Category: Trip reports

Trip report…Day 1 in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

A curious jackel

We’d taken our time getting to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, stopping over in Cape Town, Sutherland (to visit SALT) and Upington and we’d had lots of adventures along the way …  running out of petrol, making a 4 hour detour in the night courtesy of our sat nav and narrowly avoiding a head on collision with a speeding car. By the time we reached the entrance gate of Twee Rivieren our excitement and suspense had reached ridiculous levels and we could not wait to get in and explore the park.

Our excitement was short lived when we realised just how little time we had to make the journey to Nossob. We set off in haste, forgetting to deflate our tyres and proudly apply our yellow ribbon… but a quick detour back to Twee  Rivieren remedied this. Through the maze of roadworks and incredibly corrugated roads we saw so many animals which we did not have time to stop and appreciate (bat eared foxes, a cape fox, curious jackals, secretary birds,  eagles galore and wildebeest). As we pressed on, the road conditions got worse and worse. The 4×2 rattled and shook until I was convinced  it’d fall to pieces. We had to slow to unimaginable speeds to control the vehicle and avoid it tipping, already aware that we had very limited time to make it to camp. The vibrations from the road were so intense that Ali took his wedding ring off to prevent blistering. My bones rattled and shook and I got bruises galore. It’s fair to say that we became more than a little disheartened – this trip was a dream trip to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and it was not a promising start.

However, as we neared Nossob the roads improved slightly and we were able to stop and take stock of where we were and which roads we have left to travel. We spent a few minutes aside a very friendly black backed jackal who ran alongside the vehicle and regarded us with such curiosity. We felt our spirits lift – these are the encounters we’d travelled so far and so long to experience.

Ground Squirrel We arrived at camp exhausted but delighted to be there, and immediately grabbed a cold beer, checked out the sighting boards, amused ourselves watching the cheeky ground squirrels, scoured the trees for scops owls and set about lighting the braai. It was magical night – two jackals prowled around our braai – we couldn’t take our eyes off them for a minute otherwise they’d steal our steaks.

After dinner we grabbed an Amarula each and walked across the campsite to a clearing where we could stargaze. What I saw moved me to tears – the night sky was lit with thousands of diamond bright stars, it was simply breath-taking. We spent many an happy hour that night putting to practice identifying the constellations (as taught to us by astronomers in SALT) and spotting shooting stars. This was the Africa I fell in love with 10 years ago on honeymoon and I was thrilled to be back.

More photos from our trip are available in the Taraji Blue Kalahari photo gallery.

Ten Years Flies When You’re Having Fun!

Newly weds Marie and Ali Knock on honeymoon in a hot air balloon

We have recently celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary with a trip back to South Africa – the location of our honeymoon back in 2002.  I thought I’d take a trip down memory lane today and relive my first experience of South Africa – and reflect upon it ten years later as an older (and wiser?!) safari -goer.

Lets start with an embarrassing photo of Ali and me on honeymoon, looking like the babies we were back then. This is us on a morning balloon ride over Hazyview in Mpumalanga. It was my first time in a hot air balloon and I was a wicked combination of  a nervous wreck and ridiculously excited. Unbeknown to me, the balloon flight was subject to aircraft type controls and before I boarded I was given a boarding pass and informed of the emergency exits (!!!) The dawn flight gave us an incredible birds-eye view of Mpumalanga as we soared over rivers, valleys and hills. The landing was less serene and a lot more bumpy – we attempted to land on the back of a truck (!) .. but the champagne on arrival eased my jitters somewhat 🙂

What a fantastic welcome to Africa!

The next few days we did a combination of morning and afternoon game drives in Kruger. It was my first time on safari and I was beside myself with excitement. Before we’d even stepped foot in Kruger we’d had a hippo visit our balcony in the dead of the night and I’d been endlessly amused by the signs around our lodge freeing the management from any liability of the on-site crocodiles and loss of body parts or any deaths that might occur.

Upon entering Kruger National Park at dawn the next day we were welcomed by a herd of giraffe on the horizon – it immediately reminded me of Jurassic Park. That day we were treated to sightings of cheetah, lion, elephants, monkeys and hyena. The latter became my absolute favourite…

 

Ed The Hyena And His Stick

..Late afternoon we stumbled across a hyena den, the mother was absent and the cubs were incredibly curious. One wee fellow (which I named Ed) amused himself for 30 minutes with a single stick – trying desperatly to enter the den with it in his mouth but blocking his own entrance time and time again. Thankfully my giggles did not deter or distract him from his efforts and my heart went out to the wee guy.

However, it wasn’t long after that ‘Ed’ realised he had an audience – a prospect much more interesting than his stick. He ambled over to us, the glorious golden light of late afternoon casting an angelic light around him. He jumped up to place his paws on the back of the vehicle for a closer look – we were almost nose to nose. I kept having to remind myself this was a vicious wild animal, not the cute and cuddly teddy-bear he was pretending to be.

Whilst on our very first safari together an endless source of amusement for us was the playful vervet monkeys which were everywhere. Any attempt to enjoy a picnic and keep your food to yourself was futile. Your attentions would be temporarily diverted as one monkey would distract you and meanwhile another thieving paw would be rooting in your bag for tasty treats. As safari newbies we lost many items of our lunch – bananas, yoghurt and juice – and were lucky to retain our cameras.

Our time in Kruger was the start of a new obsession for me – I’d discovered a new world, one full of incredible wildlife, heart stopping sunsets and the most generous and friendly people I had ever met. I knew we’d be coming back!