Last night we were given two options for our last morning in the lodge. We could either sleep in, or go on a short game drive. We chose the drive of course. We will have plenty of time to sleep later. So at 5:45am, all were present for the early drive. This morning the weather was the coolest so far. The skies were totally overcast, and we felt like rain might be coming sometime today. Actually, Dale said that rain was in the forecast sometime later today or this evening. We realized how lucky we had been to have four dry days here.
The first animal we came upon was a young male leopard under a tree where he had killed possibly a grey duiker. All that was left was a leg bone, and the leopard was busy munching on it. We were close enough to hear his teeth grinding a knuckle bone. We have read that they do get some calcium from the bones and it does help the strength of their jaws. This leopard gave us a quick sideways stare, then laid over and continued what he was doing.
Then we followed two hyenas that were walking on the road. One ducked into the brush, while the other kept pace with our vehicle. Almost like taking a dog for a walk, however, these animals are unpredictable, irritable, and vicious. Most all of the wild animals here will keep their distance from the hyenas. They can be very successful hunters when working as a pack. We left them behind, but sort of knew where they were headed. We would see them again later.
We rode for a few minutes with enough time to ask if drones are ever used to track the big animals. The answer was yes, but not for locating the animals. They are used for surveillance- once again for the poachers who invade during the night. And something we never thought about, Ben said the poachers have even better drones so they don't get caught. Makes sense.
The largest animal of the Big Five that we saw on this safari had to be elephants. There were two big males hidden in the trees, as well as more females with young ones across the road. A grey duiker, the smallest of the antelopes, ran across the road in a flash. Something must have been chasing it. We were treated with more sightings of the European rollers and the not-so-pretty ground hornbills in the far distance. Ben spotted the jawbone of an elephant alongside the road. He stopped and picked it up to show us the teeth that were still attached to the jaw. The rest of the animal's bones must have been scattered over time. More sightings of a bushbuck in a culvert, a duiker on the run, and vultures in the trees led us to the elephant carcass we saw several days ago. Knowing it was going to smell, one of us sucked on a Ricola cough drop and used a thin scarf to cover their nose. This is something good to remember. When traveling these dust-ridden trails, it's a good idea to carry some strong cough drops especially if your throat goes dry and you have a coughing attack. You will not be the most popular person in the vehicle if that happens. And the lounges help with the strong menthol taste to block nasty aromas. Anyway, back to the crime scene. Those two hyenas did arrive to join one other hyena in devouring what was left of the elephant. And there was not much left. It had been eaten from the inside out by the two types of vultures….the hooded brown and the much larger and meaner African whiteback vultures. Soon all that would be left are the bones, and from the looks of it, that will come quickly. A few of our vehicle mates were very happy to leave the scene.
The herd of impala were close by, not knowing that some of them will be tomorrow's meal. Zebras and wildebeest were next as well as a small crested barbet and a coucal bird. We encountered the four male lions we saw on the elephant carcass days ago. These lions were on another property, the Umkumbe Reserve, and we were not supposed to cross over that boundary. So we stayed for a short time and quietly left the scene.
We came across a young male leopard that had been spotted by other guides. He was "hanging" around in a high tree limb happy as a clam. His head was buried into the crouch of the tree, but he kindly turned around so we could see him full on. Then we discovered he turned around because he spotted impala nearby. Mmm…lunch. Then as planned, we were picked up at 8am, transferred to another vehicle and brought back to the lodge for an early breakfast. Heaven forbid we miss a meal. We had our usual starters then added omeletes and toast. That should hold us until the next meal whenever that might be.
Early this morning, we took the time to pack 99% of our stuff, and did the last of it right before our driver came to pick up our one duffel. We said our thanks and goodbyes to everyone before loading into a larger safari vehicle. Our driver, another young and pleasant fellow, began the drive on the dirt roads on the way to Skukuza, a very remote small airport closest to the reserve. We were treated to sightings of more animals like a giraffe, warthogs, impala, and several birds. We were no more than 15 minutes into the ride, when the driver slowed down, searched his glove box, and realized he was missing important papers that he needed for us and newly arriving guests he was picking up. These papers included permits which were needed to get out of the locked park gate., guarded by a rifle-toting ranger. So with that, he tried reaching the lodge by the jeep's radio, but he was out of range. With that, he turned around and headed quickly back towards the camp to get a better connection. Finally someone got his call, and they said Ben was on his way with the envelopes. He came around a turn riding a motor bike, and we were good to go.
With all of the commotion, our driver said we still had plenty of time to get to the airport before our flight. However, one of us heard the flight was 10:45am. In truth, the flight was 11:40am, but one of us was nervous about the timing. The one good thing about this rural airport is that the usual rules do not apply. They do not require passengers to be 2 hours ahead of the flights. Since we were not sitting together in the vehicle, we both heard different times. Finally there was a tap on the shoulder asking what time our flight was. It was in fact 11:40am and we would not miss it. Whew….. Checked in at the tiny desk, we had ½ hour to spare.
The Airlink flight went well as we were served sandwiches and sodas on the way. We landed in Cape Town at 2:15pm with great views of the city below us. Lion's Head and Table Mountain came into view right before we hit the tarmac. Collecting our one duffel was easy since the plane was small and very few folks have suitcases these days. Outside the baggage area, we located our driver as well as an agent from the South African travel agency we used through our agent.
A new SUV with a lady driver was waiting in the parking lot for the ride to the pier in Cape Town. It was early enough that the traffic was still light. We made it to the ship by 3pm….record time. We passed through the shore side security, then on to the ship where every security guard we know welcomed us back. It was nice to be "home", although we will miss the lodge and the super safari we had.
We loaded our stuff into our room, then took off for the shuttle to the V&A Waterfront a mile away at most. All aboard was 8pm, so we did have a few hours to see some of fabulous Cape Town. We entered this nice mall and walked until we found some stores we like to visit. One was an African souvenir shop, but we saw nothing that appealed to us. What sounded better was pizza and beers, which we found at a restaurant we always go to. Our young local server was most interested in where we lived, knowing we were Americans. He was even more curious to learn about politics where we live, which led to an hour conversation in between serving other customers. He asked questions and we answered them the best we could. We think we ended up giving him some things to think about as well as being open to listening to a variety of news and not just one station.
From there we made our way to the waterfront and the scores of shops, restaurants, and tour options along the way. It was busy for a Wednesday afternoon. We came across at least three groups of "buskers", or groups that sang and danced for loose change. It was a kick watching the kids dance to the beat of the drums. One group had some of the local ladies join it with the dance. They sure did have fun. Close by to this dance performance, we saw the ferry that takes folks to Robben Island and a platform where the Cape fur seals like to land. Sure reminded us of Pier 39 in San Francisco, except there are 10 times more sea lions there.
Since the shuttle ride took a long time to get here due to traffic jams, we decided to walk back to the ship getting us back by 7pm. But first, we had to pass through the customs and immigrations checkpoint to get our exit stamps. Lucky for us, there was no line. Then it was off to dinner by 7:45pm where our waiters kindly welcomed us back. The dining room was almost empty because there was a special Lido buffet serving "Bunny Chow", a round loaf of French bread with the center torn out. Then it is filled with a stew of beef, chicken, or veggies – Boudin-style. Did we mention that 300 passengers left today, and under 80 boarded for the next segment? No wonder the dining room looked empty.
Anyway, for dinner we ordered one Caesar salad, a bowl of pumpkin soup and chicken tenders. A small serving of lasagna and a lamb entrée was served next. No room for dessert, we were happy but tired campers. There was a local show of the Tygerberg Children's Choir, but it began at 7:30pm. This performance should be filmed and shown later tonight or tomorrow, according to the Captain.
It had been a marathon week and a marathon day, but we survived it.
Bill & Mary Ann
