Magick Lantern
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Hyenas Are Very Large: Wednesday, January 3, 2007
(A panoramic view east at the bridge on the H1-6 crossing the Letaba River on the way south to Balule Camp, Kruger National Park: double click on the image and you will be able to magnify the image and pan across it using the "slider". There are elephants feeding on the southern bank.)
We packed up and drove to Balule Camp via Letaba Rest Camp for lunch and Olifants Rest Camp in order to register for Balule (a satellite of Olifants). We arrived to occupy the last open site at Balule (I had reserved it long in advance). There was the initial awkwardness of getting settled in the narrowly confined camp -- but we were beginning to vaguely understand the local preference or need (really) for "laagering up" at night due the presence of large game. Once we had finished setting up, our neighbors invited us over to their site to look at "something". Standing with its nose next to the chain link fence was a fully grown hyena. It was joined by two others but the new arrivals didn't approach as close to us. The hyena must have stood 40 or more inches high and was much more massively built than a dog. Their great size was a revelation. Eying our neighbors' little daughter it was clearly entertaining thoughts of a meal of some sort. While the Park is constantly warning visitors not to feed the animals -- particularly the hyenas -- people do so anyway. While it is easy to understand why this policy is very wise it nevertheless provided us with quite an experience. Our neighbors were not feeding them, in fact the father was explaining to his daughter how he dealt with them safely in the wild as a soldier. But the bad behavior of previous guests had made the hyenas bold and thus willing to stand just inches away from us so we could get a really close up look at them.
I didn't want to scare the hyenas off with flash photography (it was nearly nightfall) and therefore ruin the show for everyone so you must just imagine looking into their faces and at their rough, spotted fur at a very short distance.
(A grey heron in the Letaba River near the the bridge on the H1-6, Kruger National Park)
(A panoramic view east at the bridge on the H1-6 crossing the Letaba River on the way south to Balule Camp, Kruger National Park: double click on the image and you will be able to magnify the image and pan across it using the "slider". There are elephants feeding on the southern bank.)
We packed up and drove to Balule Camp via Letaba Rest Camp for lunch and Olifants Rest Camp in order to register for Balule (a satellite of Olifants). We arrived to occupy the last open site at Balule (I had reserved it long in advance). There was the initial awkwardness of getting settled in the narrowly confined camp -- but we were beginning to vaguely understand the local preference or need (really) for "laagering up" at night due the presence of large game. Once we had finished setting up, our neighbors invited us over to their site to look at "something". Standing with its nose next to the chain link fence was a fully grown hyena. It was joined by two others but the new arrivals didn't approach as close to us. The hyena must have stood 40 or more inches high and was much more massively built than a dog. Their great size was a revelation. Eying our neighbors' little daughter it was clearly entertaining thoughts of a meal of some sort. While the Park is constantly warning visitors not to feed the animals -- particularly the hyenas -- people do so anyway. While it is easy to understand why this policy is very wise it nevertheless provided us with quite an experience. Our neighbors were not feeding them, in fact the father was explaining to his daughter how he dealt with them safely in the wild as a soldier. But the bad behavior of previous guests had made the hyenas bold and thus willing to stand just inches away from us so we could get a really close up look at them.
I didn't want to scare the hyenas off with flash photography (it was nearly nightfall) and therefore ruin the show for everyone so you must just imagine looking into their faces and at their rough, spotted fur at a very short distance.
(A grey heron in the Letaba River near the the bridge on the H1-6, Kruger National Park)
Labels: Balule Camp, Kruger National Park
¶ 12:20 PM 0 Comments
Friday, March 28, 2008
North to Parfuri Border Post and Crooks Corner: Tuesday, January 2, 2007
(Crocodiles on a sand bar -- Crooks Corner near the confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers, Kruger National Park/Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park)
Anticipating our trip to Mozambique, we drive north and east to the Parfuri Border Post. The antelope we spot along the S63 loop are among the finest I see in Africa (for variety). We are advised (unofficially) at the Border Post to have our papers for the truck in perfect order as the police on the other side will seize upon any reason to confiscate the vehicle and sell it as a side business. The visa has been increased to 170 Rand (about USD $25) per person plus 200 Rand for the truck and so forth (more Third Party Insurance is required too apparently).
(Female bushbucks east bound on the S63 Loop Road toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Female bushbuck panting from the heat -- east bound on the S63 Loop Road toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Male impala on the S63 Loop Road on the way to Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Impala fawns under a tree on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park: it appears that they share a strategy similar to springboks -- leaving the very young semi-hidden while the adults graze nearby)
(Male nyala on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Close-up of a male nyala on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park: it is distinguished from the kudu "in that the male's horns are shorter and twisted" whereas those of the male kudu are spiralled and "the white bar between the eyes is broken in the middle" -- Visitors Guide)
At the Crooks Corner picnic and "Get-out point" we help a group with a dead battery. We jump off their Land Rover successfully (with our battery and their cables).
(Vervet monkey at the Crooks Corner Get-out Point and Picnic Area, Kruger National Park)
We end the day discussing Mozambique and the practicality of going all the way to Tofo based upon the amount of time we have allotted for this portion of the trip. I am reluctant to give this up but agree because I plan to go to Mozambique when I return to Africa and maybe we will be a bit of an embarrassment for Will and Jeff: "Ma and Pa Kettle visit Cancun" or some such travesty...
(A warthog tinted with local red soil trots into view, on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Elephant close-up -- north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(African fish eagle north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(Tawny eagle north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
At this point we are still on for the Covane Lodge in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park on the Mozambique side but I sense that the information we got at Parfuri has put a damper on things. My arrests in Zambia didn't bother me but it did bother the rest of the family.
(Nyala in profile on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Crocodiles on a sand bar -- Crooks Corner near the confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers, Kruger National Park/Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park)
Anticipating our trip to Mozambique, we drive north and east to the Parfuri Border Post. The antelope we spot along the S63 loop are among the finest I see in Africa (for variety). We are advised (unofficially) at the Border Post to have our papers for the truck in perfect order as the police on the other side will seize upon any reason to confiscate the vehicle and sell it as a side business. The visa has been increased to 170 Rand (about USD $25) per person plus 200 Rand for the truck and so forth (more Third Party Insurance is required too apparently).
(Female bushbucks east bound on the S63 Loop Road toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Female bushbuck panting from the heat -- east bound on the S63 Loop Road toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Male impala on the S63 Loop Road on the way to Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Impala fawns under a tree on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park: it appears that they share a strategy similar to springboks -- leaving the very young semi-hidden while the adults graze nearby)
(Male nyala on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Close-up of a male nyala on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park: it is distinguished from the kudu "in that the male's horns are shorter and twisted" whereas those of the male kudu are spiralled and "the white bar between the eyes is broken in the middle" -- Visitors Guide)
At the Crooks Corner picnic and "Get-out point" we help a group with a dead battery. We jump off their Land Rover successfully (with our battery and their cables).
(Vervet monkey at the Crooks Corner Get-out Point and Picnic Area, Kruger National Park)
We end the day discussing Mozambique and the practicality of going all the way to Tofo based upon the amount of time we have allotted for this portion of the trip. I am reluctant to give this up but agree because I plan to go to Mozambique when I return to Africa and maybe we will be a bit of an embarrassment for Will and Jeff: "Ma and Pa Kettle visit Cancun" or some such travesty...
(A warthog tinted with local red soil trots into view, on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Elephant close-up -- north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(African fish eagle north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(Tawny eagle north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
At this point we are still on for the Covane Lodge in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park on the Mozambique side but I sense that the information we got at Parfuri has put a damper on things. My arrests in Zambia didn't bother me but it did bother the rest of the family.
(Nyala in profile on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
Labels: Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park, Parfuri Border Post, Punda Maria Rest Camp
¶ 5:41 PM 0 Comments
Wanderings South of Punda Maria Rest Camp: Monday, January 1, 2007
(Zebras grazing south of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
It rained all night and well into the morning. We set out on a game drive south of the rest camp. By the end of the day we have added greatly to Jeff's list of African game: more elephants (those in Botswana by the side of the highway made an impression it seems); zebras; giraffes; wildebeests; Cape Buffalo; Southern Ground Horn bills (rare and endangered I think); impalas; springboks; baboons.
(Not the best photo, but it gives you an idea of how close we are: on the H13-2 east of Punda Maria; shooting over Will's shoulder with a Canon G3; Will with his Nikon D50 and VR80-400 mm AF lens)
(A young elephant regards us calmly: on the H13-2 east of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(A close up of the same subject in the same location)
(And an extreme close-up of the same subject in the same location)
The giant cat fish thrashing around in a rapidly drying water hole yesterday have been rescued by the rains. A fish eagle perched over them will now have a little more trouble selecting a meal.
(Giraffes browsing on landscape typical to this part of Kruger National Park -- south and east of Punda maria Rest Camp)
(A Southern Ground Horn Bill (one of a pair) on the H1-7 south of Punda Maria Rest Camp)
Back to the chalet for more luxury, the news of the day on television, and a good meal.
(A young male baboon sits for his portrait -- south of Punda Maria Rest Camp)
(Zebras grazing south of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
It rained all night and well into the morning. We set out on a game drive south of the rest camp. By the end of the day we have added greatly to Jeff's list of African game: more elephants (those in Botswana by the side of the highway made an impression it seems); zebras; giraffes; wildebeests; Cape Buffalo; Southern Ground Horn bills (rare and endangered I think); impalas; springboks; baboons.
(Not the best photo, but it gives you an idea of how close we are: on the H13-2 east of Punda Maria; shooting over Will's shoulder with a Canon G3; Will with his Nikon D50 and VR80-400 mm AF lens)
(A young elephant regards us calmly: on the H13-2 east of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(A close up of the same subject in the same location)
(And an extreme close-up of the same subject in the same location)
The giant cat fish thrashing around in a rapidly drying water hole yesterday have been rescued by the rains. A fish eagle perched over them will now have a little more trouble selecting a meal.
(Giraffes browsing on landscape typical to this part of Kruger National Park -- south and east of Punda maria Rest Camp)
(A Southern Ground Horn Bill (one of a pair) on the H1-7 south of Punda Maria Rest Camp)
Back to the chalet for more luxury, the news of the day on television, and a good meal.
(A young male baboon sits for his portrait -- south of Punda Maria Rest Camp)
Labels: Kruger National Park, Punda Maria Rest Camp
¶ 3:36 PM 0 Comments
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Doctor Is In: Sunday, New Years Eve, 2006
This morning it is clear that Will needs medical attention: his ear is bright red and swollen and there are red lines radiating from a central site on his ear that are clearly infected. The proprietor at Dongola Ranch gave us directions to the private clinic in Messina (Musina) which we found without too much difficulty. We are amazed and grateful to find the clinic open on a Sunday and a holiday. The staff fit us into the existing appointment schedule and after a wait of only 30 to 40 minutes; Will is examined by the doctor. A fellow patient in the waiting room helpfully made his own diagnosis: a bite by a poisonous spider. The doctor confirms this (the patient had been bitten on his leg by a violin spider and had the scar to prove it). The doctor spent some time with Will chatting about the bite and his Peace Corps experience. Armed with the doctor's prescriptions, we waited in the office for the results of some tests (to rule out tick bite fever and to meet Will's request for a checkup on his status vis a vis malaria) all of which come back very quickly. After the visit to the pharmacy in the shopping center we total up the costs for the visit, testing, and three prescriptions -- 250 Rand or about USD $35.00
The low cost is just as amazing to us as finding the so-called private clinic open: this would have been a very expensive visit to the doctor in the U. S. This diagnosis also cleared up the mystery of what was ailing Will -- it was clear that the bite happened in Selebi-Phikwe in Botswana two days before.
After stocking up with food at the SPAR in Messina and buying diesel fuel for the truck, we set out again for the Punda Maria Rest Camp via R525 and the Parfuri Gate at the northern end of Kruger National Park.
(On the R525 heading east from Messina toward the Parfuri Gate, northernmost entrance to Kruger National Park)
We arrived at the gate and registered -- and still were left with plenty of time to observe the speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour (averaging 25 kph) and reach the gate of the rest camp by dark before the gates to the camp would close. We saw game almost immediately: here waterbucks feeding alongside a river bank, there Cape Buffaloes grazing along the road.
(Bridge on the H1-9 crossing the Luvuvhu River on the way south to Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park -- waterbucks feeding on the banks)
(Close up of a waterbuck feeding on the bank of the Luvuvhu River, H1-9 bridge in Kruger National Park heading south to Punda Maria Rest Camp)
( A Cape Buffalo grazing near H1-8 inside Kruger National Park on the way to Punda Maria Rest Camp)
Punda Maria lived up to its reputation -- retaining an uncrowded feel even now and fully booked at the height of the holiday season. We had reserved a luxury chalet to celebrate the New Year and it was very deluxe, especially after camping.
We put together a meal and celebrated New Years Eve by watching the eccentric and ridiculous R. Kelly video "Trapped in the Closet" on South African television. Being very tired from a long day, none of us made it to midnight but we all spent some time wondering about what South Africans might think of life in the U. S. after watching this epic.
This morning it is clear that Will needs medical attention: his ear is bright red and swollen and there are red lines radiating from a central site on his ear that are clearly infected. The proprietor at Dongola Ranch gave us directions to the private clinic in Messina (Musina) which we found without too much difficulty. We are amazed and grateful to find the clinic open on a Sunday and a holiday. The staff fit us into the existing appointment schedule and after a wait of only 30 to 40 minutes; Will is examined by the doctor. A fellow patient in the waiting room helpfully made his own diagnosis: a bite by a poisonous spider. The doctor confirms this (the patient had been bitten on his leg by a violin spider and had the scar to prove it). The doctor spent some time with Will chatting about the bite and his Peace Corps experience. Armed with the doctor's prescriptions, we waited in the office for the results of some tests (to rule out tick bite fever and to meet Will's request for a checkup on his status vis a vis malaria) all of which come back very quickly. After the visit to the pharmacy in the shopping center we total up the costs for the visit, testing, and three prescriptions -- 250 Rand or about USD $35.00
The low cost is just as amazing to us as finding the so-called private clinic open: this would have been a very expensive visit to the doctor in the U. S. This diagnosis also cleared up the mystery of what was ailing Will -- it was clear that the bite happened in Selebi-Phikwe in Botswana two days before.
After stocking up with food at the SPAR in Messina and buying diesel fuel for the truck, we set out again for the Punda Maria Rest Camp via R525 and the Parfuri Gate at the northern end of Kruger National Park.
(On the R525 heading east from Messina toward the Parfuri Gate, northernmost entrance to Kruger National Park)
We arrived at the gate and registered -- and still were left with plenty of time to observe the speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour (averaging 25 kph) and reach the gate of the rest camp by dark before the gates to the camp would close. We saw game almost immediately: here waterbucks feeding alongside a river bank, there Cape Buffaloes grazing along the road.
(Bridge on the H1-9 crossing the Luvuvhu River on the way south to Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park -- waterbucks feeding on the banks)
(Close up of a waterbuck feeding on the bank of the Luvuvhu River, H1-9 bridge in Kruger National Park heading south to Punda Maria Rest Camp)
( A Cape Buffalo grazing near H1-8 inside Kruger National Park on the way to Punda Maria Rest Camp)
Punda Maria lived up to its reputation -- retaining an uncrowded feel even now and fully booked at the height of the holiday season. We had reserved a luxury chalet to celebrate the New Year and it was very deluxe, especially after camping.
We put together a meal and celebrated New Years Eve by watching the eccentric and ridiculous R. Kelly video "Trapped in the Closet" on South African television. Being very tired from a long day, none of us made it to midnight but we all spent some time wondering about what South Africans might think of life in the U. S. after watching this epic.
Labels: Dongola Ranch, Kruger National Park, Messina (Musina), Parfuri Gate, Punda Maria Rest Camp
¶ 12:08 PM 0 Comments
