One of the many things Nadine and I have in common is our love for animals. It was unthinkable that we could travel all the way to South Africa and not pay a visit to Kruger. Regarded as the mecca of Safari goers, Kruger National Park is by far the largest game reserve in Africa, covering a whopping 7,500 square miles, which is actually bigger than the entire state of Israel. We don't have an official bucket list of places around the globe we would like to visit, but if we did, Kruger would have made the cut.
The day prior we drove from eSwatini, crossed the border back into South Africa, and had a rather uneventful afternoon, evening, and night in a town called Nelspruit, where we returned the car, charged our electronics, and energized our bodies in preparation for our week long safari. Over the previous two weeks, we had nearly driven the entire length of South Africa, from the most southwestern point in Cape Town, all the way to Kruger Park.
To recap, we began our journey in Cape Town, then stopped in Gansbaai, L'Aghulhas, Swellendam, Oudtshoorn, Mossel Bay, Plettenberg Bay, Port Elizabeth, East London, Port St Johns, Durban, Richards Bay, Mbabane, then finally Nelspruit. Overall, we drove (Nadine drove the entire way) over 1,700 miles, which was roughly 36 hours of total drive time, excluding day tips within the cities we visited. Listening to the sweet sound of the world's smallest violin, we spent the majority of our day in Nelspuit laying in the hotel bed resting our aching butts and backs from spending so much time sitting in a small Volkswagen Golf and planning the first week of our trip to India the week after the safari. By 7pm we were sound asleep.
After 12 hours of uninterrupted deep sleep, we arose ready to be pamper by our safari guide. Navigating and driving great distances, as fun as it was, took a toll on us mentally. We needed someone to simply tell us where to be and when. As was the plan, our knight in shining armor arrived promptly at 9:00am. The horse was replaced with a Safari jeep and the knight went by the name of Dave, who introduced himself as our guide for the week that we were stuck with, like it or not (much more on him later). Prior to entering the park, we were to make a quick stop at the headquarters of our hired safari guide company, Africa Spear, to check in and to pick up another couple who would accompanying us for the first half of our 5 night, 6 day safari. It was here we met our new besties, an Australian couple around our age who also had been on an extended backpacking journey around the world, Francesca and Jackson.
Frankly, we were a bit nervous meeting new people. On these sort of trip, you don't exactly get to choose who you travel with; you are assigned new companions, like them or not. Fortunately for us, Francesca and Jackson were awesome. During the hour drive from the Africa Spear offices to the Phabeni gate, all four of us remained relatively shy and quiet as we were all tired from our travels and Francesca was sick. Once we arrived in the park and we began to see some wildlife did we all open up.
Prior to booking the safari, Ben conducted extensive research on how to maximize the safari experience, be it a self drive through the park, hiring a private tour guide, or some combination of self drive with individual game drives along the way. For the majority of our travels, we can move on the fly, but accommodation inside of Kruger is booked months and months in advance. The website for the South African National Parks (SANS) was a bit tricky to maneuver through, the driving routes and housing situation were unclear, and safari terminology was foreign to us. For this reason we played it safe, paid quite a bit more, and hired a private company. It was a decision we would not regret.
Along with travel companions, the guide can make or break the trip. Not only is the guide expected to drive the vehicle, but also explain about each and every animal species encountered along the way. Dave conducted this role seamlessly. When someone loves their job, it is visible for people see, and makes those around comfortable. Dave has a true passion for animals and nature, and his enthusiasm was infectious for the four of us. He was clever with his speech and provided insight into the goings-on within the animal kingdom. With 11 years experience as a guide in Kruger, Dave was familiar with every inch of the park and was more than happy to share his experiences and wisdom with us.
For the majority of people who go on a safari, the main goal is to see the Big 5: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and Cape buffalos. These are the five most dangerous animals to hunt. Elephants and buffalos are commonly seen, rhinos are a bit tougher to find, while lions and leopards are stationary for the most park and harder to spot. Catching a glimpse of a cheetah or an African wild dog is even rarer.
On our trip, we saw the Big 5 multiple times over, as well as hundreds of other animals, but were not fortunate enough to find a cheetah or a wild dog.
Our first day we saw plenty of animals, but none of the big cats. Hippos, crocodiles, giraffes, zebras, hyenas, steenboks, kudu, wildebeest, waterbucks, and countless species of birds were amongst our initial findings.
We arrived at the rest camp of Skukuza in the afternoon, where we were given room keys to our bungalows, warned of the resident monkeys, baboons, and warthogs, and instructed to decompress until the afternoon game drive.
The daily schedule for the week was the same, for the most part. Wake up at 5:40 for coffee and muffins, go on a game drive for a couple hours, stop for breakfast, another game drive, stop for lunch, evening game drive, dinner, sleep. Wake up, repeat. Breakfast and dinner were covered by Africa Spear, were on our own for lunch.
Dinner the first night was delicious, as we feasted on camembert and steaks. As per usual, Nadine and I ordered two different items and split them. Sharing is caring :)
Because Nadine is also working during this trip, she stayed up until 23:00 in the restaurant using their Wifi. This was 3-4 hours past our usual bedtime these days, and the reason she woke up a bit late the following morning.
The early morning drives are time to spot the big cats. The weather is still fairly chilly as the African sun has not yet broken through the clouds. Most cats rest during the day and hunt at night, when they can stealthily approach their prey under the disguise of the night. In the early morning often times they are still active.
Anxious to see the Big 5, within the first hour Francesca spotted a white rhino a few hundred meters off the road. The key to spotting a rhino, we were told, is to look for a giant moving rock. Although our visibility was not so good, we could check off one of the five most sought after animals.
We drove around 25 miles per hour along the Sabie River, a 170 mile river that originates in South Africa and flows into Mozambique. It contains the highest population of leopards in Africa. Ironically, it was here we had our first lion spotting! A male and a female basking in the sun on the banks partially shaded by the reeds.
Shortly after, we saw dozens more animals, including Cape buffalo, elephants, and Baboons.
Aside from the animals themselves, the scenery is stunning.
Dave took us to a well known look out point where we took in a breathtaking view of the Savannah.
Dinner that night consisted of a kilo of pork ribs for each of us! Unfortunately, we were so hungry we forgot to take a photo. Jackson joined us with the ribs, starting a trend that would continue the next several nights.
Included in the safari package was one night drive and one early morning bush walk. Our new Aussie friends joined us in a night right along with about 20 other park guests. An unenthusiastic driver led us through a cold wintery night. The trip started out on a positive note when a jackal attacked a white tailed mongoose. The mongoose, well on his guard, swiftly outmaneuvered his predator and scurried away in great haste. Whether the mongoose was protecting his turf or hunting for his nightly supper, it was exciting nonetheless. With spotlights scanning the bush, the twenty of us shivered in search of nocturnal animals to show themselves. Roughly an hour later we struck gold. On the right side of the vehicle, a female lioness with her three cubs was resting in a wide open space, providing an unobstructed view of the adorable beasts. On the left side of the vehicle, a small spotted cat called a white spotted genet was creeping through the fields. As if scripted on a Natural Geographic show, a hyena slowly approached the lions undetected. Holding our breath and praying for some action, the hyena inched closer and closer. One of lessons from Professor Dave was that hyenas rarely hunt alone, so the possibility of the hyena attempting to snatch one of the cubs was highly unlikely. Perhaps it was conducted reconnaissance on behalf of its pack. Alas! From the depths of the darkness appeared a second hyena lurking around. Could it be? Were we about to see an all out war? Would this single mother of three be able to safely defend her children or would the hyenas dine like kings tonight? Much to our chagrin, the lioness survival instances took over as she picked her head up before the hyena were able to organize a strike. Embarrassed, ashamed, and with the feeling of letting his friends down, the leader of the hyena pack made the wise decision to back down and retreat.
Although 90% of the night drive was boring and uneventful, these two events made the whole experience worth it.
The following day we began to pepper Dave with rapid fire questions about anything and everything regarding Kruger and the animal kingdom in general. Here are some random findings and tidbits we learned, in no particular order, that we can remember now off the top of our heads:
Within Kruger National Park, there are approximately 30,000 zebras, 20,000 elephants, 7,000 white rhinos, 2,000 lions, 1,000-1,5000 leopards, 500 black rhinos and 400 cheetahs.
- A stationary group of giraffes is called a tower, while a group of mobile giraffes are a journey
- A giraffe with hair on its horn is a female, without hair is a male
- Giraffes have a big problem; they are delicious. Lions use modern technology to hunt them by chasing them to the roads, where the giraffes slip on the pavement
- Giraffes are the most photographed animal in the park
- A group of zebras is called a dazzle
- Contrary to popular belief, zebras are black with white stripes.
-Wildebeest are animals. For whatever reason, Dave seemed to have a personal grudge against them. One time while passing a herd of four wildebeest, Dave muttered that their combined IQ was that of a potato.
- A group of cheetahs is called a coalition. We do not have any pictures of cheetahs because we did not see any :/
- Waterbucks have white circles on their rumps helps their friends can follow from behind, but also serves as a perfect target for predators. To avoid consumption, they jump into the nearest body of water, hence the name waterbuck.
For the first time in our three days, we saw lions up close and personal, almost. Perhaps 25 feet from the vehicle, there were three lioness rearing their six cubs. Lord only knows what their baby daddies were up to. The mothers seemed to want a nap, but the kiddies were restless, so the lionesses gave up on their sleep and took the cubs on a walk down a path, and away from the vehicle. After twenty minutes of ohh’s and ahh’s from the jeep, we drove away content to see the queens on the jungle so close!
As special as these moments are, big cats sightings are far and few in between. There are frequently long stretches of inactivity that can drag on for hours at a time. Again, the park is enormous, and the amount of big game animals are relatively small. In our opinion, Dave did a phenomenal job of keeping everyone entertained and engaged with nature. Countless times he pulled over on the road to show us fun facts of nature, such the various functions of the bark of a tree, how a giraffe regurgitates its food, or how a specific type of grass converts itself into screwdriver when it rains to preserve its seed.
Driving for hours on end without spotting any of the “exciting” animals can be exhausting and frustrating. Apparently an app was created for safari goers to use to pinpoint sightings of specifically animals. This helps visitors maximize their trip by simply following the map and the markings where others have seen the big game. While is sounds like a great idea, Kruger frowns on the app for several reasons. The roads throughout the park can be very narrow and not designed for dozens of cars to stop at the same location. Congestion and traffic is caused, which is an unpleasant experience for the visitors. Another reason the app should be banned is because it encourages speeding. Rather than “hunting” for animals like everyone else, many people wait in their camps until a big game animal is tracked on the app. At this point they hop in there vehicles and hightail it to the exact location. This is dangerous for those on the road and is harmful to the animals in the area who are used to having slow moving cars and respectful tourists around them. Dave told us that it is not uncommon for vehicles to hit and sometimes kill animals crossing because of incautious drivers. We actually met a Jewish South African family who is planning on moving to Israel and make Aliyah who were in the park specifically to test out the app.
One topic that cannot be ignored is that of rhino poaching. Not only is poaching an enormous issue in Kruger, but all over Africa as well. The country spends millions of Rand combatting poachers. The park alone has 3 helicopters and a battalion of mercenaries whose sole job is patrolling the park and essentially poaching the poachers. After illegally jumping the park fences, the poachers will spend hours, if not days, camping out and tracking rhinos with the hopes of shooting one, then dehorning it on the spot. The cost of one single rhino horn can be sold for $750,000 on the black market, mainly to the Vietnamese and Chinese who believe rhino horn possess special powers that can be used for medicinal purposes. The price per ounce is worth more than gold. This is, of course, if the poacher is able to avoid detection, sneak the horn out of the park, then out of South Africa, to the ports of Mozambique. Despite the fact that there are even US military veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are coming to volunteer in the fight against poachers, over 1,100 rhinoceros’ were killed in South Africa alone in 2018. Keep in mind there are only 20,000 total in South Africa. The birthrate is just barely outpacing the murder rate. While the figures are slowly decreasing and awareness if growing, far too many rhinos fall victim to poaching. Unfortunately, the reward is so great that despite the risk of death or lifetime imprisonment, young Africans are lining up by the hundreds to essentially win the lottery and set their families up for life. This past month, Prince Harry and Meghan Markel have been on a royal tour in Southern Africa, making stops in South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, and Angola. While in South Africa, Harry came to Kruger Park and actually did patrol with one of the patrol battalions! Prince Harry’s actually has quite an impressive military history. He did not symbolically participate in the War in Afghanistan, he got his hands dirty. In his first tour of ten weeks in 2007, he was basically an air traffic controller, only to be pulled back early when an Australian news outlet irresponsibly reported his presence in the region, thus putting the Prince and his entire unit at risk. Six years later he return to the Afghan War and piloted Apache helicopters in combat zones on a four month tour. Despite the Taliban threats of kill or kidnap, Harry refused to leave. He admitted having mowed down Taliban insurgents from the sky, and was highly praised by his fellow soldiers. As a man who regards himself as being “too much army and not enough soldier,” he is a strong ally to the rhino conservationists. The horn of a rhinoceros is made of keratin, the same substance that the human hair and nails are made of. While it doesn’t physically hurt the rhino to poach the rhino horn itself, a rhino can no longer defend itself in the wild.
Surprisingly, the closest relative of the rhino inside of the park is the zebra!
In the middle of the third day, we had two new arrivals to our own newly formed wolf pack. Two corporate law lawyers from Brazil hopped on board, bringing the total group of seven, including Dave. Knowing they would be with us for the remainder of our trip, we silently prayed we would be as lucky as we were with Francesca and Jackson. We were not. Both of the Brazilian girls were quite boring and introverted. They both had a pretentious air about them, and did not seem too eager to get to know other passengers. In their defense, the four of us had formed a connection and had shared some memorable experiences over the past 48 hours, but their presence sure didn't much to the group. Furthermore, like most things in life, you more you put into something, the more you will get out. Neither of the two Brazilians seemed to have any interest in diligently scanning the bush in the hopes of finding animals. With their eyes fixed on the road ahead of us, the burden fell on the four of us to do the dirty work. This left us a bit frustrated since the more sets of eyes scanning, the higher probability of finding big cats.
Although the girls themselves were relatively useless, for whatever reason, they brought with them good luck. This following day actually turned out to be our best in terms of animal sightings.
Within minutes of leaving our camp site of Szukuzu, Ben pointed out a solitary hyena.
Mere minutes after we witnessed with our own eyes a male giraffe attempting to force himself on his love interest, while a second creepy male stood a few yards away watching...
At this point, we were becoming quite anxious. A couple days ago we had seen a leopard snacking on an impala in a tree, but it was only visible with binoculars, and even then the view was hazy. Surely we would see some today, we figured. As he so frequently did, Jackson rose to the occasion. With lighting quick speed, Jackson shout to Dave "Stop! Stop the vehicle! I've seen a leopard!" Reversing the jeep, as clear as day, down a footpath sat a leopard 20 meters away, gazing fiercely in our direction. Moments later a cub moved into the frame, followed by a second. Content that their human guests were not dangerous, the mother guided the cubs down a valley and out of eyeshot.
All good things must come to end, they say. It was time for us to part with our new dear Aussie companions. They were off to greener pastures, beginning their own road trip to Cape Town, nearly using the same route we drove, albeit the opposite direction. Hugs, handshakes, and telephone numbers were exchanged, with promises to keep in touch. Unlike the single service friend one meets on an airplane or shares an Uber with, sharing such a unique experience like a safari bonds people. Whether our lives cross paths again in future or not, both couples made an imprint on the other, and shared a wonderful, memorable safari together. The same cannot be said for the boring, teeth-pulling Brazilians.
The day continued with Ben spotting a white rhino, followed by two more rhinos after lunch. We were all pretty pumped about it, considering we had only seen one rhinoceros the previous three days. Little did we know that the final tally of rhinos that day would be eleven!
In the afternoon the big five was completed when a lion was spotted 50 yards away resting near a tree.
Again that night, dinner consisted of ribs and steaks.
If we were to grave Africa Spear as a whole, we would rate them a solid A. Communication was suburb, our guide was fantastic, and Nadine and I didn't have to plan anything or think for ourselves, which was the exact purpose of us hiring a guide rather to do a self drive. The reason the company does not receive an A+ is due to the lack of preparation in regards to the morning bush walk. As previously written, our package included a night drive and an early morning walk. For inexplicable reasons, the walk was never booked or requested for us. We had signed up and paid for the safari maybe three months ago, so there was plenty of time to fit us in. By the time Dave went to the registration office to do so, there was only one spot available. Nadine, God bless her heart, offered and insisted Ben participate in the walk because she had had a similar experience on a safari she had went on with her family in Kenya/Tanzania a few years back. Ben protested, but Nadine would have none of it. Ben requested at least she come check in the morning if there had been a cancellation or a no-show, to which Nadine agreed.
Arising at 4:30am, dressed for cold, with bags packed, they huddled over to the jeeps from the bungalows hoping for a miracle. Tourists from all corners of the world waited for their game drives and walks. Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, and of course Hebrew could be heard that morning chattering away. Finally, an African man named Pilot introduced himself and asked would those who signed up for the bush walk please step forward. There could only be eight participants, no more. Only seven stepped forward. An Indian man from Bengaluru, of whom we would later befriend, Sukumar, told Pilot his friend was too tired and decided to catch some extra zzz's. A spot was opened, and Nadine just so happened to fill it!
However, Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. To put it bluntly, the bush walk sucked. We had two guides, Pilot and Patrick, and both of them seemed uninterested and uninformed. Aside from three giraffes and two jackals in the distance, we didn't see a single other animal. We spent three hours walking in a single file line beyond our guides, often stopping for Patrick to bark orders at us to keep quiet and stay in line. The experience was not pleasant at all. The only highlights were when Patrick picked up rhino dung and Pilot let Ben hold his rifle....We found at later that during this time that Dave and the Brazilians had seen a leopard AND a lion on two different occasions close up, while we were drudging through the bush like soldiers in the Vietnam War.
... this video says it all...
For lunch that day we had a long three hour break. We needed to get back to base camp to pick up two more girls would be joining us for our final 24 hours. Lounging by the pool beside us were four other Israelis taking some time off for the holidays, the aforementioned Jewish family who will soon be making Aliyah, and a sweet Argentinian couple around our age who we also exchanged numbers with. Around April we will be in Argentina so we made tentative plans to meet up.
The new couple were two girls from Sacramento, of Sri Lankan and Filipino decent who had flown in the day before. Both of them were tired and slept a good portion of the day, which raised the question why they had planned a full day private safari the less than 24 hours after flying around the world, but Ben and Nadine don't judge..openly at least. Like the Brazilians, they were also of little use in searching for animals. Dave was exhausted from driving for the previous five days, and we were also tired from riding along. This evening and the next morning, our final game drive, was of little success, as we puttered towards the park gate. Our final moments were spent in silence, nostalgic of the good old days with Jackson and Francesca, and left the park with heavy hearts. One hour later we said our goodbyes with Dave, our fearless leader and now friend. We were transferred to a shuttle back to our original destination, Johannesburg, driven by another Africa Spear employee.
The next day we had a midday flight to.... INDIA!!
There is a lot more we could write about the safari, our memories, and some of our findings. But for brevity purposes, we kept this post somewhat short. Here are some random pictures from the week:
VOLUME UP ALL THE WAY:
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