Skukuza Story

On Tuesday May 24th we left Berg-en-Dal and travelled up to Skukuza, where we met up with the Anemas, Borchardts, Dekkers and Youngers who had all arrived from PE the day before.  We had never been to Skukuza before and were looking forward to yet another new experience.  The excellent go! magazine guide to the Kruger refers to Skukuza as 'HQ' and thats exactly what it is.   

There are two banks, a Post Office, two restaurants, a very well-stocked shop, full time doctors, research and teaching facilities, and the very impressive James Stevenson-Hamilton Museum.  The museum houses an excellent reference library and many interesting exhibits.  When we visited, the winning entries from the Agfa Wildlife Photographic Competition were on display, and there were some absolute showstopping pictures. 

Whil wandering around the camp I saw these wide-eyed pre-schoolers (above left) being given a talk by a ranger (far left) and dutifully chorusing out their responses to what he was telling them.

 We also visited Lake Panic bird hide a short distance from the camp, and even if you are not a birder it is well worth the visit.  I managed to catch this African Jacana just taking off. 

 As we left Skukuza early on the morning of Sunday 29th, we spotted these three hippo in a pool next to the causeway across the Sabie River.  It was so cold that you can see a puff of breath hanging above the hippo in the middle, and the mist hanging over the river in the pic below.

There is a lot of history connected with Skukuza, much of it to do with James Stevenson-Hamilton who was Warden there for 40-odd years.  He was originally a big-game hunter who morphed into a passionate conservationist.  The tea-towels in the gift shop have it that his nick-name was Skukuza, meaning 'he who organises'.  When I checked this with the young lady at the museum, she told me it was a Siswati word meaning a removal, or a clearing away, referring to the original hunter trbes who lived there.

 The train in the top picture is parked at the original Skukuza Station and dates from the time when the railway line ran through the (then) Reserve.  Sabie was a popular overnight stop, with passengers disembarking to light their braai fires next to the train.  The story is told that one night, on the way south to Komatipoort, the driver stopped at Newington Siding but on seeing no waiting passengers, steamed merrily on.  Unfortunately, the passengers were all up trees taking refuge from hungry lions.  They spent a very uncomfortable night in their trees, and thereafter the railway management installed permanent ladders at the trees in case of need!  The growing rail traffic and the increasing number of animals being killed be trains led to the re-routing of the line outside the park boundaries and the last train ran in 1972.  This was Selati 3638, which is now the focal point of the Selati Station Grillhouse.  Off to Manyeleti tomorrow for a totally different experience!

Leopard Morning







We arrived in Skukuza on Tuesday 24 May and did not leave camp for the first 2 days.

 On Thursday, feeling guilty, we got up at 6.45 and went for a pjama drive (self explanatory!).  On the Maroela Loop we came across a car stopped near a dry river bed.  We asked what they were looking at, and were told two young leopards. 

First one, then the other emerged from the undergrowth at the roadside, and walked down the road jostling one another like two naughty kids on their way to school.

We freewheeled back down into the dry river bed and watched them cross and disappear into the bush on the other side.

 It was all over in less than 5 minutes, but what a sighting!

 The couple who had spotted them initially thought that the mother was somewhere close by and that the youngsters were being sent out on their own to learn some independence.



There's a rhino in my front yard!

  Friday May 20 we were up bright and early (well, early anyway) leaving Crocodile Bridge for Berg-en-Dal, our 3rd Kruger camp.  We have been to B&D twice before and always been lucky enough to get a site on the fence, which is first prize as the scenery is lovely and lots of game goes by. 

It was third time lucky as we found a spot on the far fence with 180 deg views.  Bit of a job getting up there, but thats what 4x4 is for! The bird life was excellent, with two pairs of cardinal woodpeckers tapping away, and two brownhooded kingfishers hunting insects from a tree right at the fence.  Fortunate enough to see one swoop into the grass and come up with a scorpion which was gobbled with relish!

There were many other birds new to me and Cathy was kept busy answering all my questions.

We did a number of game drives and saw an abundance of animals.  We had 3 (yes 3!!!) leopard sightings in one week.  This was especially exciting as in our previous 2 visits we had never seen one. The one in the pic (left) was only spotted because a car was already stopped and she(he?) was gone in less than a minute.

If you enlarge the pic you can see I was lucky enough to get her(him?) looking straight at me.  On Sunday all 3 couples drove up to the picnic site at Afsaal, about an hours drive away, for a skottel breakfast.  On the way we encountered this rhino calf, who was not a bit afraid and was especially fascinated by the Lahana's car (large white object - Mommy sustitute?).  The mother just kept grazing placidly and didn't seem at all worried that Junior was  

in the road.

It was super to see Alan and Mary Carter at Afsaal, as they have been travelling since early March.  The tame bushbuck there pose picturesquely on the little knoll and then come down and do the rounds of the picnic tables looking for handouts.  After breakfast we all trooped off to look at the resident Scops owl in one of the tall trees in the picnic area.  Without Alan's help we would never have
spotted it as they are tiny - only about 15 cm tall and look like
a piece of tree bark. 

Its always hard to decide on the best time of day when camping in the Kruger.  Is it the cool early morning when the coffee is on the go, and the decision as to what to do with the day is up for grabs?  Or is it early evening, when everyone is returning from their game drives and comparing notes, the camp gates are being closed to keep out unwanted visitors, the fires are being lit either for cooking or socialising, and the drinks are being poured?  On the morning of Monday 23rd it was very definitely the early morning, as I put the kettle on and opened the caravan door to find 3 large (I know, they are all large, but up close they are MASSIVE) rhino and 2 elephant just the other side of the fence.  The ellies did not hang about for very long but we watched the rhino for about an hour.  One of the rangers came and joined us, and while I was right at the fence taking the pic (above left) I asked him how rhino proof the fence was, as I was getting a rather beady eye from about 3 metres away.  'Not very' was the reply.  Needless to say I retreated sharpish - not wanting to test that particular theory!     

A wonderful sighting - has to be close to the top of the list for this trip.  An extra treat that evening was the civet cat which ghosted past our campsite on the edge of the lamplight.  We hadn't seen one before, but it vanished into the undergrowth before we could get a better look. 

Yesterday we travelled up to Skukuza, to meet the other travellers and spend 5 nights but more of that next time.

The First Five Days

Our first five days in the Kruger Park have been absolutely amazing. We have seen more animals in this time than we could hoped for. 

 We set off from Badplaas on Sunday morning May 17th excited that finally 'Kruger Day' had arrived. A very pleasant scenic

drive via Ermelo and Chrissiesmeer brought us on to the N4 at Kaapmuiden and so to the Malelane Gate and in to the Kruger.  Our first camp was at Malelane satellite camp, which has to be the best kept Kruger secret. We had initially not planned to be here, but having cut short our time in the Drakensberg, we decided to see if we could get in to the Kruger early and found vacancies at Malelane.  There are only 15 sites, 4 chalets, one ablution block and a camp kitchen, plus a fence which looks to be more to keep the campers in than the animals out, but it is utterly charming.    

 After 3 days there, we moved on to Crocodile Bridge camp.  This is

another camp new to us and also really super.  It is spick and span with lovely friendly staff as befits a camp at one of the main entrance gates to the Park.  The causeway over the Crocodile River has been raised and the new entrance gate finally commissioned in a very modern interpretation of the more traditional pole-and-thatch entrance gate that we are used to. 

 We have had wonderful sightings in the short time since entering the park, notably not one but two leopard sightings which we have waited 3 years for!  As I write this we are at Berg-en-Dal, where we moved this morning, and a lion is roaring in the dry river bed on the other side of the (fortunately electric) fence.                                         
Then, for some of us the excitement was just tooooo much!!!             

The Hills are Alive...............!

The hills were alive with a lot more than the sound of music during our days at Dragon Peaks!

 We arrived there on Tuesday 10th after our enjoyable few days at Scottborough.  The scenery around Dragon Peaks is spectacular, especially at this time of year with the trees all in full autumn regalia, and colourful carpets of fallen leaves everywhere.

On Wednesday afternoon we attended a performance of the world famous Drakensberg Boys Choir at the neighbouring Choir School.  This was an absolute standout and will live in all our memories for a long time to come.  The boys give an immaculately rehearsed and polished performance, but in spite of how well-drilled they are, their individual personalities shine through and add a very special dimension to a truly wonderful experience.

That evening we had dinner in the resort retaurant.  There is always a 'gala' dinner arranged to coincide with the concert dates, and it rounded off a wonderful day.

 Off for a stroll on Thursday, Margaret was so overcome with the beauty of our surroundings that she just HAD to hug this very tall tree!

The mountain scenery was so beautiful that whichever way one looked there was yet another photo op waiting to be snapped.  Seen in the background of the pic on the left is Dragon's Back (if I understood the sketch map correctly!)

A stream runs throught the resort and has been dammed in several places; I was lucky enough to spot one of the resort horses posing next to this one. 

 The major peak overlooking Dragon Peaks is Cathkin Peak, seen below left with storm clouds gathering behind it.  On Thursday night there was a thunderstorm of Wagnerian dimensions, which kept us awake for most of the night as the thunder reverberated round the mountains. 

So it was a fairly tired group which set off for Badplaas at 7 on the morning of Friday 13th.   We did enjoy the sight of a dusting of snow on the mountains as we drove towards Winterton. The date should have warned us, as even before we were out of the gate, the computer of our car insisted that our difflock was on.  Well it wasn't, but by the time we had phoned the helpline, set up a VW dealer in Ladysmith, the fault light went off again.  So nerves frazzled for nothing!

Next excitement was the Lahana's caravan blew a tire.  It had to be changed at the roadside, with Margaret waving the red triangle and a pair of red swimming trunks, and Cathy a dishcloth, so that Mike and Bruce wouldn't get run over by passing traffic as they battled with the wheel.  There were a lot of stop/go sections due to roadworks so all in all it was a long day.  Some of us revived with a dip in the hot pools. (see left!)   Badplaas is an amazing  with every facility imaginable and is very well maintained and modern. 
Just one quick statistic, the trip from the Drakensberg to Badplaas saw us reach the highest altitude so far this trip and that was 1843m above sea level between Volksrust and Amersfoort. 

Heading for the hills

Today we drove 'uphill' from Scottborough to Dragon Peaks, arriving just before lunch. We thoroughly enjoyed our 5 days there, although the weather was rather variable.  On sunday night we had rain of epic proportions which continued on into Sunday so we took the opportunity of driving up to Westville to collect a spare part for our caravan mover from Eric, the chap who makes them. 

 The caravan park at Scottborough is situated right on the sea, with a lovely swimming beach off to the left.  There are two beautifully kept pools set on the rocks, handy for when swimming is banned as it was after the heavy rains. The park is very well kept with spotless ablutions and well-maintained grounds.

The beach is perfect for long walks, and there is a constant lifeguard presence during daylight hours.

There were plenty of fishermen fishing from the rocks, and few seemed to leave empty-handed.

 Scottborough is a typical South Coast holiday town with the usual amenities and a fair selection of shops and restaurants.

During one of our strolls round the caravan park, we met Val and Mick Stevens.  Val is an artist and had this lovely seascape, which she had just completed, on display for sale.  She works in pastels, oils and mixed media and is planning to set up a website featuring her work in the near future.  Meantime 031-7028008 will find her.

The BIGGEST BURGER in the world!

Finally on Tuesday May 3rd we set off on our long awaited trip. We arrived at Areena Caravan Park shortly before lunch to find that Margaret had the kettle on and cups out. 

Areena is beautifully situated on a tranquil bend of the Kwelera River just north of East London.  The bird life is amazing and baboons can be heard barking their alarm calls on the opposite steep river bank. Scops owls could be heard calling as soon as dark fell and we were lucky enough to see both malachite and pied
kingfishers busily at work.

Areena has lots of animals both wild and domestic.  We particularly loved the giraffe who hung around the fence looking for titbits and allowed us to scratch his muzzle.

On wednesday night we went to Inkenkwezi, just 8 km down the road.  For those in the know, wednesday night is burger night, and as you can see from the pics, they are truly massive.  Since the restaurant began serving these monsters, they estimate that between 80 and 90 thousand have been ordered.  Anyone who can wade through two of these monsters in one hour wins 24 cases of beer!  To date only three people have managed it!  And for those who think that caravanners never get to hit the high spots, Inkenkwezi is where President Zuma's daughter was married two weekends ago.  I doubt they served giant burgers at the reception !

Thursday morning 6.45 found us on the road to Scottburgh.  Travelling through the former Transkei was really interesting as its 11 years since we were last on this route and the changes are dramatic.  The former quaint colonial towns have morphed into colourful bustling centres which give one the feeling that they ould be anywhere in Africa. 

Travelling through the open countryside also showed many changes.  The traditional round dwellings have almost disappeared from the landscape and have been replaced with more traditional western-type homes.  Most are well kept and freshly painted, with neat mealie and veggie patches around them. Much evidence of community projects and social upliftment initiatives could be seen. 

The caravan park at Scottburgh is right in town and on the beach, and is very well maintained with lots of staff busy all day.

Birds flying backwards

The first big weather system of the winter hit the coast last week, churning up the sea,sending temperatures way down and causing hurried rummaging for winter clothes.The wind gusted up in the 70+ km/hr range for 48 hours, so I took my camera down to the beach and got some good pics of big waves and birds battling to make headway against the howling wind.

We've been asked how we came by the name for our blog.  Simple enough; we live at the coast and are heading to the very top of the Kruger Park.  While at Punda Maria we will drive north-east to Crooks Corner.Apparently it got its name in the last century when ivory was smuggled over the border at this spot.  There is a lookout point from where one can look over the border to both Zimbabwe and Mocambique.  So coasttocrookscorner encapsulates our journey perfectly - plus which its nice and alliterative!