Our first stop is Kapama game park, which is a private game reserve on the edge of Kruger. This means that the 100+ acres of bush is fenced off from the rest of the park and the animal stock is relatively fixed and well known by the staff. This takes a bit of the “wild” out of wilderness, but was an excellent first safari. We flew into Nelspruit airport and drove two hours to Kapama. We were picked up at the front gate by our Ranger Kobus (pronounced /Kwi bus/) who is a burly Afrikaans speaking oak with a Dutch look about him and an amazing eye for game.
When we arrived at the Buffalo Camp within Kapama, we were greeted with fresh guava juice and cool towels. This was the first sign of many that this camp is a far cry from the village. We were informed of the schedule: 5:00 am wake up call, 5:30 tea, 6:00 game drive for three hours followed by breakfast. 1:00 lunch, 4:30 tea, 5:00 game drive for three hours followed by dinner. It’s a long day, but the middle bit is free for relaxing and catching up on sleep.
The camp has a central dining room, bar lounge, and braai area. The tents are on a platform about 10 feet above ground and are fenced off from the bush. As we were shown to our tent, we saw a Kudu in the bush below that made us feel close to nature, but not so close that we might get night time visitors. The tents are canvas with net windows, a sliding wooden door, water, electricity, a gorgeous fluffy bed, and patio overlooking the bush. We were excited, but felt a little guilty for being in such nice accommodation after our village experience. We found ourselves wary to flush the toilet and ultra conservative with water for showers and washing up. We briefly considered asking for a bucket but just as quickly dismissed the idea after a nice shower.
Kapama Tent
After we settled in it was time for lunch. The meals were served in the dining room at a long communal table. This was a great time to meet the other guests, share stories about the drives and get to know each other. The food was traditional African delicacies mixed with a few western dishes. If the village was home cooking, this was a 4 star restaurant specializing in modernized home cooking. While at Kapama, we enjoyed fried fish, grilled pork and sausages, braised leg of lamb and all sorts of delicious veggies like creamed spinach, baked squash, baked beans, and roasted potatoes. The traditional English breakfast of eggs, bacon (not Oscar Meyer, more like a slice of ham), beans, grilled tomatoes, sausages, and breads were made to order each morning. I may not fit in my airplane seat on the way home, but I’ll worry about that later. The meals are part of the experience.
After lunch we went on our very first game drive and boy were we spoiled for the rest of the trip. Right out of the gate we saw two female lions walking down a path. We tracked them for a half hour or so watching them walk, stop for a rest, a yawn, a lick, and then stalk off. They way the lion walked with such confidence and stealth and stared right through me left me feeling small and vulnerable.
Lionesses
A few minutes later we came upon a herd of elephant with babies crossing the road and grazing. These ginormous elephant with their flapping ears and trunks larger than my whole body were mere feet from me. The elephant have this soft, wary look in their eyes that lets you know they are generally peaceful animals. It was awesome to see them so close and the babies were absolutely adorable.
Elephant and Babies
We saw warthogs, which made Joe really excited for reasons I can ‘t understand.
Warthog...So Ugly He's Cute
We saw massive rhino covered in mud with tiny birds perched on their backs to eat the insects. We saw hippo peeking above the water line then submerging below and we were jealous. It was very hot. We saw tall giraffe and gorgeous zebra which are my personal favorites.
Three Heads
Then we saw more lions. This time it was a female and two cubs. We were tracking this powerful creature and two cute little fur balls off roads through the bush. Kobus informed us that the lions are not aggressive as long as you are inside the truck, but sometimes females with cubs can be aggressive. Right about this time Kobus approaches an empty creek bed with a steep incline on the other side. Kobus and our tracker Harry discussed the feasibility of crossing in Afrikaans (I assume) then Kobus guns it. In the middle of the creek bed we hear the pop and hiss of the tire going flat. We look at each other in disbelief. We exited the vehicle and stood on the creek bead wondering if we are now the hunter or the hunted. We couldn’t see the lioness, but surely she wasn’t too far away. Our capable guides changed the super sized land rover tire in all of 4 minutes. Impressive. We got back in, thanked God for answering our prayers, and were on our way. This was the first close encounter.
Lioness with Cubs
(that almost ate us)
Each drive had a break about halfway through the drive…either morning tea or my favorite, the sundowner. Morning tea was tea, coffee and biscuits which always came just when I was struggling not to doze off. I always doze off in moving vehicles. The afternoon sundowner consisted of a beautiful African sunset, cold Hansa beers and various snacks. One afternoon we parked right near a giraffe that must have been 20 feet tall. He backed up and hid behind a tree, which was about as ineffective as a nude person attempting to hide their privates with a cocktail napkin. The longer we stayed there the closer the giraffe came. They are quite curious creatures.
Giraffe Hiding
One evening we watched Kobus and Harry track a leopard for the better part of two hours, which is a show in itself. Kobus drives and Harry tracks the animals and directs Kobus with hand motions. Harry had a very specific tracking routine. He scans the areas left, then right almost 360 degrees and then starts again with an intense look in his eye. When Harry spotted an animal track he would motion for Kobus to stop. They would get out, inspect the track and speak to each other in Afrikaans (I think). Then we were off again with Harry giving direction with hand motions. This particular evening the leopard was hunting, so the tracks were circular and difficult to follow. Kobus got a call on the radio and announced that we were going to see lions, but it was a long drive across the game park so hang on tight. We travelled at high speed down tiny dirt roads, bumping and bobbing all the way. It was very exciting.
Night Tracking with Harry and Kobus
The radio report indicated that there was a male lion, so we were all giddy with anticipation. While we knew we were spoiled with all the animals we had seen, we still hadn’t seen a male lion and were vying for that opportunity. There is only one male at Kapama, so the timing must be just right to see him. When we arrived in the area, it was pitch black and the only light besides the moon and stars were the headlights and tracker spotlight. We slowed to a halt and Kobus held up his hand indicating stillness and silence. Suddenly we saw a mean looking lioness stalk between two bushes. This was nothing like the lioness we saw before. She had her mouth open so I could see just how big her teeth were. This lady looked like she would eat me in one bite. A few steps behind her was another female just as viscous. And then it happened.
The male was even more powerful and enamoring than I thought he would be. His mane was big and his face was calm. He walked with slow certainty. My breath caught in my chest as I was taken aback by his complete authority over the situation. Mr. man plopped right down on the side of the road and made himself comfortable.
Male Lion
Kobus informed us that the females were hunting and that he would relax there while they did the dirty work. Just as I was thinking feminist thoughts, we learned that the males are mane makes him visible to prey. They are good for the kill of big animals like giraffe and rhino because of their strength, but women are more stealth.
Female Lion on the Hunt
So then we tracked the females off roads through the bush. Once we found them Kobus and Harry turn off all our lights. Holy smokes was I scared sitting in the pitch black with lions just a feet away. We had a lioness on each side of us and they were communicating with odd grunting sounds. Kobus says, “Be veeeerrrry still. She’s using us as cover for her hunt”. What the @#%!? I have never been more still or scared in my life. We sat there for at least 10 minutes and it felt like hours. I was sure she could see my blonde hair and would go for me first, so I slowly, carefully pulled up my hoodie and rationalized that the big dude in the back was much more appetizing than my bony booty. We could see the outline of the female to the left. She laid there for some time then began stalking toward the jeep straight at Joey. I thought we were both goners but then she turned off and went for the big guy in the back.
In the end, the male lion came over too soon and ruined the hunt for the females. We think they were going for a kudu. Lucky bugger. It would have been interesting to see a kill, but I think some things are better left a mystery. If I saw it I might come home a vegetarian. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
So at Kapama we saw all the big 5 except the elusive leopard. She evaded us multiple times. But it was an excellent experience and I would highly recommend it to people who want to experience a safari in luxury.
J&S
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