Johannesburg - It took us three years, but eventually we got to shoot the animal which had eluded us for all that time. But, because we used a Canon camera and not a rifle with telescopic sights or a bow and arrow, we got to see it run away.
And, as the debate about the murder of Cecil the lion raged across the world, we felt more satisfaction than a hunter could feel, controversy or not. The camera freezes a moment in time and capture the life of an animal which a hunter snuffs out.
As the pack of African wild dogs sped past, we fired off a few frames, without causing any harm.
When they start to move, the dogs don’t hang around: they can cover 60km and more a day in search of, or hunting, their prey. That’s probably why we’ve never seen them in our multiple visits to the Kruger National Park over the three years.
Earlier this year, I ground my teeth in frustration as a colleague – who had only been in the park for a day visit – crowed about spotting a pack of dogs at the Numbi Gate on exiting the park.
Now we’re even. And, with those images on our memory card, I know one thing for sure – this is the only way people should be allowed to shoot any sort of animal…
When we got home, my colleague asked whether we get bored with the park? This was an easy question to answer. The person who gets bored with the Kruger is bored with life.
Each time we return to the park, we never know what is around the corner.
And what makes it all the more satisfying is that we are not stressed about what we see or what we don’t.
I think the “what-will-be, will-be” attitude is the best to have in the bush.
We, like all regular Kruger visitors, realise that luck plays a large part in any visit. However, we ensure we are not disappointed if we don’t see any of the “rock stars” of the bushveld.
We enjoy everything, from the biggest to the smallest – and every sighting from the longest to the most fleeting.
This visit, it varied wonderfully: from a small lilac-breasted roller in a tree next to the road to a glimpse of a leopard just before it slinked under the road into a den…
Sadly, as the saying goes, if you don’t have the picture how can anyone believe you?
Always, there is a time or a moment which makes the trip for you… and on this one we got to a spectacular sighting of two rhino clambering up a rocky outcrop.
This is not something you get to see every day and my theory is there are so many middens (places where rhino return to defecate) that they wanted to find a place to do their toiletries that was somewhat cleaner…
So, we weren’t complaining about this unusual sight – nor the sighting of a team of guards being dropped off in the park to nab these bloody poachers.
It seemed to be the trip when everything wanted to get up into the rocks. We even saw a giraffe doing the same thing, and this inspired me to take a photo of our Ford EcoSport SUV test vehicle on the rocks at the Mathekenyane Lookout, a viewing point. This was a great place to stop because it offered a 360o view of the Kruger Park.
We shot a snap of an elephant approaching a water hole, with some buck and zebra standing around, because we thought it was like one of those perfect postcard pictures being sold in the shops, depicting a typical African game trip.
We stayed in a “hut” at the Pretoriuskop rest camp … but by the time we had packed all we needed to take with us, I wished we had just opted to take our caravan.
It was more like a room than a hut – we were in a block of five with neighbours on both sides (this type of accommodation would suit a large family or a group of friends).
The “hut” had two single beds and a fridge, with two chairs and a table and a small wash basin in the corner.
Although the booking form had advised of a communal kitchen and ablutions, with no utensils, there were two glasses and a jug in a small open cabinet on the wall, plus bedding, which was clean and fresh.
For R500 a night for two, we could have found better accommodation, but it would have been outside the park and you would waste time queuing to get in the next day, so this was the compromise.
On the amenities side, the new food companies, which have moved into the camps, are doing a wonderful job.
They might not be to everyone’s taste but the food options are now much better and varied and cater for both young and old alike.
But a visit to Kruger is all about what you see and we did rather well on this visit.
A tip: go to a place like Lake Panic, just outside Skukuza, and just sit and take in the stillness of the bush. It’s magic. And good things come to those who wait – as we found out. A fish eagle on the top of a tree biding its time for a catch, a leguaan sipping water at the edge of the pond, a rather large crocodile basking on the sand, wild geese making a racket on the far bank and bushbuck grazing on the side, plus some plovers nesting under a fallen tree in the shade and jacanahs treading on lily leaves pecking at insects.
We got into three wonderful traffic jams, too – ones that you wlecome: a giraffe just stood his ground in the middle of the road staring at the patient vehicles waiting for him to move on; a rhino decided he would trot along the road for about 10 to 15 minutes and then there was a herd of elephants wandering their way across the road and down to the river with a teenager blowing his trumpet at us as mother and the baby stripped a tree next to roadside.
The day before we left we had been out early and were returning to camp around 17h15, when we stopped to take a shot of an eagle sitting on top of a tree. Had we not stopped, we would’ve missed that pack of wild dogs .
Take aim and squeeze... the shutter, not the trigger. Rest In Peace, Cecil. Something alive is much better than something which is dead.
And Kruger National Park is alive, alive, alive. We think it is simply the Best Place on Earth, a place which never seems to amaze me with all its wonderful wildlife.
A visit to Kruger is all about what you see and we did rather well on this visit.
A tip: choose a spot like Lake Panic, just outside Skukuza, and relax there while taking in the stillness of the bush.
For us, it was magic. Good things come to those who wait and we had the privilege of spotting an African fish eagle on the top of a tree biding its time for a catch, a leguaan sipping water on the water edge, a large croc basking on the sand, wild geese making a racket on the far bank and a bushbuck grazing on the side. There were plovers nesting under a fallen tree in the shade and jacana treading on lily leaves pecking at insects.
We got into three welcome traffic jams: a giraffe stood his ground in the middle of the road staring down the patient game viewers in their vehicles as they waited for the tall animal to move on; a rhino decided he would trot along the road for about 10 to 15 minutes; and then a herd of elephants decided to drift lazily across the road and down to the river with a teenager blowing his trumpet at he stripped a tree next to roadside with his mom.
Luckily, on our last day, as we were returning to the camp at about 5.15pm, we stopped to take a shot of an eagle perched on top of a tree and, as a result, we got that elusive pack of wild dogs in the frame.
So rather take aim and squeeze the camera shutter, and not the gun trigger.
Leaving the precious wildlife alive is much better than leaving carnage and death behind.
And the Kruger is teeming with wildlife, so let’s keep it this way!
It is simply the best place on Earth, a place which never seems to amaze with all its spectacular game.
IF YOU GO
l Check on what sort of accommodation the Kruger National Park provides: there’s nothing worse than arriving with bedding and no utensils when the accommodation is equipped the other way around.
l Eat out once: the new restaurant operators offer good food and decent service – a far cry from not so long ago.
l Give yourself plenty of time to get to the camp: take traffic conditions into account and don’t speed.
l In the park, take your time: plan a route or just drift but, again, take note of distances and speed limits to ensure to arrive at the camp before dark.
l Don’t litter.
l Don’t linger too long at game sightings – give others a chance.
We travelled to the Kruger Park via the N4 highway (and the Schoemanskloof routing) in a Ford EcoSport compact SUV.
Despite its apparently small dimensions, the EcoSport proved bigger than it looked, swallowing everything we needed for a self-catering stay, including food, cooking utensils, gas bottle, folding dining table, cups, plates and glasses, plus wine and beers.
The EcoSport sits high on the road, which made for a good game-viewing platform but, interestingly, didn’t seem to affect the roadholding, which was good (and which got tested through Schoemanskloof). The vehicle cruised happily at 120km/h and, overall, with its 1.0 Ecoboost turbo-petrol engine, returned a commendable 6.6 litres per 100km in fuel consumption.
Nice little touch was the 12v plug in the right-hand back door side of the car to run our fridge off... little comforts make it all worthwhile.
John Grant, Saturday Star