NO two trips to Kruger national park are the same and you just never know what is waiting for you around the next corner. On our previous trip, a couple of years ago. we’d been thoroughly spoilt regarding lion sightings but this time round, the big cats were proving a little scarce. Instead, elephant sightings were dominating our game viewing and we were enjoying the privilege of watching so many of these wonderful giants, often in big breeding herds, alongside most of the routes we took, particularly ones that skirted the rivers.

Then, as we left Pretoriuskop and headed towards our final destination, Berg-en-Dal camp, the emphasis changed and we found ourselves having an unprecedented hyena day.

Never before have we seen so many along any route in Kruger. I love seeing hyenas. I have always found these often-misunderstood animals absolutely fascinating. And rather scary, particularly the spotted variety, which are the ones you are most likely to encounter in Kruger. Their cousins, the brown hyenas, for the most part silent, inconspicuous loners, are more likely to be encountered in our arid parks.

For a start the spotted hyena is rather spooky in appearance, sporting a shaggy, blotchy coat, big head and the distinctive sloping back that gives it a menacing look; and you won’t find night bush sounds more eerie than its ghostly giggles and whoops. Then there are those terrifying tales told around camp fires about its sneaky cunning and the amazing power of its jaws. Spotted hyenas are far from the cowardly scavengers that many people label them. Although they perform a valuable service as part of Mother Nature’s clean-up squad, they are also brave, formidable hunters and they have been known to steal a lion dinner right under the big cat’s nose. When we’re camping in a wild place, where the smell of braaiing meat tempts these opportunists to gather around the tents at night, the ruby gleam of their eyes caught in the beam of a torch or lit by a flare of the campfire sends shivers down my spine.

They can be peaceful and dog-like as they sleep away the daylight hours but at the scene of a kill, all bloodied and wild-eyed, they can be absolutely terrifying creatures.

Normally, when we travel from Pretoriuskop across to Berg-en-Dal we go via the old Voortrekker Road, opened up by Carolus Trichardt, the son of the Voortrekker leader Louis Trichardt, in 1849 when he was commissioned by the Transvaal Government to find a route from the interior to Maputo, or Delagoa Bay as it was then known.
It is a lovely scenic route and we have often seen interesting birds and animals along the way. However, we decided on a longer route via the H1-1 and the H3 then on to Afsaal Picnic site where the H3 joins the Voortrekker road. That section of the H3 was one of the few Kruger roads we had not yet explored.

Soon after setting off along the H1-1 we caught a fleeting glimpse of two hyenas alongside the road. Not much further along, we were stopped by a hyena roadblock, manned by a couple of extremely curious youngsters. They showed no sign of fear and spent quite some time carefully examining the cars. At one time it looked like one of them was about to take a bite out of the tyre of the bakkie in front of us. That got the driver moving off quite fast!

We saw two more small groups of hyenas in the veld then we stopped to take a look at an adult and a youngster at a culvert right next to the road. The youngster moved off and we were just about to follow suite when out of the culvert popped a tiny, absolutely gorgeous cub. We watched the beautiful interaction between this adorable little creature and its doting mother for quite a while and felt very privileged to share their special moments.

Amazingly we saw quite a few more hyenas after stopping at Shitthave Dam, where nothing much had been stirring, then we started to see more general game, including kudu, duiker, zebra, buffalo and plenty of giraffe. So far, every day in the park had produced at least one bataleur sighting, often more, and our first one that day was quite spectacular. The beautiful raptor did a fly-in straight towards our vehicle and landed on the ground right next to our car, strolling around on the ground and showing off its smart black and white plumage and striking red face.

This striking, short-tailed eagle is well-named. Bataleur comes from the French word for tumbler or acrobat and these agile fliers are among nature’s finest aerobats. Seeing so many of them in Kruger was a treat. Sadly you will seldom come across them outside our game reserves. A little later were were also treated to another the amazing raptor sighting, hundreds of vultures spiralling heavenward on a thermal. As I said, in Kruger you never know what you will find around the next corner.

By then we were more than ready for a brunch stop at one of our favourite spots in Kruger, the renowned Afsaal picnic spot that boasts a restaurant selling traditional South African meals and lovely shady picnic tables set in a grove of tamboti trees. Near where we were sitting was an enormous boer-bean tree, covered in crimson blossoms and attracting all sorts of birds. After a pleasant stop and some enjoyable birding we bought some take away roosterbrood, cooked over an open fire at the picnic site, then set off on the final leg of that day’s drive. We extended it by turning off the tar and driving to Berg-en-dal via the back route, the S120 and S110 loops, stopping at the Matjulu waterhole near the rest camp. 

This is a scenic route through rocky, mountainous but very striking terrain but it was obvious that the drought had hit this area hard as we’d never seen it quite so harsh and desiccated before, It was a relief to reach the relatively lush greenness of Berg-en-Dal, one of Kruger’s prettiest rest camps and to set up camp under a shady tree.this time, The empty dam was a sad reminder that this area was still very much in the grip of the terrible drought but Berg-en-Dal is a tree-hugger’s delight and the many different species decked out in their spring flowers told us that the summer rains would, hopefully, soon be on the way.

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