Flavour of the Month-July/Aug 2021: S140/S145/Talamati
Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2021 9:18 pm
Elephants, black rhinos, white rhinos, wild dogs. You won’t see any of these on this route. Rats, bush chickens, turtles, roaches. Nope, none of these either.
I first chose the S140, but a quick search showed I have no photos of animals on that road.
So I added its extension, where it becomes the S145. I suppose someone thought a change of names of the exact same road would also change one’s luck with sightings. 
Nope. A more extensive search showed I don’t have any animal encounters there either. In desperation I decided to add the Bush Camp found along this road, Talamati.
Talamati is a Tsonga word that means "Lots of Water", which appears to be somewhat of a misnomer, because the Nwaswitsontso river is actually dry. Perhaps that should have raised my suspicions about the area.
While our stay there was delightful, it was mainly birds we encountered. (2005 - I wasn’t too serious about photography, as is evident…
)
Here is one of my all time favorite bird sightings:
Many people want to escape the crowds in Kruger. If you also wish to escape crowds of animals, this route is for you. No worrisome baboons trying to jump in your open window, no angry buffalo to keep a safe distance from. Nope, just you, the road, the bushes, and boredom. I mean tranquility. Naturally, you’ll have the road all to yourself, as most people are smart enough not to go there. If you suffer from animalaphobia, this is the perfect route for you! Enjoy!
To be fair, despite our personal experiences there, “I’m told” it is indeed a game rich area. I’ve also been told frogs cause warts, pubescent boys are told a certain activity causes blindness (untrue, it causes warts), it’s said humans only use 10% of their brains (an obvious over exaggeration), and that Uranus was originally named Urbum (Spoiler Alert!: the correct answer is George). Don't fall for everything you're told.
Since the area around Orpen and Tamboti are indeed game rich, I assume it’s possible that an occasional lost animal, or maybe an introvert, ends up along this road. Unfortunately, it will probably die of loneliness, but hey!, the vultures have to eat too.
Okay, I’ll now turn this riveting topic over to all of you: “Is the S140/S145 the Suckiest Route in Kruger”?
On the other hand, if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off.
I first chose the S140, but a quick search showed I have no photos of animals on that road.
So I added its extension, where it becomes the S145. I suppose someone thought a change of names of the exact same road would also change one’s luck with sightings. Nope. A more extensive search showed I don’t have any animal encounters there either. In desperation I decided to add the Bush Camp found along this road, Talamati. Talamati is a Tsonga word that means "Lots of Water", which appears to be somewhat of a misnomer, because the Nwaswitsontso river is actually dry. Perhaps that should have raised my suspicions about the area.
While our stay there was delightful, it was mainly birds we encountered. (2005 - I wasn’t too serious about photography, as is evident…
)Here is one of my all time favorite bird sightings:
Many people want to escape the crowds in Kruger. If you also wish to escape crowds of animals, this route is for you. No worrisome baboons trying to jump in your open window, no angry buffalo to keep a safe distance from. Nope, just you, the road, the bushes, and boredom. I mean tranquility. Naturally, you’ll have the road all to yourself, as most people are smart enough not to go there. If you suffer from animalaphobia, this is the perfect route for you! Enjoy!
To be fair, despite our personal experiences there, “I’m told” it is indeed a game rich area. I’ve also been told frogs cause warts, pubescent boys are told a certain activity causes blindness (untrue, it causes warts), it’s said humans only use 10% of their brains (an obvious over exaggeration), and that Uranus was originally named Urbum (Spoiler Alert!: the correct answer is George). Don't fall for everything you're told.
Since the area around Orpen and Tamboti are indeed game rich, I assume it’s possible that an occasional lost animal, or maybe an introvert, ends up along this road. Unfortunately, it will probably die of loneliness, but hey!, the vultures have to eat too.
Okay, I’ll now turn this riveting topic over to all of you: “Is the S140/S145 the Suckiest Route in Kruger”?
On the other hand, if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off.
