Guest blog writer Darla Hedrik is back from a spectacular trip to Africa, she was generous to share with us her article on “Anticipations” and now what we have all been waiting for, the “Outcomes.”
EXPECTATIONS MET AND MORE!!!
It’s hard to believe I’ve been there and back, Africa, the wild continent, the 3rd world continent, the beautiful continent. Traveling with friends Julian and Donna, and sharing this experience, and having memories and stories to tell for years to come, make this a trip of a lifetime (I know it’s an old cliche but so true in this case!).
Our trip’s focus was on the animals, it was “all about” the wildlife so most of my memories and comments relate to wildlife, but will end with some additional blogs with thoughts about the other sights and tours, countries and peoples.
Possibly the biggest surprise to me of the entire trip was that in spite of this being Africa, home to dictators and third world countries, hunger and strife, in spite of all this, huge efforts have been made to protect the wildlife, setting up reserves and parks and going after poachers (even with new technology like ultralight planes in Kruger). It’s truly an amazing continent.
First stop, the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Center for Endangered Species in De Wildt, South Africa, north of Johannesburg (http://www.dewildt.co.za/). You make think it’s strange to start a safari at a location where animals are limited as to where they can roam, but it was actually the perfect start, learning about the endangered species, focus on cheetah’s and the African Wild Dog, but also the vulture, caracal (small cat), and honey badger. Preparing our minds for what we were to see, and what man has done to hurt and now assist these animals. We did not see the cheetah’s “running” but we did see them lazing about on a warm sunny morning, graceful and happy. And this was the only place we saw the near-extinct African wild dogs, sounding and acting like dogs, with their big ears and skinny bodies and beautiful multi-colored coats. And very hungry dogs at mealtime, when they exhibited more of their “wild” qualities.
Then it was on to the Mala Mala Main camp, in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, located next to Kruger National Park in South Africa (http://www.malamala.com/malacamp.htm). We did four game drives in an open jeep-like vehicle with 3 escalating rows of 3 seats each behind the driver and only 5 of us in the vehicle so that we could see in every direction. The first sighting of wild life was from the plane approaching the runway, and then walking on the edge of the camp, and spotting first an elephant walking across the dry river bed and then the beautiful neck and head of a giraffe, also walking across the large river bed. And thinking “wow, we are really here!”. From the deck outside our rooms we were greeted by a large heard of impala and nyala and baboons running around in the background.
We saw the big 5 here, leopard, lion, African (cape) buffalo, rhinoceros and elephant. We also saw so much more, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, many types of antelope/impala/kudu, baboons, and the surprising variety and beauty of the colorful birds. Mala Mala is truly the epitome of game camps, because it is private we could do both off-road driving and night drives, which we could not do in the other two camps in Botswana. We would see an animal, pull up close (they are very used to the vehicles and do not perceive them as a threat), and just sit and watch them eating, walking, interacting for 5-15 minutes, depending on what was going on. They seemed so content, performing their daily routines, watching out for each other (the lead and last animals were usually large males).
In all of the camps, each morning, mid-drive we would stop for coffee/tea and biscuits. Every evening we would stop at sunset for our “sundowners” usually a cocktail (gin and tonic seemed to be our drink of choice) and appetizers– we were right in the middle of the wild, with beautiful scenery all around. On one especially memorable evening we saw wart hogs, ostrich, jackals and wildebeests while enjoying the sunset and our “sundowners”.
Two sightings here stand out in my mind: watching a leopard protect its kill (a large waterbuck, think twice the size of a deer), and a lion pride of 9 lions. This is the only camp where we saw a leopard, the cats are so elusive. We came upon this leopard after he had made his kill and hauled the waterbuck up 25 feet into a tree to protect it from other animals. It was just hanging out under the tree late one afternoon and there was a hyena lying in the grass a few yards away, waiting for any droppings, we were told. We went back the next morning to find a herd of elephants (about eight) near the tree, watched and listened as one elephant chased the hyena away (twice) and the elephants then formed a circle with the younger elephants in the middle and all of the elephants facing outwards in a protective stance. The leopard had moved up into the tree, just lying there as you would expect to see any house cat lying on the back of a chair–sleepy, watchful, beautiful.
The other sighting was our first sighting of lions, early morning on our last morning at this camp (we were afraid we weren’t going to get to see “the Big Five” here, 75% of visitors do, but could check that off our list after this sighting). Nine beautiful lions, one adult male, several adult females as well as adolescent male and females. They were just lying in the grass quite content, we were only a few yards from them, cleaning themselves, sleeping, seemingly peaceful and content. What a beautiful sight!
Our next stop was to Victoria Falls and more to come on that later.
Then on to Botswana and the mobile “Chobe under Canvas” camp in the Chobe National Park (http://www.andbeyondafrica.com/luxury_safari/botswana/chobe/and_beyond_chobe/accommodation/and_beyond_chobe_under_canvas). This park was the most unexpected experience of the entire trip. It is bordered by the Chobe River and Namibia to the North, and contains the largest herds of animals you can possible imagine. Thousands of elephants and impala, hundreds of African buffalo, zebra, giraffe and hippos, wart hogs, crocodile and lizards, various antelope types, and beautiful majestic birds. Here we also saw the amazing baobab tree, an “upside down” tree with trunk diameters averaging 52 feet.
We watched elephants throwing water and mud on themselves, and rolling in the mud bank, including the baby elephants, who were never more than a few feet from their mothers. We saw a buffalo walk up to a crocodile, sniff it and move on (learning that although they are not enemies, they are not quite “friends” either). We took a boat ride on the Chobe where we saw our first crocs, and watched the hippos lying on the banks. And we took our last drive of the day, far into the interior of the park where our mobile camp (which moves every 5-6 days) was set up, greeted by candlelight and nine friendly camp staff, served drinks in crystal glasses, eating in the open and sitting around the campfire, listening to two lions, one on each side of the camp, conversing to each other over our heads, wondering what they were planning; as well as hearing many other animal and bird sounds. We only had one night here, and would have loved to stay here 1-2 more days, due to the abundance of wildlife and the sights we saw. The most memorable sight here was again on the last morning, a pride of 8 lions, one adult male, adult female and cub on one side of the road, under some brush, lying, interacting, cleaning; and the other 5 lions, young males and females, interacting in the grassland next to the river. So graceful, playful, majestic!
It was here we saw more private and tour vehicles (being a National Park), and felt so grateful for our small party of 3 when we saw a 5 row, 5 seats-across vehicle packed full of sight-seeing tourists. There was also public camping here and in our last park.
Then it was on to Xaxanaxa (pronounced ka-ka-NAH-ka) Camp, in the Moremi Game Reserve, in the huge Okavango Delta (http://xakanaxa-camp.com/welcome.asp?page=welcome_home.asp&category=1&P_Category=1&catID=1&Name=Home). Wildlife here was not as abundant (we were truly spoiled in Chobe), and I was expecting it to be drier, but heavy rain in Angola (to the North), caused the Delta to be experiencing a 30-year high of flood water, and we had to drive thru water (in some spots 4 feet deep), to get around the reserve. (The water eventually feeds into the Kalahari desert where it evaporates, never reaching an ocean.)
We saw giraffe, zebra, cape buffalo, elephants, baboon, wart hog and many types of antelope at this camp including impala, kudu, springbok, nyala,waterbuk and wildebeeste. We saw animals in the Okavango we hadn’t seen elsewhere, including velvet monkeys, mongoose, small tree squirrels and some new antelope types: namely the red lechwe, tsessebe, and the steenbok, a very adorable, small antelope (think 2-3 foot-high deer). The Delta has over 400 species of birds as well, most notably we saw the African Fish Eagle, Crested Crane, Lilac-breasted Roller, Hammerkop, Ostrich, and Sacred Ibis.
A couple of crocs and hippos who slept just outside of our elevated “tents” and an evening boating outing where we spotted colorful birds and a hippo in the water (but could not find the shy sitatunga antelope), made this a very special camp. We also saw a very rare sight one morning, a pair of lions mating. This meant we saw lions in each camp and what a way to end our wildlife viewing!
If you realize these are just some of the highlights, maybe you can understand why this is such a special adventure, there are so many more memories than written here.
More to come on non-wildlife items: Johannesburg, Victoria Falls, comparison of the camps – lodging/staff/food, and the Soweto and Sterkfontaine cave (Cradle of Mankind) tours.
Feel free to e-mail me questions or for a request for links to pictures: darladh@swbell.net