Kruger National Park Safari

Featured Image: White Rhino in the Bush.

  Breadtag Sagas ©: Author Tony,  27 July 2024

This is the seventh article in a series on Southern Africa inspired by a birding trip to Namibia, Botswana and Victoria Falls with Rockjumper and two safaris to Chobe National Park in Botswana with Kalahari Tours and Kruger National Park in South Africa with Lion Roar Safaris.

The articles in order so far are: 1 A Lark in Africa, 2 Welwitschia, 3 Safari to Namibia Part 1, 4 Safari to Namibia, Botswana and Victoria Falls Part 2, 5 Large Raptors and 6 Chobe National Park Camping 7 Kruger National Park Safari.

 Kruger National Park Safari

Female Giraffe in the Bush

Main Points

• Animal Attacks
• Kruger Description and History
• Background to Our Trip
• Day 1
• Skukuza Camp
• Day 2
• Berg-en-Dal Camp
• Morning bush walk
• Day 3

1 Introduction

1.1 The Scary Stuff First

Kruger National Park is South Africa’s flagship park. It is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. Kruger National Park receives 1.4 million visitors annually. These are concentrated in the south.

A Fine Zebra Head

Chobe National Park by comparison receives 400,000 visitors (with concentration problems at Riverside) and Etosha National Park 200,000 visitors.

With such numbers, there are numerous opportunities for untoward contact with animals. And, some visitors behave badly.

When we were at Skukuza Camp, Denise started reading a book in the large shop area detailing unfortunate meetings with wild animals. She told us of the video of a guide climbing out of his vehicle and taking off his shirt, under the admiring gaze of some clients. In one tiny corner of the video, a long way off and unbeknownst to any of them was a lioness. Within seconds she’d covered the distance to the guide and mauled him.

African Buffalo Grazing

At Berg-en-Dal camp when we arrived in the heat of the afternoon we immediately headed for the pool. I’m not sure who told us but we heard a story of a leopard stalking children at dusk beside that same pool. Fortunately, the leopard was discovered before anything happened.

The camps are fenced but wild animals can get into them and one is warned to be wary especially in the dark.

At Berg-en-Dal many cottages are close to the perimeter fence. We also heard stories of visitors having braaivleis or barbecues and tossing the bones to hyenas outside the fence. A stupid habit, training hyenas to regard the camp as a source of food. I think Denise read of such an event, where a toddler stuck his hand through the fence and lost his hand to a hyena.

Mostly, these attacks concern guides, rangers and workers in the park but occasionally the public. Although gruesome they are also relatively rare considering the number of visitors and staff.

Impala Fighting

1.2 Historic Animal Attacks in Kruger

Searching the Net I came across the following serious incidents in the last 15 years.

• 2008: Rudi Lorist the lead guide on a walking tour was attacked by a lioness with cubs and mauled on the arms, whilst protecting his group.
• 2016 A hyena crushed the face of a 15-year-old teenager sleeping in a tent and began dragging him away, but was chased off by his uncle who woke by chance.
• 2019: a two-year-old boy was taken by a leopard, which was also scared off by his uncle, but the boy died. He was the son of a park worker.
• 2022: 57 year old Joseph Nkuna a park ranger, with a group of others on routine patrol, was attacked and injured by an elephant, but survived.
• 2022: A worker at the luxury Kruger Shalati train on the bridge hotel was attacked by a leopard on his way to work. He managed to fight the leopard off and called for help. This was the second attack by a leopard, and the suspect leopard was euthanized.

Burchell’s Coucal

When I was in South Africa in 1975, I read a book by Harry Wolhuter (Memories of a Game Ranger). Wolhuter was one of the first rangers in Kruger working under Colonel James-Stevenson Hamilton.

Wolhuter was attacked by two male lions. One of whom knocked him off his horse and dragged him away. After 100 metres Wolhuter came to retrieved his sheath knife and stabbed the lion. The mortally wounded lion dropped him, but the second lion came after him, Wolhuter believed he was saved by his dog Bull whose persistent barking distracted it.

Our visit to Kruger was less adventurous.

Splendid Male Warthog

1.3 Kruger National Park Description

Kruger National Park was founded in 1898 by President Paul Kruger as Sabie Game Reserve. It became Kruger National Park in 1927 and much larger with the merger with another game reserve. Scottish-born James Stevenson-Hamilton was appointed as the first Warden of the park in 1902.

Colonel James Stevenson-Hamilton was the warden of the park from 1902 to 1946 or forty-four years.

Long Necks Sometimes Look Awkward

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,623 sq km (7576 sq mi) across two provinces in northeastern South Africa. Chobe is 11,700 sq km and Etosha 22, 270 sq km by comparison. Kruger is roughly 350 km long and 60 km wide.

The climate is lowveldt, tropical/sub-tropical, specifically hot arid/semi-arid. There are four main areas of vegetation. In the southern area, we were in, the vegetation is broken into three further sub-zones: Mixed thorn and Marula woodlands on granite; other mixed woodlands and thorn thickets; and Malelane mountain bushveldt near Berg-en-Dal. Granite boulders are a feature of the landscape.

Kruger Landscape

1.4 Our Trip Background

The three of us flew from Victoria Falls to Nelspruit (Mbombela) about 4 hours on 20 October 2023. The airport is 27 km from the city and a pleasant scenic drive. Nelspruit is called a city but is a modern large provincial centre, with the Crocodile River running through it. The botanical gardens on a wild plunging part of the river are spectacular and good for birding.

Because of weekend bookings in Kruger, we stayed in the two excellent Birds Babble apartments for three nights and embarked on our Lion Roar Safari Kruger tour on the Monday.

Steenbok

On Saturday morning 21 October we were picked up at Birds Babble by Lizelle from Lion Roar at 6.00 am for a Panorama day tour, which included Blyde River Canyon (a long drive), Bourke’s Luck Potholes and five other natural attractions. There were only the three of us in a small sedan. The tour (which compared to Kruger was cheap) gave us an excellent appreciation of the hills and mountains surrounding Nelspruit in Mpumalanga province.

Giant Kingfisher

We enjoyed the break in Nelspruit but were eager when we were picked up at 4.30 am on Monday 23 October 2023 for our three days and two nights in Kruger National Park. Our guide for this tour was Liz. Amazingly and very conveniently we three were to be guided alone in the park. We’d been told the drive to Kruger would be cold and had put on our warmest clothes. Under canvas it was very cold and we couldn’t see much.

Kruger National Park

2 Kruger Day 1 Monday

2.1 Arrival

We arrived at Hazyview (Phabeni) Gate before 6am. There was a large crowd of people and similar safari vehicles to ours. Liz our guide rolled up the canvas but didn’t yet open up the windscreen. It was still quite cold. She went to the office, while we had a water stop and looked at birds. She came back saying the office was chaos so we joined the queue of vehicles waiting to enter, where she’d deliver the paperwork.

Lion Roar Safari Vehicle

Despite the crowds, it took only 20 minutes in the queue. As soon as we were in the park, the crowds seemed to disappear and we were on our own, except at waterholes and hides, but even then there were only a few vehicles. The only time we saw more people was at lunch stops.

One of the reasons for the crowds at Hazyview is that the road to Numbi Gate has been considered dangerous for some time as a crime hotspot.

Spotted Hyena Crossing Road

6.30 am is a great time for looking for animals and we saw much on the main road from Hazyview (Phabeni Gate) to Skukuza Camp and on the various diversions we took.

2.2 Hippo

Our first stop was Nyamundwa Dam. Liz told us that the Kruger authorities were closing down many artificial waterholes to return the park to its original condition, but that some historic ones would remain.

Hippos on Sandbank in the Crocodile River

We saw a small congregation of hippos and also a crocodile sunning itself, as well as birds such as Egyptian Geese. The hippos surprised me as the country-side around the dam was open shrubland and seemed too dry a terrain to encourage hippos.

2.3 Other Herbivores

Further on and despite the green habitat and scrub that could easily hide game we saw endless herbivores: giraffe, zebra, impala, wildebeest, waterbuck, elephants, warthog and nyala.

Waterbuck Grazing

We enjoyed seeing numbers of waterbuck, more than previously, and in dry bushland. They seemed hairier than I remembered.

2.4 Elephants

Lone Male Elephant Eating and Walking 1-2

Elephants are always amazing. We came across this lone male elephant who appeared to be enjoying chomping on a broken tree. We watched him doing this for a few minutes and then he began to walk off. He seemed content as his penis grew larger and larger. Although it looks green, I wonder how it feels with one’s penis dragging on the ground through thorns and gravel.

Lone Male Elephant Walking 3-4 Feeling Good

2.5 Giraffe

There were plenty of elephants, but the thing that struck me even more throughout Kruger was the endless abundance of giraffe. On our three days we saw so many giraffe in different circumstances that we began to gain an insight into giraffe behaviour.

Male Giraffes Crossing the Road

Denise commented on how giraffe disappeared into the landscape. You’d come upon one giraffe with its head poking out of a tree or reaching up to browse foliage and after watching suddenly realise that there were six or seven giraffe nearby. I’ve always enjoyed their elegance in walking, striding or running and their ability to run through the bush and over broken ground without effort — gliding across the landscape.

2.6 Hyena

A muddy Spotted Hyena

At one point we were fortunate to come across a pair of spotted hyena about to cross the road and had the privilege of observing them for a few minutes. One can’t define the sex of a hyena by sight. The only difference between these two was that the hindquarters of one were covered in wet mud and it had obviously been wallowing somewhere close to the road. As one disappeared, the other flopped down beside a bush. Although, I could see it clearly, one would never see it, if one didn’t know it was there. A good reason not to get out of the vehicle.

Spotted Hyena Lying Down Plonk

2.7 Lake Panic

Another magic spot we stopped at was Lake Panic bird hide, which is quite close to Skukuza. Although we didn’t know it at the time because we went north for breakfast and circled around Skukuza, before returning after 2 pm.

Southern Masked Weavers and Nest, Lake Panic

At Lake Panic we saw more hippos and crocodiles, more browsers, as well as water birds, kingfishers and some marvellous nesting Southern Masked Weavers in their hundreds. Other birds of note, we watched for some time and observed their behaviour, were Cape Starling, Striated Heron, an African Fish Eagle, Burchell’s Coucal, Brown-hooded and Great Kingfishers, and Southern Red-billed Hornbill. Not rare but always special.

2.8 Birds Not Rugby

Cape Starling, Beautiful but Common

We were in Kruger National Park the day after the World Cup semi-final between England and South Africa, which South Africa won by one point as they had against France in the quarter-final. They won the final against the Kiwis on 29 October also by one point, which sent the whole of New Zealand into a spiral of depression.

In Kruger we’d come across this vehicle a few times on our drive and parked next to it at Skukuza. We talked to the women who drove the vehicle and half-supported their passion, as displayed on a magnetic sign on the back of the car: Bugger the Rugby! I am bird watching. (South Africa is as rugby crazy as New Zealand. Australia has several other competing sports.)

A Brave Sign

3 Skukuza Camp

We arrived at Skukuza for a late lunch. Skukuza is the largest camp in Kruger but well-contained and easy to get around. Skukuza is the nickname for James-Stevenson Hamilton the first warden mentioned above and means ‘he who sweeps clean’ regarding his success in eliminating poaching, but probably other things as well, a particularly apt title.

Female Nyala Grazing

We stayed in pleasant rondavels — round thatched huts modelled after those in Bantu villages throughout southern Africa.

Outside the room was a locked grated cupboard for food-stuffs near the barbecue and signs warning one to keep doors closed and the food locked up because of baboons and monkeys. Although, wildlife are supposedly outside the fenced camps, some are always present and some get in occasionally (hyenas and leopards are especially dangerous).

African Fish Eagle

We visited the particularly large tourist centre containing the supermarket and tourism store. The supermarket contained meat and vegetables as well as non-perishables for self-catering, as well as a large tourist emporium containing as many souvenirs as one could desire. We purchased Kruger books and Denise read about the scary stuff mentioned above.

Memorial to Kruger Dogs

Between the tourism centre and our huts was a rather tatty memorial to the important dogs in the history of the park. Wolhuter’s dog Bull shown in the photograph was amongst them.

By the time we’d covered the basics dusk was not far off, so we walked around the perimeter fence on the way to dinner. We didn’t see any animals but some interesting birds.

We sat on the terrace overlooking the Sabie River ordered a meal and savoured our gin and tonics. I remember a South Australian politician, Christopher Pyne who in his retirement speech said that life could be tough in parliament, he’d even once had to mix his own gin and tonic. Probably doesn’t translate but it was very funny.

Skukuza Gin and Tonic

Off to the right in the distance was a dusty set of railway carriages parked on a long bridge. It was that dusty dull terracotta typical of old train carriages from my youth in Australia and didn’t look anything special. This was the luxury Kruger Shalati train on the bridge hotel, near where the worker was attacked by the leopard.

While we were enjoying our gin and tonics, we saw a waterbuck progressing along the very high reeds, coming out onto sandbanks and disappearing again. We watched its slow progress as it moved down the river for twenty-minutes. It was not yet dark, but as well as hiding it, the tall reeds were also an ideal spot for an ambush. Life in a game park can be brutal.

The dinner when it came was excellent. We found that food in South Africa was cheap because of the exchange rate.

Kruger Koppie, or small granite outcropping hill

4 Kruger Day 2 Tuesday

Day 2 solidified what we had seen on Day 1. We travelled out from Skukuza in various directions though our destination eventually was to the south. Liz asked us to choose between two alternatives. We chose the one that would lead us to a koppie or hill with a panoramic view over the park. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the track it was closed with a sign saying that they were using the hill and the area for training anti-poaching dogs.

Nile Crocodiles at Lake Panic

4.1 Kruger Behind the Scenes

Liz mentioned that this was the tip of the iceberg of the vast apparatus involved in managing such a vast park. The camps are only a tiny part of that apparatus.

I knew a little about this from living in South Africa in 1974/75 and attending mammal conferences. I still remember vividly the slide presentation of a group that were studying lions.

Impala Vocalising

They set-up a drag, using a dead antelope, from several directions into a central spot to lure a pride of lions. They then shot them with darts from their trucks. A complex process.

While they were weighing, measuring and putting a couple of tracking-collars on that pride under lamplight, another pride turned up. After the chaos of exiting the scene rapidly into the trucks, but without running. They then had to dart the second pride before they began killing the first. I suspect it was a very difficult evening.

Zebra at the Waterhole

I remember other slides of a large male lion, still mostly paralysed, dragging itself across the ground on limbs that wouldn’t work to the offered carcase and immediately feeding.

Scientific study has always been important in Kruger and in most other national parks in southern Africa.

4.2 Elephant Population in Kruger

While, I was living in South Africa we could obtain antelope, elephant and ostrich biltong from Kruger, where they culled animals when their numbers had become problematic.

Red-Mud Coated Elephant

From memory they culled around 300 elephants per year in Kruger National Park in the mid-1970s. They stopped culling in 1994 and now according to our guide Greg in Namibia and also many other people we raised the issue with Kruger National Park is massively overpopulated with elephants. I think this is appalling and will have long-term ramifications regarding habitat destruction.

4.3 African Buffalo

The first major thing we came across that morning was a large herd of African Buffalo grazing through the scrub and open grass patches. We watched them for about half an hour. They were much closer than we’d seen buffalo before.

Female African Buffalo Eye-balling Us

Previously in Chobe National Park we’d seen them grazing in lush grasslands beside the river or on islands in the river. Certainly, we’d seen individuals up close but not a large herd. It was interesting to see them grazing in open dry bush. Although water would not have been too far away.

Because they were so close, occasional mature adults both male and female paid attention to us briefly. They were quite threatening up close.

4.4 Rhino

We saw our first white rhinos today. A group of four emerged from the bush wanting to cross the road, then they crossed back when one of their number didn’t come, and crossed again. They were a bit disturbed but fortunately not too much. It was good viewing for us. Our guide felt that the other two cars were getting in the way, but she didn’t want to chastise them.

Group of White Rhino

Yesterday, we saw a car go much too close to an elephant crossing the road. This was dangerous behaviour. Because though elephants don’t often attack cars, it is always on the cards.

Poaching of rhino remains a major problem throughout Africa. It’s use in Chinese medicine is declining, but its use as a status symbol is increasing. The incredible value placed on rhino horn, means that poaching will continue.

Incautious Car

The only partially successful means of reducing poaching is to cut off the horns. This has to happen every couple of years and requires anaesthetising the animals.

White rhino are more common in Kruger, but they are declining more rapidly than black rhino. Black rhinos are solitary and their fewer numbers make them more difficult to find. Even with more security, poaching in Kruger still happens and in other areas of South Africa and Namibia.

Our guide Liz said that the white rhinos seem to have moved into the southern areas of the park from the north and congregate in larger groups. These behavioural changes certainly indicate worrying problems for the animals. They also look so sad with their stubby horns.

Rhinos Wallowing

We saw some more rhino later lying down on the edge of a waterhole. It was also a good place to see antelope, zebra and wildebeest. From the hide, we were quite close up to two magnificent warthogs, covering themselves in mud and water and generally romping disgustingly.

4.5 Dung Beetles

Liz our guide had quickly realised that we were enthusiastic naturalists, as interested in mammals, birds and anything else we could see. At one spot she drew our attention to dung beetles demolishing an elephant dropping on the side of the road. We watched fascinated as two beetles managed to roll one ball of dung across the road. Once they reached the undergrowth things became much more difficult. Denise took videos.

Pair of Dung Beetles Rolling A Dung Ball

Dung Beetles are a sub-family of the scarab beetles. There are about 8000 species of dung beetles. There are three types rollers, tunnelers (beneath the dung) and dwellers. The rollers create balls of dung and roll them away. Both types, rollers and tunnelers, lay eggs in the dung in tunnels to feed the larvae when they hatch.

Dung ball theft amongst the rollers is prevalent near the source.

Impala on the Move

We are fond of African dung beetles in Australia because they have been imported to solve the dung problem from domestic cattle in particular. Australian dung beetles have evolved to handle marsupial dung and cannot cope with the large dung produced by cows. Since they were introduced, in most years they have reduced the bush fly population by at least 90%, which gives us immense relief in summer. Dung beetles also aerate and fertilise the soil.

Further on, we came upon one fresh ball of elephant dung that had been broken open and was seething, with several species of dung beetle involved. It was hard to believe how quickly this was happening.

Southern Red-billed Hornbill

4.6 Afsaal

Most of the time we were searching for wildlife on our own, we came across other cars but usually only one at a time, occasionally two. Yet, when we stopped for lunch at Afsaal café and picnic spot. The place was crowded with safari vehicles like ours and one had to queue to get service. Although, they were efficient in preparing the food. This is the nice thing with Kruger the crowds disappear once you get into the park.

Afsaal is about halfway between Skukuza and Berg-en-Dal where we were headed for the night. Although, we weren’t headed there directly.

Warning Signs at Afsaal

The signs at Afsaal warned about venturing beyond the bounds of the picnic area and we saw no evidence of anyone not heeding the advice. Watching the Vervet Monkeys going about their business while we were having lunch was charming.

Giraffe unsuccessfully Trying to Mount Female

4.7 Giraffe

Yesterday, we mentioned the numbers of giraffe we saw and giraffe behaviour. We kept seeing giraffe in large numbers. We watched for twenty minutes as a male giraffe sidled up behind a female. We were sure that he was going to mount her but perhaps something about him put her off. It didn’t happen.

Male Giraffes Mutual Grooming

We also saw the same thing today. It didn’t happen. A while later we came across a group of four males together crossing the road. Two of the males seemed quite affectionate. Grooming and rubbing one another’s necks. The slightly larger one even extended his penis so that the engagement was pleasureable. I noticed that a giraffe penis is not very big — compared to say an elephant, a horse or a donkey.

Mutual Grooming can be Stimulating

4.8 Elephants

Not far from Berg-en-Dal Camp we came across a herd of elephants who had been wallowing in mud near the Crocodile River which forms the southern boundary of the park. All in all the elephants we saw in Kruger were equally impressive as the wonderful elephants we came across in Chobe National Park.

Mother and Baby Red-Mud Coated Elephants

5 Berg-en-Dal Camp

It was hot when we arrived in Berg-en-Dahl Camp and as mentioned earlier we immediately headed for the pool, which was large and surrounded by trees. The accommodation here was cottages rather than rondavels but equally well set up.

Although much smaller than Skukuza, Berg-en-Dal was lovely. On the way to the restaurant we did a longer walk around the perimeter fence. As mentioned the barbecues near the fence concerned us.

Greater Kudu Male

An elephant trumpeted and a group of four appeared walking in the sand along the creek. They were very close and we watched them for about ten minutes until they wandered off. We also saw some interesting birds and it was getting dark before we entered the restaurant.

We’d been told to go early and it was a problem as there were too many customers and the place was having a melt down. Our meals took a very long time to arrive and I had a disturbed stomach during the night.

Peter’s Introduction to the Walk

6 Day 3 Wednesday

6.1 The Bush Walk

We met near the gate at 5.30 am for our programmed dawn walk in the park. Just outside the gate we saw a hyena and remembered the barbecues. We drove about ten kilometres with Peter the guide and met another vehicle with one customer and another guide. Peter was quiet but professional and knowledgeable as was his female companion guide.

First thing before we started, they loaded their rifles. They were basic but high calibre and deadly. Peter’s Support Ranger had a large ammunition belt around her waist. We were also gently introduced to safety and how to behave in all circumstances. There were nine of us.

It was incredibly exciting to be able to walk in the park. Initially, we were shown plants, insects, birds, dung and other evidence of animals. The first wildlife we saw were giraffes peering at us from a distance. This is the first level of defence for a giraffe visually scanning the environment. Our walk was uphill towards them and towards a large hill.

Elephants Browsing Unaware of our Presence

We came across fresh rhino dung and were shown the difference between black and white rhino dung because of their feeding patterns. White rhino graze low to the ground, whilst black rhino are browsers. Black rhino dung is full of small sticks of a prescribed length and angle of cut.

Two exciting events happened on the walk. First we came across elephants grazing about six of them. They weren’t aware of us at all. We all sat under a tree being very quiet downwind. They were very close within ten to fifteen metres. We watched for ten minutes and then withdrew quietly.

Mother and Young White Rhino, iPhone photo

Later at he end of the outward journey we were seated on a large rock when an adult female white rhinoceros and her young emerged about 20 metres away and started grazing towards us. They came closer and closer oblivious to our presence. I had to stop using my camera as did a young Swiss woman because of the sound and moved to my iphone. They grazed right up to the rock a mere three metres away. Peter suddenly clapped his hands loudly. The female immediately turned around and ran away followed by her youngster. We were relieved.

The walk back was less dramatic but interesting. We saw more giraffe but always some distance away and they were always aware of us. Peter said that most animals view humans as a sort of apex predator and stick well clear of them.

Peter and his Support Ranger with Denise on the Rock

It is hard to describe how wonderful it is to walk in the veldt. We met an Afrikaans family from the Orange Free State. They were on their holidays at Kruger and had taken several walks with Peter. They were very impressed with him.

We met several South Africans on holiday in the park. Some of who admitted that they take nearly every holiday in Kruger. Most of them recommended the north end of the park, which is less populated with tourists.

Kruger Day 3 Continued

After breakfast at Berg-en-Dal we headed off into the park for the remainder of our last day. We had lunch again at Afsaal, which was again crowded.

Kruger Through the Windshield

6.2 Communication between Guides in Kruger

Enroute around the park we’d noticed that safari vehicles always stopped and the guides communicated in Afrikaans. Private vehicles were communicated with in what ever language the driver spoke. Also at rest stops such as Afsaal Liz left us alone with an instruction when to return. We realised that she communicated with other guides here as well. I asked her if most of the guides on safari were Afrikaans. She said No, that most of them were English.

Young Zebra Resting

You may remember how at Chobe National Park our guide Sam was perennially on the radio (to the point of being slightly annoying). Liz said that no safari guides used radio in Kruger. Hence I suspected that they passed information on what had been seen and what animals were about, while speaking in Afrikaans and at rest stops to keep the clients away from such mundane matters. I don’t object to this at all. It enhances the mystique of the adventure.

6.3 Saddle-billed Stork

We saw much of what we’d seen before, but we also saw some interesting birds some of whom we hadn’t seen before: a few larks, Magpie Shrike, Bennett’s Woodpecker and several juvenile Saddle-billed Stork which was quite exciting. We’d only seen one adult previously on our birding trip on the Caprivi Strip crossing into Botswana and it was very far away.

Juvenile Saddle-billed Stork

6.4 Baboons and Lions

Before leaving the park we headed up into the hills behind Berg-en-Dal and saw a big troop of Chacma Baboons that we hadn’t seen much of previously. Our guide was excited when after not seeing any lions, we came upon two lions resting under a tree. We were excited too, but we only watched for five minutes. There were four other vehicles there.

Lioness Resting

Liz was surprised and commented that we were most unusual, because we withdrew our attention from the lions and started looking instead at the small birds in front of them. I can only say they that they were lions and they were awake but resting. It was a hot afternoon! And, we’d seen many lions in more interesting circumstances in Chobe National Park.

6.5 Skin Disease on Giraffe in Kruger

Not far from the exit gate we came upon a giraffe with a series of ugly growths on its neck. We’d noticed previously round patches on the necks of some giraffes but this was the first we’d come across with these ugly growths. You’ll notice in the photograph that the both giraffes have Red-billed Oxpeckers on them. Many or most of the giraffes we saw had oxpeckers on them. The oxpeckers feed on ticks and other ectoparasites, other insects and blood on most herbivores and are very common. They do drink blood from wounds but also keep the wounds clean and free of infection.

Giraffe with Papillomavirus Lesions spread by Oxpeckers

However, in the case of giraffes in Kruger the oxpeckers also spread a novel papillomavirus, which causes warts. The warts do not harm the giraffe but they are itchy and if rubbed against tree trunks can cause wounds that may become infected. Photographs on the Internet are much worse than the above. This affliction of giraffes appears to be relatively new or more common.

6.6 Kruger Farewell

We left Kruger via the Malelane Gate south of Berg-en-Dal. We walked out onto the bridge across the Crocodile River and saw plenty of hippos, crocodiles and water birds. One hippo was strolling about on the short grass well-above the river and we could understand why most of the resorts across the river were fenced.

Hippo Strolling up the Bank Across the Crocodile River Outside the Park

Kruger National Park was a wonderful experience, but quite different from Chobe National Park. We felt incredibly privileged the three of us being chauffeured and looked after Liz without the distraction of others. I would certainly like to return someday and visit more areas, perhaps in the north of Kruger.

Game reserves and national parks in southern Africa are part of our declining world heritage. They need to be preserved. Visitors help as does judicious management and culling, poaching and over-population of certain species, particularly elephants doesn’t.

Key Words: South Africa, southern Africa, Africa, Victoria Falls, Kruger National Park, Blyde River Canyon, Nelspruit, Mbombela, Crocodile River, braaivleis, barbecue, Kruger Shalati train, bridge hotel, game reserve, Chobe National Park, Etosha National Park, Harry Wolhuter, James-Stevenson Hamilton, President Paul Kruger, Sabie Game Reserve, Birds Babble apartments, Lion Roar Safari, Hazyview, Phabeni Gate, Numbi Gate, Nyamundwa Dam, waterhole, shrubland, bush, lowveldt, granite boulders, mixed woodland, thorn and Marula woodland, Malelane mountain bushveldt, arid, semi-arid, Lake Panic bird hide, Egyptian Geese, Southern Masked Weaver, Cape Starling, Striated Heron, African Fish Eagle, Burchell’s Coucal, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Great Kingfisher, Southern Red-billed Hornbill, rondavel, lion, lioness, leopard, hippo, steenbok, crocodile, giraffe, zebra, impala, wildebeest, waterbuck, elephant, warthog, nyala, Spotted Hyena, Skukuza Camp, Berg-en-Dal Camp, Sabie River, anti-poaching dogs, impala, cull, African Buffalo, white rhino, black rhino, rhinoceros, poaching, dung beetle, Afsaal, penis, bush walk, Afrikaans, plants, insects, Magpie Shrike, Bennett’s Woodpecker, juvenile Saddle-billed Stork, Chacma Baboon, Vervet monkey, Red-billed Oxpecker, papilloma virus, wart, Malelane Gate, Travel, Safari

Further Information

Lion Roar Safaris

Our experience with Lion Roar Safaris couldn’t have been better. Tanya our administration contact, Lizelle and Liz our guides were superb. I had long and sometimes complex dealings with Tanya and everything was handled professionally with good humour. We were especially impressed by Liz whom we were dependent on for three days. She made our visit to Kruger memorable and was happy to intuit and fit in with our needs. I wouldn’t think of using anyone else!

Lilac Roller

Birds Babble Accommodation

The three of us stayed at Birds Babble two delightful self-catering apartments in a pleasant location (also highly recommended). There was also a small swimming pool, essential in the heat. The rooms were lovely furnished with taste and thought. The facilities overall were superb.

The only slight downside for those not having a car is that it is a 900 metre walk to the supermarket and restaurants.

Jackson Tours

Arriving at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, we were picked up by Jackson Tours (highly recommended) for transfer to our accommodation in Nelspruit (Mbombela). I found Mr Jackson very easy to deal with.

Jackson Tours were highly recommended by both Lion Roar and Birds Babble. As well as the transfer to and from the airport, we used Jackson Tours to go to the Botannical Gardens and could have used them more as a town taxi service.

posted in Canberra