Spot a new born rhino at Kragga Kamma Game Park

Published May 4, 2017

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My mother always told me that patience is a virtue. Her sentiments ran through my mind as myself, my guide Peter Joseph and French student Paul Geli ‎ waited for a new born baby rhino to get out of the mud where she was hiding.

She born in Kragga Kamma Game Park in March. The news of her arrival was big in the newspapers the morning after her birth, even overpowering it's lead story of an allege convict who fled custody in Port Elizabeth.

We were in a gold Lexis SUV a few metres away from her. The little one was protected by the mother and a sibling, who is a few years older than she is.She was shy and hid behind her mother.

It was only when we drove out of the game park an hour and a half later that we managed to catch all three rhinos munching on some grass.

The new one was curious, sniffing her nose in everything. Kragga Kamma has 6 rhinos and there has been two births in a space of a few years. That's good news for the rhino population.

Earlier I had told Peter that if all we did at the park was spot rhinos, I would be happy. But I ended up getting more than I bargained for. I was up close and personal with giraffes, witnessed a pregnant Zebra feeding her foal and woke up a cheetah from its sleep.

‎Known as the oldest game parks in South Africa, dating back to 1799 when the British rule used the area for hunting and creating a farm to feed the soldiers, Kragga Kamma is one of the most accessible parks for a game drive.

Their prices are reasonable. We paid R80 per a person for a self game drive ‎and the game drive with transport is R100. The route is fairly simple and doesn't interfere with the wildlife around.

You don't even need a 4x4 as the roads are well maintained. Among the animals we spotted and snapped were wildebeest, nyala, mountain reed buck and ostriches. I even got to see a pride of buffaloes lazing around in the afternoon sun. People can book accommodation as well. There are thatched chalets, luxury safari tent, log cabins and lodges available to suit all pockets. What's better is guests will get view game from the comfort of their terrace as game roam free along the property. We visited the cheetah enclosure, but we had not spotted any. They were hiding, Peter said to me.

But we were in luck as a tamed cheetah, the fastest animal on Earth, was in another enclosure nearby. For a fee one can touch it. However, he was asleep and when he got up he was not a happy chappy.

We opted to let the big fella have his time, but watched as he gracefully walked back to his sleeping spot. On our way back to my hotel, Peter had a strange idea. A few kilometres away was a private property that were building houses in a game drive. There lives the Sable antelope, one of the most impressive antelopes found in East Africa. With the permission of the owner, we drove in. A few metres away was a beautiful herd of Sable antelopes.

They live in herds consisting of females with their young, male bachelor groups and solitary dominate males.  We were lucky to see a male with ‎a group of females and their young. For further information, contact Kragga Kamma on 041 379 4195  or 083 410 2883.

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