Days 8, 9,10: Hoedspruit, South AfricaMonday morning was chilly and misty. This was basically the only non-perfect weather we had and we were on our way out anyway. We went right back to Cape Town airport and caught a flight to Hoedspruit Airport. It’s actually an air force base and was an emergency landing site for the space shuttle, but it looked like a house with tarmac in the backyard. At the airport we were greeted by a ranger and taken to the game reserve.
We stayed at Kapama Southern Camp, a private game reserve adjacent to Kruger. It was truly amazing! We stayed in these cabins that were beautiful on the inside. The staff were really helpful and nice and everything worked out perfectly. The schedule goes as follows:
5:30 AM wake up call
6:00 AM morning tea
6:30 AM morning game drive
9:30 AM breakfast
1:00 PM lunch
3:30 PM high tea
4:00 PM afternoon game drive
7:30 PM dinner
The game drives are incredible. Every jeep has a ranger and a tracker. The tracker, who is usually a local, reads the spoor (tracks and other signs) of wildlife to help locate the game in the area. The tracker is seated on a little open seat attached to the front of the vehicle to see the ground clearly. Once it gets dark out the tracker holds a torch and continues to look for animals.
After settling in we went on our first game drive. We saw all kinds of animals, including 2 lion cubs playing while their mothers slept nearby. Our ranger was really amazing and so knowledgeable in all areas.
After the drive we had dinner outside, around the fire. This is what they call ‘braai’ which means to grill. The waiters treated us to some very entertaining song and dance while we ate.
Later that night while in the cabin we heard a male lion roaring for a long time. It sounded like it was right outside and it was, quite literally, awesome.
The next morning we were awakened at 5 AM to go on our next game drive. This too was amazing and we saw 2 lionesses chilling out by the water, as well a whole bunch of other animals. After returning from the drive and eating breakfast we chose to do a bush walk from the variety of extra activities they offer. A bush walk is a way to go out into the bush and focus on the smaller things that you don’t focus on during a drive. Our ranger, after giving us strict instructions, walked in front holding a rifle and we all followed in a single file line. He showed us how to identify some tracks, different plants and the like. The focus is on smaller mammals, birds and insects, with a spotlight on animal spoor and dung, small flowers and plants, bird calls and the like. We did spot some large animals like elephants and giraffes but we avoided them while on foot.
After the bush walk we went to the spa, or wellness centre, which was fantastic. It was so beautiful and out there in the bush with the sounds of the wildlife in the background.
We returned from the spa for lunch, some rest and then off to the next game drive. This game drive was just as great as the others. We spotted the 2 female lionesses again and they walked so close to the jeep that I could’ve reached out my hand touched them. It was really cool and slightly scary too!
That night we had dinner right out in the bush.
Wednesday morning was our last game drive and we still hadn’t seen any male lions. And so our ranger and tracker were very busy trying to find and track it, when out of the blue he just ran out in front of us. He proceeded to sit himself down for the next while, with 2 lionesses nearby.
During breakfast our ranger called us, and showed us a different male lion that was sitting right in view of the dining room. It was just sitting there by the water staring at us.
After we packed up and checked out, our ranger, who was taking us to the airport, took us a bit early because he thought he knew where the lions were. Sure enough we came across the whole family sleeping in the sun. Dad, mom, 2 older female lions and 2 younger cubs. After staring at them for an infinitely long (yet not nearly long enough) time we finally went to the airport where we flew back to Joburg. We had a couple of hours to kill until our flight home so we left the airport and went out to eat at Michelos, a nice place with pretty good food. After eating we went back to the airport where we took our flight back to JFK.
Kapama entrance:
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ponash, on Flickr
Outside and inside of our cabin:
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ponash, on Flickr
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ponash, on Flickr
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ponash, on Flickr
Kapama's library/lounge and pool:
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ponash, on Flickr
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ponash, on Flickr
Spa:
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ponash, on Flickr
Dinner out in the bush:
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ponash, on Flickr
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ponash, on Flickr
2 cubs playing while their mothers slept:
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ponash, on Flickr
Rhino:
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ponash, on Flickr
Wildebeests:
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ponash, on Flickr
Moving a tree that one elephant had knocked down:
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ponash, on Flickr
The family of lions sleeping:
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ponash, on Flickr
Kudu and Impala:
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ponash, on Flickr
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ponash, on Flickr
Zebras crossing the road:
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ponash, on Flickr
The male lion running out in front of us:
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ponash, on Flickr
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ponash, on Flickr
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ponash, on Flickr
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ponash, on Flickr
Lioness stretching:
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ponash, on Flickr
Crocs and Giraffes:
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ponash, on Flickr
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ponash, on Flickr