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Published: August 18th 2021
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Malelane
A cloudy sky and welcome to Kruger Park looking down at the Crocodile River. “The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for our destruction.” – Rachel Carson Every adventure has a start point and, in this case, ours was on a very cold and wintery morning from
Johannesburg. It was an opportune time to leave “the big smoke” for something brighter and more cheerful. The wind of the preceding days had very effectively re-arranged the dust on the many mine dumps which dot the landscape, and the cold air was thick with this brown dust providing a doomsday feel to the city and its surrounds. August and September are traditionally windy, dry months which add this smoggy blanket to the dry, winter-tinged countryside. It is not appealing but nature will do its thing when the summer rains arrive in October cleansing the air and giving all things natural a much-needed make over. Our destination was Malelane and the entrance there to the Kruger National Park. That was all that mattered but unfortunately the routing took us via a town which I would rank as one of the bleakest I have ever witnessed on my travels.
Witbank is
Kruger National Park
The first of many elephants seen. Large breeding herds with lots of little guys to keep the species going for a long time. surrounded by coal mines which feed the voracious coal-fired power plants in the area. It is not a sight to behold! A blackish smog enveloped the town and countryside and smoke belched forth from huge power plant chimney stacks. A very unpleasant sight but as it receded in the background, thoughts moved forward to the end destination. Far more important!
One knows that Kruger is close by when standing on the bridge spanning the Crocodile River and taking in the bird and wild life foraging on the opposite banks. Sanparks is very well managed and the actual “admin” of gaining entry to the park is slick and efficient. Our first stop on this adventure was
Biyamiti Bush Camp, roughly 40kms from the entrance gate. It is an interesting drive as the road gently meanders along the Crocodile River on the southern side providing a very good view of Leopard Creek and its lodges beautifully positioned along the river bank. August is a very good month to visit Kruger as it heralds the driest period following the winter months which, as a rule, are mostly rainless. The summer of 2021 delivered huge rainfall in the park and there were reports
Biyamiti Bush Camp
That all important bush fire to add atmosphere to the sundowner moment. In this case "Happy wife, happy life!" of major flooding and bridges being washed away. There is not much greenery to be seen at this time of the year with the veld mostly covered in brown, dry grass and vegetation. Many of the trees and shrubs stand starkly naked, stripped of their leafy greenery as they wait for the onset of spring and the opportunity to burst back into their multiple colours. Nature always provides a surprising exception and at this time of year, it is the Knob thorn, which stands tall covered in creamy yellow flowers shaped like a human hand with extended fingers. At this time these flowers are a favourite food source for giraffe which then play a vital role in the pollination of this tree. Whilst feeding, the giraffe becomes dusted with vast quantities of pollen on its head and neck which is then deposited on the next tree it visits. Insects are scarce at this time of year, so the giraffe’s role is crucial in the Knob thorn pollination process.
Biyamiti is a small bush camp situated on the river of the same name amongst jackal berry and wild fig trees. There are only 13 cottages, all positioned a short distance back from the river bank. Our many roof top tenting trips in the past resulted in being fairly well organised and unpacking of our vehicle was done by the time the early evening set in. A true joy and tradition of being in a Kruger camp is the lighting of a fire, drawing up camp chairs and simply “soaking” it all up. Sundowners in hand, the gentle crackle of a fire in front and the silence of the bush. It does not get better! Here we were almost 1650 kms from home in a game reserve which probably has no equal on planet earth.
Kruger fact file: a good question would be; so, which are the best natural wildlife reserves in the world? Mr Google provides the following list and they are not in any order of very best to sort of the best:
Etosha National Park (Namibia), Kruger National Park, Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya), Okavango Delta (Botswana), Serengeti National Park (Tanzania), Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda). The common thread; they are all in Africa! I have been privileged to visit Yosemite (USA) and the Abel Tasman Park (New Zealand). Both very impressive, natural with magnificent scenery but there is a distinct absence of wild animals to be seen or heard in both of these iconic national parks.
This raises a further very important question;
so, what did we see on our short journey from the entrance gate at Malelane to the first night stop at Biyamiti? Giraffe, impala, kudu, zebra, elephant and a number of birds. More to follow on unusual bird and animal sightings as we work our way through the park.
For future reference and to assist anyone who reads this blog and, just maybe, plans a trip along similar lines, we will rate each camp we stay at, on the following criteria;
Camp location and views, Camp privacy, Accommodation quality and Overall camp uniqueness. Each factor scores five points. Biyamiti is a gem and scores close to 20/20. It is small, there is a private road to get there, the accommodation is excellent and the location of all the units along the river bank provides a unique bonus. The added “extra” feature was that on arrival or departure, there is no gate attendant. You open and shut the gate!
With all these pleasant thoughts swirling in the mind and factoring in that this was night one of twelve, sleep came easy, assisted by the monotonous, gentle call of the Scops Owl close by. In the early hours of the morning, hyena at the fence right behind us let rip, shattering the night stillness with their “Whoop, whoop” call and high-pitched cackling sounds.
Bliss!
“I like animals. I like natural history. The travel bit is not the important bit. The travel bit is what you have to do in order to go and look at animals.” – Sir David Attenborough
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Barrie Irons
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Jealous
Tim and Sue what a great start to your trip. I look forward to the next one. Only one problem, we are not travelling with you!