Lions

One of two cubs— our first big lion sighting 

Two of the nine cubs we saw later

Well, as you know, I’ve been a little obsessed with  elephants. However, thanks to our amazing ranger here at Jock Safari Lodge, I am happy to report that I have a new obsession with lions. 

Over the last few days we’ve seen lions mating in the streets (see the scandalous video of ongoing fornication posted earlier), a male and three females lounging around in the grass with two curious cubs, and three very clever females keeping tabs on nine cubs—including one who started up a tree and clearly was *not* supposed to do that. Unbelievable to see them. If only they’d like a good belly rub.  But look at those paws and the heads of those males. they’re f*** huge!

Here are some pics with many more to come!

The first two cubs—one of them practiced stalking us 

The big guy sleeps while the cubs play

One of the females watching over the two cubs

Keeping track of nine!

Wait for me!

Making sure all babies are accounted for  

On the road — two females and the dominant male

Our 100+ Elephant Day

We stayed at the Lataba camp earlier this week. Wow, the elephants! We had sightings all day— a herd of at least thirty elephants drinking, splashing, and playing in the river, with a second herd on the hill across the way.  We passed elephant after elephant munching trees along the roadside. 

Our camp, though, turned out to be the best elephant spot ever. Both late afternoon and after dark, elephants came by the fence to eat, sometimes within a few meters of us. They were huge and that fence, though electrified, looked pretty insubstantial next to them. As I was taking pics, I stepped a little too close to one big guy who gave a very loud trumpet and an impressive ear flap to let me know I needed to step back. I nearly knocked over both our chairs backing up.

A Lion’s Tail

 YouTube

Kruger Elephants

More elephant videos and pics from our drives near Tsendze and Maroela camps in Kruger -- 

YouTube: https://youtu.be/t4Li40v2w5c

Maroela Camp - Kruger

(Maroela Camp - Check in at Orpen)

Our awning is staked—time to sit out and enjoy the view and the wildlife

After Tsendze, we headed south again and spent three nights at the Maroela rest camp, near Orpen. We got a really nice site on the camp’s periphery, overlooking a dry riverbed. We set up our chairs next to the fence and enjoyed the view, along with our gin and tonics. We saw a huge monitor lizard, about 5ft or so, and some small deer (I’m not sure what kind, but smaller than impala). We spent most nights at the fence in the company of a hyena named Bob—we named him for the bob he had as he walked and loped around the outside the camp. He made circuit after circuit around the fence each night and would sometimes pause to look at us. We tried to get a good picture of him, but it was dark and Bob was camera shy. 

Bob checking us out

Camera shy Bob hurries by

There had been a fire in the area a few nights before we arrived. During our first night, across the riverbed, up the hill, we could still see some small fires burning. When we drove to and from camp, we could see the trees around the area charred black and the soil scorched. It was  remarkable to me that the fire appeared to stop right at the roadside. One side was burnt and the other side left untouched. 

We had a couple of tremendous thunderstorms the first two evenings. Both days had been hot and humid and you could feel the storms building by late afternoon. We sat under our awning with our drinks and enjoyed the show (Bob came by later). The second evening’s storm went on throughout the night with a few almost vehicle-shaking claps of thunder and lightning. 

We got some great sightings on our morning and afternoon drives. One day we saw an impala just after she gave birth; she was cleaning off her baby and trying to get it to stand. After about 20 minutes it got up on stilt legs and fell over (and over), but it soon was up and walking awkwardly, then jumping and getting a feel for those springy legs. We also saw a warthog feeding her little guys.

Within a kilometer of our camp, we saw a white lion one morning, and later that afternoon we saw another lion (assuming it was another) even closer to the camp, resting under a tree, licking its paws and panting to cool off. We found out later that the lions had killed a buffalo not far away. Needless to say, we hardly saw Bob that night. He was no doubt feasting on the remains. We also heard the elephants that evening. Our neighbors said they were trumpeting a warning about the kill. 

And some more pictures from our drives near Maroela:

Tsendze Rustic Camp - Kruger

After our first two nights in Punda Maria we headed south to Tsendze, a small, more remote camp near Mopani. No electricity, but we were able to run off batteries and solar. The camp was simple and very quiet—just the basics (plus outdoor showers! 😊).

We spent four nights at Tsendze and had our first 106+ degree day. Discoveries: the rooftop tent gets really HOT; small flies are incredibly irritating when you’re sweating; laundry dries in no time.

We didn’t have any monkeys at the campsite, but there were several naughty squirrels (one got into the back of the rig the first day). There were also several persistent birds, including a couple of thieving hornbills (but I loved them!) and an odd little guy, a crested barbet, who liked to look at himself and peck at his reflection. 

Our game drives were a mix of animals and lots of dry landscape and small bare trees—Kruger is still waiting for the rain. I’ll put up video when we have WiFi again.

In our four days, we saw two cheetahs in the bush, a hyena walking down the road, lots of elephants and buffaloes, some giraffes and, from a distance, a couple of crocodiles and hippos. The elephants at the watering tank were amazing. They just kept coming from all directions. The big tank was as tall as they were, so they had to reach up and over with their trunks. I got some video of the little baby elephant running to his baby watering hole. Too, cute! 

More pics: 

From Pretoria to the Punda Maria Gate

After a long drive from Pretoria, our entry point for the Kruger National Park was the Punda Maria Gate in the north. Of all the wonderful surprises—this guy was there to greet us! One of the rangers pointed him out as we were heading to our vehicle from reception. I walked back to see him and got these pictures.

The northern end of the park tends to have fewer animals than the southern end, at least if you’re looking for a wide variety of game viewing, but it is a beautiful landscape—kind of scrubby and dry with small, bare trees, dry river beds and patches here and there of greener vegetation with some bigger trees just sprouting their leaves— and there are a ton of elephants and buffalo, as well as the ubiquitous zebras, wildebeests, antelopes, kudus, etc. The elephants alone suited me, even if I’m still scared when I see them! 

Rule: always watch trees and bushes at the side of the road for emerging elephants, or the sudden appearance of some big guys with huge tusks munching away on leaves and branches. Elephants are not very happy if you inadvertently get too close—and they are always right, and you are always wrong. Several times we did some backing up.

We spent two nights at the Punda Maria camp. There is a fantastic hide there overlooking a watering hole just beyond the perimeter fence. With the watering hole and hide easily accessible, we were able to enjoy a drink and some great game viewing, all without the set up, take down, and set up again that we do when we drive.

Here are some pics from the Punda Maria camp watering hole—we had a treat when an entire herd of elephants came by!