We’ve had a great day today. Two safaris, a bushwalk, and, otherwise, meals. Meals galore. If we’re not eating, we’re on safari, or we’re sleeping.
Today, on the safaris, we saw the grey go away bird, yellow-billed horn bill, giraffe, nyala, warthog, egg eater, and vulture. We also saw the skulls of wildebeest and kudu, and this afternoon the mangled wreck of a giraffe killed by lions two weeks ago. We saw the shell of an African sand snail which the Africans long ago used as a measuring scoop to portion out food among themselves. Other creatures we saw are steenbok and bushbok and we noticed a glossy starling building a nest. We were astounded this morning to encounter a couple of rhinos near the road. We expected trouble from them, but they were young and accustomed to safari vehicles. We took excellent photos and video. This evening, we saw a large male grazing together with buffalo, which we didn’t realise they do. But it’s more to do with the fact that the Kapama animals are fenced in (albeit in a huge area). Near dusk, we came across the same male about a mile and a half away. He was now sleeping. I’ve not seen a rhino sleeping on TV let alone in the African veld. We also saw leopard, another young animal. She was on her own; they are solitary creatures.
After this morning’s safari, we went on ‘the bushwalk’. There were two rangers with us, Corne and Michael (both Afrikaners), and Jean and me and a young guy. Five of us going into the Kapama Game Reserve on foot. We were in constant danger…. and loving it! One of the rangers, Corne,carried with him a .375 calibre rifle – just in case! To tell the truth, I was nervous the whole time. We were not shielded by the vehicle. I was anxious about the possibiity of a lioness being disturbed and roaring at us or worse. Fortunately, it didn’t happen. Instead, Corne told us a great deal about the different kinds of animal dung. The impala, when they poo, choose a spot and then all the herd poo upon eachother’s poo, making a jolly old pile. In addition to poo, we chatted about a few different trees. There is the sekelbush. It has needles which have solid wooden spines. It’s a very thorny bush and we see it everywhere, and when we’re sitting in the safari vehicle driving through the bush, we have to lean sideways, lest its thorny branches scratch the hell out of us. The sekelbush’s needles are sharp enough to pierce the tyres of the Toyota Land Cruiser safari vehicle. Then, there’s the flaky bark acacia which is also thorny but its needles snap easily. Lastly, there is the marula tree. From the fruit of this tree, the spirit Amurula is made. Brazil and Chile are South Africa’s biggest importers of Amurula.
We’ve now seen four of the Big Five, so all of them except lion. Floris was telling us there are also the ‘ugly five’. They are vulture, hyena, wildebeest, maribo stork, and warthog. Of them, we’ve not seen hyena or maribo stork.
Around 5.30, all of the Globus party pulled up in a clearing for the obligatory pit stop, consisting of drinks and snacks. I had an Amarula. Vusi, our tracker, gave me a double. I later had another as well.
It is here in this part of the country that we’ve seen for the first time the Drakensberg Mountains, a constant companion on our safaris. All of us had our photos taken against the backdrop of the sun setting on the Drakensberg. A lovely sunset.
Here at Kapama, the Internet reception is very weak. I will post safari photos later.
To the Drakensberg with Love 