Kruger National Park
South Africa
South Africa
Trip Report: Camping in Kruger (again)
+ a bit of Eswatini
2019
+ a bit of Eswatini
2019
Sirheni Bushveld Camp
We headed north again. This time it was into new territory since we had never driven past Mopani before. We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and took the obligatory photo of the cairn that marks it. Despite this being a holiday weekend, the traffic died out for the large part as we drove slowly watching for game. Since it was midday, all was quiet except for the usual zebras and impalas. We pulled into Shingwedzi Rest Camp for a pit stop and we discovered where all of the people were. There was a holiday braai in the visitor's area beside the river. The store, the washrooms and the common areas were abuzz with people.
And speaking of the river, it was alive with action. Nestled down in a deep cut there was still lots of water and some big pools. Several groups of elephants, hippos, waterbuck . . . we were impressed. Their sighting board had cheetah in the area, lion, leopard . . . impressed again! But with all of the action in the camp, we were glad to turn the car north again for Sirheni.
The landscape was flat with low autumnal mopane trees. Some large grass expanses were evident as well but it was brown/gold here as fall was rapidly approaching and the rains were scarce now. Every riverbed was lined with mixed trees and bush so the turn outs on the dirt roads became important.
The cottage at Sirheni was large with two couches! One was a double fold out bed. The BR had the usual two twins. The shower plumbing needed work so I told the staff as we left but other than that, it was a great camp.
And speaking of the river, it was alive with action. Nestled down in a deep cut there was still lots of water and some big pools. Several groups of elephants, hippos, waterbuck . . . we were impressed. Their sighting board had cheetah in the area, lion, leopard . . . impressed again! But with all of the action in the camp, we were glad to turn the car north again for Sirheni.
The landscape was flat with low autumnal mopane trees. Some large grass expanses were evident as well but it was brown/gold here as fall was rapidly approaching and the rains were scarce now. Every riverbed was lined with mixed trees and bush so the turn outs on the dirt roads became important.
The cottage at Sirheni was large with two couches! One was a double fold out bed. The BR had the usual two twins. The shower plumbing needed work so I told the staff as we left but other than that, it was a great camp.
This elephant herd (above) was on the move. The matriarch was leading and expected everyone to keep up. The baby elephant (below) was so cute as it ran to catch up with the rest. Tail up, dust flying and he was bawling: Hey, wait up!
In the golden light before dusk, a lioness came out of the bush & lay down on the road for us. I guess she wanted to be a photo star. Then she started walking towards us before heading off into the bush. Yes, I did my windows up for this one because we had no idea if there were some friends around or not. She was wearing a tracking collar so park staff can study the movements of a lion pride.
As you can see from the pictures, we did very well in the cat department in the north. We saw the first lion pride sleeping in the morning and that was just across the river from where we had the closeup with the lioness. That night in the camp, at dinnertime, we heard a loud extended roar very nearby. And I mean loud. Then five minutes later, we heard another loud scream of an animal. The local leopard was on the prowl.
We really enjoyed Sirheni. The cabins were large and the seclusion was perfect - except for the loud drunk Afrikaans foursome next door who droned on for a couple of hours in the early evening, almost masking the sounds of an elephant eating in the riverbed. They were the only noise in the whole camp . . .
And I should also give a shout out to the pony-tailed baseball cap blonde - with your tripod buddy in the backseat with the major lens - who was utterly ignorant with the leopard sighting in the stream bed. Karma is coming for you.
We really enjoyed Sirheni. The cabins were large and the seclusion was perfect - except for the loud drunk Afrikaans foursome next door who droned on for a couple of hours in the early evening, almost masking the sounds of an elephant eating in the riverbed. They were the only noise in the whole camp . . .
And I should also give a shout out to the pony-tailed baseball cap blonde - with your tripod buddy in the backseat with the major lens - who was utterly ignorant with the leopard sighting in the stream bed. Karma is coming for you.
Now about that tick . . .
Despite the look of my wounds and the occasional mild pain from the sites and the spreading rash . . . my fever disappeared after the third night. So I guess you could call it an improvement. We checked Google at Shingwedzi and came up with African Tick Bite Fever ATBF. Yes, it even had an acronym and a Wiki page as well as a page on the CDC site. It was annoying but relatively benign and time was the only cure AND it wasn't deadly AND it wasn't malaria.