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Day
9
(October 11, 2022) Kruger National Park: Lower Sabie
Before
This is the only day that we will repeat camp so, as we'll
start
and finish the day in the same place we will explore the Lower Sabie
area, around the camp.
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After
Today we want to spend all our chances to see cats and we get up
as early as we can to leave at 5:30 AM, which is when the camp's gate
open. Between the road to Crocodile Bridge and the one that goes to
Skukuza we choose the first one because the board that the camps have
for people to mark their sightings shows a lot of lions on that road
yesterday.
It has just dawned and, as we leave the camp, we turn south. The cars
are split among the different routes. Through our road we see kudus, a
buffalo, elephants and a hyena that crosses the road but, as it does in
front of one of those vehicles from the camp tours, the sighting is
quite blocked.
We are back in the camp around 7:30 AM, quite disappointed
because we still haven't seen any cats. When I look at the board I
confirm that no one has seen them on that road. However, we get
frustrated to see that the road to Skukuza, the route we did not
choose, is marked with several lion encounters along its entire length
and a few leopards. This is very random.
 
We have breakfast at the camp's restaurant with a spectacular
terrace facing the river and we return to the bungalow with the idea of
relaxing for a while. It has become clear to us that the cats are
active early and late in the day and, as soon as the heat sets in, they
take refuge under some shadow. So this time of the day is the least
likely to see them.
I wander around to explore the camp and do a sort of domestic
"safari" and then enjoy the pool alone before we get ready to go out
again.
It's past 11AM when we leave for Skukuza with the intention of
having our lunch there again. We choose to take the S29 road to stop at
Mlondozi, a lookout to a dam where we can get out of the car. There we
see elephants, hippos and an eagle, and the group that is having a
picnic there points us to a tree in the distance where there is a
lioness resking in the shade.
   
We continue along the gravel road to Skukuza, where we see an ostrich, secretary birds, zebras, warthogs and giraffes.
We eat at the same restaurant than yesterday, but this time we
choose the buffet option by 170R each. Then we do some shopping in the
store since it is much bigger than the one in our camp.
 
We leave the camp to see the nearby Panic Lake, where there is
an observatory with signs marking we must be quiet. Inside all the
seats are occupied by people with multiple cameras with huge lenses.
When an osprey descends into the lake, the silent enclosure is filled
with the sound of the cameras. We leave because we have the feeling
that we don't belong here, especially when my sunglasses fall off,
breaking the silence and making everyone look at me disapprovingly.
We take the H4-1 road again to our camp and on the way we see
elephants, linyala, a waterbuck and a tree full of small monkeys
playing.
 
We have dinner from what we have bought while watching the river
from our terrace, where animals come to drink, and we go to bed soon
for another early morning tomorrow.
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