In the home of ‘The big five’

The thrill began around January when a friend proposed a trip to South Africa. It seemed a bit long and high budget trip, however it was an opportunity to see wildlife in another continent.

After researching where to go and what to see and getting a few estimates and budget planning, we asked Swapnil (Daffodil holidays) to plan the trip for us and accompany us to Kruger national park.

We reached Johannesburg, South Africa really early in the morning on 1st May, and had breakfast at the airport. Swapnil had hired an eight seater van for all of us and we immediately started for Kruger. The most convenient way to travel in South Africa is Self drive cars and there are many companies who rent cars. On the way to Kruger, Swapnil briefed us about how we were going to go, where we will be staying and once we enter from the Kruger gate the safari will start etc. 

Since we were going to stay in the core area, there was a higher possibility of seeing wild animals anytime anywhere. We entered Kruger around noon. The first animal we saw was an Impala. A beautiful animal with a shiny golden brown skin and wavy horns with a design of rings on them. After that it was a treat for the next 4 days :D. 

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,623 sq km (7,576 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in north eastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. To give a comparison, Tadoba Andhari Reserve, the largest national park in Maharashtra has the total area of the reserve is 625.4 square kilometers. Kruger is famous for being a home for the Big Five, which includes Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhinoceros and Buffalo. These are the animals which back in the days hunters considered to be the most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot and referred to as 'Big Five'. These animals are considered the most dangerous because of how ferocious they become when injured or cornered. 

We saw giraffes, elephants, zebras, wildebeest, kudus, Chacma Baboons, a ground hornbill etc even before entering the first camp. African elephants have larger ears and the shape of the ears is different than the Indian elephants and I loved looking at them moving those ears in a certain rhythm. Maybe that or the elephant's slow walk, it always makes me feel relaxed while watching them. We were very very happy to have spotted one of the big five already :) and that was my beloved elephant!

We reached our first camp at Skukuza around 3:30pm. The camp reception area was beautiful. While we were getting rooms, we explored around. It was surrounded by trees and a few cactus grown like trees and some pretty big aloe vera plants caught my eye. There were beautiful Impala sculptures in a pond. In the varandas around the reception were some skeletons of buffalo and other animals. Near the main door of the reception was a map of the area around this camp. It showed a photo of each major animal marked in a certain color and few small magnetic pieces of those colors were kept there. The tourists mark the route on the map with those magnetic pieces to show the sighting of the day and using that new tourists coming in the camp can go there to try their luck with the respective animal. I was amazed to see the system and how the Kruger National Park has given facilities yet they have preserved the wilderness of the entire area.

After keeping luggage in the cottages and getting some refreshments, we went back on the road for another hour. These camps are pretty big and have old colonial bungalow style cottages, each with a separate pantry. We were back in the camp by 5:30 pm and by 5:45 it was very dark outside. We had taken along some ready to cook food and it was good to use that after a full day outing instead of eating out at night too. By 8:30 all tourists seemed to be asleep and the surroundings went pitch dark. We could see the Milky Way and millions of stars in the sky. After spending some time admiring those stars we too went to sleep.

 

2nd May

The next morning we went out around 5:30 am. We needed to reach another camp at Berg en dal which was going to take a few hours. On the way we saw herds of elephants by the side as well as crossing the road in a line. It was a brilliant sight to look at. A few elephants we saw in a dry river bank were digging holes and fetching water from them. They were pushing each other to get the water first and while 2 of such elephants were busy, a baby elephant took a chance to get the water first.

 

We also saw a few Hippopotamuses. Since it was the first time we were seeing Hippos, we had to carefully look in the water for what looked like Hippos but found to be rocks and the other way round :). Whenever they took their mouth out of water we could imagine their total size and it was quite big. Hippos have a very delicate skin and being in water is a way to protect themselves from getting dehydrated..

At one of the lakes where we stopped to see hippos, they were playing near a tree. It was a scenic landscape. 

 

We stopped at one of the restaurant's camps on the way. All the restaurants have sitting in or out of them such that one can enjoy the food and jungle / river at the same time. These spots are really amazing and relaxed. This particular restaurant was on a deck overseeing a huge span of the Sabie river in the South Kruger. We could see a couple of elephants playing in the distance, a couple of Egyptian Geese, and a bridge with a lot of cars. The other river that flows through this area is the Crocodile river.

 

We saw herds of impalas, zebras, buffalos, a few giraffes, rhino, warthogs (Pumba from Lion King), a buffalo, hyenas, a tortoise, vultures, various species from the Antelope family like Bush buck, Water buck etc. So far we had seen impalas, zebras, wildebeests grazing around. During this round in the jungle we saw impalas fighting.

 

At a place a few vultures were sitting on some trees, trying to get down on the ground. A few Hynas seemed to have snatched a kill from a leopard or had killed something and were frantically guarding it while the White-headed vultures were lurking from the trees to get the food. 

 

While visiting any jungle, for visitors to have the best possible experience, it is always better to have someone who knows the jungle. Swapnil has been exploring Kruger for years and has an eye for finding the smallest and farthest of animals and birds. He stopped on the road to show us a tortoise by the roadside. Near a river bed very far he spotted a Buffalo. From that far we could still make out the head having a unique haircut-like look. He spotted a Kori Bustard, the heaviest flying bird and the second largest bird in Africa after Ostrich.

 

 

We kept going and looking at long distances in a hope to see some more big fives and anything new to us. Children were playing or someone was playing with them while we looked out. It wasn't allowed to get down from vehicles unless we were in the restaurants or washrooms camp somewhere. Since most vehicles here are self driven, unlike in Indian jungles, drivers here hardly stop to ask someone about sightings or tell others unless they have seen something nearby and someone asks them.. We were a bit tired and felt sleepy at times due to no other activity outside.. Considering the huge area of the park where we can spot animals anywhere, sometimes only the birds were visible far away.

 

Fortunately for us, a driver from a passing vehicle told us about the location where they had seen a pride a few minutes before. We didn't know the number of lions in the pride but were excited to see the lions in the wild. So far I had seen lions only in captivity at Mysore zoo in India. While I had seen a male from around 5 ft from a closed vehicle, watching a Lion moving in the wild was going to be a thrilling experience. We went on the road where a few vehicles were already in position and waiting for the lions to come from behind the bushes where they seem to be resting, cubs playing around. We could spot 4 cubs and a lioness from the movements we could see from binoculars. They were on the other side of a river bank but the movement was visible with naked eyes. After 10 mins of wait a lioness moved from one bush to another with 2 cubs behind her. They went back to the first bush in a few mins.. we were hoping they would come out sooner as it was past 4 pm and we had to reach the camp before 5:30 pm with a travel time of around 40 mins from this place.. Meanwhile my camera batteries completely died and it was a hopeless moment for me to have a camera with a big lens and not be able to take pictures while opportunity was presented :(. In a few minutes our excitement was at peak when we saw 2 lionesses moving along with 4-5 cubs. Later we spotted another lioness and counted a total of 3 lionesses and 6 cubs.

 

We were super happy to have spotted that big pride and a total of 4 of the big five now :) :).

We reached the camp in time and in the camp there was a surprise visitor. One last sighting of the day was a Bush buck. 

In the Berg en dal camp in the evening everyday they showed a film. Coincidentally they showed films about the lives of lions and leopards between the 2 days we stayed there. It was an engaging activity for children while they were free to play around whenever they wanted. 'Being able to move somewhere' was the most exciting part that was told by children when we asked them 'what did you like the most so far?' :). 

 

Our bungalow for the day was very close to the fence and we could hear the sounds of leopards and lions at a distance.. At night again it went pitch dark, the air was a bit colder yet pleasant but it was scary to even look outside.

 

3rd May

We were going for a jeep safari the next day. When we left our cottage, the first thing we saw was an Owlet sitting on the tree in front of the cottage and it fluttered away as soon as we started moving with our torch ON. I personally love Owls and it was a great start of the day :).

Since the national park jeeps are open and they have access to more areas than private vehicles, we knew there was a better chance to see cats. Our driver and guide Soli was a very enthusiastic person. We told him that we wanted to see Leopards and that's the only Big Five that we haven't seen yet.

We had the best luck that morning and spotted a lion cub with a kill. The guide was taking us on the dirt roads which were allowed to use by these national park vehicles. It was quite cold and bumpy ride. The children were all wrapped in the blankets and they loved the adventure ride :D. After the cub, we saw a vulture, a pack of wild dogs which was a very rare sighting. We saw the wild dogs playing in the grass. Then they moved towards the road and were going to the other side. One of the dogs defecated on the road in a specific direction. Later we learned that there is a study about the direction in which animals orient themselves when they defecate and it is found that they orient in a North-South direction to align with the Earth’s magnetic axis.. Few minutes after we saw the dogs, we saw a Hyena coming towards us having a kill in its mouth. It went into the bushes on the side as soon as we went near it.

 

 

After another bumpy ride and crossing steep slopes we saw a few vehicles watching towards something near the road. We were sure of some interesting sightings and finally we saw those beautiful animals with Rosettes all over them :D. It was a female leopard with a cub sitting on a rock and nearby tree logs. I remembered the puzzle frame we have at home with 2 tigers sitting on a tree log. The leopards were quite close to the road and were extremely beautiful. The rosettes were shiny and had brilliant dark color and made us feel like touching them. I have always admired Leopards and feel that they have beauty and brains. We watched the cub move towards the mother and they licked each other affectionately. 

 

 

In a few minutes they started walking towards us and it was clear they were going to cross the road. One of the leopards came in front of our vehicle and it was magnificent to watch it move and we were thrilled to see it from hardly 10 ft from us. We were very very happy with this sighting :) :) :).

Now that the basic wish list to see the Big Fives was complete we were happy but became greedy with an extended wish list. The day before, Shweta had wished to see lions up close and a male lion particularly since we had seen a male. In some time Soli took us on a different road where even more vehicles were standing. I couldn't guess where and what they were looking at and then I saw a male lion sitting by the road and bit ahead another bigger one sitting in the middle of the road surrounded by vehicles. In Shweta’s words ‘they were just chilling’ :D. They weren't bothered at all by a dozen vehicles around them and were doing what they felt like and displaying behaviour that showed why a Lion is called the King of the jungle. It's truly a majestic animal. Looking into the lion's eyes though it felt like it was looking through me and it did make me feel like I had seen death in those eyes. It was scary being so close to those lions yet their grandeur was so attractive and gripping that we didn't move at all from the spot. After a while the lion sitting on the sidelines got up and came towards our vehicle. Parth could capture that grand walk and gestures of a King. It was a splendid experience!

 

Shweta's wish had come true :) and she then wished to see a male and female lions together :D We were being more greedy every time we saw something.

Children were happy with the open jeep experience and watching the new animals :) and even happier to go back to the camp and go into the swimming pool :-|. They kept making us realise that we were in a vehicle for quite a long time during the day and they didn't find enough time to play and move around. 

 

In the afternoon we went out in our vehicle to see if we could find the Rhinos again. We had spotted the rhinos from far but the cheetah was still nowhere to be seen and that was another animal on the wish list. Since we had already spotted all the big fives, zebras and giraffes, we were a bit relaxed and had time to stop to observe and take photos. We got great sightings of Lilac-breasted roller, francolins, fowls, kingfishers and many more birds, animal herds. We saw the smallest kingfisher Malachite kingfisher from quite close and it was an amazing brilliant blue which shone in the Sun.

Between all of this Shweta was busy conducting activities, playing games with children, keeping them engaged, allowing us to see outside and spot animals and birds.

 

We were on the road from where we had spotted the pride and the rhinos the previous day and hoping to spot the rhinos from a closer distance and see if the pride had moved closer to the road than before. No movement was there at either of the places so we decided to move ahead and get back to the camp now. Just 100 meters before we were about to take the next turn towards camp, Ketan told Swapnil to stop and take the car back a bit as he seemed to have spotted a cub in a bush 8-10 feet from the road. When we went back, we first saw a lioness resting under a bush. She got disturbed by the noise we made and got up and sat down under another bush a little further. While we were looking at her, Ketan was asking to take the vehicle back a little bit more where he had seen the movement. To our immense delight there were the remaining 2 lionesses and the cubs, about to start feasting on a small Impala they had killed. We could clearly see the lioness sitting with the Impala, breathing quite heavily.. 5 cubs were around them and one of the 6 cubs was seated a little closer to the road. We were already clicking photos. It was a thrilling moment to have spotted a pride in the wild, at that close distance and being able to look at them from an open window. While we were looking at them, a lioness got up and walked towards us and stopped at the cub sitting alone. The look in her eyes and the way she was moving, it was a strong protective instinct and a very clear message to not come any closer than this. The cubs eventually started eating their kill. While the other lioness seemed to be helping them to take a bite, at all times her sharp gaze was at us. Looking at those yellow eyes, it triggered a feeling of fear again. We spent a good amount of time watching them before we had to leave.

While coming back we saw a jackal, 2 tortoises sunbathing on the rocks in a small pond. Those were the tiniest tortoises I have seen in the wild.

 

At night around dinner time, Swapnil came from his cottage and told us he had heard Lion’s growling. We went out to hear that. Instead we heard some other voice on the trees. We checked with the torch and 2 pairs of eyes shone there. It must have been Bushbaby, a nocturnal animal.

4th May

The next day we started for the next camp at Satara. The first animal of the day was a buck right outside of our cottage. The day's wish list had rhinos, a lion and lioness together and cheetahs. 

 

It was a fresh start of the day with blue skies, sun rays shining over the mountains.

 

Till now we were in a jungle with bushes and trees and mountains. As we went up towards the North region, the jungle changed to thorny bushes and small trees, then more grasslands and trees, in between suddenly there were a lot of tall trees and mountains were very far now. It was amazing to see how the jungle changes which essentially changes the animals we see there.

 

 

During the day near water lakes, we saw herds of elephants which are called Parades and got amazing photos. It reminded me of the mesmerising shots we usually see in magazines or documentaries. We saw an elephant in musth (a periodical condition when the male elephant becomes aggressive due to hormonal change). We kept a distance and experienced the enormity of the animal and could imagine what it can do and how it makes us feel.

On the way we saw hippos rolling and playing in the water, crocodiles, kingfishers etc. In the entire duration in Kruger only once we saw a hippo out of the water and walking.

It was a straight road with grasslands and trees on both sides as far as we could see. Considering the huge area of the park the density of vehicles on this road was quite less. Suddenly there were vehicles on the road looking at the big trees. It was certainly a Leopard. I had only seen it on a tree in photos before. It was great to see a Leopard like that. It was sitting on a branch about 25-30 feet high. We watched her climbing down the tree and till she disappeared in the jungle below. Further ahead we saw another leopard on another tree. It was sleepy and was adjusting on a branch. I could see the sleepy face from the branches. It was again a day of leopards as it seemed :).

It wasn't going to move at all now and the time was running so we left the leopard behind and went towards Satara camp, still hoping to see the rhinos and cheetahs.  

Again there were few vehicles on the other side of the road waiting. There was a young male lion on the road, sitting near a lioness by the side of the road. We were very happy to see the couple :). They were least bothered and moved around a bit before they settled under a tree as if they were sitting there to allow us to take photos. After a couple of minutes, they went inside the jungle.

Unfortunately neither the rhinos nor the cheetahs were seen in the region that day. But these Cats had made our day! :)

 

On the way to camp we saw an amazing sunset. A few giraffes in the background of sunset made fantastic photos. When we went ahead from the giraffes’ spot and were looking around, we realised that the skies on the east had become pink on the upper side, below that blue was spread over the horizon. As we moved, we saw that the blue color had tapered on both sides, keeping the maximum blue only exactly opposite the point where the Sun had set. It was a brilliant sunset sky experience.

We reached the camp, had dinner together. Children were fast asleep and we could chat a bit that day. It was the last night of all of us together. Swapnil told us about his experiences and it was nice to hear about his journey. Finally we had to go pack the bags and sleep. We were going to take the panoramic route the next day. 

5th May

After starting on the road out of Kruger, chatting about our experiences in the last four days, sightings we had etc., we realised we wanted to explore Kruger for some more time and decided not to take the panoramic route. While we had seen photos of the landscapes on that route, we were there in Kruger and wanted to have another chance to see a cheetah if we could. Swapnil was the happiest person by that decision but had to keep reminding us about the time crunch whenever we took breaks in between. 

We saw a quite big herd of elephants near one of the ponds. The elephants were playing together, playing on water, a few showing an authority over others, walking with the baby elephants pushing them to go ahead while the baby was just going in circles playing around other elephants. Again it was very relaxing to see such scenes.

At short distance from there, a leopard was spotted on a tree. Yesterday when we saw leopards on trees the trees were green and branches didn't give a clear view of those leopards. Today it was a treat as the tree didn't have any leaves and the entire leopard was visible from quite far too. It was looking brilliant in the sunlight.

 

We covered a few roads that we had not taken in the past 4 days and visited a fantastic peaceful spot at a cliff. An open hut is built there for tourists to enjoy the view of the grassland below which is spread for kilometers till the horizon.

We spotted brilliant colourful birds, got fantastic photos and got out of the park around noon. In all the rush to get out of the park in order to reach the airport in time, Swapnil somehow managed to spot an amazingly beautiful, brilliant green chameleon walking super slowly on that tar road.

These were amazing 5 days with fantastic company! The experience was enriching, overwhelming because of the grandeur and my admiration for nature grew further!

By evening Swapnil dropped us at the airport, everyone was really hoping Swapnil could accompany us to Cape Town too. Children were quite emotional when he left. Only things they were happy about at the time were that again we were going to take a flight and till then being at an airport where they could move freely for a while :D.

Animals

1. African Wild Dogs
2. Black-backed Jackal
3. Lion
4. Leopard
5. Spotted Hyena
6. Giraffe
7. Elephant
8. Warthog
9. Hippopotamus
10. White Rhinoceros
11. Chacma Baboon
12. Vervet Monkey
13. Bushbaby
14. Zebras
15. Blue Wildebeest
16. Buffalo
17. Impala - Male & Female
18. Greater Kudu - Male & Female
19. Steenbok
20. Waterbuck
21. Bushbuck
22. Klipspringer
23. Tree Squirrel
24. Hinged Tortoise
25. Hinged Terrapin
26. Nile Crocodile
27. Flap-necked Chameleon
28. Mongoose

Birds

1. Hadeda Ibis
2. Hamerkop
3. African Spoonbill
4. Saddle-billed Stork
5. Black Stork
6. African Woolly-necked Stork
7. Marabou Stork
8. Yellow-billed Stork
9. Egyptian Goose
10. Eurasian Thick Knee
11. Blacksmith Lapwing / Blacksmith Plover
12. Crowned Lapwing
13. Three-banded Plover
14. African Jacana
15. Yellow-billed Egret
16. Purple Heron
17. Grey Heron
18. Cape Turtle Dove
19. Yellow-throated Longclaw
20. African Pied Wagtail
21. Double-banded Sandgrouse
22. Red-necked Francolin / Swainson’s Francolin / Red-faced Francolin
23. Helmeted Guineafowl
24. Natal Spurfowl / Francolin
25. Black-bellied Bustard / Black-bellied Korhaan - Male
26. Kori Bustard
27. Red-billed Oxpecker
28. Long-tailed Shrike / Magpie Shrike
29. Cape Glossy Starling
30. Burchell's Starling
31. Southern Ground Hornbill
32. Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
33. African Grey Hornbill
34. Red-billed Hornbill
35. White-fronted Bee-eater
36. Lilac-breasted Roller
37. Marico Sunbird
38. Green Wood Hoopoe
39. Pied Kingfisher
40. Malachite Kingfisher
41. Grey Go Away Bird /Grey Lourie / Grey Loerie
42. Burchell's Coucal / African Coucal
43. Red-faced Mousebird
44. Black-hooded / Black-headed Oriole
45. Crested Barbet
46. Buffalo Weaver
47. African Barred Owlet
48. Verreaux's Eagle Owl
49. Brown Snake Eagle
50. Bateleur Eagle - Juvenile
51. African Fish Eagle
52. White-backed Vulture
53. White-headed Vulture
54. Secretary Bird
55. Yellow vented Bulbul

Photo credits : Parth, Ketan, Himangi