Time to start heading north

[Lisbeth]

Nice to have a family get together

You are right about the conservation fee, I feel bad when I have to pay it

Nice rhino sighting

[krugerbru]

I had never been to Tamboti before, so being the Kruger freak I am, I scoured the internet for information on the which the best tent was to stay in. I think that's actually how I found my way onto this forum. So once my booking had been confirmed, I reserved the best spot in all the camps I was staying in. Now I am a firm believer in fate, as the unexpected is always more exciting than the expected. There is also a part of me that knows that the chances of something special happening if you put yourself in a great location is high, so then 'fate' has the best chance to do it's magic.

Tamboti is perfect. It has a superbly peaceful, remote location, and the safari tents were exactly what we needed. The fridges and shelves are set inside these lockable 'primate proof' cages, which is something the outdoor fridges of the other camps desperately need.

We had built up quite a hunger and beers didn't help this problem. Instead of finishing our week's supply of biltong, we enjoyed a wheel of Kudu wors and some rolls on the braai. The Cicada's were in full cry.



The afternoon drive time was swiftly approaching, so we ensured that we locked away all the food and strapped down our ammo boxes to prevent losing our dinner to the monkeys. There were only 4 of us heading out on a game drive as my wife is not really one for spending a long time in the car, she's more a book, birds and nature kind of girl. On a previous trip to the Kgalagadi, which really suits her style of being able to lie and wait at a borehole, than drive and search, I got to appreciate her way of experiencing the bush. I struggled.





We had a great drive with good general game sightings and some buffalo and elephants in the distance. On our drive back to camp on the H7, we came across this lone hyena, an animal that I learned to appreciate more and more over the course of this trip. I'm sure that the Lion King movie gave Hyenas a bad rep with people forever. Until recently, I incorrectly thought that Hyenas were primarily scavengers, stealing food from hard working cats, but in the Kruger park they actually hunt around 50% of their meals. In other larger reserves that number can rise as sharply as 70% - 80%.

A little further on we hit a road block with people saying there's a cheetah that is lying down about 80m into the bush. I managed to spot it through the binoculars before it went completely invisible. One of those unlucky situations where if we hadn't stopped to appreciate the hyena, we would have been able to appreciate the cheetah (which my son loves) walking alongside the road. You win some, you lose some.

Our arrival back at camp was extremely welcome. My wife and son had spent the last hour locked in the Safari Tent as the baboons, attracted by the fresh food smell, had tried to break into the ammo boxes and steel crate. I heard through chatting to others, that the campers in Maroela, which is just around the river bend, patrol the campsite with slingshots and are able to keep the monkeys firing distance away.

You're always in the thick of things at Tamboti. That evening on the way to ablutions, I noticed a Stiletto Snake (which I identified the next day) at the foot of a tree. The small, harmless looking snake is trigger happy with a big danger being their fangs which contain potent cytotoxic venom.



We had this Genet, which definitely had ulterior motives, visit us during the course of dinner. I was also woken up by a honey badger raiding the bins at night. Along with the hyena patrolling the fence and the kudu's grazing on the opposite bank, there seems to be a lot to see in and around the camp if you just sit and wait.

[krugerbru]

To some peoples disbelief, I am 'one of those' people that leave the camp in the morning when the gates open. It doesn't always work in my favour, but even if all it achieves is being on quiet roads, i'm all in. You won't find me in the camp after 4:30AM in the summer months.

When I reflect a little, I'm still struggling to shake the big 5 checklist. Added to that, I feel like i'm guiding a trip, so I know that there are some expectations. I decided to take a drive towards Satara that morning in the hope that we could potentially see some lion, as well as seeing Satara camp itself which held some special memories for my father-in-law.

We did get our lion on that drive, a few times, the only picture I got was of this young male though, who was vocalizing trying to catch up to the rest of the pride.



I'm not sure what I was thinking by going to Satara, we arrived long before anything was open, before we could even get a coffee. We spent some time admiring the flora, stretched our legs a little and got back in the car for the drive back.

We saw some beautiful antelope that morning, especially kudu. They always deserve a deeper gaze and make the most photogenic subjects, even the females with their large ears, command your attention.





Back at camp, my son frantically told me about the vervet's who tried to get into the tent, even opening the door an peering in to see if anyone was inside. They were definitely traumatised by the experience and despite the beauty on offer at Tamboti, I sadly don't believe that we'll be back in a hurry.

[Richprins]

Very informative, bru! Yes, sometimes Tamboti can be a baboon nightmare until Sanparks comes and sorts them out...then it is quiet for a while again...

I agree with your wife that it is better to sit at a waterhole!

Nice sightings and pics all round!

Are you sure that is a male lion?

[krugerbru]

Are you sure that is a male lion?

I thought what he shared with us under the aloft tail was a dead giveaway ;)

[Richprins]

Aha!

Under the aloft, you say!

[krugerbru]

Aha!

Under the aloft, you say!

Hahaha. My fingers skip words that my mind tells it to type. Aloft tail, aloft tail damnit ;)

[Peter Betts]

Lovely to see Rhino in Kingfisherspruit Rangers Section (Orpen/Tamboti/Talamati/Maroela area) as this section has been Really hard hit by Poachers

[Peter Betts]

Back at camp, my son frantically told me about the vervet's who tried to get into the tent, even opening the door an peering in to see if anyone was inside. They were definitely traumatised by the experience and despite the beauty on offer at Tamboti, I sadly don't believe that we'll be back in a hurry.

Tamboti is actually hardly a problem regarding Vervets and Baboons ....Compared to Lower Sabie safari Tents for example its a walk in the Park ...Rather teach your sons that Human Males completely dominate these Apes ...And shut all windows , Mozzie Gauzes and Canvas outsides when going out (3 layers and all Meds , Biltong/Sugar Sweets / in your boot and only keep Pots , Pans etc in the locked cages. ie dont show food even in the cage as that will draw them into your unit ..next time stay in tent 22 and your opinion of the camp will change and refuse bags in your boot at night as well to prevent the Badgers turning beautiful Tamboti into a urban Cesspool of trash NO FOOD in the tent at all and you will be fine. If you are not camping in Central Kruger ..Tamboti is the BEST camp to stay at as long as you are Monkey wise

[krugerbru]

Tamboti is actually hardly a problem regarding Vervets and Baboons ....Compared to Lower Sabie safari Tents for example its a walk in the Park ...Rather teach your sons that Human Males completely dominate these Apes ...And shut all windows , Mozzie Gauzes and Canvas outsides when going out (3 layers and all Meds , Biltong/Sugar Sweets / in your boot and only keep Pots , Pans etc in the locked cages. ie dont show food even in the cage as that will draw them into your unit ..next time stay in tent 22 and your opinion of the camp will change and refuse bags in your boot at night as well to prevent the Badgers turning beautiful Tamboti into a urban Cesspool of trash NO FOOD in the tent at all and you will be fine. If you are not camping in Central Kruger ..Tamboti is the BEST camp to stay at as long as you are Monkey wise

I suppose, compared to down south, it is still better.

I did take a good hard look at myself after that stay, and we could have prevented this all happening if we had put everything out of sight, completely unreachable. They do distribute leaflets when you check in about how to prevent monkeys stealing your food, but until you have actually been raided there, you always believe that you've done enough to prevent the the monkey's interest turning into something more sinister. I wasn't.