Africa: Karongwe Private Game Park/Animal Sightings

Chisomo Lodge

After our Bush walk, we jumped in the van and Guillaume drove us to our next destination, Karongwe Private Game Reserve. We had already packed up our luggage and water bottles, so it was a rather quick departure. It was only about a two-hour drive, so we arrived in time for lunch at the Chisomo Lodge, one of several lodges (Kuname, Shiduli, River Lodge and Chisomo) in the reserve.

Google Maps

We got comfortable in our stilted Tent Cabins, which were spread along a hill near the Makhutsui River ...

My tent cabin

... and were a bit more luxurious than Kruger ...

Clockwise: lobby, my room, dining room, grounds

We watched as Bushbucks, Warthogs and Nyalas wandered around the grounds. 

Female Bushbuck

Apparently, wild animals have very good access to the grounds and you are not supposed to walk at night without an escort.

Big Five, Clockwise: Leopard, Lion, Elephant, Rhino, African Buffalo

Located in Limpopo, South Africa, Karongwe Game Reserve is a 21,000-acre wildlife sanctuary located between four rivers (the Kuvjename, the Kuname, the Karongwe and the much larger Makhutsui).

Karongwe focuses on the Big Five and especially Leopard viewing. In fact, they say they are one of the best places to spot a Leopard (no pun intended). Much smaller than Kruger, the area is fenced so there is somewhat an air of captivity that is a bit hard to shake. We constantly asked ourselves how wild these animals really were. 

The game drives are not restricted to the roads, which are not paved, so that aspect is a bit wilder. Plus, the vehicles are open.

Kristen and Janet; Photo: Becca Stevens

But we got so close to animals that it just didn’t seem real at times.

Linda and some Elephants

Speaking of the roads, Caty noticed that some of the paths that passed through the dry river beds were EXACTLY like the safari ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park. I mean EXACTLY, well, except that we didn’t have rails and our driver was actually driving. But, the Disney designers must have visited Karongwe (hey, if I was designing an Africa ride, I’d have to spend a lot of time in the real place, too!).

Obvious and Matthews

In Karongwe we took four open-vehicle game drives: one the first afternoon, one the next morning, one that evening and one the day we left. Our driver was named Matthews and our spotter (who sat sans seatbelt in a seat attached to the front of the game vehicle) was named Obvious. 

We learned later in Zimbabwe that many people name their children for events, characteristics and hopes/wishes for the future. We never heard Obvious’ story, but it is a great name.

Game drive; Photo: Becca Stevens

To go on a game drive with us, click here.

We also had a presentation on Cheetahs from the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Carnivore Conservation Programme presented by a Wild Dog researcher. So, he threw in lots of Wild Dog information. It was interesting, but also pointed out that Wild Dogs are so endangered, the odds of seeing one anywhere is slim. And, Karongwe has none, but hopes to get some in the fure. So, of course, we didn’t see any. However, we also learned during the presentation that Cheetahs are attracted to Calvin Klein CK-1 Cologne. To wear it or not? Hmmmmm ….

Watering hole

During the day on our full day at Karongwe, we had options – spa services (meh!) or hang out at the watering hole, which was about a ten minute walk down a path that winds through the grounds of three of Karongwe’s lodge resorts. Guess which one I did? 

Yep, Becca and friends got massages (they had taken a brief trip to the watering hole right after we arrived). Linda, Caty and I went to the watering hole during our break.

So, once again, I am not going to go in chronological order. I am just going to talk about what we saw.

Janet, Caty and cameras; Photo: Becca Stevens

So, what did we see at Karongwe?

I'll cover all the birds and animals in this and the three posts.

Great Elephant sighting

Becca

We didn’t see a lot of African Elephants in Karongwe, but we did see a herd grazing in in tall grass along the river. Some guests said they hadn’t seen any.

Elephants have fared so well in South Africa that, in both Kruger and Karongwe, they have been given hormones to stop them from breeding and overcrowding. 

It became too difficult to manage in Kruger, so they stopped the practice, which is why we saw so many baby Elephants there. They still do it in Karongwe, so there are no calves.

Elephants

We also saw some  more South African Giraffes, but, as with Elephants, we had more and closer encounters in Kruger. To see video, click here.

Caty and Giraffe

But, we did get to see some standing tall out of the brush. These guys are amazing.

Grazing Giraffes

We also encountered more White Rhinos, this time three together. I never expected to see so many. As I mentioned before, the Rhinos in Karongwe have had their horns removed (because they are pure keratin, they can be filed) in order to protect them from poachers. At both parks, we saw only adults. I would have loved to see a baby Rhino.

Rhinos!

We did see another Common Duiker, they cute little antelope we had seen in the trees in Kruger. These little guys seem more shy than any of the other antelope we encountered, either hiding behind foliage or running away.

Cute little thing

As you would expect at a game reserve, there were Burchell’s Zebras, some alone ...

My best Zebra shot

... and some in small groups -- we even saw a baby with its mom. But, we never saw a big dazzle ...

Mom and baby

Likewise, we saw lots and lots of small herds of Impala. It had been drilled into so much that they were common, that we seldom stopped for them and even more seldom took good pictures. I hardly have any pictures of female Impala!

Impala departure

Waterbucks turned out to be elusive – or, at least, shy enough to make them hard to photograph. It took until we got to Karongwe to get a good shot at a Waterbuck doe. And, even then, she was in the bushes.

Hiding in the bush

Dassie on a rock

Once again, we saw Dassies, these running around on a pile of rocks at the bottom of an outcrop (well we saw them after a Mongoose ran quickly -- very quickly -- past the same area). We saw Mongooses twice and twice they were too fast to photograph.

Dassies, which we saw on Table Mountain and Hermanus Beach as well, are related to Elephants. In fact, Dassies have pointed upper incisors that are reminiscent of their cousin’s tusks.

I didn't expect Squirrels in Africa

For a minute, I thought I had finally seen a stationary Mongoose, but it turned out to be a Smith's Bush Squirrel, also known as a Yellow-Footed Squirrel or a Tree Squirrel. I had seen a few others earlier and had wondered whether they were related to our Squirrels. 

I had even heard that they were not indigenous. But, when I looked it up, I found that Squirrels had been on the African Continent for 20 million years.

I was surprised at how few lizards we saw – in fact, over the whole trip we saw only five types and the most common was the Brown-Striped Skink. We saw them everywhere – especially running around the grounds at the Chisomo Lodge.

Skink on a tree

Another was a Rock Monitor, a cousin of the Water Monitor, which is the second-longest lizard found on the continent and the heaviest, weighing up to 37 lbs. and reaching up to 6 ft. 7 in. in length, with its tail and body being of equal size. This one might have been 3-4 ft. long.

A large lizard

We also saw another Water Monitor (we had seen one in Kruger). This one was in the pond at the resort, feeding on the Tilapia. It gave me a much better viewpoint. They really are pretty lizards.

Right at the entrance

And, the Tilapia were kind of pretty, too.

Fish in the pond

When our Karongwe game drives were in the early morning, we stopped for a sunrise toast with orange juice and pastries. At night, we stopped to watch the sunset and enjoy drinks. 

Very civilized

Obvious (with cooler), Alexis, Kandice, Janet, Caty, Kristen, Becca, Linda

After dark, we had a few fun sightings. Most exciting – we saw Bushbabies both nights. Tricky to photograph – this was taken by flashlight – but such a thrill to see.

Bushbaby!; Photo: Caty Stevens

Technically a Galago, the Bushbaby is a small insect-eating nocturnal primate that lives in trees and is famous for its huge eyes (“the better to see you with”) and their ability to jump. The highest reliably reported jump for a Bushbaby is about 8 ft. In mid-flight, they tuck their arms and legs close to the body and bring them out at the last second to grab the branch. In a series of leaps, a Bushbaby can cover ten yards in seconds. The ones we saw were very active, jumping from branch to branch.

Of course, that wasn’t everything we saw in Karongwe. Look for my next post to learn about more about Karongwe animals.

A great place to stay

Trip date: August 25-September 9, 2017