Monday 21st August - Orpen Gate to Satara
We toured the panorama route before descending to Orpen Gate to enter the park. We were so mesmerized by the beauty of the vistas that we didn't reach the gate until 4.30pm! Still having almost 50km of driving to do, and not knowing what beautiful beasties would pop their heads up along the way, we were pleased that the entry formalities went smoothly.
Due to our late arrival we decided to just head directly to camp along the H7. There was little time for stops along the way so photography was limited. Lyca didn't even raise her camera once, she simply sat back and enjoyed being in one of the most special wildlife reserves in the world. I did think it was necessary however to capture the first regal Giraffe that came into view.
Near the eastern S106 junction we came upon a car parked on the side of the road, and spotted a tell-tale staring Giraffe.
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You can just make out the fat belly of a sleeping Lion in the lower right of the image. There were at least 2 that we could see. It was fascinating to watch the Giraffe walk towards the Lions.
"Be careful! There have been several other Giraffes killed by Lions in Kruger in recent weeks" Lyca whispered to him, and he seemed to listen to her wise advice and moved off shortly after.
It was obvious that the Lions had recently eaten and were not likely to do anything interesting for us so we pressed on. Many of Africa's iconic inhabitants greeted us as we progressed towards Satara; Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Elephants, Hornbills, and of course the ever-present Impala all came out to welcome us.
The sun soon set and we slowed our pace to make sure we would complete our journey safely. A Black-backed Jackal trotted across the road in the dying light, producing big smiles in the car. We timed our journey well and rolled into camp at 5.58. We were so excited to finally be in the famous Satara Rest Camp! I proceeded to reception to check into our accommodation and book a night drive while Lyca ordered us some chow from the restaurant.
Both dinner and the night drive were disappointing! The weather had turned cool and there was a stiff breeze blowing, so we did not expect many nocturnal sightings and that's exactly what we got. The chalk board beside reception showed that several of our target species for the trip, including Serval, had been seen on the night drive the previous evening. I have always found it a bad omen to find out that the animal you are looking for was seen well yesterday, and this again turned out to be true. Apart from a couple of Spotted Hyenas and several Scrub Hares this evening's drive only turned up animals we would commonly see during our daytime drives. Still we didn't let this get us down too much, and went to bed excited about what wonderful sightings might be waiting for us the nest day. After months of planning we were finally in Kruger!
