Threescore and Ten

The bible gives us 70 years.  Anything more is a bonus.

Unfortunately Andre Roussimof’s more than 200 kilos, 7’4″ body was never destined to make it that far. He died back in 1993.

He would have turned 70 today.

https://youtu.be/WWS2KlOzn0k?t=47

 

Kruger 2016, Part 9. Our reluctant departure.

We were invited for three nights at Boulders Lodge, but Tanya couldn’t get more leave, so we had to leave on the Sunday, see how far we could get, and then complete the drive home on Monday (which was a public holiday, “Family Day” aka Easter Monday).

So we left as early as possible, which gave us the road and this pack of hyenas all to ourselves.

P1120633r

It was still pretty dark, as you can see. Tanya’s camera coped better than mine.

IMG_9289r

IMG_9317r

IMG_9324r

Down the H1-5 we found a clump of cars, people pointing. Three lionesses, although we can only really claim seeing two.

IMG_9328r

About 300m from the road.

IMG_9353r

I spotted the likkewaan crossing the road, made a quick U-turn so that Tanya could get pictures.

The southern part of the Kruger is cat country. Saw this male lion under a tree.

IMG_9363r

IMG_9370r

And a bit further on, an unknown number of females and cubs. We didn’t stop for long, the road ahead was calling.

IMG_9395r

This is the tiniest little elephant ever. Must be very very new.

And from there it was pretty uneventful. Left Malelane gate around 14:00, drove straight past Hananja on the way back (it was dark already) and got to Bloemfontein at around 23:00. Booked into the Sun 1 (the hotel formerly known as Formula 1) which is inexpensive and more than adequate most times (this time, the water was fine the evening but cold when we got up at 06:00, so I skipped the morning shower and we hit the road).

Got home late-ish Monday afternoon. All’s well what ends well and all of that.

 

Kruger 2016, Part 8. Where we at last spot a lion.

IMG_9089r

Tanya’s brother is a big birder. He told us that yellow-billed oxpeckers are somewhat rare (apparently at some stage they were considered extinct in South Africa), but that he had spotted one. So we went out and spotted one too.

P1120576r

This is Von Wielligh’s Baobab on the S44 between Letaba and Olifants. Yup, we’re reduced to photographing trees. Somewhat of an anticlimax from last time.

P1120586r

Someone’s been feeding the turtles.

No seriously.

I stopped the car and these fellows came charging, some all the way from the other side of the pool. Then they just sit there looking at you. If they could, they’d get in the car.

Hyenas can of course get in the car, which is why it’s a bad idea to teach them that food comes from tin cans with wheels.

Just don’t feed the animals. You’re making them into welfare recipients.

Back up the H1-6 towards Mopani we came across a pile of cars. Eventually found what they were staring at.

P1120596r

If I’m not mistaken that might be a lion (in my days in Boy Scouts, we had reasons for animals being named the way they are. The lion is the only clean one I can remember. They’re called lion because most of the time, they’re just lion there).

This being the only feline spotted so far, and it being around three in the afternoon, we decided to wait.

IMG_9154r

They say that young women tend to compare their boyfriends… equipment *cough* to that of their brothers’.

Well, I stand absolutely no chance.

P1120605r

Much later (OK, three quarters of an hour or so later) there are signs of life.

IMG_9194r

What is it I spot over there?

P1120619r

Looks like a tree.

IMG_9264r

Good. I’m not called a lion for nothing you know.

 

 

 

Kruger 2016, Part 7. Boulders Lodge.

Shingwedzi for lunch. S50 up. H1-6 back down.

P1120534r

Kori Bustard. This is the heaviest flying bird in Africa, maybe in the world (the UK Great Bustard is also a contender for the title). They run over 20 kilograms sometimes, I’m told.

IMG_8937r

Tsessebe are quite rare in the park, so finding a small herd with calves was nice.

IMG_8988r

We found this tusker next to the H1-6 south of Shingwedzi.

IMG_9022r

After popping in to Mopani for a quick loo break we were off to Boulders Lodge, an exclusive non-fenced lodge south of Mopani. It consists of a large living area and six double rooms, sleeping a maximum of twelve people (but you can book the whole place out for as few as four people).

IMG_9036r

Some elephants came to visit.

IMG_9038r

IMG_9051r

Close encounters.

IMG_9052r

 

 

Kruger 2016, Part 6. It’s the tiny things too.

We decided to go to Letaba for breakfast, past the maybe-dead zebra foal. Turns out he was fine. Just past that, at Twisappel, I saw something sitting — thought it might be a leopard, but it turned out to be a jackal — two of them in fact.

IMG_8663r

This is at full zoom + digital … they were far away.

IMG_8704r

Here they are on the sunny side of the vlei.

Tanya’s brother had told us that there’s a dead hippo close to Letaba so we went looking for it.

IMG_8727r

The hippo skin is so thick that the vultures can’t get inside.

IMG_8752r

The central to northern part of the park is better for birds, not so good for cats.

IMG_8809r

IMG_8813r

Look at the wingspan on that thing.

IMG_8902r

IMG_8911r

This little fellow took forever to cross the road.

P1120520r

This fellow was slightly quicker.

 

 

 

 

Kruger 2016, Part 5. Painted doggies, idiots, and assorted wildlife

Up early, on the road, and into Kruger.

Now normally the first thing you see inside the park is a herd of impala. Pretty much guaranteed.

P1120434r

Not this time. The doggies had already picked up a following.

IMG_8442r

We didn’t bother joining the parade, but I’m pretty sure they followed the pack all the way back to Phabeni gate.

IMG_8455r

Look at this plonker. There’s a herd of elephant just off the side of the road, look where the Land-Rover is looking. Makes for a good selfie, no?

I had the camera ready to film the carnage which sadly didn’t happen.

P1120442r

Rhino

IMG_8499r

More (different) rhino.

IMG_8531r

And also the little(r) things.

IMG_8540r

The Kruger was very dry. Look at this poor hippo in a mudhole barely bigger than he is.

IMG_8551r

We drove up via Skukuza, Satara, Letaba all the way to Mopani, where we were booked in for two nights. It’s a long but very scenic drive.

IMG_8583r

IMG_8644r

IMG_8645r

IMG_8651r

Marabou stork. I grew up on Huppelkind.

IMG_8656r

IMG_8658r

Not that far from Mopani, around 16:30, we came across a herd of zebras. This little fellow seemed to have given up on life, so I decided to come back early the next morning — a dead foal should attract some predators for a photo-op.

 

 

 

Kruger 2016, Part 4. Dullstroom, Sabie and Hazyview

Dullstroom is a delightful little town I hadn’t visited for way too long. That made it the preferred lunch stop.

dullstroom

We stopped at Pickles & Things where we had to try the trout. It’s what the town is famous for. Then we dropped in at Tram’s Antiques where they had a player piano for not a whole lot of money. Coupled with the auspiciousness of the date I only barely managed to avoid temptation.

Next stop, Hops Hollow, “The Highest Brewery in Africa”. Personally I don’t care how high they may be, I just wanted beer. But when we got there, there was a sign saying “closed on Tuesdays“.

20160322s

So we proceeded on to Sabie where we found the Sabie Brewing Company, where I ended up buying 12 bottles (lager and IPA) after tasting all six their beers. I was impressed by the lager.

Went shopping and booked into the Hazy Park Lodge which is somewhat eclectic but very good value for money at R450 for the two of us, and also about half an hour from the closest Kruger Park gate (Phabeni).

P1120429s

Big bedroom, big living area, lots of kitchen space, available per night or for longer periods (like a month, for example). This would really be a good place to stay if you want to drive in to Kruger every day.

 

 

 

Kruger 2016, Part 3

So we were on the road, Vereeniging to Hazyview. First stop, Trichard, to pick up some Philips SXA radios. Trichard is where potholes are made. They make them in big factories and load them on the back of a truck. As the truck shakes and bounces, some of the potholes fall off the back. Around Trichard there are many potholes, and then as you get further away from town you see fewer of them.

That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.

From there the GPS put us on a road that’s perfectly good until it gets to some kind of a SASOL installation, after which it turns to crap quite spectacularly.

SASOLGoogleEarth

This is the last pic Google Steetview has. After this point, it gets … interesting.

Should have taken the R547 instead.

In Witbank we met up with OM Johan who has (had) what we believe to be the only existing copy of the documentation for the locally made Fuchs R10 Type Receiving System* — of which I have only the FAP-901 antenna tuner. He got the signal generators, I got the documentation, to be scanned. From there I took the N4 toll road to to Middelburg and found that the place I was looking for was half way back to Witbank on the R555 — should have skipped the toll road completely.

And that took care of the deliveries and collections and the holiday could begin.

* It’s a copy of, or based on, or similar to (I’m not sure which) the THOMSON CSF TRC-180x

Kruger 2016, Part 2

We left De Rust fairly late because Meiringspoort is much less spectacular at night. The bridges in Meiringspoort are often washed away by floods, and the subsequent upgrades have been a constant improvement, making for a really nice road to drive.

Other side of Meiringspoort, the N12 runs past Caroluspoort and straight on to the N1 just before Beaufort West. And from there it’s the long slog north.

Not being as young as I used to be, I wanted to pick a halfway (between De Rust and Kruger) spot to overnight, and I settled on the Vaal. Distance-wise it’s more than half-way, but remember that I have deliveries and pick-ups and I wanted to take the scenic route via Long Tom Pass so the Vaal’s a good choice.

The guest house I googled, not so much.P1120422s

The geyser plumbing is interesting in a Not Right way, which makes the shower very difficult to get right. I left it running after I finished showering so that Tanya wouldn’t have to go through the same process of finding the one spot where the water was neither scalding hot or freezing.

P1120425s

Don’t get me wrong — apart from the shower the place is perfectly adequate — but if you compare this at R550 to Olivier’s Rust in De Rust at R500, it falls flat miserably.

We had supper at Fandangos which is pretty good but rather expensive.

From Vereeniging the R42 goes past this gorgeous place just outside Heidelberg, which I’ve blogged about before. Accommodation is not in the main house but in converted outbuildings, and it’s also rather expensive at R600/night. But I’ve made a note to drive a bit further and consider Heidelberg as an overnight stop next time.