Safari at the Kruger from Orpen to Tamboti to Satara

This morning we wake up early, we are at the Tamboti Tented Camp, in the Kruger National Park in South Africa; our tent overlooks the river, dry during this period, and we have a beautiful wooden terrace where we have breakfast.

While the sky is colored with the warm tones of the rising sun, we finish our breakfast and, as we ask ourselves what the safari today holds for us, we prepare to leave.

We leave the keys of the tent in a special hole and we go.

First we go to see if the white rhinos of last night are still in the area; usually these animals do not walk a long way, but it is not said that they are still visible from the road, they may have moved and hidden in the bushes.

We reach the H 7 and proceed slowly looking around carefully and, at some point, here they are!

They are not very far from where they were yesterday, but we see only two of them, the third must have turned away; impossible not to stop to admire them, they are wonderful creatures, they seem almost prehistoric animals.

We drive along the H 7 and we find several elephants, both along the road and the river, busy getting wet and drinking; there are many puppies and this means that the various herds are healthy and the specimens are healthy, this makes us very happy.

There are also many giraffes, here there are several bushes and trees, the favorite food of these elegant and tall mammals.

Giraffes are funny, often, when they hear a noise, they stop motionless, whatever they are doing, and look in the direction of the noise, often they look at us curious with their big eyes; other times instead they are positioned behind a tree and remain motionless and they spy on us, they seem to play hide and seek thinking not to be seen, they are too funny.

This is precisely the path of elephants and giraffes, they are really everywhere; sometimes they cross the road and we stop, they take precedence obviously; in the case of elephants it is better to pay attention when they are in the street or near it, since it is good not to be too close and to find accidentally in their safety zone, also you must be careful not to be in the middle of the herd because they may feel threatened by human presence, especially if there are puppies, but in general within the herd there are very strong family ties that last a lifetime and they do not like intruders.

We also catch sight of the funny mongooses that, as soon as they see us, start running; they make the den in an abandoned termite, some slip into the holes on its surface, others look at us curious, they are extremely intelligent and brave animals, just think that they do not have problems to face and kill snakes to eat.

At one point, on the branches of a tree, we see a pair of bateleurs, they are beautiful with their bright orange beak and legs; while we look at them another comes, it is easy to recognize them in flight because, unlike other birds of prey, they must always adjust the trajectory with the wings, because they have a tail too short and therefore they cannot use it to stabilize the flight, they look like tightrope walkers, from there derives their English name "bateleurs".

As we continue, at some point, a spotted hyena suddenly crosses the road, it is running somewhere or running away from something; we take our binoculars and look in both directions, but we see nothing, we wait a bit to see if something happens, but nothing, we'll never know.

We proceed and go to see if there is any animal at a puddle not far from the main road.

When we get there we see some elephants, some of them are drinking directly from the reservoir where the water is cleaner.

An elephant instead seems to prefer the artificial pool, it collects the water with the trunk but then, rather than bring it to the mouth, throws it on the ground, it seems a strange behavior and then we look carefully to understand what it is doing; it repeats the gesture several times, it seems very strange that it wastes all that water, but then we understand: on the ground near it there are some starlings, apparently annoying it because it tries to chase them by throwing the water!

Elephants are outstanding and when they have something in mind nothing and no one can stop them, also if they decide that something annoys them, they try to eliminate the problem at its root; it makes you smile that such small birds can be a problem for such a huge animal, but apparently it is!

We continue our safari and go back to the H 7, we come to the intersection with the 12 S and decide to divert to see what we find.

We arrive at a puddle where there are some giraffes busy drinking, they seem to take turns: while one drinks the others look around; in fact for them this is a delicate moment, given that they must assume a broken up posture to be able to reach the water, in case of danger they would hardly be able to compose themselves and to run away quickly, better to have someone watching their backs.

Along the way we also find many impalas and several wildebeests, the latter are on the march, as usual I would say.

The S 12 ends on the S 40, we turn to the right in the direction of the H 7; we arrive near a large pool of water, here we find many impalas, different kudus, some warthogs and a crocodile that stands on the sideline in the sand

The H 7 ends in the H 1-4, we turn to the right and immediately afterwards we turn to the left on the S 100; two days ago along this road, near a pool of water, we sighted the lions, since they are quite habitual animals, especially as regards the places where they are lurking to hunt, they could still be nearby.

We follow this road that is really beautiful: on our left a plain of grassy savannah opens up, while on the right the river flows, on whose banks a river forest grows.

Judging from the still cars it is very likely that the lions are again at the pool; when we arrive in fact we notice that they are still there, exactly where we left them two days ago; in all there are five, two lionesses, one of whom is clearly pregnant, and three already grown up puppies.

They are dozing in the shade of the bushes not far from the pool of water, the sun is still high and it's too early to see them a bit active, so we take some pictures and plan to come back later, maybe we'll find them more awake, it would be great to see them drinking .

We go ahead and see several zebras and some wildebeests, we hope they do not go right where the lions are ...

We also find a lot of giraffes along the river, they are feeding on the leaves of the trees and shrubs; they are very elegant when they walk, they almost look like models, while when they look around with their big eyes they are a bit ridiculous sometimes because they always seem to be halfway between curious and amazed.

We turn right on the S 41, we have already driven on this road two days ago and it gave us a lot of satisfaction, we decided to come back, also because this evening's camp, the Satara Rest Camp, is not far from here; we already know the way and therefore we already know where we have to stop, even if nature is unpredictable and therefore sightings can be everywhere..

We go to the dam and find several animals that are drinking, especially buffaloes, giraffes and zebras; they are animals that need water every day so it is easy enough to find them near rivers, pools or springs.

We continue and we head towards the pool where the other day there were the lions with the carcass of the giraffe, we wonder if they are still there; the cars we see in the distance are a certainty, even if they spoil us.

The three lions are lying in the yellow grass with the sun behind them, they are strangely awake, they are probably taking care of their prey; not far away there are several vultures who seem to wait for the right moment to steal a meal.

At one point a young male lion gets up and starts walking slowly towards the vultures, some specimens have progressively approached the giraffe and perhaps the lions do not like it.

With a feline leap the young lion drives away the vultures that fly up; for the moment it has reiterated its right to prey, but the vultures will not give up so easily and will return to attack.

Along the S 41 we met several elephants, baboons, waterbucks, zebras and wildebeests and then one of my favorite birds, the secretary bird that walks on the ground in search of food with its martial step.

Before going to the camp we return to the lions on the S 100, we want to see if, as the hour of sunset is approaching, they are more active.

We arrive and we find that they are going to the pool to drink, at one point they are all 5 aligned in favor of light and in front of us, how wonderful; inevitably we take a lot of photographs but we also enjoy the moment.

Shortly thereafter, one at a time, they move away from the pool and sit in the dry grass that seems to set fire to the setting sun.

When everyone finishes drinking, they all start walking together, crossing the road, passing through the cars, and heading towards the Satara Rest Camp, in the direction in which the zebras and the wildebeests have headed; it is clear that they are hunting.

We watch them for a while but then we have to go, the sun is setting and we must enter the camp by 6.00 pm; good luck feline friends, maybe we'll see each other tomorrow morning!