Back to Gomo Gomo - Day Two

White Rhino

Wednesday morning we had time for a quick cup of coffee or tea and rusks before we left the lodge on our game drive.  We were fortunate that we had the Land Rover to ourselves until later in the week.  We saw three white rhino first thing.  White rhino have a square mouth and are grazers, black rhino have pointed lips and are browsers; their coloring is the same.  There were nine lions at the kill when we returned there.  The tree above was filled with vultures patiently waiting their turn.  We noticed the four month old cub and he (or she) was so cute!

A Red-billed hornbill.   Bird life here, even in winter was amazing

We drove on and a majestic male giraffe was nibbling new growth from a thorny tree.  His coloring was very dark.  We dropped Jeffrey off alone in the bush, armed only with a radio, to track leopard and picked him up later.  When the sun was high, we took a break and H.J. served coffee and tea and fresh baked muffins.  Back on the road Jan spotted a honey badger scampering through the bush; not sure if anyone got a picture.  H.J. and Jeffrey both left the vehicle to follow leopard spoor (tracks) — never mind the tourists sitting in the vehicle in the middle of the road…  H.J. took his .458 cal. game rifle from the case resting on the flat windshield, not for shooting, but he is not allowed to leave it in the vehicle.  He said the rifle could bring down an elephant.  They had no luck spotting the leopard.

Four month-old lion cub at the kill

We returned to camp and had breakfast.  Cold cereals, yogurt and fruit juice was followed by a cooked breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast.  With full tummies, we had a choice of the morning game walk, enjoyed by Kevin and Carol, relaxing by the water hole, checking email or a nap, which was chosen by a couple of us.  It was wonderful to wander around the lodge, sit by the pool, read a book, write post cards or just watch the wildlife come out of the bush to drink at the water hole.  The sound of the drum gathered everyone for lunch around 2:00 p.m.  Lamb curry was served.  It was warm in the daytime but very cold for the game drives.  We purchased Gomo Gomo warm scarves and hats and wished we had brought heavier coats, so we layered all we had.

A "business" of Dwarf Mongoose

Rulani (the "calm") female leopard

The afternoon game drive rewarded us with truly amazing sightings.  A herd of kudu was our first opportunity to take photos of these majestic antelope.  The stately bulls’ horns spiral and their sides have vertical white stripes.  A “business” of dwarf mongoose was fun to watch and Henry the hippo peaked out of the pond at us.  But “Rulani” the leopard was tracked and we had a wild off-road ride through the bush to see her.  (Rulani is a Shangaan word meaning calm) She was posing in the fading sun on an old termite mound.  So gorgeous!  She got up and we followed her as she slowly walked through the bush.  She stopped and posed again between the two land rovers, turning one way and then the other and opened her mouth in a big yawn.  She walked on and we followed her a while longer with cameras clicking away.  Then we saw hyena. 

Sunset - time for the traditional "Sundowners."

Of course we had Sundowners and then followed a lion walking down the road toward the dam to drink.  We drove to the other side of dam and waited for her to appear, which she did.  We returned to the kill and were surprised to hear the cub “meow” between the snarling adult lions tearing and chewing on the carcass.

Joe took time to download his photos to the laptop before dinner was served.  We again chose our seats in the boma and began with sweet potato soup.  The menu included steak, Avery was delighted, chicken pie, squash, salad and lemon meringue pie served in a hollowed out lemon.  Delicious!

By now we felt right at home at Gomo Gomo.   We enjoyed visiting with the staff, knew the schedule for breakfast at about 10:00 a.m. after the game drive, lunch at 2:00 p.m. and dinner around 8:00 p.m.  Game drives left camp at 6:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.  We gave them our laundry which was returned neatly folded the same day.  H.J., our Ranger, entertained us with his stories, happily answered hundreds of questions and put up with our banter and silly “tree” riddles.  (Eg: What do you call a small tree? – an Infantry) He served us drinks at every meal.  Each night when we returned to our bungalow there was a delightful hand written and illustrated traditional story about a wild dog, hippo, warthog or rhino and sweets on our turned down bed.

Rulani kept us mesmerized for about 45 minutes

Gomo Gomo and the white lions of Timbavati

The way to Gomo Gomo.

Gomo Gomo is one of seven privately operated game lodges in the Timbavati Nature Reserve, a 206 square mile unfenced area of the African bush adjacent to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The Timbavati area and the surrounding region comprised of other private properties (Sabi Sands, Klaserie, Thornybush, etc.) were, until the 1950’s, privately owned and operated as cattle ranches or big game safari destinations.  A large group of conservation minded landowners came together to develop a plan for conservation and to protect the immense amount of wildlife species that thrived in this sometimes harsh environment. 

Since its formation in 1956, the Timbavati Association has increased its conservation minded landowners to 50 members. Over the years, this group has worked toward a common goal, to overcome degradation within this previously pristine area, redirect insensitive land use and reclaim it for the benefit of all.

In the 1990’s, in recognition of the importance of the area, the fences between Timbavati Reserve and the Kruger National Park were removed to encourage natural species migration. A vast stretch of wild land was opened up for the free movement of wildlife through what is now effectively, a single conservation area also known as the Greater Kruger Park.

This arrangement is beneficial for both wildlife and tourists. Wildlife has access to more resources in order to meet their permanent, seasonal, and episodic needs, and tourists are offered a wider range of eco-tourism facilities. Plans are in place to have the Timbavati Reserve declared as part of the Kruger National Park, which will secure its future as a valuable piece of South African heritage. These wildlife-rich lands are now an integral part of the Kruger Park system, and are managed in cooperation with the Kruger National Park itself.

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Lions at Gomo Gomo - March 2006

March 2006 - Buffalo are plentiful in the Timbavati.

We first visited the area in August 2001, staying for three nights at Kings Camp, one of the more upscale, and expensive, private Game Lodges in the Timbavati. It was during this visit that, while viewing a small lion pride feeding on a full grown giraffe they had killed, the ranger leading us on an afternoon bush drive pointed out a powerful two year old male lion and told us that he carried the recessive “white lion” gene that was unique in the area and also in Africa. From time to time white lion cubs would be born to the prides here, we were told. In March 2006 we were fortunate to have several good lion sightings but we did not hear of any recent occurrences of white lions.

Search for “White Lions” on the internet and one will find a great deal of information. White lions are not a separate subspecies and they have been said to be indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was 1938. Regarded as divine by some locals, white lions first came to public attention in the 1970s in Chris McBride's book The White Lions of Timbavati. (1977). McBride’s father had become a landowner in the Timbavati area in 1948 and Chris was raised there. As a student at the University of California, Humboldt, he returned to the area to research his Masters thesis on lions. (See a YouTube video interview with Chris McBride here - http://www.youtube.com/v/TQYZbUW5Jw8)

In early 2011 we began to plan a visit to South Africa which would include a four-night stay at Gomo Gomo in July 2012. Several months in advance of our trip we began to follow Gomo Gomo’s interesting Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gomo-Gomo-Game-Lodge/334330557799) where rangers frequently provided activity updates and photographs, described animal sightings and commented on local events.  

With just two weeks to go before we left the United States to visit South Africa several photos of a new white lion cub was posted to the Facebook page. As excited as we have been at the prospect of returning to the Timbavati Reserve, the arrival of a new white lion cub to coincide with our visit has offered us a unique opportunity to see a truly rare and special animal. Our eleven year-old granddaughter and her parents will be traveling with us and there is no doubt that they will long remember this, their first, trip to Africa and their remarkable good fortune to be able to see a rare white lion. 

July 2, 2012 - a new white cub is found.
Photo from Gomo Gomo Facebook Page

White lions are not albinos.  They have a genetic condition called leucism – a glitch in the genetic coding for color which causes either a reduction in or complete lack of pigmentation cells thanks to a recessive allele. Leucism does not produce the typical pink or reddish eyes associated with albinos. In fact, eye colour is hardly affected with leucism. And in the case of the white lions, their eyes are a startling blue. 

We’ll see. 

The words "Gomo Gomo" mean "little hills."

Sources: Gomo Gomo Facebook page.  White Lions in the Timbavati by Sharon van Wyk, Jan. 13, 2011 (Global White Lion Protection Trust) Kruger National Park (Sanparks) website.