meat is too salty for them. But they must eat, and provide for their family. We have come into their space, and the larger animals will sometimes be threatened by this and attempt to scare us off. But with the right education, and an expert guide, there is no danger... unless you are being driven around the bush by a crazy jeep driver looking for rhinos.

S African Safari 3. Bush Walk to Olifants River

 

Day two of our safari started early with a bush walk. After arriving late in the Kruger National Park area the day before, yet still catching up with the lions before retiring to bed, I was full of expectation. What will we see today?  The lodge served us a quick cup of tea before we set out and reminded us to watch out for the monkeys.  In our bleary state, we did not notice a cheeky vervet come in through the window before it had stolen a half eaten banana and rusks.   Our party loaded into the open jeep just as the sun was coming up. On the drive toward Olifants River, where we would do our walk, we drove past our first impalas and zebras.  

Both of these are plentiful in the area, and like to graze in large groups for added protection from the lions.  They seem to know when to look out for lions, however, and when they are safe to roam.

Still, we started the walk with a safety talk and two loaded rifles. Hippos are the real danger, as they roam away from their watery homes at night, and do not like being disturbed on their way back.  They literally bite a person in half. 

Fortunately we were able concentrate on some smaller beasts without worrying about the hungry hippos. Our guides pointed out spiders, termite mounds, plants and birds, throwing in some local folklore to spice each up. 

There was a giraffe poop pellet spitting contest, that I politely declined. I did taste the magic guari bush leaves that produce tannin when picked. Elephant dung has a surprising list of medicinal properties I didn't know about and so couldn't miss taking a puff of some smoking dung. 

There was an abundance of hornbills, and a couple of vultures. No animals came near us on the walk, and I suppose they know to keep away. We did see baboons in the distance across the river, but they also gave us a wide berth.  The animals' presence was only evident in the large number of hoof and paw prints in the sandy soil.  The heat was intensifying, and we were happy to find a shady river bank.

We stopped a while to rest, snack and watch the hippos: one mother, with a baby, and other males swimming and clambering up the bank. All the time, the oxpeckers never left their pursuit of parasites on the hippos' heads and back. As the hippo submerged, the birds rose into the air, only to land again on the head when it appeared above water. 

The water was incredibly inviting, and we headed back to the lodge for breakfast and a swim. 

It would be nice to have some down time, to write down and digest what we had seen and learned so far.  At this point one of the vehicles refused to start and they had to send for a mechanic.  The breakfast service was also delayed because of a power cut.

The lodge, ideally situated as it was, was also in need of some repairs. The park was closed a year ago, and tourism stopped completely. Many people lost their livelihoods. No was around to look out for the poachers either, and the rhino population has been decimated. 

This was something we noticed, no one pestered us for money, and no one was overcharging us. This is a simple example of where tourism can help a community economically, which in turn can help the ecology of the area.  I was told that there were no Americans with us on the safari, because Americans like luxury, insinuating that our 'budget' tour was beneath them. I would encourage everyone to come out and rough it a bit, while helping to bring this place, and others like it, back to life. 

S African Safari 2. Lions

 

Let us just come out and say it... on safari, everyone wants to see a lion.  Many operators advertise that you are guaranteed to see the Big 5:  a hunting term describing those that pose the most dangerous risk. Of the five, only two are predators, lions and leopards, and of these lions are much easier to encounter in the wild. They are territorial,  often form large prides, and will sleep most of the day.  Guides will share with each other the pride's whereabout, making it easy to  drive right up to a lounging group. Only at dusk, will most lions begin to hunt, which is thrilling to watch.

Our safari organizers understood the importance of being able to deliver on a lion sighting, and planned a game drive the first evening. As the sun set, we headed towards the area where another safari group had sighted a group of about 6 lions lying in the middle of the dirt track. The group of 3 males and 3 females didn't even seem to register our presence. In order to get closer, our guide backed up into the bush and came around behind the group just as they started to make a move. They crossed right in front of our vehicle and continued single file down the path. We followed slowly behind. The lions seemed more intent on what might be out in the bush, than the fact that a jeep full of people was only a few yards behind them.  Night fell and we used head lights and a spot light to continue our viewing. To our surprise, and fear, two more lions came up silently behind the vehicle, brushing up against the sides of the jeep and scaring us half to death. I felt as if I could have reached out and petted the passing animals without experiencing any harm. 

We left them to their night hunt and turned around to return to the lodge. Another lion came toward us, clearly visible in the jeep's headlights.  The male gave us a quick glance before calmly walking past in order to rejoin the pride, wasting no time at all on trying to confront or intimidate us. Such is the understanding between man and beast in these parts. I was told that they are totally at ease with the vehicles, whereas if we were to step out and venture among the lions, they would certainly attack in order to defend their territory and their family. 

All this happened on our very first day on safari. You might think that there was not much else to see, that everything else might pale in comparison to viewing lions on the move in the wild. We pondered this as we sat down to eat a meal prepared over an open fire in the bush. By the light of the fire we noticed eyes watching us. And some powerful flashlights picked out two hyenas who were interesting in our barbecue. Yes, there was certainly a lot more out there in the bush to see, and we were encouraged to get up at 5:30 am the next morning to walk out on foot into these animals' territory.

S African Safari 1. Explained

I have always dreamed of going on safari in Africa, but believed it to be out of my reach: too far, too expensive, too difficult to arrange. Of course, I was thinking of the old idea of safaris that took the upperclass into the bush for weeks, taking with them all the trappings for a luxury camping trip. Most safaris are now more affordable, and easily booked online. Still, if it hadn't been for some friends planning a trip to South Africa for a safari over our spring break, I don't think I would have considered a budget 4 day safari. It didn't have a rustic appeal of Kenya or Tanzania, but I still believe if was the best option for us due to several factors, and  I would like to outline the advantages of this sort of safari for others, like me, who have always thought of an African safari as an unobtainable dream.

Getting there:   Johannesburg is a direct flight from Europe, or with a short stopover in Addis Ababa or Doha. We were even able to use our air miles to purchase flights, which made the whole trip even more affordable. Johannesburg has not much else going for it other than its proximity to Kruger National Park, which is roughly the size the nation of Israel.  Since the closing of the park due to COVID restrictions, the area has been hurting for tourism, and we found hotel prices very affordable. We could have checked into an airport hotel for a short nap and shower for $30, but we waited comfortably in one of the many restaurants and cafes at O R Tambo international airport. The safari had asked us to arrive early in order to be picked up at 9 am for our trip to Kruger, which took 6 hours with several stops for food and driver changes.   Originally, I had considered hiring a car at the airport and driving ourselves around. I know several others who did this, but out of Cape Town. I see now, that in order to see the Big 5 animals, you really need to book a tour safari that will take you to where the animals are, in a short amount of time. If we had more time, we could have driven around Kruger Park, but any animals we chanced to see would be far off in the bush. 

Game Drives: Our safari people offered transport to and from Jo'burg, accommodation, meals and game drives. These took place on private land where expert guides keep track of where the animals are. Recently there has been a move to remove all fences on private land that backs on to the national park, to allow animals to roam freely. The only exception are those game reserves for hunting purposes. Our drives took us across several private properties, but skirted the hunting zones. The first night we arrived at our lodge, we were taken out for a sunset game drive. There were 10 of us in an open sided jeep, bumping down dirt tracks, and off-roading through the grass. We immediately saw a lone male elephant, that ignored us and kept munching on leaves and branches. 

Then we started to see antelope which we wrongly identified as 'deer'.  The impala are the most prevalent, with their characteristic "M"  rear end markings, and the tiny slimbok are harder to see because of their size in the long grass. As the sun set we saw two giraffe, but our guide did not slow down or try to approach because he had just heard from another guide of the location of the lions. Sure enough, we encountered the pride lying down in the road, paying no heed to the several jeeps of tourists who were all trying to photograph them in the dying light. 

Accommodation:  The private lodges near the park give the experience of staying the night 'in the bush' due to the absence of fences to keep the animals out. There are monkeys always lurking in the trees ready to steal your breakfast or ransack your room. Impala and nyala antelope will wander poolside. The outdoor barbecue attracted two hyena which we picked out with our flashlights shining into the bush. The second night we were moved to even more rustic accommodation, advertised as 'tree houses'.  Due to their open sides, we had bugs, frogs, and rodents crawling around inside. Outside, along the pathways to and from the dining room, we saw giraffe and buffalo, while hearing the roars of lions nearby. 

Kruger National Park: Only one day did we travel into the park, where we had to follow the COVID guidelines of registering our name and temperature before entering. Here, our guide took us on a network of paved roads, occasionally stopping so we could watch groups of elephants, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest and other antelope.  After a lunch stop we got a tip of where to find some lions, but they were lying down in the long grass quite a distance away and didn't really do much. The sheer size of the park, with its wide open landscape of bush and twisted trees, large groups of grazing animals and waterholes, birds and the occasional large beast on the road, makes the experience worthwhile. I hear that Kruger has more variety than other parks in S.Africa, but you won't get up close to them, like we did on private land.

I intend to write a series of blogs that look in more detail at our budget safari experience in South Africa, but I am convinced that we were fortunate enough to have a positive experience which is making us consider spending more time and money of another safari in the future!

To Stay or Go?

 This is a hard post to write.... and it may not make it to publication. I started teaching in the UK in 1987, and have been moving ever since. I have taught in ten American or International schools for sometimes less that a year, up to my longest stint of 8 years. So why keep moving? Why not stay in one job, in one home? There are several reasons:

It began by my tendency to be enamored with traveling and the expat life. Growing up, I admired my teachers' privilege of hopping from one international school to another, traveling the world and earning a living at the same time. I made that my goal, and took off to Brasilia as soon I was offered the job.  Looking back, I am surprised I left the UK.  I loved my job and probably would have been happy making a life for myself in Kent, but a part of me yearned for the international community I grew up in. It made me feel so sophisticated and independent. 

My first move was for better pay, for a better package. International schools vary greatly in what they offer their staff, and I was keen to make enough money to be financially independent and to be able to travel. I could not afford to be treated like a local hire without housing and a dollar based salary.

Then I met the love of my life, who just happened to live in another city and taught in another school. I moved so we could be together, and not have to make the 12 hour bus trip between Belo and Sao Paulo. Even before our marriage, I knew that this post would be short lived.  Jon was as keen as I was to travel and teach in other places, and was happy to have found a partner in crime. 

At this point I realized that a high salary is not always what makes for the best quality of life. Our first position as a couple was great for our bank account, but was definitely a hardship post. Our letters home from those early days in Bulgaria were full of adventurous setbacks that severely tried our capacity to cope in an Easter European nation where no one spoke English, there were shortages of everything, and no infrastructure.  After our first child was born, and we were down to running water only two days a week, we decided we needed an 'easier' place to live.

We were fortunate enough to secure teaching positions in the beautiful city of Rio, and I thought we would stay for many years.  But just when you think you are settled, with 3 kids and a sail boat, you start to yearn for a home of your own. I missed having my own house with my own things, and a quieter life surrounded by family. So we gave up our 'easy' life by the sea to take up residence in Minnesota.

Now Minnesota is cold, and flat, and jobs few and far between; but I loved our simple life in a small town surrounded by fields and the seasons.  I became a housewife and was truly happy for a time. Then financial concerns started to rear their ugly heads.  A teaching salary in the rural midwest just isn't enough for a family of five to live on. We were forced again to look for jobs overseas.

Then came our long stretch of 8 years in Kwajalein.  We were happy and truly settled. We loved our jobs and the children were happy. So why did we again feel the urge to move on?  We became complacent, and suddenly realized that life was passing us by.  There just might be some other school, in a place we have never heard of, that would give us a great opportunity to further our careers and travel some more. And with that goal, we took off to Europe, then Kuwait. Unfortunately neither of these places lived up to our expectations and we sorely regretted our decision to move on from Kwajalein.

There have been times when I have had to move because my job was cut, or altered to something outside my area of expertise.  But most of the time it was my decision to move on, looking for that dream job, that exotic location. At first it was easier to go.... now it has become so much harder to move on than it would be to stay.  I dread the job search, the rejections, the decision making, the packing up and selling possessions, the unsettled feeling of being homeless.

It might be time to call it a day, and put my still unfulfilled dreams to bed. I want to stay...