Makalali Game Park

After Cape Town, I was home for 2 days and then Theresa and I drove up north to Makalali, a game park near Kruger National Park.  It was like being in the Lion Park only 10x better.  We stayed in a hut out in the bush that had the basics (running water, electricity) but had the feel of a rustic cabin.  It had a thatched roof and an outside shower that gave you a good view of the bush while showering (but a little breezy if I do say so!)  We looked out over a river and bush country.  The first day we arrived, there were hippo footprints leading up to our hut that had been left the night before.  Theresa stuck her foot in the print…apparently, the hippo is a size 7, both length and width!!!!  Anytime we went out at night, we had to be escorted because there was nothing separating us from the wild animals…we were all in the bush together.  And most of the cats do their hunting at night.  YIKES!!!!  Did I ever mention I was a girl from the suburbs????

I did 4 game drives while we were there…1 was rainy and cold, 2 were cold and overcast and 1 was a beautiful day with blue skies.  2 were in the morning (we left about 6:30am and got back around 9 or 9:30) and 2 were at night (from 4-7pm)…these were the coldest…especially after the sun went down!  I actually brought out the long-underwear for 2 of the drives.  We were in a Hummer with an open top (did you catch that…that means there’s nothing separating us from wild animals).  They told us to stay in the vehicles b/c the animals didn’t see the vehicles as “prey”.  But if we stood up or got out, then we might become dinner.  We were able to see many animals up close – 20’ from elephants as they were eating and moving thru the bush (see the pic I uploaded – and don’t you dare ask which one is the elephant!), 30’ from rhinos (momma and baby), saw hippos in the water (several adults and a baby but we weren’t able to get too close), and a couple of crocs whose heads were bobbing up in the water as they stalked an impala.  We had 3 young hyenas that came up to the car b/c they were so curious (it made me a little nervous – I got a good video of it though) and then ran off, frolicking together.  On one of the night drives, we were able to see a lioness walking down the road and laying down for a rest (apparently, lions sleep a lot and do their hunting mostly at night).  We got to see a lot of bok (I caught a video of impala crossing the road after we had passed), wildebeest, warthog, giraffe (2 babies and a few adults), kudu, jackals, and zebra. 

Being on a game drive is different than going to the zoo or the lion park in that, these animals are in their natural environment and the bush there is very thick with underbrush and trees (not sure if it was the Highveld or Lowveld) but we could only see about 10’ off the road.  The rains had caused the bush to be very dense.  So we drove around on dirt roads (think off-roading in a 4 wheel drive vehicle…and if you’re in the back it’s similar to a roller coaster ride…but without seatbelts!), peering to either side hoping to spot something.  Some of the drives weren’t very successful (saw only a few animals in the 3 hrs we were out driving) and some were very exciting as we saw animals about every 10-15 mins.  It’s kinda like a treasure hunt….a lot of nothing and then high excitement when you spot something and you follow the animal as much as you can until they disappear into the bush (where the roads don’t go).  By the end of the trip, I wasn’t getting as excited about seeing bok, wildebeest, zebra and elephants as we saw them a lot.  But the highlight of the trip was the last game drive when we saw a lion and lioness and followed them around for about 30 mins.  They probably were only 30’ away from us…I was very glad they weren’t hungry!!!

It was an enjoyable break and I really enjoyed seeing different parts of the country, all different from Joburg.  In many ways, South Africa reminds me of America…with mountains, seashore, lots of farmland and ranches.  It’s very beautiful..much more so out of Joburg. 

I might only be able to update once or twice more before I leave.  I depart South Africa on May 19 and will meet up with my brother for a few days in Kenya on my way back to the States.  We’ll probably go to a game park at Maasai Mara and I’m hoping to meet up with some FRAs I met at TL Orientation in the fall.  I should be on American soil on May 25.  Looking forward to coming home to all that is familiar…but also sad to leave my friends here.  It was a unique experience that I’ve enjoyed immensely.