It has been some twenty years since I visited the Kruger with my parents, and this last April, I decided to introduce my own young family to the magic of the park. We stayed at Tamboti Tented Camp, and our experiences over the few days that followed had me questioning why it had taken me so long to return. Every day was filled with a myriad of memories, and there was lots of nostalgia that brought me back to my own childhood. We used to spend most of our time in the Southern end of the park at Bergendal and Lower Sabie, sometimes heading to Satara. I remember having a picnic lunch at Orpen Dam when a boomslang fell from the rafters onto our table cloth causing a mass-evacuation from all of us. This was at the same time that a super pride of lions were resident near Satara and we were fortunate enough to see them feeding off three buffalo that they had killed. The chorus of other animals that were trying to steal off the various carcasses was incredible, and I remember clearly the snarling of lions as hyena tried to pilfer a morsel, as well as the multitude of vultures and bateleurs that waited in the trees close by. In the evenings we had a tradition of playing Uno while waiting for the fire to be ready for a braai; I recall fondly the laughter and stories we would share around the as night fell. As a family, we were always fascinated as much by the little things as we were with the bigger game. Catching insects to throw into an orb web spider’s nest, teasing antlions from their holes and spotting birds among the canopy were always fun ways to spend time around camp. I hope to instill these same values in my children: the understanding that it is not about seeing a leopard at all costs, it is about appreciating every element of the ecology. So, it was a real privilege to share some of these stories with my son and daughter as we explored the park. They had such wonder throughout the trip and it shows just what a resonating impact the Kruger has on everyone of all ages. It went as far as my daughter wanting to write something for the Kruger Magazine, as she hoped to share her experiences. She is nine, and I promised to pass on her unedited (she was very specific about that) diary for our few days at Tamboti: My first stay at the Kruger National Park This was my first time at the Kruger a National Park and we were staying at Tamboti which is a tented camp near Orpen Gate. These are my highlights. On the first night we heard some tip of crashing noise my dad woke me up because there were two honey badgers at the dustbin who had got hold of my three year old brother’s nappy! From our porch we saw an elephant eating grass in the river bed and we also saw two buffalo. It was night time while we were eating dinner we saw a baby python underneath the table. There were lots of cool night time sounds like the hyenas calling and the scops owls too. On one early evening we saw a hyena walking at the side of the dried up river as well. We also saw a huge elephant right next to the fence with big tusks. We had some amazing game drives these are some of them. We went to a dam and some giraffe walked slowly to the water. Two of them started drinking it was amazing to watch. Then we saw a troop of baboons playing in the trees next to a dried up river. There were two babies and one was older than the other one. The older one kept on biting all of the other baboons and the other little one stayed in its mother’s arms. On another day we were watching herd of Buffalo, there were probably 20 of them and they were wallowing in a big muddy dam. A few minutes later we saw a herd of elephants. There were probably 60 of them and they drank in a reservoir. Then they were probably going to go for a swim but no they started chasing the Buffalo. It was amazing! Then we drove to Sunset Dam and it was fantastic to see a heron surfing on a hippo. Slowly the hippo started to go beneath the water and then the heron started pecking the hippo until he flew away. We were going on a drive and we were heading towards a big fire. Hornbills and Rollers were swooping all over because the bugs were hopping out of the fire. It was brilliant! We were going to our next camp at Lower Sabie and ahead of us there was a crowd of cars so we went there. We asked a man in a white car what he had seen and he said that there was a leopard in a huge tree. I was so excited because this was my first time seeing a leopard in the wild and it was sleeping. It was amazing to spend some time with my brother and my dad in such a beautiful place. I can’t wait to go there again. Bella Watson Age 9 I think she puts it very well, and we will definitely be returning to the park again soon. As for me, I will cherish lots of ice-creams in the car, watching the shy bushbuck from our tent and seeing the honey badger pair waddle around the camp at night. There is the excitement of following a hyena meandering along the fence line or listening to the scops owls calling at night. There was the small python disrupting our supper by slithering beneath our table towards the river and the same big bull elephant foraging in front of our tent at mid-afternoon every day. I enjoyed watching two dagga boy buffalos finding shade in the riverbed and watching two woodland kingfishers call to each other. There are the communal chats with other guests whilst washing up and the leguaan beating a hasty retreat near the communal bathroom block. We also had a wonderful sighting of two tawny eagles feeding in a dead tree next to the road. My daughter saw her first leopard as it slept in the hook of a Marula tree. We watched a korhaan stalking a furry caterpillar and a Lilac-breasted Roller showing why they have their name, tumbling in mid-flight. We saw a pair of Bateleurs spiralling to the ground, talons locked and orb web spiderwebs catching the morning sun. There is something very special about the Kruger Park which many people try to put into words. I have tried penning a poem, which I hope is not too trite, in an attempt to express that deep-seeded feeling that I experienced there. My Wild Kruger Courtney Watson The bushveld celebrates another day With colour and voices and scents. Somehow everything here is vaster: The sky seems more endless, The sun a richer shade of orange, The Marula trees towering pillars. It is a place of no small measures. A tusk worn elephant ambles along the river bed, Foraging between fleshy fronds Of the grass that shares his name. The sun is silver on the fingerprints of his dusty skin, A last light dapples through the trees. I try to name what I hear As the earth moves from red to royal blue: A Scops Owls twirr, The rattling of Francolins, The boisterous banter of baboons And "Good-Lord-deliver-us." Further along the dry river Bee-Eater silhouettes are frantic in their flight, Kites of wings and delicate tail feathers Beat their iridescent bodies to catch The last unseen insects of dusk. The sinews of bark and leaves Become less definitive in the dwindling light As Venus appears to keep me company. And the sky becomes the colour of ink. The moon is a fallen eyelash And the stars hold their own more brightly Among the meandering Milky Way above. I have arrived home.
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My first stay at the Kruger National Park
This was my first time at the Kruger a National Park and we were staying at Tamboti which is a tented camp near Orpen Gate. These are my highlights. On the first night we heard some tip of crashing noise my dad woke me up because there were two honey badgers at the dustbin who had got hold of my three year old brother’s nappy! From our porch we saw an elephant eating grass in the river bed and we also saw two buffalo. It was night time while we were eating dinner we saw a baby python underneath the table. There were lots of cool night time sounds like the hyenas calling and the scops owls too. On one early evening we saw a hyena walking at the side of the dried up river as well. We also saw a huge elephant right next to the fence with big tusks. We had some amazing game drives these are some of them. We went to a dam and some giraffe walked slowly to the water. Two of them started drinking it was amazing to watch. Then we saw a troop of baboons playing in the trees next to a dried up river. There were two babies and one was older than the other one. The older one kept on biting all of the other baboons and the other little one stayed in its mother’s arms. On another day we were watching herd of Buffalo, there were probably 20 of them and they were wallowing in a big muddy dam. A few minutes later we saw a herd of elephants. There were probably 60 of them and they drank in a reservoir. Then they were probably going to go for a swim but no they started chasing the Buffalo. It was amazing! Then we drove to Sunset Dam and it was fantastic to see a heron surfing on a hippo. Slowly the hippo started to go beneath the water and then the heron started pecking the hippo until he flew away. We were going on a drive and we were heading towards a big fire. Hornbills and Rollers were swooping all over because the bugs were hopping out of the fire. It was brilliant! We were going to our next camp at Lower Sabie and ahead of us there was a crowd of cars so we went there. We asked a man in a white car what he had seen and he said that there was a leopard in a huge tree. I was so excited because this was my first time seeing a leopard in the wild and it was sleeping. It was amazing to spend some time with my brother and my dad in such a beautiful place. I can’t wait to go there again. Bella Watson Age 9 We make connections through shared experiences. They are the synapses that snap as our eyes widen and the edges of our lips churn in the beginnings of a smile. It is something like a gentle push in a shift of perspective. A new vista explored. A view enjoyed.
It is the truth that we find when we look down from on top of a mountain. We took eager steps that squelched along the muddy path, winding ever upwards. Bella’s barrow strides were in awkward rhythm with my own but she managed to keep pace. We passed the small dam where I had caught a silver trout in the rain the day before and steepened our ascent at the foothills of the Northern Drakensberg. Soft, long grass and gnarled protea trees painted the landscape around us. Our destination, a palm of wrinkled rock looked wet in the sunlight. It seemed impossibly far away for my eight-year-old daughter, but she had a resolve in her eyes that was hardened by the promise of a milkshake if she got to the top. As we climbed, the path began to meander between boulders and stones. We clambered between some small crevasses, stopping occasionally for a mouthful of mountain water or to wonder at the view. A farm dog, Lucy, accompanied our hike often straying from our route to pounce on some-or-other animal unseen in the bushes. Her black and white coat gave Lucy away as she hid in the long grass, her punk tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth. Step after step, Bella gained ground towards the top. She played eye-spy to distract her from her tiredness until what was a speck of rock near the summit became an arching fist protecting the cave beneath. We huddled in the shade, our breathing fast and sweat clinging to our hair. At the base of the sandstone were tiny ochre figures. Their slender bodies had been brushed hundreds of year before. Beneath the two cave-painting stick men were the yellow-brown pelts of leopards. This regal sighting must have been significant, at least important enough to be immortalized as art on rock. Bella’s traced their crisp lines, not touching but following. Some small connection between our past and present in the flow of her small finger. We moved along the wrinkle of the cave towards a pool of sweet mountain water that had collected from a falling spring in the rocks above. Almost-powder droplets cascaded from some unknown point above us. We laughed as we tried to fill our water bottles from the falling streams. The rhythm of trickling water echoed around us. Pure, live-giving fluid. I turned my back on the cave and saw the valley stretch out beneath my toes. The lazy, languid rough of our path was like a brown thread leading back to The Cavern. The mountains seemed to encircle the lowland like an Amphitheatre. Green was everywhere. Behind me, Bella had huddled in a column of sunlight, her head bent up towards the tiny waterfall. She was smiling. I have the privilege of living in a country that affords so many opportunities to immerse my children into nature. This time around it came in the form of a weekend in the Pilanesberg National Park. My parents have timeshare at the Bakubung Lodge and I am lucky enough to be invited along every year.
The park holds a very special place in my heart and the escape to the wilderness quenches some elemental part of my soul. Its landscape has become familiar to the extent that as I drive the spiderweb of roads, I am often lost in my thoughts, reminiscing of previous sightings whilst trying to scan the bush for new ones. I remember the cheetah pair (Rain and her cub) I found at the edge of a dusty wallow on the way to Ruighoek Dam, the herd of elephants that enveloped my car near Kubu Picnic Spot, the pairs of Pied Kingfishers that I love to watch from Mankwe Hide and the Brown Hyena that lives near Lengau Dam. I remember the leopard, Orion, that I just missed at Ratlogo Hide and the pride of lion that I followed along the Tlou road. There was also the time when I saw a pair of secretary birds engrossed in their mating ritual near the Hippo Loop. My favorite sighting involved an elephant bull that wallowed in the mud outside the KwaMaritane hide, so close that I was splattered with mud and I could smell his musky scent. These moments all stand out because by-en-large my vehicle was the only one at the sighting and I felt like I had the entire park to myself. I was enthralled by my own little piece of paradise. Sharing these memories with my children and making new ones whilst driving through the bush is one of the most rewarding experiences of my adult life. We gave Bella, my seven year old, her first bird book, by Faansie Peacock, and she began exploring this new hobby with much gusto. Bella was looking for birds wherever she went, trying her best to navigate through the colour codings on the edge of the book to identify them, and then proudly ticking off her sightings on each page. When she wasn’t doing that, Bella would sit on my lap, steering the car along the quiet dirt roads, her face steeled in concentration. We would stop to look at all sorts of things, from broken open termite mounds to chameleons. We would pick the leaves off Velvet Bushwillows that overhung the road, debating whether their texture would really make a good substitute for toilet paper or not. Sometimes we just stopped, turned the car off, and listened to the life around us. I would try to identify as many of the calls as I could, pointing out the Rufous Naped Larks, Diederik Cuckoos or Twinspot Batis. We would scan rock koppies, hoping for the glimpse of a leopard, but satisfied at seeing a klipspringer or European bee eater instead. For my one year old son, Dean, this was his first experience in the bush of which he was actually aware. Dean has always watched the animals around our home, from the birds on the feeder outside the kitchen window to our pair of dogs and cats. He often points his stubby little finger at them and mutters something incoherent, so I was eager to see what he thought of the wild animals. He wasn’t happy being in his car seat, so when Bella wasn’t driving, Dean would stand on my lap, hold the steering wheel confidently and peer out of the window. His first sighting that was close enough for him to really appreciate was a herd of sixteen elephants, ranging from the old matriarch to a calf that could not have been more than a month old. We were lucky to have the whole herd to ourselves as they calmly surrounded the car, crossing from one side of the road to the next. At times they were not more than a few feet from our vehicle, and wide-eyed Dean was pointing, smiling and babbling away the whole time. His jumbled syllables slowly formed into a word and he began saying dog, gesturing towards the elephants. We thought this a fluke at first but when we came across some giraffe, he again pointing his chubby little finger at the long-necked animal and said “dog”! The story repeated itself with any four-legged animal that was close to the car. We saw impala-dogs, kudu-dogs, wildebeest-dogs. The only variation was his starting to wave at them as well! Eventually we came across the most beautiful white rhino with her calf. Seeing rhinos is always bitter-sweet as upon seeing these magnificent creatures one cannot help but think about the poaching plague which is ravishing our wild spaces. The pair came very close to our car, and as we watched them munching away at the rain-sodden grass, the calf began to mew to her mother. It was a soft, whining plea for some milk. Dean was very interested in the youngster, and listened curiously, his head snuggled in the hollow between my neck and shoulder. He raised his hand, extended a finger and said “dog”. My heart melted. At Kamoka, Bella was asked if she would like to be a vet when she grows up. She said that she would rather be an animal rescuer. The result of this conversation was a little Roald Dahlian poem about her love of animals:
Once there was a girl called Bella Whose brother Dean was a little fella Bella was the older one Her life was filled with joy and fun. Her favorite thing in all the world Was rescuing animals from the cold. She had all sorts of different critters That would bark and roar and miauw and twitter. Some were more of the quiet type And they most certainly did not gripe. She found them when she wandered around Some in trees or on the ground. A bushbaby, Noodles, was her best Who bounced around and didn't rest At night but in the day he slept. With gigantic bounds the baby lept From branch to branch until his feet Were feeling very smooth and neat So wee on them he would proceed to do (He always seemed to need the loo) His feet would then begin to stick And he would have to remember not to lick His smelly tiny fingers and toes (That would make all sorts of woes). But Bella loved Noodles all the same And fed him mealworms because he was tame. He liked flavored yoghurt the very most But turned his nose at scones or toast. Noodles had big, round eyes That were red in colour (I tell no lies). His fur was soft and grey and sheek From which a luscious tail would peek. Noodles was special, it's true But he was not the only one in Bella's zoo. She had a chameleon named Sam Who was knocked over by a passing man. She nursed poor Sammy back to health To continue his walk of ambushing stealth. You see, Chameleons are very slow (I'm sure of that you didn’t know). He could change to colours of every shade To brown or green or they would fade Depending on his temper and mood Sammy was one handsome dude. His favorite meal of crickets mind you Were gobbled up with barely a chew. His tongue was a long and sticky thing That shot out like some sort of sling. Out it would come from his jaws Upon finding its target would cause A poor unsuspecting cricket To be wretched from a twig on a thicket. Bella also loved birds and flight. A hornbill Zazu was one rescued plight Who flew into a window pane Which made the poor bird go insane. His balance was most certainly off Although he did not have a cough. But Bella cuddled him to her chest And slowly with lots and lots of rest Zazu became better and strong Until he learnt to hop along Whilst looking down his yellow nose At everyone, especially those Who graced the television screen. He’d perch on Bella’s shoulder and clean His beak whilst watching a favorite show On Discovery Chanel as I am sure you know. And then there were the genet pair Who lived in a huge aviary lair. They were beautiful these genet cats And when released would eat the rats. Their fur was a spotted golden hue Sleek and slender were the two. Baby chicks were their favorite food The genets were not fussy or rude. Bella and Bildo were their name The boy was wild and the girl was tame. And now we come to an iconic bird Who called ‘Goway’ to be heard She never meant to send us away Its just the call that she would say. Her name was Pink (an unusual one) Which Bella named her just for fun Because she was a lourie coloured gray With only one leg she would hop and play With the other birds right outside But nighttime she would come in to hide And perch on the top of our chair To play with Bella’s nice clean hair. Strawberries were always gobbled up (As these were Pink’s most favorite sup) They would make a mess everywhere And Pink would almost never share. Eventually the bird was set free When she found some friends up in a tree. We still see Pink now and then She is a happy little hen. For a short time Bella found A Buttonquail, soft and round. It was tiny with a beautiful plume And stayed with Bella all afternoon. Inside a classroom the bird was locked And separated from its friendly flocked Buttonquails that used to peck around The bushes close to the ground. A short while after we found the quail, We found her family which began to wail And returned her back, safe and sound To forage again, glad to be found. And finally we have Sandy the fish Who fulfilled Bella’s long-time wish To have a swimming creature that Would live in her room growing fat On wisps of food fed each each night That Sandy gobbled up in one big bite. Bella loves her animals its clear And when on holiday she is always near To creatures feathered or full of fur. She finds small cats to stroke and purr, Or chicken eggs from a nestled run (That’s where she has the most fun). She has fed an owl with a speckled touch And stroked a Serval that she loved much. A joyful little girl, that’s our Bella Rose A life that full of wonder fills everything she knows.
One of the pleasures of being a father is being able to create memories with my daughter. Yesterday was one of those memories which transformed itself into one of those perfect days. I decided to surprize Bella by taking her out of school and flying with her in our Cessna 140 to the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve where my parents had been staying for the week. So, we woke up early, piled into the car at sunrise and made our way to the airfield. It was freezing, so Bella wrapped up in her blanket and while I was refuelling and pre-flighting, she worked out where we were flying to on the map that I had drawn up for her. The flight was nothing short of spectacular with the creases of the Magaliesberg passing beneath our wingtips. Above the chiseled rock faces, we spotted spirals of vultures soaring on the early morning thermals and Bella peered out of the window with her eagre face trying to spot animals. She flew for a bit as well, her little fingers gripped tightly on the yoke and an expression of sheer concentration making her completely entranced in her task. We flew over Buffelspoort and Buffelshoek dam, all the while Bella singing "I'm flying in an aeroplane, looking out the window, watching the world go by!" I felt so lucky to have this little girl with whom I can share the things about which I am passionate. She had this gleeful smile and that innocent sparkle in her eyes was pure happiness. In what seemed like an incredibly short space of time, we arrived at the Pilanesberg Airport, cocked up and tied down the aeroplane, to be collected my Mum, Dad, Emily and Ashleigh (family from our Irish friends). They made a huge fuss of Bella, who was very proud at telling them how she had used her map to find our way, first over the mountains, then pass the dam and then to the game reserve. And then it was into the park. There is a sense of peace that I feel whenever I return to the bush. Somehow life seems to click together a bit more gently, I breathe a bit more deeply and I know that I am home. I'm not sure how I am going to survive when I am back at work without my weekly bushveld fix. As we meandered along the dirt roads, squashed together in Dad's 4x4, we were lucky enough to see so much game. Our first treat were some zebras cautiously drinking from the edge of a waterhole near Manyane Camp. The stripes from their faces pooled together in the ripples of their reflections as they drank deeply from the water. Behind them, pods of hippos lay in the sun, the frigid water clearly too cold even for them. Along the shoreline, energetic three-banded plovers rushed back and forth and a grey heron swaggered towards some likely prey. A lilac-breasted roller perched on the edge of a gnarled branch, its iridescent colours catching the morning sunlight. From there we heading off to one of my favorite places, Mankwe Dam. The affect of the drought and waterless winter was immediately apparent as the shores had receded well away from the foot of the hide, but nonetheless the bird and animal life was abundant. Bella and I spent some time watching a white-fronted bee-eater flit about in its erratic flight snatching insects in mid-air. The cormorants were noisily establishing their pecking order as usual and far away we watched impalas and wildebeest come down to drink. Pied Kingfishers hovered in line with the sun and fire-finches mucked about in muddy puddles. After we had finished our tea and rusks at Mankwe, we all piled back into the car to meander towards another watherhole via the Pilanesberg Centre. Bella was spoilt again and she polished off an ice-cream whilst watching some zebras around a salt lick. They were very possessive about who gained access to the lick when. We laughed at their 'sour worm' expressions as they curled their lips back after taking in too much of the salt, or their boisterous biting and kicking when they felt that it was their turn. It is amazing how human-like animals can be! In the process of all of this, a cheeky vervet monkey brazenly climbed onto one of the restaurant table to steal some sweetner oblivious to the couple enjoying their meal on the same table! It could have been worse, I suppose, he could have taken some sugar! At the next waterhole, we had our own lunch. On the way we had a wonderful sighting of some giraffe that stopped a few feet from the side of the road. Bella was entranced at their long purple tongues that wound around thorny acacia branches and managed to de-stem a mouthful of leaves without receiving any pricks himself. They are prehistoric-looking animals, giraffe, but their is a real sense of nobility to their gait. And then it was onward to the waterhole where we had lunch. The serenity of the place and having it all to ourselves was so restful. The water was surrounded by various herds of waterbuck and it was clear that the area is a place for their gathering. A crocodile lazed in the sun close to the hide and a myriad of birds foraged at the water's edge. Geese, plovers, herons and cormorants each one sustaining their own place in the ecosystem. As the afternoon drew on, unfortunately it was time to wind our way back to the Bakubung gate and then the airfield. On the way, we came across numerous herds of elephants that plodded along the foothills of the distant mountains. I longed to see some close by before we left. I love watching elephants. they are my favorite animals and their mannerisms are always a source of inspiration for me. Luckily enough, as we got to the dam near the camp, we spotted a breeding herd at the water's edge close to the car. It was a picturesque scene and a fitting end to our adventure. Bella and I were enthralled by their antics as the younger eles wrestled with each other and the older ones lazily drank from the dam. There is a sense of tranquility that goes along with an elephant herd, and if we listed carefully, we could hear their rumblings as they communicated with each other. Abruptly, the sound of a fish eagle reverberated through the valley and I couldn't help but smile. In the distance, we could also hear the nattering of a wild dog pack, but caught barely a glimpse of one of them as we exited the park. Unfortunately time pressures meant that we had to leave the wild dog and the elephants behind if we were to land back at Krugersdorp in daylight. So, it was back to the airfield where we said our goodbyes and soon we were in the sky again. It had been a big day for Bella, so she fell asleep almost immediately, only waking up when we landed back home on the grass runway. The afternoon air was still, and I could see the mine dump at Krugersdorp almost from Pilanesberg, such was the clarity of visibility. The sun was getting ever closer to the horizon, and when we landed there were only a few minutes between daylight and night time. It was truly an epic day, and Bella's chattering on the drive home explored everything that had happened. She had had as much fun as me.
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