Camping at Satara

Our campsite at Satara




Our first morning in Satara, Dad and I set off for an early drive when the gate first opened at 6AM. It was still dark out, but we had a spotlight, so I used that, sweeping the beam across the bush, searching for eyeshine. We saw giraffe, impala, zebra and wildebeest but nothing really out of the ordinary that morning. It was a beautiful sunrise however and so wonderful to be out and smell the fresh, early morning smell of sweet grass.

We returned for breakfast, got freshened up and then headed up the road -back the way we came yesterday - but this time to visit the Olifants Restcamp (one of my favorite camps because of its view... I've decided this is the PERFECT honeymoon spot! Hehe! ;o)

One of the "rondawels" (huts) at Olifants


Don't worry, it's not real! :o)

Instead of going up the tar road however, we decided to take a detour dirt road that went east, before heading north and connecting with the tar again just a few kilometers from the camp. Again, we saw lots of the usual stuff. Which I suppose isn't really "usual" at all! ;o) We took time to stop and enjoy them (many times we'd just drive on, in search of the "big cats").

So many animals are accustomed to cars in Kruger and they really don't associate them with people at all...the smell of the car (exhaust, etc.) does a good job of covering up human scent.
Because of this, animals are completely relaxed and wander about you as long as you are in your car, but the moment a person steps out of the car, they'd be gone or attack you in an instant!

We drove along leisurely, finally coming to the Olifants River low-level bridge (again, hippos and crocodiles sunbathing on the sand) and then drove on up to the Olifants Camp. This little camp hasn't changed for years! It's perched on a bluff of the Lebombo hills and looks east and south down on a bend in the Olifants River. You could literally sit there at the little viewing area ALL day with a good pair of binoculars and look for animals. And given enough time and patience (and a good eye) you would see hundreds!!!

What an amazing view!!

We decided that since we'd been snacking in the car that we'd only get an icecream bar there, so we sat at the viewpoint to enjoy those and while there, we saw all sorts of birds, crocodiles (including a dead one, belly up...rather unusual!), hippos, giraffes, kudus, impalas, etc. etc. It was with great reluctance that we pulled ourselves away and got back in the car to head south.

Mary and I had signed up to go on a sunset drive at 4:30PM until 7:30PM, so we needed to make sure we were back in plenty of time (the sunset drive is worthy of a story all its own).

First Day in Kruger!!

It took us a couple hours of driving to get to the brand new border post, Giriyondo, that connects South Africa with Mozambique through Kruger Park. As we drove further west, the habitat looked more and more like the Kruger we know as we left the villages and people behind.

We saw many steenbok and duiker (small antelopes) that would dart away as we trundled past.

The land was dominated by mopane and marula trees and while it was dense bush, at times it would open up into incredible views stretching out to the horizon. Marula trees were starting to lose their leaves for winter, but mopane leaves turn yellow and then a lovely rust color. Not as striking perhaps as New England, but still very, very lovely!

We only passed one other vehicle as we drove along, kicked up clouds of dust. Just a few kilometers from the border we came across a herd of zebra -- now THIS was exciting!!! Our very FIRST sighting of zebra (of any large wildlife for that matter) actually in the wild in Mozambique! I took a picture of them (will have to get it up on here) ...and shortly after seeing them, we saw impala and wildebeest and began to see spoor (footprints, dung, etc.) of other animals. Kruger was near!!!

The border was deserted when we arrived. The guys inside the immigration seemed glad to see us -- someone to talk to!! We took care of immigration forms, etc. etc. and proceeded on to the South African side and then... we were through!!

The mopane and marula trees continued, but now we were driving up the Lebombo hills and there were beautiful white seringa trees, large spreading trees with very striking white trunks and bright yellow leaves -- they grow along the tops of rocky outcrops. Baboons and monkeys like to sit in them. There were the large baobab trees (known as "upside-down trees") towering here and there above the rest of the trees. We didn't see too many animals at first, but the landscape itself was so very interesting and varied that we really didn't mind much. We did begin to see what we call "the usual stuff" ... impala, wildebeest, warthogs, giraffes, zebras, waterbucks, kudus, etc.

Baobab "Upside Down" Tree

We saw several elephants and came upon one who was meandering down the road in front of us. We had to slow down and just creep along behind him, waiting for him to move off the road (after all, animals DO have the right of way in Kruger and besides, there really isn't much you can do when an enormous elephant bull thinks he owns the road!)

We drove to Letaba Restcamp, a beautiful camp (where my parents spent their honeymoon actually!). The camp is situated along the Letaba River and is full of large, beautiful shade trees like the Natal Mahogany, Sycamore Fig, Fever trees, etc. with bushbuck wandering about -they are so used to people you can almost pet them! We pulled in at the shop there just to stock up on some charcoal, some milk and other necessities, before filling up with gas and heading south to the Satara Camp where we would be spending the next two nights.

As we drove away from Letaba and made for Satara. Once we crossed the Olifants River - a very wide, rocky riverbed, full of sun-bathing hippos and crocs, the Lebombo hills veered off to our left and we left the mopane trees behind. Now the terrain was the more even ground of the grassy plains in the central part of Kruger. It is here that the migrating herds come in winter and we saw herds and herds of wildebeest and zebra. There were lots of large birds (ostriches, ground hornbills and secretary birds) striding along through the long, blond grass.

We saw lots of elephants as well, but interestingly they were all spaced out --not together as usual -- but I think it was because they were feeding without any particular destination in mind. Elephants communicate using infrasound and so distance isn't a big deal for them, they can communicate with each even though they are several kilometeres away from one another!

We arrived in Satara at last. Unlike most camps, it doesn't border along a river and the camp is pretty dry compared to the others -- there aren't any really large shade trees here. We went to the campground to find a spot, but because it was towards the end of the day, all the prime spots were taken! :o( We had thought that because schools in South Africa are still in session that things might be quieter, but that's what all the older South Africans figured on too! They were all there in the campers and caravans. In fact the park was full of elderly Afrikaaner people! They all assumed that since we were camping too that we must be locals and would greet us in Afrikaans. I'd greet back in English but by the end of it, I was just greeting them back in Afrikaan! ;o) We found a nice little spot under an acacia tree, about halfway between a little kitchen area and the bathrooms and set up camp. That night, after dinner we went to watch a film (just like what they used to do in the olden days -- well, when I was little anyway! They had discontinued it for a long time). The films are always wildlife documentaries (which I love!). That night it was all about hyenas. Very interesting!! After that, we picked our way along in the moonlight back to our tent and turned in soon after, waking up around 2AM to hear lions roaring back and forth. It sounded like one lion (male perhaps from the sound of him) was north of the camp and the rest of the pride was to the south. They called and answered at least 22 times! It was amazing to lie there and listen...I thoroughly enjoyed it!! (I wasn't nervous at all because lions' roars carry for a very far distance.) I finally drifted off to sleep again, dreaming of what we might see the next day....

Limpopo Transfrontier Park

Well, we are back after an absolutely delightful week of camping ...not without its hiccups along the way, but overall, it was lovely! Just what I needed!!! I'll go back to the beginning and share our adventures in order....

Our first destination was the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. (www.greatlimpopopark.com) It's a brand new park, recently opened and still in its very early stages of development. Essentially, it is an extension of South Africa's Kruger National Park that overlaps into Mozambique. There have been rumours of this transfrontier conservation area being established ever since I was a little girl living in South Africa. I've taken a keen interest in it since then and even did part of my senior independent research at ENC on this park. So.... it was with GREAT excitement that I set off with Mom, Dad and Mary on the four hour drive to reach the park.

It took us a while once we reached the town of Massingir -out in the middle of nowhere- to find our way, but we managed and soon found ourselves driving along the wall of the Massingir Dam, an impressive sight! The park entrance was on the far side of the dam. We took care of paperwork, paid, and headed on towards the Campismo Aguia-Pesqueira (Fish Eagle Campsite).

Because the park is still in its early stages, there are still villages within the park and very little in the way of wildlife. People were friendly and waved and called out as we bumped along. Only 4x4's are allowed in the park and we could certainly see why!! Very rough terrain indeed!

We eventually reached the camp and met up with the manager...who was delighted to have some Portuguese speakers there for a change (most visitors there are from South Africa). It must be a very lonely job... we were the first people to come all day. It's a small camp, only 10 sites total and two ablution blocks and outdoor kitchenettes. He assigned us site #6, the best of them all. It had an absolutely GORGEOUS view out over the Massingir Dam.

We set about unpacking and setting up the tent, all the while listening to that quintessentially African call of the fish eagles around the dam. We watched the fishermen in their dugout canoes criss-crossing the dam on their way home. We scoured the dam with our binoculars, searching for hippos but my guess is that they stay near the river mouth.

The sun sank lower in the sky and the colours of the water and surrounding mountains and foliage were absolutely breathtaking! Added to that the near-full moon rose in the east. Words cannot describe how beautiful it was!! Another family - South African - set up camp next to us, so we didn't have the entire place to ourselves after all, but despite that it was very, VERY restful and quiet. We had some curry and rice, cooked over a small gas ring that we brought along (Mom had prepared several meals in advance and froze them -- packed tightly in coldboxes surrounded by ice). We sat around the fire for a while and then turned in early.
I awoke around 3AM, gazing up at the almost lacy network of shadows cast by branches and leaves in the moonlight. It was so very quiet, even the crickets and bats were silent. I lay there savoring it for a moment before dropping off to sleep once more.

We were up with the sun and I had a cold shower (there was a gas heater for water but it didn't work) -- there's nothing as invigorating as a cold shower on a chilly African winter morning! :o)

After a bite of coffee cake and something warm to drink, we took down the tent, packed up the truck, looked out over the dam once more and then headed out -- on our way westwards towards Kruger Park !!

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(The director of the Limpopo Park is actually a member of the Maputo Central Church of the Nazarene and I was really hoping to be able to meet him while we were there. Unfortunately, it was only today that I found out that he was in Maputo while we were there in the park. He had gotten the date wrong and had been planning to have a dinner there for us while we were there...shame! (Heh! I wanted to ask him about potential job/volunteer opportunities in the park some day in the distant future... oh well...perhaps another opportunity will present itself! ;o)