|
|
Day
10
(October 12, 2022) Kruger National Park: Satara
Before
We will leave the Lower Sabie camp early since this day we
have to reach the Satara camp, which is about 100 km away.
It is the greatest distance between camps that we will have, which
added to the stops, detours and the low speed limit, can leave us
little margin.
|
After
We'll try again leaving at 5:30 AM, since it seems the right way
to have more chances of seeing predators. So we join the queue of
cars waiting for the camp gates to open to be among the first in the
park. We have taken the road to Skukuza, the one we discarded yesterday.
But when we've been there for an hour and we haven't seen anything, we
begin to think that perhaps we have chosen the wrong route again.
That's when we come across a huge herd of baboons blocking the road, as
if they were protesting something. After a while they begin to move in
our direction and we see ourselves surrounded by monkeys, some of them
mounted by their small younger ones. Although it was not what we
expected to see, it has been an amazing experience.
Then we see a kudu in the middle of the road, turning its back on us as
if concentrating on something ahead. We have already seen several kudus
but this is anmagnificent male that, having a broken horn, makes it the
closest thing to an unicorn that we will ever see.
 
The next thing we find are three hyenas lying in the bush, barely
visible. Then we see something walking on the road and the short legs
tell us that it is possibly a carnivore. It turns out to be another
hyena, which walks alongside the car for a while.
When we are already arriving at the Skukuza camp, the road appears
blocked by a lot of vehicles of all kinds. Now it looks like there is
something great and I am convinced that it will be a lion. I ask one
driver who is leaving and he tells me that there is a leopard lying on
the ground, so it is even better. I make room for our car among the
others and look for the animal in the direction where all the cameras
are pointing and we end up seeing it, with difficulty due to its
extraordinary camouflage.
We are so happy that we go into the Skukuza camp to refuel,
clean the windscreen and pay 89R each for the breakfast buffet.
We
are finally back at our bungalow in the Lower Sabie camp at 10 AM. We
shower, prepare, load our luggage and leave the camp at 11 AM in the
direction to Tshokwane, a place almost halfway to the Satara Camp where
we have been told that we can have our lunch.
After a while we see four cars stopped next to a tree with vultures and
we start to take photos of them when a lion appears and decides to lie
down in the shade of that same tree. It is clear that the cars were
there for it and not for the vultures. We enjoy having a lion so close
until it gets bored with us and decides to leave.
We had already decided to make two stops along the way to Tshokwane.
The first is at Nkumbe Lookout where we were advancing good views as
the road was getting us higher. It does not disappoint and we can see
the infinite savannah knowing that Mozambique is on the horizon.
 
The second one is near Tshokwane, at Orpen Dam. We can see eagles and
some elephants coming to drink. In both viewpoints is allowed to get
out of the car.
Once in Tshokwane, we paid 130R for a spinach pie with feta for me and
meatballs with tomato for Eva. Once we're finished, we continue until
completing our journey to the Satara camp.
In the hour on the road until Satara we could see that it is an area of
elephants, since we have seen several herds. We have also seen giraffes
and we have stopped next to a huge baobab that was signed on the main
road.
We check in and settle in the bungalow, which this time does not have
views of the river because they were all gone when I booked. This
overlooks the perimeter, where an animal can still pass.
Then we go to the supermarket of the camp, which is very well stocked, and we return to the bungalow to rest.
 
|
|
|
|
