Gomo Gomo Days 2 & 3

Thursday - we were awake when HJ knocked on our door at 5:30 a.m.  We dressed in our chilly room and enjoyed coffee at the main lodge before leaving on the game drive.  The sun was just brightening the sky each day as we climbed in the Land Rover and as the sun rose the sky was flame colored.  We saw a variety of game this morning:  kudu, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, rhino and saw vultures circling the lion kill.  But the lions were still there and the carcass odor was becoming more noticeable.
 

We had more delicious meals before the afternoon game drive and welcomed Neil and Lisa Vigars, honeymooners from the UK, to our vehicle.   Our first stop was a visit to the lion kill where the lions were still working on the diminished carcass.  We encountered a herd of elephants, saw hyena, a civet, giant eagle owl, and the ever present impala.  That night we heard lions roar and hyena laugh—the hyena were getting impatient for their turn at the kill.

Friday – In the early morning, while we were having coffee before the game drive we noticed something across the water hole in the dim light.  HJ told us it was the mother of the white lion cub.  She had a drink and then walked along the dam past Avery and Carol’s chalet.  We got in our Land Rover and followed her through the bush.  The second land rover was also following so we went a different direction so we wouldn’t spook her.  We saw a jackal, hyena and a tawny eagle.  We parked at the dam and watched a herd of elephants come down the bank to drink.  It was quite a large herd and we watched them until they turned around and left.  The lions were still at the kill and had dragged the remaining carcass, which was quite fragrant, around the tree where the vultures still waited.  A couple of jackals were prancing back and forth in the distance.

The white lion cub (center and its sibling (left)

Ewan radioed HJ that they had followed the mother lion to the den and had seen the white lion cub.  We raced to the sandy river bed and we too saw the tiny white lion and the tawny sibling staggering around the well hidden den.  Joe was only able to two two unfocused photos.  White lions are very rare in the wild and only occur naturally in this area of the Timbavati and Klaserie Reserves.  They are not albino but have blue eyes.  Joe and Jan saw a lion in 2001 that carried the recessive white lion gene and had read on the Gomo Gomo website that the cub had been born about four weeks ago.  HJ discovered it but the mother had moved the cubs and they hadn’t been seen again until that morning.  (Since then there were regular updates and pictures of the cubs on the Gomo Gomo website http://www.gomogomo.co.za.)

The monkey and steenbok and impala seemed so ordinary after that.  We were all chattering about the amazing white cub sighting sight when we returned to camp.  Michelle had decided to sleep in that morning so she missed seeing it. 

Michelle and Kevin went on the bush walk that morning.  Avery would have liked to go along but the minimum age for the walk was 12.  She had no trouble entertaining herself in camp with a book or swim or just watching the wildlife come to the water hole.  She took many photos with her camera every day.

On the afternoon drive we stopped first at the den in hopes of seeing the white lion cub again.  The mother was sleeping in the sandy river bed but the cubs must have been in the den as we did not see them.  We commented how fortunate we were to have seen it that morning.  Jeffrey left his seat on the fender and walked into the bush to track leopard again and somehow he found it, so we had another sighting.

We had seen four of the “big five,” lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, but so far had not encountered buffalo.  HJ and Jeffrey were on a mission to complete the list.  We drove through the bush and spotted a hyena, but we only paused for a few clicks of the shutter because HJ said he had a better sighting for us to see.  He told us to hold on and sped through the bush.  We bounced on the seats and ducked and swayed to avoid thorny trees and bushes.  We watched as another vehicle navigated a deep narrow ravine and then we followed.  The reward was a big herd of Cape Buffalo (estimated 400 +) coming to a water hole.  They stirred up the dust as they rushed to drink, bellowing and pushing the leaders further and further into the water.  In the fading light the animals continued to come out of the bush and bats flew overhead.

It was near dusk when we parked for “moon-uppers,” rather than sundowners.  The sky glowed with shades of pinks and purples as we chatted around the table and enjoyed cold drinks and snacks.  We stopped once again at the lion kill on the return to camp.  The lions had moved on and jackals and hyena were sharing the remains of the giraffe.  Hyenas have very strong jaws and feast on the bones.

All too soon our final day at Gomo Gomo arrived.  Once again we left camp early Saturday for our last game drive.  We went to the white lion den but there was no sign of the mother or the cubs so HJ said she must have moved them.  But we saw rhino, a herd of about 20 kudu, monkeys, steenbok, impala, a squirrel and even a nocturnal bush baby in the daylight.  Jeffrey spotted a leopard in a distant tree, but it jumped down before we all saw it—a disappointment for Jan who has never seen a leopard in a tree.  We stopped for a long while to watch four hyena casually walking by.  HJ said they were leaving the giraffe kill, dinner over. 

After another hearty breakfast, we shared our Colorado Places photo book with our servers.  They were so curious about the snow and a red barn and asked, “Is that your house?”  Michelle passed out Colorado t-shirts to everyone who had served and cooked for us and Carol had gifts for them as well.  We finished packing and were once again transferred back to Hoedspruit by Barney Smith.  He took us to pick up our rental vehicle, an eight-seater Hyundai van.  The luggage snugly fitted into the cargo space but we each had a window.  Joe took the wheel and managed to drive on the left side of the road, although he switched on the windshield wipers when he meant to use the turn signals.  It took a while to adjust.  

Now we were looking forward to spending three days in the Kruger National Park.  The entire Gomo Gomo experience was fantastic.  Jan and I have been to southern Africa numerous times over the years but the game-viewing experience on this trip was about the best we have had. 

Back to Gomo Gomo - Day One

This is the first in a series of stories and recollections from our 25 day tour of South Africa starting in July 2012.

Since our visit to Gomo Gomo in March 2006 the lodge has changed locations from the Timbavati to the adjacent Klaserie Private Game Reserve.  The newly constructed lodge overlooks a good-size dam and the brick and thatched chalets spread out on either side of the main lodge giving visitors nice views of the game that visits constantly.

The main lodge at Gomo Gomo

We flew from Dulles International Airport in Washington DC on a South Africa Airways (SAA) flight to Johannesburg that took 17 hours, including a one-hour stop to refuel in Dakar, Senegal. Total distance, as the crow flies, is 13,200 kilometers (or 8,184 miles) Dakar is almost exactly halfway. This is a long time to be sitting on a plane but we had many movies and other video programs to keep us entertained. Our group of six checked in to the Holiday Inn Garden Court Hotel adjacent to the O.R. Tambo International Airport (formerly Jan Smuts) after a 5:30 p.m. arrival for a good night’s sleep. After a hearty breakfast we returned to the airport to board an SAA Express plane for the 45 minute flight to Hoedspruit’s Eastgate Airport. Eastgate is the arrival point for most of the Game Lodges in the Timbavati, Klaserie, area, adjoining the Kruger National Park.

Arriving in the “lowveld” is always a special feeling. You are surrounded by the African “bush” and the temperature is warmer at about 1,000 feet above sea level. The seasonally dry acacia and grassy vegetation has a smell and feel that is unique. Stepping off of the plane you find yourself in a different world. We were picked up by Barney Smith of Fun Time Tours (www.funtimetours.co.za) and set out on the 45 minute drive to the lodge. Barney regularly provides this shuttle service for Gomo Gomo and other lodges in the area. Although the road was paved for most of the way the speed limit was 50km/hr (30mph) and it is easy to see why as we began to see wildlife immediately, with impala, giraffe, wildebeest, warthog etc. along the roadside. Turning on to a dirt road we reached the lodge after another ten minutes.  As we pulled up, the staff directed us through the main building onto the expansive deck overlooking the dam.  There to greet us was a small herd of elephant drinking. What a way to start our four day visit to Gomo Gomo!

Elephants welcome us to the lodge

Arriving at about noon, we were greeted by Linda and Ewan, and shown to our respective chalets.  A delicious lunch soon followed (the meals were consistently excellent!) and we had a few hours to explore our surroundings before setting out on an afternoon game-drive at 4:30 p.m. We met H.J. (short for Hendrik Johannes Esterhuizen) who was to be our ranger for the week and Jeffrey, the most excellent tracker, who we had met six years ago. Both of these gentlemen are highly trained wildlife professionals and we would learn a lot from them. They were also experts in finding game for us to observe and photograph. In fact, we came away with the certainty that they are passionate about wildlife and dedicated to providing the best possible “bush experience” for their guests.

The main bedroom in our chalet.

Our chalet was a brick and thatch structure overlooking the dam with really first class facilities.  Full length sliding glass doors opened onto a spacious verandah. There were two bedrooms, one with a queen size bed and the other with twin beds.

The open Land Rover seats up to ten passengers.

We assembled for the afternoon game drive at 4:15 p.m. The six of us, Jan, me, Carol, Kevin, Michelle and Avery (11), had a Land Rover to ourselves.  Ranger HJ drove, while tracker Jeffrey sat on the little seat over the front left headlight. We had been cautioned to dress warmly because; even though the days were warm the nights would be chilly, especially seating in the open vehicle with a breeze in our faces much of the time. Within about ten minutes we were parked beside the carcass of a full grown male giraffe that had been killed the day before. Nine lions were either feeding or resting next to the kill. We were to return to this site each day and watch the carcass shrink and other scavengers arrive to take their turns to feed. As the lions are accustomed to the vehicles, we were able to get very close without disturbing them.  As long as we remained seated, we would not be considered a threat or as a potential meal!

Lions feed on a giraffe kill

Jeffrey gets close to the wildlife

After spending half an hour watching the lion activities we drove on to search for other game and soon came across several elephant, the ever-present impala and the tiny steenbok antelope. As night fell we watched one of the lionesses from the kill come down to a water hole to drink. After refreshments we returned to the giraffe kill to watch the lions snarl and growl over their meal before eventually making our way back to the lodge at about 7:30 p.m.

A welcomed fire and dinner in the boma ends the day

Our first day in the bush would end with an enjoyable dinner served around a huge fire in the adjoining “boma,” an open air area enclosed by hand-cut wood poles lashed together to form a circular fence. We met and chatted with other guests about our day’s experiences.

Retiring for the night we thought it couldn’t get any better than this. Until day two.