A Kapama Safari – Part Three

It’s the afternoon of our second day at Kapama Private Game Reserve in Limpopo (Day 4 of our South Africa garden tour). The calendar says October 12th and the temperature is very hot, in the mid-30s or 90F+ with humidity. It is the first and only time our bathing suits will emerge from our suitcases, as we take the opportunity to cool off in the swimming pool at River Lodge. Leaving our room for our third game drive (I also blogged about our first and second game drives at Kapama) I come upon a few nyalas browsing in the brush adjacent to our suite.  Shy by nature, they have nevertheless learned to be calm in this safe environment.  As we head into the bushveld in our vehicle, we slow to watch their lookalike cousins, the greater kudus.   But the word on the radios is that a leopard has been sighted in the vicinity so Willis and another tracker head off into the bush on foot. Clearly, they know their job, but um……

Rangers-tracking-Kapama

Part of the fun of being on an animal safari is the occasional insight you gain into the plants that grow in the bushveld.  The shrub below is the magic guarri bush (Euclea divinorum) and Dino points out that the leaves are so rich in bitter tannins that it is not browsed by wild animals. Those tannins also provide a dye for traditional basket-making (in Durban a few days from now, I’ll buy four beautiful Zulu baskets for my children).  Parts of the tree are also used by the traditional sangomas in “divining” problems (thus the botanical name) with the body or mind; the bark is used to fabricate ropes; and a decoction of the fruit is used in making an alcoholic beverage.  It has many other uses as described on the plantzafrica site, including treatment of coughs, diarrhea and stomach problems.

Dino & magic guarri bush-Euclea divinorum-Kapama

After a lot of driving and radio communication, we finally come upon the leopard (Panthera pardus) resting in the bush; alas, well camouflaged by shrubs and grasses.  Some people are bothered by the collar around its neck, thinking this somehow makes it “tame” and not a valid part of a “wild animal safari”. In fact, Kapama is a conservation oasis for cheetahs and leopards that have been rescued, often in dire circumstances, either trapped in a farmer’s snare in the wild or in locations where they have been caged to amuse their owners.  This leopard was likely rescued and collared as part of Fred Berrangé’s Leopard Conservation Project which has saved more than 150 leopards since its inception in 2000.  But catching them and bringing them to animal reserves is not the project’s main goal; it is educating farmers in how to deal with leopards as predators of their domestic animals, rather than removing them from the ecosystem in which they play a vital and natural role.

Leopard-Kapama It’s a quiet game drive after that, and we head to the clearing where Dino transforms himself from expert game ranger to cocktail waiter. Cheers!

Dino-serving sundowners-Kapama And as we stand chatting and sipping our “sundowners”, the sun appropriately goes down and the sky over the Drakensberg range is suffused with colour. Tree silhouette&Drakensberg-Kapama

Then it’s time for our second night drive. Willis’s flashlight sweeps the bush on both sides of the road. Night-drive-Kapama

And somehow he sees them: a pair of female lions sleeping on the far side of the waterhole. Dino turns the vehicle and we drive the 4×4 down the slope to the water’s edge. Gulp. But these cats are fast asleep and we are able to study them quietly for a few moments. Female lions sleeping-Kapama

The lion sighting, after seeing the leopard, puts us in a great mood as we drive back to the lodge under the stars for dinner.

4th and Final Game Drive Day 5 of our garden tour “dawns” early and we get a start on packing our bags, since we’re heading to the local airport right after lunch to fly to Durban. Soon we’re climbing into the vehicle for our final three-hour game drive. Last game drive-Kapama As often happens, our tracker sees tracks! Dino and Willis get out and study the footprints by the side of the road.  Fresh lion tracks is their conclusion.

Animal tracks Kapama And a few minutes later, Dino gets out to follow a drag mark in the dirt:  a hyena has dragged home dinner through the bush.  Dino points out the white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) waiting in a tree for the thermal winds that will aid in its airborne search for food. White-backed vulture-Gyps africanus-Kapama

And then we find her, a female lion down by the watering hole – likely one from last night now looking wide awake but not in the least concerned about us watching her. Female lion-Kapama

We drive on, and Dino gets out and tells us a little about the silver-clusterleaf tree (Terminalia sericea), a common bushveld species.  According to Plantzafrica, “The leaves and roots are boiled in water and the infusion is taken orally for the treatment of coughs, diarrhea and stomach aches. the leaves can be used as an antibiotic for wounds. In case of bleeding, a paste can be made by cooking the leaves in water and placing them on the wounds. The wood is used as a source of energy for cooking and boiling water, for construction huts, for fencing material and for solid structures. Leaves are food for caterpillars during the rainy season.” Silver-cluster leaf-Terminalia sericea-Kapama

Driving on a bit, we come upon a female white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) and her calfforaging in the grasses.  Here is a little flavour of the atmosphere in the bush (and the sound of ranger’s radio communications) as the rhinos feed.

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And our last mid-morning coffee break at Kapama, with Dino and Willis sharing the pouring honours. Coffee-break-Kapama

Caffeine and biscuit under my belt, I’m now wide awake and in focus….. Janet Davis-Kapama safari

Our last lovely sighting of our South African safari features two male giraffes “necking” at a water hole.  Giraffes move in loose herds, the females sticking together and the calves playing in groups. At around 3 years of age, the males leave their mothers and become part of “bachelor herds”, often standing side-by-side and using their necks like boxers’ arms and their heads like fists to show dominance.  This pair is just sparring, says Dino, while assuring us that the real thing is much more vicious. Giraffes-necking-Kapama

And then it’s time to leave Kapama. What a wonderful two days we’ve had here, but it’s time to get back to garden touring.  We leave Limpopo province and re-enter Mpumalanga.  Here are houses in the small town of Bushbackridge, so named in 1880 for the number of antelopes that roamed the slope. Bushbackridge-Mpumalanga

We pass a typical fruit vendor’s stand selling bananas, oranges, onions and tomatoes. Fruit-Vendor-Limpopo

And this fabulous jacaranda tree spangled with weaver nests. Jacaranda & weaver nests-Mpumalanga

And farm pickers working beneath the Drakensberg foothills. Farm-workers-Mpumalanga

Then it’s time for a short shopping stop at a smart little mall in White River where I find this lovely “made in South Africa” beadwork necklace. (Yes, I do like gaudy costume jewelry, now that you ask!)

Beaded-South-African-necklace

Finally, we’re at the airport for our 1-hour flight to Durban. Stay tuned for more on this city, including the lovely Durban Botanic Garden.

A Kapama Safari – Part Two

It’s Day 4 of our South Africa Garden tour. After our first game drive yesterday at Kapama Private Game Reserve outside Kruger National Park in Limpopo, we’re raring to go for our second (full) day here and two 3-hour game drives. Following a 5 am wakeup call and a fast slurp of juice and a bite of biscuit (breakfast comes later), we’re in the jeep for our morning game drive. Sadly, we’re a half-hour late for sunrise over the bushveld, so no photos of that event, but the animals are already active and feeding. We pass zebras and giraffes…..

Willis tracking-Kapama

…..before coming upon a young male kudu browsing while observing us.

Young male kudu-Kapama

A few minutes later, while searching for tracks, Willis notices an animal skull in the bush.  He examines it with another tracker, before proclaiming it a wildebeest.

Willis and animal skull-Kapama

Before long, we come upon an elephant noisily breaking small branches to eat. Its long, prominent eyelashes help deter blowing sand (and its own frequent dirt showers) from entering its eyes.

Elephant eating-Kapama

Soon we come upon the herd, all spread out in a field eating small brush. Then we see an elephant calf nursing, with other young elephants nearby.

Elephant nursing-Kapama

Just 6 weeks after our stay at Kapama, an elephant birth would be described in loving detail by one of the rangers here.

Willis takes a moment to film a nearby elephant.   Those rangers and trackers who wish to do so can contribute anecdotes or their photos to the company blog.

Willis filming elephant-Kapama

I have managed to find the video settings on both my cameras, and although I’m still very much a beginner, I’ve put together a small musical video of the elephants at Kapama with a soundtrack (Iph’indlela) by my favourite South African artist, the late Miriam Makeba.

After the elephants, it’s time to take a short break for our morning “coffee in the bush”. Dino and Willis unpack the thermoses and pour, while we enjoy a view of the Drakensberg mountains to the north.  I could get used to this life!

Kapama & the Drakensburg Range

In the vehicle again, we are thrilled to come upon a male lion (Panthera leo) sleeping under a thorn tree, its stomach bulging with last night’s prey.  Dino tells us a lion needs to rest for 18 hours after eating a warthog.

Lion sleeping-Kapama

Just inches from its nose is a small piece of dung that looks rather like a fanciful chocolate cruller. I’m not able to find a positive identification of the depositer later, but it makes me wonder if it was the warthog’s last hurrah….

Lion & dung-Kapama

Because Dino is closest, he offers to take photos of the lion for some of the passengers.   He tells us that Kapama has 29 lions in total, with 2 dominant males, father and son. This is the son, and while his father is still the alpha male, that dynamic will change in time and the son will control the females in the pride.

Dino filming lion-Kapama

All at once, our lion awakens and immediately looks up to the sky, where buzzards are circling. In a lion’s world, that might mean a fresh kill that needs to be investigated. Lion awakens-Kapama

His dark mane is an evolutionary advantage – and not one that every adult male lion shares.  Turns out that black fur is eye-catching for females in estrus who might not have been chosen to be “guarded” by Sir Leo, who can only watch one female at a time. The other females have their pick of the males for mating and it has been theorized that those lions whose manes contain more black – therefore express more testosterone – are considered a better bet for fathering their young.

Lion watching buzzards-Kapama

He seems completely oblivious to the acacia thorns piercing his hide.

Lion & thorn tree-Kapama

And his golden eyes are beautiful.

Lion's eyes-Kapama

But finally, he stands and we all take an involuntary shift backward in our seats.   Though we are not far away and it would be an easy leap into our jeep, the animals here have grown accustomed to the safari vehicles.  Still, we are cautioned to wear neutral clothing, to be quiet and not to stand up or otherwise draw attention to ourselves.  Respect for these animals and their environment is paramount.

Lion standing-Kapama

He saunters away past the beautifully-decorated culvert wall. Culverts, of course, are important during the rainy season in order to keep the roads passable.

Lion leaving-Kapama

And down the road, heading for the buzzards or maybe just a quieter spot to snooze.

Lion-walking-Kapama

As I have two cameras, I’ve been videotaping our lion encounter with one, and have set my video to a popular song recorded by one of my favourite groups. (More on this song after the video).

A short detour here into music history. My little lion video features The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Toronto’s wonderful a cappella group The Nylons, as they sounded in 1982 before losing their brilliant, soaring-voiced tenor Marc Connors to AIDS in 1991.  There’s a fascinating back story about this song. Long before the Tokens recorded their best-selling 1961 version (which the Nylons channel here), it was sung by folksinger Pete Seeger as Wimoweh based on what he heard when listening to Solomon Linda and his Evening Birds sing it on a 1939 recording. What Linda was singing was actually the word “Mbube”, pronounced (approximately) mee-boo-beh and was based on a traditional Zulu song.   The long, tortuous story of what happened to that song, from Solomon Linda to The Lion King has appeared in many forms, but the most thorough and fascinating is Rian Malan’s exhaustive profile in Rolling Stone magazine in May 2000.

As a postscript to this song’s history, after my 2007 safari to Kenya and Tanzania, I made up a YouTube video of the parks we visited and put it to music with Miriam Makeba singing ‘Mbube’, in a fancified version of Solomon Linda’s original Zulu song.

Feeling content after our lion sighting, we are delighted to see a herd of Cape or African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) at a watering hole on the way back to the lodge.  Dino tells us that when they’re not grazing, they like to lie in the mud or be in the water all day.

Cape Buffalo-Kapama

And we notice the red-billed oxpeckers (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) crawling over the buffaloes. Insect-eating birds, they’re looking for blood-engorged ticks on their host’s body.

Red-bill oxpeckers on buffalo-Kapama

Now it’s time to head back to the lodge for our own breakfast. The temperature has warmed and a swim in the pool is in order for later.  Driving through the bushveld at Kapama is so much fun, I compile a little video giving a flavour of the ride — and of course it has to have music, again by South Africa’s “Mama Africa”, Miriam Makeba. (It doesn’t really correspond to our drive here in South Arica, since Hapo Zamani is Swahili, the language of Kenya and  starts out “Once upon a time….” But never mind.)