Sunday, 5 June, 2011
Back to the Bush: Letaba to Bateleur Bush Camp
Our plan was for everyone to get up at 7:00 a.m. today, but I woke
up at 6:15 and ran out the door to catch sunrise. I had a very nice
walk. There were loads of waterbuck down by the river and lots of
bushbuck activity inside camp, including one bushbuck mama nursing
her baby. I watched a lone hippo walk about a mile along the
riverbank before it moved out of sight.
Sunrise
Heading home after a
long night
Bushbuck nursing her
young
At 8:30 we dropped off our keys and left Letaba for the last time.
Our route: H1-6, S48 a/k/a Tsendze Loop, H1-6, S50, S49, H1-6 (plus
many unnumbered side loops), to Mopani Rest Camp, H1-6, southern
S52 west, Red Rocks Loop, across the Shingwedzi dry riverbed to the
northern S52 west, stopping at Tshange Lookout and Silwervis Dam,
and on to Bateleur Bush Camp.
For the first part of the drive this morning, all we saw were
giraffes, buffalo, buffalo, and more buffalo. Then on the S50 we
hit the jackpot. Not only did we see a bunch of wildebeest and zebra,
but we spotted two animals we hadn't yet seen, the tsessebe
antelope and a pride of ostriches. It's fun to find new things!
Tsessebe
A pride of
ostriches
Off to their important
ostrich business
Zebra sleeping, I
hope
We stopped at Mopani Rest Camp to use the picnic area and to fill
the car with petrol. Mopani is a large, peaceful camp with a quiet
picnic area just inside the entrance.
Crested
barbet
Jana at
Mopani
At latitude 23 degrees, 26 minutes, 22 seconds south, we alighted
from our vehicle at the Tropic of Capricorn monument, marking the
southern boundary of the tropics, for the requisite photos.
Tom and Jana at the
Tropic of Capricorn
The traffic in Kruger, sparse at all times, became even more sparse
as we traveled from south to north in the park. At times it seemed
like we had the whole place to ourselves. Well, us and the
wildlife!
Stork
Not enough
water
Turning onto the southern S52 west, in the direction of our next
camp, we then turned up the Red Rocks Loop. “Leopards are commonly
spotted in the Red Rocks area,” or so says our book. Well, we
looked and looked, but darned if we could spot any. It was a nice
view, regardless.
Leopardless Red
Rocks
Crossing the Shingwedzi riverbed, between the southern S52 and the
northern S52, we watched a pair of saddle-billed storks and admired
an African fish-eagle.
Shingwedzi dry
riverbed
Saddle-billed
storks
African
fish-eagle
At the Tshange Lookout, we were again authorized to leave our
vehicles. There was no game visible, but it was a nice long view of
the surrounding countryside. I perhaps wandered a little further
from the car here than I should have, but I live to tell the
tale.
Tom and Jana at Tshange
Lookout
No one is allowed past Tshange unless they are staying at Bateleur
Bush Camp, as we were, so the guests of Bateleur have two dams all
to themselves, Silwervis and Rooibosrand. The side road to
Silvervis Dam was pretty overgrown and obviously little used. We
braved the road in our rental sedan anyway, startling a pack of
banded mongoose, who quickly scurried out of our path.
Silwervis
Dam
At 3:25 p.m. we arrived at Bateleur Bush Camp, where we'll be staying for two
nights. We were greeted at reception by Freida, who checked us in
and, this being our last camp, after determining we had no
outstanding fees still owing, (our finally having successfully paid
the last of our fees at Letaba), issued our exit permit, which
we'll be required to show to exit Kruger two days from now.
Our last Kruger
camp
Bateleur, located in the northern region of Kruger National Park,
is the smallest and oldest of Kruger's bushveld camps. It has only
seven guest cottages. We were assigned cottage number 1, next to
the hide. Our cottage has three bedrooms and two baths, and the
kitchenette is outside on the stoep. We were told they don't have
monkey or baboon trouble here, but still we kept the
non-refrigerated food in the spare third bedroom, just in case.
This is our first accommodation of the trip with a double bed
instead of singles. I was beginning to wonder how South Africa
stays populated!
At 4:10 we left on an afternoon drive to Rooibosrand Dam. Our
route: 9 kilometers south and west from Bateleur and 9 kilometers
back. We shared the dam with one other couple for a few minutes,
until they left and we had it to ourselves. Cool! We saw several
birds and a hippo and the beginning of sunset. Just before the sun
touched the water, we left and zoomed back to camp with only five
minutes to spare on our 5:30 curfew.
As we prepared dinner, Bateleur's camp manager, Lazarus Lehuleni,
came by to welcome us and see if we needed anything. A very nice
touch!
For dinner we cooked cheese-stuffed beef sausages, baked beans, and
Linda made french fries. For sundowners tonight we had brandy and
coke, a favorite drink of Afrikaners, I understand.
Linda and Tom in our
open-air kitchen
As we were sitting on the stoep in the evening, an odd creature
skittered by that looked like a cross between a rat and a mongoose,
with a splotchy body and ringed tail. Tom and I then sat in waiting
for two hours with our cameras, but it never returned. Later, our
rat-mongoose was ID'd as a spotted genet.
Well after dark, Tom and I walked the camp fence. It was fun and
spooky, but we had no animal sightings. We did hear elephants
moving around and breaking trees not too far away, but we couldn't
see them by flashlight.
You must be wondeirng at this point, but, Jana, what was the high
temperature today? I will keep you waiting no longer. It was a
sunny, mild 84 degrees. And we were hoping for a mild night as
well, because not only does this cottage have no heat, it also has
no real front door, only a screen. We are in the tropics now, after
all.
