7th April Lower Sabie to Home
Our final morning had arrived and as per normal everyone was quiet and very subdued. The car packing mission took place in silence and we were 1st in the queue at the gate.
I normally have blinkers on when it’s time to leave due to the long drive, but the Cow had conned me to do the S28 rather than the quicker H4-2, because of the large buffalo herd we had encountered there yesterday and it’s a general rule we use when locating lion who follow behind these large herds.
I had that usual sick feeling in the stomach that one gets when it’s time to leave Kruger, so my mind wasn’t really in the game and it was a very misty morning, therefore taking pics was almost impossible, but a few km into the S28 we were forced to stop by a stroppy buffalo.
Next up was an ellie and then a giant eagle owl (Sorry about the pics, but the mist was hectic)
A few km later as we came around a corner I spotted something in the road, but couldn’t make out what it was in the mist until we were closer and then I squawked “Lion!!”
It was a fairly large pride with a few teenagers also and the great thing was that we were completely alone again, so I moved up slowly as they seemed very nervous.
The one aunty off to the side decided to do her morning ablutions which set the rats off and broke the tension in the car.
After 5 minutes I started to move again, which resulted in a hairy eyeball from the Cow “What, we have to leave!!”
The pelicans were getting bigger in the car the closer we got to Croc Bridge, so I was rather happy when a jackal popped up to change the mood.
As we hit the tar we found the remains of a buffalo kill, which we could smell the day before but couldn’t find, so obviously the hyena had been busy overnight and then a scallywag running towards it.
We left Kruger at about 7:20am and the drive over the Crocodile River when leaving the park is never a great feeling, so the snivelling started in the back and my mind was already planning the next trip.
In the end it had been a reasonable 10 days in KNP and if it wasn’t for the noise issues that we experienced consistently for the first time, it would have been a great trip.
Lastly, thanks to all of you guys that have shared our adventure with us and for allowing us the opportunity to relive our trip.
Bushcraft, the Cow and the Rats.
