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Published: January 15th 2006
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Elephant
Too close for comfort It took under 2 hours to travel from the Kruger National Park to Umlani, a private game reserve in the Timbervati game reserve. The Timbervati is technically outside the Kruger, but is connected because there are no fences to stop the free roaming of the animals.
We arrived just in time for lunch and then had an hour to unpack and explore before our first game drive. All the huts in the camp are thatched and the walls are made of bamboo poles. The windows are covered with mesh (no glass) and there are reed blinds that are pulled down at night. The door is a half door which has a bolt, but that is only there to stop the door opening at night! The shower is attached at the back of the hut and is open air (surrounded by bamboo poles for privacy. Needless to say there is no electricity, with just lanterns for light at night. Also there is no mobile phone signal, so we were unable to communicate with anyone outside the camp. The camp is unfenced and animals (elephant, buffalo and lions) can and do come into camp as and when they please. One night, while
Our hut
Almost like living outside we were having dinner, the manager heard some noise in the middle of the camp. There were some buffalo calmly helping themselves to the grass. We had to be escorted back to our hut, and we fell asleep to the sound of buffalo munching right outside our hut, then later to their deep breathing as they slept. Fortunately they had gone by 5:00 the next morning.
We were there for four nights and quickly adapted to the routine. Wake up call at 5:00am, coffee and rusks, morning game drive from 5:45 to 8:30, quick shower and change, breakfast, then 4 hours to kill before lunch at 14:00 hrs, sleep for an hour before the evening game drive at 16:00, sundowners during the drive at about 18:30, return to camp in the dark, and dinner at about 20:30.
On the game drives the rangers communicate with each other and so you get to see most of the animals that were about. We saw lions after they had killed a buffalo (having seen the same pride the night before in the rain), a herd of elephants with lots of babies (can now understand why they are considering culling them), loads
of impala, kudu, nyala, giraffes, wart hogs, pygmy mongooses, a hypo in a lake, loads of buffalo, baboons, and the best of all - wild dogs, whose range is so vast that we were really lucky to encounter them. We didn’t get to see a leopard or another rhino despite Ginger driving through thick bush and over all sorts of terrain. The main problem with animal spotting was that, it being summer, the bush was really thick and in full leaf, so we couldn’t see very far. It was not difficult to see the birds, though, although it was difficult to photograph them (too small and flew off too quickly). Many have fantastically coloured plumage - turquoise, bright yellow, red and fluorescent green. The bird book that Tom and Sarah had given us for Christmas came in really handy.
We had to think of something to do in the 4 hours between breakfast and lunch. So one day we asked if we could go for a walk with our ranger, Ginger. The weather was cloudy so it was not too hot for walking. We set off with Ginger pointing out all the local trees and shrubs and telling us
how the local people used them - some for making rope, some for cleaning teeth, and some which were poisonous and must not be used on fires (the tamboti tree). Suddenly Ginger stopped and told us to be quiet. He had heard a buffalo over on our left. He told us to follow him and we quietly went down to the dry river bed and there were 2 buffalo. They could see us, but not smell us and they were clearly wondering what we were. After that encounter Ginger told us about the time he surprised a buffalo early one morning and that he had been gored by it. He said that buffalo are not like most animals which run away from humans. Instead they hide, and then when you are really close will charge at you. So it was a good job we had heard the buffalo before they heard us.
The other occupations at Umlani were to visit the tree house and see what animals came to the water hole, and to swim in the camp pool. All the food and booze were inclusive and were excellent, so after 4 days of very little exercise we were
Lions at night
These are the same lions that we visited later at a kill. ready for some serious walking. We returned to Jo’burg on 29 December. The journey back started OK and then the last 2 hours we spent in a huge thunderstorm. It was moving in the same direction as us!! It was so bad that many people were sheltering (in their cars) under the bridges.
The next day we set off for Giant’s Castle in the Drakensberg mountains……see next travel blog.
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