This is part 2 of our 3-part This Is Africa series, a bit out of order chronologically (part 1 below, part 3 we are working on). After deciding we couldn't 'self-drive safari', we went on a 2-day 2-night safari in S. Africa's Kruger National Park (July 15-17). We left our hostel at 5:30am to reach the park gates by 6:30am. After a short morning drive, we arrived at our campsite (nice but no pics of it as the pics were on E's stolen camera). We had breakfast and then departed for the day with our driver, Henri, who we learned was also the owner of the safari company that we were using (Funky Safaris - www.funkysafaris.co.za). MAN we were in for a treat, as it was probably the most educational day we'd had so far!! This is Henri - while we don't have a proper picture of him, this pretty much sums up how chill he is (yes that is a joint and a beer):
While the animal sightings weren't remarkable, we learned SO much during our first day with Henri. Below are pictures and then a couple of facts underneath each one.
The male white rhino marks it's territory using 'middons', literally toilets - they use the same spots to crap in, and then they scuff their heels in it and walk around. Evidently, their dung holds an insane amount of information for other rhinos to sniff out- everything from their age, gender, 'status', and reproductive information. Other rhinos then sniff out this information, then leave their own craps - but not in the middon. They leave 'doorbells' or craps near the middon, so that the male can then tell who has been around his territory. We witnessed all of this occurring and it was fascinating!
Zebras are pretty skiddish, so we had a tough time getting good pictures. However many zebras you see standing around stand as such. This serves multiple purposes. They wave their tails back and forth to keep flies out of each other's eyes. They rest their heads in the afternoon heat. And they are able to keep a lookout for predators while the rest of the herd munch on grass and the like. And it's true - a zebra's stripes are as unique as a human's fingerprints!
Impalas are, according to Henri, 'the McDonalds of the Bush'. They are extremely plentiful and they are the prey of all the major predators (lion, leopard, hyena, etc). Their butts even have black markings that kind of form an 'M', hehe. They're not easy to catch though - they can leap 10m forward and 3m high!!
Giraffes (extremely graceful and beautiful btw!) have no voicebox, so they only make vibrating sounds to communicate. They are also the only animals to use all 4 legs at once (we witnessed one almost trip and fall, and all 4 of it's legs buckled at once). When they walk, they don't use one front and the opposite hind leg; instead, they'll use both right legs, then both left.
Elephants!! They eat up to 250kg PER DAY - and they are vegetarians! I guess when you eat 18hrs per day it adds up... Also, males can sometimes be seen alone. This is because the female-led herd has rejected them for some reason (they can't fight, for instance). Males actually keep growing throughout their lives and the only reason they die is that their teeth wear out.
a sunset at Kruger Park.
A couple of other things we learned:
-The Big Five is a hunting term, not a safari term. It refers to the 5 most dangerous animals to hunt on foot (in order: buffalo, elephant, lion, rhino, leopard)
-Hippos are responsible for more human deaths per year then any other animal in Africa (they hate it when you're in their way to get back to water). They can run faster than man.
A couple of other things about the safari.
-Funky Monkeys is an excellent operator that caters to backpackers and shorter safaris. We highly recommend them!!
-A shout-out to the camp cook Nonic - we lovvvved the food!!
-Kruger Park is FREEZING in the morning! :)
-We did not see any cats in Kruger Park :(
-Night drives SUCK! Don't do them, you can't see shit!
Our next post will be photos from our 6-day safari in Tanzania (July 22-27). As there are so many photos it may take a while - and we won't be writing much besides captioning the photos.
