May 23.
This morning, we had a drive at 615am. I did NOT want to get out of
bed. Finally, I got up and got ready quickly. The drive started out great,
because our tire was flat, AGAIN, and the Nissan wouldn’t start! We jumped the
truck with Andrew’s pickup, and then went over to the garage (pronounced
GARE-edge), so Andrew could pump up both the tire that was on, and the spare in
the trunk, which was also a bit low. After we finally got moving, we drove
along some drainage lines, and found some female lion tracks. They went up and
down the same road, into the bush and back out. After moving around the roads
in that area, we decided to cross the river to see if they had crossed. On the
way through the crossing, what do we see, but male leopard tracks! Fresh! The
dang cat had been through here late last night! We explored for him a bit, but
sure enough, vanished without a trace. Then, crossing the river, we ended up
getting stuck in the soft sand on the bank. Our tires were digging themselves
in, so Andrew had to dig them out. Day is NOT starting out well! Then we get
across, and respond to a sighting of two female lions moving into the bush.
When we got there, they were out of visual. We parked for a bit, cause Andrew
thought they were likely hunting, and they would come back through this way.
Sure enough, we see giraffe running away from where the lions had gone into the
bush, and here they come back out! It was Nkosikasi and Nandi, the Tembe
sisters, and Nandi looked pregnant! They were sniffing and hunting, so we
followed them for a bit until they went deep into the bush again. We actually
trailed them, but lost them through the thick underbrush. We moved completely
through the block and met up with another Makalali truck to try to spot them,
but to no avail. We circled around to the airstrip, where there was a large
herd of wildebeests grazing. I was really hoping that the girls would come out
of the bush straight toward them and make a kill, but no such luck. We waited a
bit, but couldn’t relocate them. We decided to move down on a less used road to
check it out. It was a beautiful road right past the Makhutswi, lined with
jackelberry trees (perfect trees for leopard to sleep in). As we were driving
down the road, we see a small cat-like animal cross it quickly. We get to that
spot, and there is a small, but full-grown adult, CARACAL just sitting, looking
at us! I grabbed my camera as quickly as I could, but just then, he popped up
and scurried off. He threw us another quick glance over his shoulder, and then
disappeared. Caracal are like large housecats with tufts on their ears like lynxes.
They are very quiet and secretive, so it’s very rare to see one! That sighting
was so unique, that it almost made the lack of the leopard sighting so far
worthwhile. Then we traveled along that beautiful road some more, and finally
got to the place where we learned why no one used the road! A really steep and
rocky incline going down, and then back up! We got down okay, but on the back
up, we had a little bit of trouble! We got halfway up, and then our tires kept
loosing their grip on the sheer rocky surface. After a couple back and forth
passes, Wolfgang and I got out and Andrew tried it by himself. He ended up
going all the way down, and then just gunning it up the path. Quite a sight,
and he made it! Then we continued on our merry way. We didn’t see any more
predators or tracks, but we did pass a huuuuge nest belonging to a bird they
call the hammercop. Apparently they make the biggest nest of any bird! Then we
headed back to camp, because Lukas called to tell us there were elephant! When
we got home, there were two herds of ellies in an open area in front of the
camp. There were probably close to 15 ellies wandering around and grazing, even
two little babies that were absolutely precious. We watched them from the
observation deck, and it was so cute to see the babies trying to learn to use
their trunks. Apparently they don’t master that until about 3 years old! One of
the large bull elephants, who was is musth, decided to come check us out. He
got within two meters of our deck, and he could have pushed it over with one
nudge. It was definitely intimidating, because he began to smell us and walk
right toward us. As soon as he determined that we weren’t a threat, he decided
to munch a tree right next to us, then make his way down the road. Whew!
The ellies stuck around for a bit, especially the
bull in musth. He moved quite close to the house, as we watched him a bit from
the kitchen and garage, before he moved into the bush. What
an exciting morning! That afternoon, Wolfgang and I were on food duty, and we
made corn fritters for lunch. I expected to make fritters in little balls, like
hushpuppies. But apparently, in South Africa, a corn fritter is basically a
pancake made with corn, and you can put lettuce and tomatoes and spreads on it!
So strange! While lunch was being prepared, Lukas and I got into a water fight,
and Wolfgang did not aid me at all! Those Germans have a conspiracy! Finally,
we called a ceasefire to eat! We had to leave right at 1, instead of at 330
like usual, so I went right away to prepare the homemade pizza dough for dinner
that night. After I got it all prepared and in a warm place to rise, we left
for Kristi’s Kamp. Of course, we had to stop and pump up the silly tire again,
but it was holding its air for the most part! Then, we got stopped by that bull
ellie in the road, so we had to go the long way around. We were heading to
Kristi’s to help them move furniture, but by the time we got there, they had
finished because the other people to help apparently came early! They gave us
cold drinks (such a treat to get a frozen Sprite!) and let us look around a
bit. Kristi’s Kamp is a private lodge on the reserve, and it is absolutely
GORGEOUS! It’s right on a dam, so they get hippos often, and there is an
infinity pool that flows off the deck. We relaxed there for a bit before
leaving to go to the buffalo camp. I was sitting in front, so I got to control
the radio telemetry system, which was actually pretty cool. I learned how to
assemble it, and then I guided Lukas through the buffalo enclosure by listening
to the beeps I received. We found the buffalo and sat with them for a while. It
was not even 3:45, and we had already done our job for the afternoon! So we
chilled and watched the buffalo interacting, which was actually quite interesting.
Then we headed out to do a little monitoring before we headed back. We went to
find hippos, but they had moved from the dam we last saw them in. As we drove
around, we found a troop of Vervet monkeys and watched them jump around a bit. Right
around then, our tire gave out! After all that off-roading this morning! Haha.
So we hopped out and changed it in just a few minutes. Wolfgang and I put rocks
around the tires and then collected firewood as Lukas put the spare on. We are
getting to be pros at this now. After we got moving again, we stopped at a
group of giraffes. There were two sub adults, two adults, and one little baby
that was probably only 4 months old! It was SO cute. We saw the sunset across Xinkankanka Clearing, which was
breathtaking as usual! :) Then we headed out to Tomboti Dam, because Xinpoko
and Masana were seen there a few hours ago. Usually, if lions are laying down
somewhere, they are still going to be there in a few hours, especially during
the heat of the day. The lazy cats! When we got there, night had fallen and we
couldn’t spot the boys. They either had moved into a thicket of bushes, or had
left to hunt or mark territory for the night. But just then, I heard a
sickening “TSSSSS” noise! Our spare had sprung a leak! Luckily, we were close
to camp, so we headed straight home, leaking air as we went. We managed to get
home right as the tire was reaching that point where you can’t drive on it
anymore! What a day! Two flats in one drive! The three of us headed to the
kitchen to make dinner. Lukas and I make the dough while Wolfgang created
homemade pizza sauce. Apparently, I am not skilled in the pizza crust making
world. My crust looked like it went through a war, and I look over, and Lukas
has a perfectly shaped crust. Sheesh. I admitted defeat and let him rescue
mine! We had a quite yummy dinner, pizza with homemade crust and homemade
sauce, with onions, peppers, chicken, mushrooms (not on mine), and cheese. Yum!
We ate around the fire, and it was soon time for bed. As I went to clean my
dishes, suddenly the water fight was on again in the kitchen. Flipping Andrew trapped
me in the kitchen so Lukas could run to the back door and get in! Jerks! And
then…Somehow…. SOMEONE broke the kitchen sink faucet (no names need to be
repeated)…. We quickly repaired that as best we could, and went to bed before any
more damage could be done!
Nkosikasi, one of the Tembe girls.
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