South Africa TravelBlogue (Part 9 – Safari Day Four & Panorama Route)

FRIDAY 11/23

The Big Five

Friday morning came much too quickly. It was my mom’s and my last day at Elephant Plains Game Lodge, a little piece of heaven on earth. In the days prior we had gone on five wonderful 3-hour game drives and our sixth and final game drive would begin at 5:30 am. So far we had been able to see four of The Big Five (water buffalo, leopard, elephant, lion) and we were just missing the rhinoceros. We had already spent hours looking for a very elusive white rhinoceros who constantly wandered in and out of the territory we were permitted to explore. My mom and I had high hopes that today would be the day we’d come face to face with the creature who seemed more like an airy ghost than a palpable megafauna.

GAME DRIVE 6

Shortly before 5:30 am my mom and I met up with our group in front of Willie’s Land Cruiser. Willie told us he and Connie had already been out tracking the rhino and we would head to his last known whereabouts first. Everyone kept their eyes peeled for any sign of the rhino. Willie and Connie pored over tracks from their respective vantage points and they even got out of the car to look for the rhino. Willie told us that rhinos are extremely endangered because they are poached for their horns. (The horns are typically shipped to Asia, ground to powder and used for medicinal purposes.) The estimated number of rhinos in South Africa is kept secret by researchers. Willie told us that poachers are willing to look for rhinos anywhere – even in private game reserves like Elephant Plains. No wonder this particular rhinoceros was so shy!

As we drove a long we spotted several termite mounds that looked a lot like a rhino. At one point I found myself staring at a warthog and for a moment I was convinced it was the rhino! The warthog held still for a moment and then ran off. Minutes later we slowed down and peered into a lot with relatively sparse vegetation where Connie had tracked the rhino. There, amongst the bushes and brush, stood the solitary rhinoceros. It was rather fitting to find him out in the open after searching for him for so long. Willie circled the vehicle around to get us closer. When the rhino came into view the second time Willie told us he would probably run away a short distance and then stop. Just as Willie predicted the rhino started to trot up the hillside before looking back at us and deciding to stop.  

My mom remarked that she never thought something so big could look so scared. After a short time the rhino relaxed a little and continued to walk along the road.

I can’t tell you how happy I was to be looking at a wild rhinoceros. Willie gave us an idea of how big his territory is and it was astonishing. Even though these animals live in daily peril I have a feeling they are much happier than animals in zoos. After seeing so many animals do their own thing in their own sprawling territory I felt like I never wanted to go to a zoo again. Then again what would the world be without zoos? When I was a kid I fell in love with giraffes at a zoo while I was visiting my great-grandparents in Colorado. After we left our rhino friend behind we came across a group of giraffes snacking on some thorny trees and I fell in love all over again.

Next up we were lucky enough to run into our four favorite female lions. We parked even closer to them than we had the day before. Willie told us that a lot of people go to lion sanctuaries where they are allowed to play with baby lions. He said that he would never want to touch a lion because they are quite stinky. We weren’t close enough to smell the lions but he said you never forget the smell. Lions are opportunistic hunters and if they have the chance they will kill more prey than they can eat in a single day. They will save the other carcass(es) and gradually feed on the meat even if it is four days old and rotten. Gross, right?

"Hey Willie, come smell my breath!"

 

Even though I loved looking at the lions we eventually had to move on. Willie listened to the rangers talking on his radio and heard that they had spotted his very favorite leopard, Moya. We drove over to her and watched her as she caught sight of some nearby impalas. Her body language told the whole story – she wanted to eat, she was excited to find a potential meal, she tried her best to stay hidden, and she had a hard time finding the perfect opportunity to strike.

The wind was not blowing in her favor and it carried her scent right over to the impalas. In response they set off their security system and started snorting warnings at each other. (It would have been disastrous for them if they had split up and run away in different directions the second they realized she was nearby. Someone definitely would have gotten iced.) They held their ground and showed me that maintaining a healthy level paranoia is better than succumbing to all-out panic.

Moya made a half-hearted run in their direction but she wasn’t able to bring any impalas down. She went back to scent-marking every plant in sight. I noticed she had the most striking blue-green eyes of any of the leopards we had seen. Maybe that is why she’s Willie’s favorite leopard.

The morning game drive was going great but time was also running out. I tried not to pay any attention to the clock on the dashboard. I knew time was winding down when Willie pulled off near a lagoon for our morning coffee break. He knew there were hippos in the water and he told us we could get out as long as we wouldn’t go past a certain log that lay parallel to the shoreline. That log happened to be the perfect perch for a lovely bird Willie called “a flying banana” – the yellow billed hornbill.

After our coffee break we got back into the Land Cruiser and slowly but surely made our way back to the lodge. The inevitable moment came when I had to leave the vehicle for good. Willie knew that this was the end of the road for me, my mom and a few others. He gave my mom a hug and he gave me one too. My first thought was, “Okay, I need to run to the bathroom and cry for a minute or two.” I walked over to the bathroom but there was already a line. There’s no crying in safari parks!

I walked back to the room and finished packing my things. My mom and I ate breakfast and then she went to the front desk to review our final bill. When I got to the office my mom said, “Look what they gave us.” She handed me a laminated certificate with my name on it. It was even signed by Willie. My immediate thought was, “I’m totally going to frame this.” I have yet to do so but here it is in all its glory:

"This is to certify that Amber spotted the BIG 5 while on safari at Elephant Plains Game Lodge, South Africa" : )

After leaving an entry in the guest book we very sadly rolled our suitcases to our rental car. My mom was a little nervous about getting lost on the way out or hitting rough patches in the road. When we got back to Gowrie Gate we found a shuttle driver who agreed to let us follow him. My mom followed his path around each pothole and over each shady-looking dip. It saved us a lot of time because we could see what his vehicle could handle and we knew how fast we could go as a result. Once we got to the main road we parted ways. My mom and I had to drive to the Avis office in Hazyview in order to get our flat tire repaired. (The spare one was already on the vehicle so we really needed to get the original tire put back on in case anything happened.)

It took us two or three hours to get to Hazyview. We talked to an Avis employee and he sent the tire out to be fixed. (It had been punctured by a screw.) It took about an hour but we used the time to eat lunch at one of the tourist-friendly restaurants. (There were only tourist-friendly restaurants, for the record. The town is located near a Kruger National Park entrance and it’s definitely a tourist hot spot.) After our tire was securely reinstalled we set out for the tiny town of Graskop. 

On our way to Graskop my mom was pulled over for speeding. Actually, she was waved off the road by a female traffic cop who was standing on the side of the road with a radar gun. The whole situation was kind of fishy. First the cop said that she clocked us at one speed, then she said she clocked us at another. When my mom insisted she wasn't speeding at all the cop just kind of shrugged her shoulder and said, "Let me see your license." I was starting to think that the cop's "radar gun" was phony or maybe it had dead batteries. The great thing was the cop must have had no way to process my mom's license because as soon as she realized we were foreigners she let us leave. Lucky us!

This final chapter of our trip involved seeing part of the Panorama Route, spending Friday night in Graskop, seeing more of the Panorama Route, and then driving to the Johannesburg Airport on Saturday.

PANORAMA ROUTE

The Panorama Route is a long scenic route with several viewpoints and interesting natural landmarks. Each viewpoint has a small entrance fee. The gates to each viewpoint close at 5 pm. Unfortunately we only had time for one viewpoint before closing time. Even though time was limited we were very happy to have “The Three Rondavels” practically to ourselves. Better still, the skies were clear enough for us to see a wonderful expanse of the Blyde River Canyon. If it had been cloudy we would have been a little sad.

At 5 pm we set out to find the B&B where we’d be staying the night. We had a little trouble reading the map and we ended up calling the owner in order to find it. (We were glad my mom’s iPhone was unlocked which allowed her to buy a micro SIM card and get a local South Africa phone number.) When we saw the brown and white landmark sign for “Zur Alten Mine Guest Farm” we were relieved and delighted.

ZUR ALTEN MINE GUEST FARM (http://www.zuraltenmine.co.za/en/home.php)

Zur Alten Mine Guest Farm was ridiculously idyllic. I mean, seriously pastoral. It was an entirely different scale of beauty compared to Elephant Plains Game Reserve. The craziest thing about it is that we had our very own Log Chalet for about $40 dollars per night. Can you believe that? I can’t tell you how badly I want to go back there.

Before I jump too far ahead, though, I should tell you that we drove to reception and met the owners. They were an extremely pleasant German couple with a small troop of dogs and cats.

After we checked in we drove up to the log cabin where one of the owners showed us around. He also gave us a list of restaurants where we could eat dinner. We chose The Glass House in Graskop. The restaurant owner sold me on ordering their catch of the day which was a river trout I wouldn’t be able to find in any other part of the world. The only unfortunate thing it is was served with its head, tail and fins intact. I always have a hard time ignoring shriveled eyeballs when I’m eating. Oh well, it was still great!

In truth, the most difficult thing to keep off my mind was the fact that there were 20-odd lucky you-know-whats who were still at Elephant Plains enjoying an evening game drive. For several days after leaving Elephant Plains I would look at the clock and become wistful if I knew guests were on a game drive at that time. I can’t tell you how many times I dreamed that I was back on one of those vehicles looking at those awesome animals. I miss them so badly.

When my mom and I went to sleep on Friday night my suitcase was all packed for the long journey home. I hoped that my mom and I would still have plenty of fun before we had to check in at the Johannesburg Airport at 6 pm.

TO BE CONTINUED!