We Finish Our Safari at Lion Sands and Continue at Sabi Sabi Game Reserve

On our game drive the next morning we headed back to the spot where the lioness tracks were found the day before—us and about 4 other Lion Sands vehicles.

Mr. Croc waiitng on lunch

Mark had convinced some of the other drivers and trackers as to the good likelihood that lions could be spotted. As we crossed the bridge over the river, we spotted a small crocodile swimming in the water.

A steenbok

A little further along, we stopped to watch a steenbok grazing next to the road. By the time we got to the area, the pride had been tracked and spotted.

Lion tracks on the road

It consisted of 5 lionesses sans any cubs which were probably hidden along with last night’s kill. Mark positioned the vehicle into a viewing position and the cameras came alive. The animals were absolutely beautiful.

She looks tired

We were really amazed at how calm and relaxed the animals were given all of the commotion so closely surrounding them.

She IS tired

As the vehicles that arrived earlier would leave, Mark repositioned us so we could get good close-ups of the lionesses. The cats seemed to just want to rest and sleep, perhaps due to a busy night of hunting.

My tail itches!

A couple of them were busy cleaning themselves and biting areas that itched from tick or insect bites. Because they didn’t seem to want to do anything but rest and sleep, it wasn’t long before the cameras stopped clicking.

Is there something out there?

But it was still great to just stare at them. After our time was up we left for another vehicle to take our place.

We rode back along the river looking for animals that might be taking an early morning drink when Emanuel signaled a stop.

Verreaux's Eagle Owl

He pointed up in a tree where a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl was perched on a limb. This is the largest owl in all of Africa and is a very handsome bird. Moving on and re-crossing the river, we found our crocodile sunning itself on one of the islands (Capt. Larry would later have some crocodile for lunch).

Getting nice and warm

We stopped and watched another memory of elephants for a while and found another juvenile resting on the ground. As the mother moved on, we watched this little one orchestrate a series of moves that got him back on his feet.

More elephants

Rounding a bend in the road a warthog and 6 piglets were spotted, but as soon as we stopped for pictures, mama and her babies scurried into the brush and all we could capture was the amusing way the piglets scamper through the brush. Returning to the lodge, we breakfasted and then prepared to check out.

As much as we wanted to continue our stay at Lion Sands, the itinerary called for a change in venue.

Termite mound on way to Sabi Sabi

Today we would be packing up and moving to the Sabi Sabi Game Reserve, a private concession adjacent to the park and a similar operation to Lion Sands. However, the Sabi Sabi reserve was once a huge farming and ranching operation which today presents more open meadows/grasslands type of terrain which is more appealing to certain animals.

African Cape buffalo

Mark drove us to the reserve; a 45-minute drive on back roads through both reserves. Along the way we spotted several huge termite mounds that prompted some questions.

Sabi Sabi dining area

We were told that termites are one of the oldest species and that they perform a very important role in the decomposition of dead trees. These mounds generally only signify about 40% of the colony’s development with most of the structure remaining underground. The termites will vent the mound of heat that is generated by the metabolic activity of the millions of residents by punching holes in the side to let heat escape. In this way a constant 52° is maintained below ground.

Arriving at Sabi Sabi, we were greeted with mimosas as we registered and the manager gave us an overview of the operation.

Lounge area

We scouted out the common areas—pools, bar, conference room, lounge, and spotted a herd of African Cape buffalo in a large pond behind the lodge. This was another of the “Big 5” that we could scratch off our list.

Our bed

When we got to our room, we were pleasantly surprised by our luxurious surroundings and amenities, and we had a much shorter walk to the main lodge. Again, we had a free mini-bar and snacks and a lot more storage space than Lion Sands, but overall both places were pretty comparable.

View of our room

After unpacking our luggage and learning how the light switches worked, we found that it was time to head out for our afternoon game drive. We dressed in the short time we had left and found our ranger, Kerry, and tracker, Doc, and were ready to roll.

Jane's bathtub

We had only traveled a short distance from the lodge when we spotted 3 white rhinoceroses grazing away (seems these fellows are constantly eating due to their poor digestive tracts).

White rhinos

We snapped some photos and moved on. Up in the trees he pointed out a Bateleur eagle sitting on a branch. The bird was very well camouflaged and some in our party had a really difficult time identifying it, after which it flew away.

Bateleur eagle

Further along we happened upon a small herd of Cape buffalo next to and in the road. Kerry said that this was a group of old bulls (because of their thinning hair) and that they were probably replaced in their former group by a younger bull challenger.

Be cool big buddy!

Considering how aggressive these animals can be, Kerry seemed to drive awfully close to them (with Capt. Larry on charging side!) as we moved on to find other animals.
Kerry must have received a report of a lion sighting, but she sure didn’t let on.

Lioness with cubs and kill

We calmly drove to on the road when Doc signaled us to go off road. Spotting another parked vehicle we circled around and our jaws dropped at the incredible sight were looking at—a pride of 4 lionesses and 4 cubs eating a cape buffalo they had killed.

Roll over, dammit!

They had torn the buffalo’s abdomen open and the cubs were lined up with their heads inside the cavity hungrily devouring its innards. Likely worn out from the kill, the adult cats seemed content to just lie there and rest.

Lioness approaching other members

Kerry said that the buffalo would probably be finished by the following morning and the remains left would be consumed by hyenas and vultures. As she said this we noticed a vulture in a treetop waiting his turn.

Feasting away

As we were watching a fifth lioness approached the group looking for a meal. The other lionesses suddenly became very alert, but Kerry said that the newcomer was likely another member of the pride or the lionesses would have moved to stop her if she wasn’t one of them.

Buffalo is soooooo good!

She said that lions are pretty good about sharing food within the pride. We did notice the buffalo must have put up a fight as a couple of the lionesses displayed bloody wounds. After watching this for about 45 minutes we left the scene so some other stragglers could get their vehicles positioned.

Cloudy sunset tonight

The sun was getting low in the sky so we headed to an open spot that would be suitable for viewing sunsets, chased some zebras away, and had safari happy hour. It’s all good.

Our Safari Continues at the Lion Sands Game Reserve

Day two of our safari adventure and we are up at 0500 for our three-hour morning game drive (sounds real relaxing, doesn’t it?). We get ready and head to the main lodge for some needed coffee, then board our vehicle for game viewing with Mark and Emanuel.

On the prowl

We were about 20 minutes into the usual impalas, elephants, and giraffes when Mark gets a call over the radio. Another group has spotted a leopard, one of the “Big Five”(the 5 most difficult to find: lion, leopard, water buffalo, rhinosceros, and elephant). Mark almost popped a wheelie reversing course and accelerating toward the reported location (and we thought yesterday’s dog chase was wild! He slowed down as we went off road but did not hesitate to try and put the vehicle in a good viewing position.

Who are these people?

The cat, a healthy, beautiful middle-aged specimen, was moving so fast that the positioning of the vehicles was constantly changing. Emanuel was in the front tracker seat flagging a passable course. Mark stopped the vehicle just as the leopard was coming along our side, and after she passed, he angled us to a new position where she crossed in plain view to our front. Amazingly, she just pawed along as if she was oblivious to all of the commotion around her.

Describing a rhinoceros midden

Our total encounter time with her was probably not more than 30 seconds total, but everyone got good shots due to Mark and Emanuel’s skills. We pulled out of our position so other vehicles would have a chance. There were high-fives all around.

The next morning we did our pre-game drive routine and headed out with Mark, Emanuel, and our game-drive mates.

A dung beetle and his poop ball (left)

We rode for about one-half hour, spotting a number of animals we had already seen. Mark stopped the vehicle next to a hollowed out spot in the ground with animal spoor scattered around it and asked us if we knew what this was. It turns out to be a rhinoceros midden. The dominant bull male digs a depression in the ground and defecates into the depression before covering it up with his feet.

Our white rhinoceros

The females that are following him defecate all around his midden and in this way the male marks his territory for other males. Then Mark pointed out a dung beetle that was rolling a ball of dung away from a pile. He said that the beetle will locate the ball to another area, deposit an egg in the ball and the larva will feed on the ball when it hatches. It was really interesting to watch. Well, so much for the poop lesson of the day.

We drove a little further when Emanuel signaled for us to go off-road.

Gettin' a little close aren't you?

We had no sooner made the turn when we spotted the spot of the day—a huge bull white rhinoceros. He was grazing away as Mark positioned the vehicle. He was a magnificent animal and somewhat scary as he was only about 12-15 yards from us. Being the first to find this specimen, Mark radioed the other guides who would soon be approaching. We snapped several pictures. At one point the animal came closer to us and started grunting as if he was agitated with us.

The Sabi River weir

Mark started talking to him and backed away just as other groups were convening on our location.

Back on the road we drove down to the Sabi River and to a weir that was installed to measure water flow. We observed a pied kingfisher hovering and diving on the river below.

A pied kingfisher (center)

This kingfisher is the largest hovering bird, and we enjoyed watching it do its dance. On one of islands we spotted a saddle-billed stork, a very beautiful bird with a saddle-shaped dip in it bill. We drove on until we happened upon a memory of elephants heading for the river to cool off.

Saddle-billed stork

It was mostly a female group, but as we rounded a curve, we ran into a huge alpha male standing in the middle. He was the biggest elephant we had ever seen, and mean looking.

The big alpha male

We watched this elephant for 20-25 minutes, and then decided that it was time to move on as other cars were arriving. We left this spot and were examining the rest of this memory, when we came upon a relatively rare event—a juvenile elephant lying down on the ground with its mother standing guard.

A memory ready for a swim

Junior lays down next to mama

We drove back to the main lodge just in time to catch a number elephants attempting to head for the river to drink and cool off in the hot afternoon heat. We got to our room and were able to count 30 elephants entering, rolling and spraying in the water.

The evening drive was rather uneventful with the exception of the spotting of a herd of male kudus on way the the dried up Sand River. At the riverbed, Mark and Emanuel spoke to some of their co-workers who had been looking for signs of a lion. Mark and Emanuel decided to explore one section that the others had not examined.

A herd of male kudus

They came back to the vehicle, got the rifle, and told us that they would be back in 15 minutes at the most. They also told us how to alert the others if they didn't come back or if we heard a rifle shot. Off they went. Fifteen minutes by and no Mark or Emanuel; 20 minutes; 25 minutes and still no one. Just as we were discussing sending an alert, they came bounding in. Excitedly they told us that they had found fresh tracks of a lioness.

Another beautiful African sunset

She has cubs which she likely hid nearby, and went hunting for her cubs. She was joined by another lioness and would likely return to the cubs sometime that night. Chances were good that we might spot them in the morning. The day was almost done so we left the area and found a spot for our sunset happy hour. As dark rolled in we headed back to the lodge. It was a good day.

We Start Our Safari at Kruger National Park

We were up early to finish packing our suitcases and have breakfast before heading for the airport to begin the safari portion of our tour.

Our plane

We had a short bus ride to the airport, and a fast group check-in. we were at the gate almost 2 hours before our flight. The skies were overcast and rain was predicted for Cape Town which might help alleviate a very severe drought they were suffering. Our flight would be to the small village of Skukuza located inside the Kruger National Park.

At Skukuza airport

Our accommodations would be at the Lion Sands Game Reserve, a privately owned reserve inside the park. A regional airline would take us to the Skukuza airport.

After landing, the Lion Sands staff quickly collected our bags, and we were whisked off for a 15 minute ride to the lodge.

Collecting our bags

Those 15 minutes stretched into 45, because no sooner had we left the airport than we begin spotting wildlife. A tower of giraffes was spotted grazing tree branches right next to the road.

A tower of giraffes

The cameras were blazing away as we thought this was indeed a unique moment. Turns out that these gentle giants are very common and we would hardly take another picture of them for the remainder of our stay.

A lone elephant

We drove on so the cameras could cool down and 3-4 minutes later a dazzle of zebras was spotted. This is a rarer sighting, but capturing images of these creatures proved a little more difficult as they were more concealed than the giraffes, and they were moving constantly. Their striping in the thicket brush always seemed to conceal as better portion of their bodies making it difficult to get a good shot.

A dazzle of zebras

Driving a little further we spotted a herd of impalas, another animal commonly sighted in the park. More pictures of these which would also be about our last.

A herd of impalas

We drove on, crossing the Sabi River, which has not dried up for over 60 years and is the lifeblood of this ecosystem, and onto our lodge.

A bushbok

Arriving at the lodge we were stunned to find how luxurious the accommodations were in the middle of this rugged environment. Situated adjacent to the Sabi River, the lodge is luxuriously rustic in amenities and is designed for constant animal viewing with expansive, river-facing decks and an elevated walkway to the guest units.

Our bed

We were escorted to an al fresco lunch on the deck where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch and bushbok and elephant viewing along the river. It was at lunch that we started to establish new friendships as we chatted with our fellow lunch mates.

We were assigned to unit 8 which turned out to be about as far from the main lodge as one can get (we need the exercise!). We entered our unit and our mouths went agape.

Our sitting room

The place was unbelievably furnished: king bed with mosquito netting; two showers (plus another outside) and huge soaking tub (Jane was all smiles); free mini-bar with a liberal stocking of beers, wines, liquors, and mixers (even a fresh lemon!); coffee and tea service and snacks; a private deck and spa overlooking the river; and free Wi-Fi in the middle of nowhere!

Jane's tub

We found all of the furnishings and décor to be elegantly casual and culturally adapted to the locale. But we only had a short time to soak this up as we had to get ready for our first game drive.

Our deck and spa

Reporting back to the main lodge dressed in our safari gear (Jane is so cute!); we found that we would be riding with Dave and Linda from Canada, and Paul and Sharon of New York. Our driver was Mark and our tracker Emanuel, both from South Africa. Two three-hour game drives occur at 0600 and 1600 each day.

The main lodge deck

Each Land Rover Defender can carry 6 guests in a theater seating configuration for best viewing. The drives are conducted on dirt roads maintained in the reserve, with off-road pursuit when an animal is spotted.

Maybe don't need quite that many!

Every drive has a .458 caliber “if all else fails” rifle that he or she must qualify in each year. Drivers and trackers all must pass courses and tests to be certified in their trade.

After introductions were exchanged, Mark gave us a quick rundown of the “do’s” and “don’ts,” all practiced for our viewing enhancement and safety, and we headed out.

Now we're talkin'

Mark was headed for a place where signs of a pack of African wild dogs had been spotted earlier that morning. We got to the spot and did find the dogs, but they were lying around the base of a tree surrounded by thick underbrush.

Lookin' for dem' dawgs

After Emanuel had chopped some of the brush away, we did see them, but they blended into the shadows and none of us could get a good picture. We left after 20 minutes and set out to find something else. Mark told us that the dogs are a rare spot, because of their wide ranging habits, and said that he had probably only seen them perhaps 15 times before.

A memory of elephants

We moved on riding a circuitous route along which we saw our first memory of female elephants, some giraffes, and birds that Mark and Emanuel pointed out. Suddenly, Mark got a report on the radio that the wild dogs were on the move. Off we went tearing along to the reported location. Arriving near the location, Mark veers off the road and crashes a trail through the thick brush.

Running African wild dogs

We spotted the dogs running along the river, but they were moving so fast it was hard to keep up with them (they have the advantage in the brush). Another vehicle reported that they left the river and were heading our way. Mark stopped the vehicle and waited. Sure enough, the dogs passed by us on a fast trot.

Ready to start serving

With the cameras in burst mode we shot many pictures, but their speed, the brush, and the autofocus focusing on brush around the dogs only yielded a few fairly good images. But the chase was worth everything! With the sun low in the sky, Mark returned to the road and drove us to his favorite spot for viewing sunsets.

Sunset over Kruger NP

He and Emanuel quickly broke out some liquor and set up a bar on the Rover’s bumper. Emanuel produced some snacks and it was a sunset happy hour. We drank to the sun and the day’s viewing as we watched the sun set. We returned to the lodge and were ushered to dinner replete with dust, sweat, and mosquito repellent, and enjoyed a delicious 3-course dinner on the lodge’s deck. Everyone exchanged stories about the day’s events, and after dessert, we headed to our unit, cleaned up and turned for a fitful rest.