ON January 31, we were out the Skukuza gates at 5am, taking advantage of the last day when the gate opening time was an extra-early 4.30am.
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We had a long and beautiful drive ahead of us, to Lower Sabie and back to Skukuza, so it was good to be out and about so early. Our route that day, along the H4-1, followed the Sabie, one of Kruger’s most impressive rivers. And this route was certainly one of Kruger’s most impressive drives.
The river, fringed with magnificent riverine trees, was full and flowing well, the vegetation growing in the sandy bed a vivid emerald green. It was all so lush and summery and the game viewing was excellent. Soon after leaving we came across a honey badger then another pack of wild dogs – 11 healthy looking adults.. The day was starting to look like a kykweer of the previous one, which had also started with a honey badger and a wild dog sighting.
We followed the pack as the dogs loped along the road then they all flopped down and formed a wild dog road block – and soon a good traffic jam. They weren’t in any hurry and neither were we. Suddenly, one of the dogs pricked up its ears and, at some hidden signal, they all stood up and moved off quickly into the bush, leaving us ecstatic – two excellent wild dog sightings in just two days!
By the time we stopped for coffee and rusks at the pretty riverside Nkuhlu picnic site, we’d seen more than our fair share of elephant, buffalo, fabulous birds and beautiful trees. The natural abundance continued all the way to Lower Sabie, where we had a bacon and egg brunch at the attractive day visitors area.
While there we were cooking our breakfast we watched an interesting encounter, two indignant bulbuls chasing off two Jacobin cuckoos.
The bulbul is the cuckoo’s brood host and these clever bulbuls were not keen on the idea of raising anyone’s baby cuckoos.
Game viewing was little quieter on the way home but we did see big herds of impala with plenty of babies, some giraffe and a couple of groups of kudu.
It had been a long drive so we spent a quiet afternoon in camp, enjoying the chance to get to know Skukuza camping area without the usual crowds. It is a very pretty camp. And Skukuza had a final going away present for us that evening when we took a drive to the nearby Sand River bridge. After a bit of a dry spell in Kruger, the rain suddenly arrived as a big storm. We sat in our vehicle watching the park and its residents celebrating the welcome downpour.
It rained all night and when we left the following morning to go to our next camp, Maroela, we were amazed to see how much the rivers had risen.
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