I lived in southern Africa from 1956 to 1980 and have traveled there often since. Now I'm going back and this blog will record both new plans and past experiences including diaries from many trips, helpful tips for first time travelers, and a few tales from the past. Those interested in Africa are invited to comment or add your own stories!
The Kruger National Park (KNP) is one of the premier game reserves in the world. Located in the "lowveld" savannah in the far northeast of South Africa, it receives little attention from the outside world compared to the well advertised and popular safari destinations of East Africa - Serengeti, great migration, etc. For some of us, that's a good thing.
From it's southernmost gate at Crocodile Bridge, to Pafuri Gate in the north, you have to drive over 400km (240 miles). It is greater in size than Wakes or Israel and is almost the size of Massachusetts. The park straddles the Tropic of Capricorn and so it is truly in the tropics. It's wide variety of savannah habitats, geography and climatic areas gives it an abundance and variety of wildlife unequaled anywhere.
According to the Prime Origins Guide to the Kruger National Park by Brett Hilton-Barber and Professor Lee R. Berger, 21 of Africa's 72 antelope species are found in the park, from the tiny suni to the great and majestic eland. Predators abound. Lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dogs, hyena and many smaller predators such as jackal, caracal, civet and genet. Great numbers of elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, hippopotamus and rhino, both black and white, graze and browse in this environment.
KNP is "one of the great birding spots in South Africa." Because the park straddles the Tropic of Capricorn, it lies in the southernmost range of many tropical bird species and the northernmost extent of many southern species. Many of Kruger's birds are migrants from Eurasia and other parts of Africa to the north that fly here to spend summer in the south. There are about 380 species that are resident here year-round. KNP is the best place to view the great birds of prey, with 17 eagles and almost 80 others raptors living here.
The rivers of Kruger are home to several thousand crocodiles. 54 Species of snake are found within the park, though it is rare to see these.
The network of roads and "camps" within KNP have been developed and modernized since it opened to tourists in 1927. The area was first proclaimed as a wildlife preserve in 1898 by the Transvaal Boer Republic, Paul Kruger. This was known as the Sabi Game Reserve. Later he proclaimed a large area to the north, the Shingwedzi Reserve. These were combined after acquisition of 70 privately owned farms between them in 1926, and the park was officially re-named The Kruger National Park. In 1927 three cars visited the park, and today more than a million visitors come to Kruger each year. This is a popular destination for most South Africans, much as the National Parks in the U.S., such as Yosemite, Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Park are favorite vacation spots for Americans.
My first visit to Kruger was as a schoolboy in 1959. I went back again as a first-year university student in 1962. No doubt, these visits sparked my lifelong interest in wildlife and a desire to pursue biology studies. The next trip was in 2001 when Jan and I took friends to the area. The park had expanded and modernised its facilities but still retained the wonderful qualities and characteristics that had so impressed me forty years earlier! Today, many of the main camps have souvenir shops and mini-supermarkets where campers and travelers can re-provision, and of course, petrol (gas) can be purchased in most camps as well.
An especially memorable visit was in 2006 when we re-visited several of the camps that I had stayed in in 1962, especially Punda Maria in the north. Outwardly the thatch-roofed "rondavels" or cabins looked much the same, but inside, the conveniences had been updated, with air conditioning a notable improvement. Since then we have been back twice, visiting with some of our family and our 11 year-old granddaughter in 2012. Is it apparent that this place holds a very special place in my heart?
Now we are going back again and we will spend time in the southern area, based at the biggest (HQ) camp at Skukuza. Some of the mountains here rise up to 2,500 ft and the most annual rain falls here. The big cats are often seen here and the bird life and vegetation is different from the grassland and savannah further north.
80% of the rainfall falls between October and March (summer), so visitors in June can expect to see mostly warm, dry days and cool winter nights. Each day in KNP offers new experiences and surprises. We hope to write about some of these as we travel, so stay tuned.
Gomo Gomo Game Lodge is a private and intimate camp situated in the
prestigious Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, giving you best traverse
viewing. We can vouch for this because we are about to make our third visit to this little "lowveld paradise." We began making plans for this trip last November. Here are the steps to take when planning a safari like this.
Step 1: Always check the South African School Calendar to make sure you are visiting while the local kids are in school.
Step 2: Consider the weather. In 2012 we went in late July and it was very cold. Temperatures across South Africa that year were at record lows. The evening game drives were frigid, requiring many layers of clothing. This time we decide to go in early June, so the weather should be really nice.
Step 3: The season is important. I enjoy going during the rainy season, from November through March. The bush foliage is dense and the bird life is amazing. Hundreds of migratory bird species take up residence in southern Africa, and the big herds of buffalo and elephant move around in the lush environment. But Jan prefers the winter months, June through August, when the leaves have fallen and wildlife (at least the mammals) are easier to spot. Water sources shrink, forcing the animals to congregate around the areas water holes, and remaining river pools.
So - we decided on June, when temperatures are still relatively mild and the bush has lost most of it foliage. The best of both worlds. Step 4: Choose the location. We have been to the lowveld area around the Kruger National Park a number of times. In fact, it is a place I visited twice as a teenager in 1959 and 1961. So we know we will get our moneys worth. We first visited the Klaserie Wildlife area, west of Kruger Park in 2001 and had a wonderful three days at Kings Camp. Then we returned to stay at Gomo Gomo, in their old location, in 2006. It was a fabulous trip and we regretted spending only three days there. In 2012 we spent four nights at the new Gomo Gomo Camp with some of our kids and our eleven year-old granddaughter Avery. We all had a blast for four full days and even saw a white lion cub - a big highlight. Step 5: Consider the cost! Gomo Gomo will cost us under US$200 per night per person. This includes all Game Drives, all meals and accommodations. Nearby, upscale lodges might charge up to $880 to $1,000 pp per night. Hey, they all have the same wildlife to view so why pay more? As we are returning guests, Gomo Gomo has offered a discount as well. This time we have booked a full five nights at the camp. After we leave, we will rent a car and spend five nights in the Kruger National Park. For a self-drive safari KNP can't be beat. Accommodations will set us back about $100 per night for both of us and restaurant fare is good and inexpensive, by American standards. Step 6: Once the game camp and KNP bookings were made, we booked our plane tickets. It is important to book and pay as far in advance as possible. The return airfare from Denver to Johannesburg was just a bit over $2,000 each. Then there is a short flight from Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo Airport, by South African Airways Express commuter flight, to the Gateway airport near Hoedspruit. Cost, about $160 each. We are picked up by Gomo Gomo staff at the airport for a 30 minute drive to the lodge.
With less than three weeks to go we keep saying "Three weeks from now we will be over the Atlantic.." or "In three weeks we will be arriving at Gomo Gomo!" They say that we become more patient as we grow older, but that is not true in this case. We are like two kids waiting for Christmas Eve. We will be posting more news as our trip begins and hope to share photos along the way. Join us on Facebook.
After renting our eight-seater Hyundai (a very comfortable vehicle!) in Hoedspruit, our first stop was at the Standard Bank to convert US dollars into Rand. Then we made the first of many visits to the PicknPay to buy travel essentials: biscuits (cookies) and snack food, water (although we could drink tap water), a Coke Light and naartjies (tangerines). It was interesting to mix with the African people and note the differences in customs and cultures. For instance, check-out clerks sit down as they scan groceries and there is a charge for the plastic bags to carry the purchases. We found many examples of recycling and conservation conscious policies during our trip.
We drove north from Hoedspruit on the highway to the Phalaborwa Gate and the entrance to Kruger National Park (KNP).
One of the first animals we saw in KNP - a baboon
The Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers 19,485 square kilometres (7,523 sq miles) and extends 360 kilometres (220 mi) from north to south and 65 kilometres (40 mi) from east to west, not including the Private Reserves which adjoin it on the west side. To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. Gomo Gomo, where we had spent four wonderful days is in the Klaserie Private Reserve which is now part of the Greater Kruger Park Wildlife Management area. The objective in spending three nights in the Kruger Park was to be able to see what a unique conservation area it is and to experience its wildlife while self-driving.
A Ground Hornbill
One of the oldest in the world, Kruger National Park (KNP) was first designated a Government Wildlife Park in 1898 before being expanded and named the Sabi Game Reserve. It officially became the Kruger National Park in 1926. It receives over a million visitors a year now and is a favorite vacation destination for most South Africans, offering a wide range of affordable accommodation from basic camping, to RV’s, cottages and luxury lodges. It is important to plan any visit to Kruger Park outside of school holidays!
On our drive through KNP to Letaba Rest Camp we again saw wildlife; ground hornbills, giraffe, rhino, buffalo, elephants and a baboon sitting high on a rock. We didn’t stop too long for photographs as we had to reach camp before the gates closed at sunset.
We had a bungalow with two bedrooms and two baths for two nights. Each bedroom had three single beds. KNP thatched camps are set up for self-catering and each unit has a fully furnished kitchen, dining table and sitting area as well as a covered porch. There is also a filling station, restaurant, gift shop/grocery store, camping area, ablutions, and washer/dryers. Guests are cautioned that monkeys, baboons and honey badgers are problematic in the camp so food should be securely stored and doors to bungalows should be kept closed at all times. Resident bushbucks were wandering around the camp. We walked along the river path to the restaurant for some dinner and bats flew overhead. The air was filled with the smell of outdoor cooking from the many self-catering residents and campers. The seating was outdoors and the night air was quite chilly; our bungalow wasn’t much warmer. The service was slow—something we noticed everywhere on this trip—and the menu limited.
We rose at 6:00 a.m. Sunday, July 22, and went for a short game drive to the bridge over the Letaba River. It was cold and we were grateful to be in an enclosed vehicle. We returned to camp and had breakfast at the restaurant and although we ate indoors, we were still very cold. Most foreign visitors would not think of Africa being a cold place but if we visit again in July we would bring more suitable, warmer, clothing instead of trying to wear multiple layers to ward off the chill. We decided to buy some bread, peanut butter, jam, cheese and other provisions at the store and we needed to stock up on biscuits before returning to the bungalow.
Carol, Kevin, Jan and Joe once again left camp for a game drive. Michelle and Avery stayed behind to relax and have a swim. The day warmed up nicely once the sun came up. Kevin took the wheel and he too turned on the windshield wipers when he meant to signal a turn and we all laughed.
Hippo in the Olifants River
We drove the dusty back-roads to Olifants Camp and stopped often to photograph giraffe, elephant, and baboons. Olifants is one of the most picturesque camps in the Kruger National Park. Joe had visited here in 1958 and, although the camp had been enlarged and modernized somewhat, the spectacular panoramic views over the Olifants River had not changed at all. CJ became the crocodile and hippo spotter with the aid of binoculars. They blend in so well with the landscape they are difficult to see with the naked eye. We stopped for lunch on the veranda at Olifants and enjoyed the beautiful view of the river while we patiently waited for our Greek salads. On the return to Letaba we spotted a fish eagle and a jacana (lily trotter) as well as many other birds and antelope—yes, more impala.
Little Bee-eater
The bird-life in Kruger Park is quite remarkable and we extended the checks on our list almost hourly. Some of the bird photos are shown with this narrative.
Pearl Spotted Owl at Satara Camp
Joe and Jan had made plans to meet old friends at Letaba. They had visited their lovely home in Tzaneen (a two hour drive west of the Park) on a previous trip and they came to KNP to spend a night so they could see us. We enjoyed a short visit and Joe and Mike toured the elephant museum at Letaba in the afternoon. The four of us met later for very enjoyable dinner and the hake was delicious. The family stayed in and had sandwiches and Michelle made a trip to the laundromat.
Everyone packed up early Monday as we left Letaba for Satara Rest Camp. We stopped again at Olifants Camp for breakfast and enjoyed the game drive along the way. Again we saw ground hornbills, which are endangered, ho-hums, hippo and crocs, thanks to CJ. There were a large number of cars parked on and beside the road at one point which indicated something worth seeing. We followed the lenses and finger pointing and saw a fresh impala kill in a tree in the distance, which meant a leopard was in the area. We wove our way through the maze of cars and drove on. We checked into Satara and had to wait for our bungalow which gave us time to explore the gift shop and have a bite of lunch. A sign pointed out the “most photographed Scops Owl in Africa” sitting in a bush. The photographers kept up the tradition but then a Pearl Spotted Owl was spotted in a tree near the shop. A monitor lizard peeked over the roof of the lodge as he slept in the sunshine.
Once we were in our bungalow, similar to the one at Letaba, we went different directions. CJ, Kevin and Joe went on a game drive, Jan read while she did the laundry and Michelle and Avery visited the swimming pool. A large herd of waterbuck was seen, a new antelope to check off the list, as well as zebra, impala, elephant, and giraffe. Kevin was keeping track of game and birds spotted.
We ate in our room for dinner and breakfast the next day. We had purchased staples and were already a bit tired of “eating out” and spending an hour or more waiting for a meal. Fruit, PBJ, pasta with butter for Avery, cereal (Wheatbix) and toast filled our tummies.
After breakfast Tuesday we loaded the car and did our final game drive on our way out of KNP through Orpen Gate. Someone mentioned we hadn’t seen buffalo as we neared the exit and, wouldn't you know, there was a herd just off of the road just a few yards from the gate. More photos. We stopped again at the gate shop for a leg stretch and a cup of coffee as we had a long drive ahead.
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.
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.
My first visit to Hwange Game Reserve was in 1967. I was an entomologist in the Tsetse Control division of the Department of Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Control, which was part of the Department of Veterinary Services of the Rhodesian (now Zimbabwean) Government. Formerly called "Wankie," this game reserve was established in1928 under the supervision of a 22 year old conservation-minded young man named Ted Davison. It was to become one of the finest Game Reserves in Africa. Davison's classic book "Wankie:The Story of a Great Game Reserve" was, for many decades, the definitive read for anyone interested in development of Africa's wildlife resources.
The 14,600 sq.km. (5,637 sq. mile) park is the largest reserve in Zimbabwe. It has been, perhaps, most noted for it's large population of elephant; drawn here by a series of watering holes established by Davison in the 1930s and 1940s. The western edge of the park is the border of Botswana and the vegetation transitions into the Kalahari desert there.
Main Camp, Hwange Game Reserve, 1985
The prospect of returning to this unique wildlife preserve is causing me some excitement and that will build over the next 18 months.
Hwange elephant - August 1996
After spending three nights at Imbabala Camp, the African Bush Camps trip outline reads as follows:
After an early morning activity and brunch, you will depart at 1100hrs to Victoria Falls Airport. You will be driven east back to Victoria Falls airport, where you will meet your Sefofane Air pilot for your flight to Little Makalolo Camp, Hwange. The flight takes 1 hour, and you land at Makalolo Airstrip situated deep within the park on a private concession.
Little Makalolo, situated in a remote and private concession within the vast Hwange National Park, is one of the few camps built within the Park. Hwange is legendary for its wonderful array of wildlife, particularly the massive herds of elephant and buffalo, and summer sees the large antelope herds migrate onto the plains, closely followed by large predators.
The camp is built on the ground, providing panoramic unique views over the Little Somavundlha Pan with its excellent concentrations of wildlife. Accommodation consists of 6, comfortable tented rooms with en-suite facilities as well as an outdoor shower for those who enjoy showering under the stars. The lighting in the rooms is battery-powered so there is peace and quiet in camp, allowing one to listen to the sounds of the bushveld instead.
The main area has a lounge, pub, plunge pool and dining area where delicious meals are served. While the emphasis is on game drives, night drives and guided walks, well-situated hides or raised viewing platforms provide the ideal manner to while away the lazy midday hours, watching wildlife come down to the waterholes to drink.
There are a number of shallow pans spread throughout the Park, around which wildlife congregates, making for excellent and reliable game viewing. During summer plains game migrate onto the plains, closely followed by their predators. Elephant, Cape buffalo, sable, roan, southern giraffe, blue wildebeest, impala and sometimes even gemsbok (oryx) can be seen here.
This Park is one of the best for predators - lion, leopard, wild dog and cheetah are regularly sighted, along with the smaller African wildcat, serval, honey badger, civet and spotted hyena.
Bird life in the area is prolific, with more than 400 species found, and varied as species frequent teak woodlands as well as those more typical of the drier Kalahari being present. 3 nights at Little Makalolo Camp in a twin bedded tent, with en suite facilities, on an all inclusive basis.
Learning to spell - and other distractions
Muir College School Crest
My brother John and I had completed 6th grade at C.A. Donehoo Elementary school in Gadsden, Alabama before traveling to South Africa. Now, suitably outfitted in our new school uniforms we were to enter Standard 5 at Muir College Boys High School. In South Africa schooling begins as Kindergarten I (KG 1), followed by KG II, then Standard 1, Std. 2 and so on. So the seventh year of one’s schooling is Standard V (5). Eventually, in theory, we would finish High School by successfully completing the academic requirements of Standard X (10). We would then have “matriculated” and moved on to higher education at a University. In effect, because the U.S. school year ends in June each year and the South African school system ends in December, we would skip half a year, going from Grade 6 to a half year into Grade 7.
Academic standards between the two school systems were not all that different. I mostly remember having to catch up with a new history curriculum. The settlement of the Cape Colony by the Dutch in the 1600s had not been a part of our history lessons in the 6th grade in Alabama. The names Bartholomew Diaz, Simon Van Der Stel and Jan Van Riebeeck were unfamiliar to us. A higher standard was demanded in English a stronger emphasis on written essays and reports. Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation were required, without compromise. Many words were spelled differently. Neighbor, labor and just about all words ending in “or” were now to be spelled the old English way; Neighbour, labour, favour, vigour, etc. The transition in Math was not difficult. In Social Studies we lost a little in the geography of Africa and the United Kingdom but had the upper hand on North American topics. Generally speaking we were able to fall into the new system pretty easily and it didn’t take long to begin to catch up.
In 1956 South Africa there were two official languages taught in schools; English and Afrikaans. In English schools Afrikaans was taught as a second language and vice versa in Afrikaans schools. Afrikaans was derived from the old language spoken by the early Dutch settlers and farmers (“boers”). A requirement for graduating (or Matriculation) was competence in two languages. As our parents did not anticipate being in South Africa for more than my dad’s three year contract period we were advised to take Latin classes, knowing that Afrikaans wouldn’t transfer very well to any other country, if and when we were to move again. So Latin was our second language and we would begin taking Latin in Standard VI.
Looking back, I found the transition to an all boys school system to be pretty easy. We made friends easily. Our southern accents were obviously a conversation starter but within about six months we had just about lost any outward evidence of our American origins. (At home our diet still consisted of fried chicken, black eyed- peas and other traditional southern delicacies.) The Muir uniforms in winter consisted of grey slacks, black leather shoes, white shirts with school tie and a blazer with dark blue vertical stripes with thin white and lighter blue stripes. It was distinctive and a much better colour combination than many of the other school uniforms in the area. In summer, we would wear cooler dark blue shorts with knee high socks that required elastic garters to hold them up. There was also a “beany” cap required for younger students when walking to and from school or when wearing school attire in public.
Dr. Thomas Muir - 1914
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I mentioned the history of Muir College in an earlier blog. There was a very strong feeling of history and tradition here, which was evident from the old buildings and many historic plaques on the walls of the main assembly hall. The school had, after all, been established in Uitenhage 134 years before, in 1822, as the “English Free School.” 1822 to 1830 was a period of widespread chaos and destruction in the eastern and central parts of southern Africa, brought about by the expansion of the Zulu State under their powerful ruler, Shaka. Putting this into even sharper historical context, it was only in1831 that Charles Darwin began his voyage on HMS Beagle to South America and the Galapagos Islands. Slavery would be abolished in the British Empire in 1833.
My next blog will discuss school activities, competition and maintenance of one’s self-esteem in the decade of the 1950s.
The Zambezi River near Imbabala Safari Camp - 2001
Imbabala Safari Camp
On Thursday, July 19, after two days at Elephant Camp, the schedule that Chris Worden of African Bush Camps has proposed calls for a late morning transfer toImbabala Safari Camp. So, after a morning elephant ride (ho-hum) we would have breakfast and be picked up by Wild Horizons at 11:00 a.m. for the one hour drive westward on the road from Victoria Falls town to the Kasane Border Post (Botswana).
Jan and I have been to Imbabala twice before and each visit provided wonderful experiences. Some photographs of our previous trips are shown here.
The thatched roofed chalets at Imbabala - 2001
Chris Worden's itinerary describes Imbabala as follows:
Situated where Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and Namibia converge, 80km west of Victoria Falls, Imbabala Camp has its own concession bordering the Chobe National park in Botswana, in which game drives are conducted and is directly on the banks of the Zambezi River, also offering pontoon cruises on the river to view the game and extensive bird life.
(This is the only place in the world where 4 countries meet)
The lodge offers every comfort for your sojourn in the wild. There are just 8 thatched chalets accommodating a maximum of 18 Guests, so individual attention and service is guaranteed.
Each chalet has a view over the Zambezi. Each has en-suite facilities and mains electricity.
Meals are taken Al fresco or in the main dining room, and are of a very high culinary standard.
The swimming pool offers cool relaxation during the heat of the day.
Activities at Imbabala include 4x4 game viewing safaris in the Lodge's own concession, walking safaris and river cruises on the Zambezi River on Imbabala's own pontoon boat - enabling close viewing of the wildlife that comes down to the River to drink as well as the amazing variety of birds that are attracted by the papyrus reeds that border the Zambezi.
Opposite the camp is Nampini Island, the home of the only population of Sitatunga antelope in Zimbabwe and you will try and photograph these shy animals by pontoon.
3 nights at Imbabala Camp, in a twin bedded room, with en suite facilities, on a fully inclusive basis.
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There are not too many places in Africa where such a profusion of wildlife, especially elephants, can be viewed up close from a boat. Several times we were able to float alongside herds of elephant as they swam across the wide Zambezi.
Watching elephant cross the Zambezi from a pontoon boat. Imbabala Camp is in the background.
Elephants are, without any doubt whatsoever, our favorite animal to observe in the wild. The activities of their disciplined family units constantly amaze us. They are exceptionally intelligent creatures and the tenderness and affection that adults openly display toward their young is remarkable.
A typical family unit along the Zambezi River.
Is it obvious that we want to return to this magical place?
Preparing for school in South Africa
The two-day voyage around the Cape of Good Hope from Cape Town had been under overcast skies and, as I recall, too cool and windy to spend much time on deck aboard the SS Enterprise. At last the city lay before us as we turned to port and entered the harbor in Algoa Bay.
It was the middle of winter when we docked in Port Elizabeth (hereinafter referred to as “PE"). It was cloudy and overcast and a little windy as our floating home for the last two weeks was eased into the harbor and tied up at berth. We were met and driven out of the harbor area past the 175 feet (53.5M) tall red brick Campanile (or clock tower) standing as a memorial to the arrival of 4,000 British settlers in the area in 1820. PE actually became a city in 1820, 16 years after the town of Uitenhage, 15 miles to the north. For many years I would always have a mental image of PE as a windy and dismal place, no doubt due to the weather conditions on the day I arrived. But the place actually was then, as it certainly is today, a picturesque city overlooking a beautiful bay. It has always been called “The Windy City” however for good reason. The city had been named for the late wife of the Governor of the Cape Province back in 1820, in case anyone might have thought it was named for Queen Elizabeth the 1st.
The family would spend a week at the Marine Hotel, south of the city along Marine Drive. As soon as we had settled in to the hotel my Dad would be taken to visit the tyre (South Africa spelling for “tire”) factory where he would work for the next three years. The day after our arrival we were driven to Uitenhage, past the tyre plant and up the hill to our new neighborhood called Mosel. The house we were to occupy was one of about ten homes that had been built since 1948 when the Goodyear plant was built. It wasn’t ready to be occupied so we moved into a smaller house across the street, where we stayed for a few months. These were not luxurious homes but they were certainly well built and comfortable.
As it was still winter we were happy to find the days mild and sunny. Houses here did not have air conditioning, either heat or cold. Space heaters or, in many cases, fireplaces would be used to warm the rooms during those brief months when the weather would turn cold and drop down into the 40s. The electrical supply was 220 volts, 15 amps, so the puny little two-pin American plugs wouldn’t work and the several dozen 110V light bulbs we had brought with us were useless as well. It was in those first weeks of our stay in South Africa that I took pliers, screw driver and other tools in hand and fitted all of our lamps and smaller appliances with the large three-pin 15 amp plugs required and discovered that I really enjoyed fixing things.
One of the changes we had to get used to was driving on the left side of the road. Most cars had the steering wheel on the right but some of the Goodyear management people had American cars that had been imported without that modification. Our green Nash Rambler would stand out for years to come because of its left side steering wheel and, of course, for its size. It also had a six cylinder engine which made it a fairly potent machine. Most local cars were smaller and there were an unusually high number of Volkwagen Beetles in the region. The Volkwagen (hereinafter known as “VW”) and Goodyear plants were adjacent to one another in Uitenhage. Much of the tyre production was passed on to the VW plant through a conveyor system.
The town of Uitenhage, known as “The Garden Town” with good reason, was built on a series of hills on the east side of the Swartkops River. The fertile river valley itself had, since the 1820s, enabled local farmers to provide the growing sea traffic around the Cape with provisions – fresh vegetables and fruit, meat and dairy products. It had also become a major center for the South African Railways with large maintenance and repair facilities after the first rail line from PE to Kimberly was built in 1878. Following the discovery of the world’s richest diamond mine in Kimberly in 1871, the rail system took on strategic importance in the growth of the rich mining industries inland and gave both Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage notable roles to play in the history of this southernmost tip of the African continent.
The fact that we had settled, at least for the coming three years, in a small town, in an important industrial and agricultural hub would, I understand now with the benefit of hindsight, give my brothers and me an unusually richly textured environment to grow and develop in. I guess it would be described today as a broad-based socio-economic environment; just as Littleton High School in Colorado, where my three children went to school, is described today. The friends we were to make at school came from all walks of life. My classmates and neighbors would be the sons and daughters of railway machinists, farmers, auto-workers, tyre builders and of course all of the other job categories that go along with an industrial and agricultural area; lawyers, bankers, doctors, merchants, and delicatessen owners. Of course we would be attending an all-white school, but at the time that didn’t seem different to us, coming as we had from the American Deep South.
The old Muir College Boys High School - photographed in 2001. The school has since moved to a new location with modern facilities. The building pictured here was built in 1875.
In the first few days of our move to Uitenhage we made a visit to see the Principal of Muir College Boys High School. His name was Harold Skillicorn (hereinafter to be referred to as “Skilly.” What else?) He wasn’t a tall man, probably about 5’8” in his polished black shoes. He had very bushy eyebrows, a stern look in his eye and over his suit and tie he always wore a black academic gown, as did all of the teachers. I remember his surprise when my brother and I replied to his questions with a “yes sir” or “no sir.” Previous American students had not found those terms of respect easy to get used to. But none of the previous American families who had transferred here were raised in the Deep South!
I can still remember Skilly’s office. The school building was old, with weathered wooden flooring and wood paneling half-way up the walls of offices and classrooms. His office was just inside the double-door entrance to the main building, on the left. On the right, across the hall, was the school assembly hall in which several hundred uniformly dressed boys would assemble each morning before class for a brief prayer and announcements. The whole atmosphere of this building and this institution was one of a rich tradition and history.
Then we went to buy our school uniforms. My twin brother and I were just at the age where we were growing weary of our mother’s desire to dress us alike. Now we would be wearing uniforms that would be just like those being worn by hundreds of other boys.
We've received a proposal from Chris Worden of African Bush Camps. It describes in mouth-watering detail an eight-night safari experience in the Victoria Falls, Upper Zambezi and Hwange National Park. If we could afford it today, we would be leaving almost immediately. The following extract describes only the first two days.
Jan at the falls - March 2001
Tuesday 17th July, 2011: After breakfast Safari Club will transfer you to Johannesburg Airport, where you will check in and connect to your British Airways/Comair flight 6285, to Victoria Falls, departing Johannesburg at 1125hrs, arriving Victoria Falls at 1310hrs.
Here you will be met by Wild Horizons Safaris and transferred to The Elephant Camp, situated only 15 minutes from Victoria Falls Airport and 10 minutes from Victoria Falls village and the Victoria Falls themselves.
Riding an Elephant in August - the dry season
March 2001 - in the rainy season
The tented suites are all equipped with indoor and outdoor showers, huge baths, private lounges, mini bar and tea/coffee stations, overhead fans plus air conditioning and are all mosquito proofed.
The Elephant Camp overlooks a waterhole that is fed by natural streams in the rainy season that rush down to meet the Masuwe River, and the Zambezi gorges below the Victoria Falls.
Bush walks and birding for guests supply boundless photographic opportunities in addition to the variety of activities that are available in Victoria Falls.
Interaction with the resident Elephants and Elephant back safaris are a unique attraction of this camp.
Managing the Elephant Camp is Jonathan Elway, who has 21 years experience in the tourism industry.
The views from the elephant camp towards the spray of the Victoria Falls are breathtaking!
2 nights at The Elephant Camp, in a twin bedded room, with en suite facilities, on a fully inclusive basis.
These photos from our previous visits to Victoria Falls and Elephant Camp may put this whole mouth-watering reference above into better perspective.
Leaving Civilization
Let me recap my historical origins prior to stepping on African soil in Port Elizabeth in July 1956.
Indigenous peoples inhabited the Gadsden, Alabama, area for thousands of years and the agrarian Mississippian culture lived here from 1000 to 1600 AD. The French first settled in the Mobile region in 1702 and knew the local tribe as the Alibamon. The Spanish Hernando DeSoto expedition of 1540 described the Alibamo tribe of the area.
I had been born and raised in the city of Gadsden. In 1956 it was not considered a big city having a population, as I recall, of about 70,000. The first white settlement in the area was reputedly a house built in about 1825. After 1840 the first survey of land was made and the first steamboat arrived on the Coosa River from Mobile, on the Gulf of Mexico, in 1845. The new “town” was named Gadsden in honor of Colonel James Gadsden of South Carolina who, a few years later, would gain notoriety for his part, as American Ambassador to Mexico, in the Gadsden Purchase. The Gadsden Purchase was the final acquisition of territory from Mexico by the United States in 1854 and comprised an area about the size of Scotland across southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
It should be noted that Col. Gadsden was an extremely vocal supporter of the practice and continuation of slavery. The State of Alabama was to gain statehood in 1819 although it seceded from the union in 1861 at the start of the American Civil War. Also noteworthy is that Alabama created a public school system only during the years of reconstruction which followed the end of the war in 1865. It was during those post Civil War years that the Ku Klux Klan would gain enormous influence.
“After the Civil War, the state was still chiefly agricultural, with an economy tied to cotton. Planters resisted working with free labor during Reconstruction and sought to re-establish controls over freedmen. In the early years the Ku Klux Klan had numerous independent chapters in Alabama that attacked freedmen and other Republicans. After it was suppressed, insurgent whites organized paramilitary groups, such as the Red Shirts and White League, which acted more openly to suppress black voting. After regaining power by the late 1870s, in the last decade of the nineteenth century, white Democrats passed electoral laws and constitutional amendments to disfranchise most blacks and many poor whites. Having regained power in the state legislature, Democrats passed Jim Crow laws, including racial segregation in public facilities, to restore white supremacy.” (Source: Wikipedia)
I mention these historical facts to put my new home region and school system into perspective. We were thought to be going back in time, to settle in a third world country, which would almost certainly be backward in technology and education. My parents clearly did not think this way, but many of our family back home certainly did. From the moment we set sail to cross the Atlantic, they were counting the days until we would return and reestablish ourselves in civilization once more. That my father would take his young wife and three small children into such an uncertain and unsafe environment was disgraceful.
My brother and I would be attending an all boys High School, Muir College Boys High School, which was first established in 1822 as the “English Free School,” in the town of Uitenhage; established 18 years earlier on April 25, 1804 (41 Years before naming of the new town of Gadsden). It was in the town of Uitenhage (pronounced U-tin-hāge) that the Goodyear Tire Company had built a manufacturing plant in 1948, and where my dad would become the Production Director for the company.
More on these topics in my next post.
Africa is a very big place! 6,812 miles from Cape Town to Cairo.
