Africa: Kruger National Park Bush Walk and Some Parting Thoughts

A walk in the bush

On our last morning at Kruger National Park (wow, that went fast), we went on a Bush walk. And, of course, it was the first day we experienced heat. Not when we had shade and no need to exert ourselves. Just when we needed to walk out in the sun.

As we waited by the watering hole to meet out guide, we photographed birds, but I already showcased those in my first Kruger National Park post.

We had two guides, Jason (who had also been our game vehicle driver the day before) and Craig ...

Jason and Craig

... both carried rifles, wore safari shorts and looked and talked exactly like you would expect a Bush guide to look.

Single file and silent

Before we departed, they laid out the safety rules. We were to walk single-file and not, under any circumstances, step out of the line unless we were stopped for discussion. If we needed a guide’s attention, we were not to speak out; rather we were to whisper “psssst."

They explained that human voices can spook an animal, but the “psssst” sounds like something you might hear in nature.

They explained that we would probably walk several miles, but our course might alter depending upon what we come across.

Kristen, Kandice, Alexis, Becca, Linda, Caty

Shortly after we left the Nkambeni compound, passing through the gate in the electric fence, we stopped for our first lecture – about Elephant poop. And, may I say, it was eye-opening at first to realize that an Elephant had recently pooped just steps from the compound. We hadn’t seen any.

Anyway, Jason explained that every mound of animal poop is an ecosystem that feeds many other species – and that the poop of the pure grazing animals is actually quite clean. He said this as he was crumbling a piece in his hand. 

He said that, in order to protect these ecosystems and not disturb food sources for bugs, birds, reptiles and small mammals, you should never run over, step on or otherwise disturb poop. I never thought about this before, but I assume it would apply to elk and moose poop as well.

As he spoke about the Elephant dung, he explained that one reason it is such a rich source for other animals is that, with Elephants’ exceptionally poor digestive systems, much of what they eat comes out pretty much intact.

We moved on, walking on the other side of the watering hole, where we could look back at the lodge and into the pool ... 

Watering hole

 ... where the Hippos were resting ...

Hippos

It was Jason who told us that the male Hippos had had a bit of a tussle the night before and one male was ejected.

Then something remarkable happened. We saw a small group of African Elephants!

Elephants!

We watched them for a while and then quietly moved away, climbing up a hill, walking through some pretty prickly plants (I don’t think I would want to wear shorts – I guess Jason and Craig have built up immunity to scratches).

I was struck by a thought that I have taken dozens – probably hundreds – of hikes in bear territory and never encountered a bear while on a trail (scat, yes; bear, no). And, here I was on my only ever African hike, and I saw Elephants. For real.

Happy to see Elephants

While we were on the hill, we saw the Elephants again; this time, closer than before. Then, one started to walk toward us. We stayed very still and watched while it raised its trunk to sniff us ...

Happy to see us

... and then turned around and wandered away ...

But, bored of us

That was spectacular.

A special tree

We spent a fair amount of time learning about the Marula tree, which was one of the few green trees in the otherwise winter brown environment. 

Indigenous to southern and western Africa and Madagascar, the Marula tree is known for its sweet fruit that l local lore says becomes "elephant alcohol'"once it falls to the ground and ferments. 

Although the drunk elephant idea has been debunked, the fruit is used to produce Amarula, a sweet cream liqueur (we tasted some at Karongwe). It belongs to the same family as the mango, cashew, pistachio and sumac.

Traditionally the Marula is used for everything from malaria cures to insecticide to food. And, in the summer the trees attract mopane worms, an important source of protein for millions of people in southern Africa.

Jason explains how important the tree is 

With a grey mottled trunk, tree can grow to almost 100 ft. tall. Giraffes, Rhinoceroses and Elephants all browse on the Marula tree, with Elephants eating so much of the bark, branches and fruit that they often kill the trees, resulting in an overall decline in the number of Marula trees in the park. The fruit, which ripens between December and March, has about eight times the amount of vitamin C as an orange.

Listening

While talking about the Marula, Craig noticed some antelope poop on the ground and told us that indigenous peoples often used the small spheres (this poop was from a relatively small antelope and looked a lot like deer poop) for games because they did not own marbles or any kind of game piece. 

Then, he popped it into his mouth and demonstrated how it could be used for a game where the competitors see who can spit the balls the farthest. Perhaps they’ve been in the Bush too long …

Just before we headed back, Craig noticed a medium-sized bird crouched in the high grass. It was a Square-Tailed Nightjar, a cousin of the Lesser Nighthawks we have here in Colorado. It sat perfectly still long enough for me to get some pictures and, then, it was gone much faster than I could catch it in flight.

Square-tailed Nightjar

By now, we were pretty toasty (well, actually, hot and damp) and it was time to head back. Although we didn’t encounter any more animals, we did pass some Hyena poop (which Craig said was highly toxic because of all the nasty things Hyenas eat) and some Giraffe footprints very near the camp. The Giraffe prints were definitely made after we had passed on our way out. I wish we had seen the Giraffes. It was pretty surprising how many animals cruised past our camp.

Before I move on to our next stop, let me cover a few more things about Kruger National Park that I skipped over when I organized my post around animal species.

We saw very few insects – virtually none. But, an African Monarch Butterfly (also called a “False Monarch”) flew into our vehicle and landed on my arm and then on Caty’s leg. 

False Monarch

And, we saw some ants ...

Crawling up the Marula Tree

Let’s talk about scenery. As I said, it was winter, so most of the vegetation was brown ...

Dry and brown

... except in areas by rivers and ponds ...

Creek

Most of the areas we drove through were scrubby, with lots of small trees and bushes. There were occasional large vistas with scrubby plains, but nothing like the photos you see of the Serengeti.

A wide view

 A Pride Rock-type outcrop

Kruger National Park has very nice facilities, both the private Camps like the Nkambeni where we stayed and rest-stop type facilities with restaurants, including the Skukuzu where we had lunch.

As I mentioned before, the restaurant had a huge deck overlooking the river and right across the river was a herd of African Elephants with a herd of Impalas on the hill behind them ...

Lunch-time entertainment

... and a small bloat of Hippos ...

A great show

It was hard to concentrate on ordering and eating with such a view, but we had to keep moving because Kruger requires that game drives be off the park roads by 7:00 p.m. 

Greater Blue-eared Starlings were everywhere – I know they are a pain for the restaurant, but they are beautiful.

A gorgeous (and friendly/annoying) bird

Oh, and the food was delicious. I had a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. I should have taken a picture because it was as pretty as it was tasty.

We stopped at another area, Lower Sabie, for a quick break. It had lots of facilities, but I spent my time photographing the pretty pink flowers …

Winter doesn't mean no color

… and more birds …

Black-headed Oriole

The Nkambeni was comfortable. 

A lovely room

It has a several outdoor decks and a pool, although it was still a bit too cold for the pool to be useful. I can imagine it’s really hopping in the summer when the days are longer and the weather hotter. Although with the proximity of the watering hole, I bet the mosquitoes are bad.

A big fence protects the watering hole

The dining room, which has a definite safari style, was fairly good with buffet dinners and breakfasts. One night, we had an outdoor braai, with foods similar to what we had had in Johannesburg plus a local favorite called “pap tart” (or, some places “pap tert”). It’s a layered casserole of pap (as you will recall, that’s a cornmeal mush somewhat like grits or polenta) layered with cheese and vegetable. It was very yummy. It was a bit chilly for an outdoor meal, but the food was good.

The restaurant

One night there was some kind of private party with African singing and drums. Luckily, I wasn’t trying to sleep because it was loud and raucous. And, even more luckily, it didn’t go too late.

A great guide

And, a word about our tour guide, Guillaume Leitsman. He had a much tougher job than Dee because not only did he have to guide us, he was also our driver. The days were long and he hung in there, even after he came down with a terrible cold. Guillaume has vast knowledge of the history, animals and birds of South Africa, but still has the capacity to be thrilled at the sight of a baby Spotted Hyena, a herd of Elephants crossing the road around our game vehicle or at the potential that a distant Rhino was a Black Rhino (it wasn’t). 

He was a joy and a big help, more of which I will tell you about later.

Trip date: August 25-September 9, 2017