Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Day one concluded at Satara Rest Camp, where we stayed for three nights. Kruger has twelve main camps and several satellite camps that range from deluxe to primitive. The park is long and narrow, 217 miles (350 km) long and 37 miles (60 km) at its widest. All of our explorations were in the southern regions of the park. At one point, Irving, our driver, asked for cell phones and took group photos from his driver’s seat. From the front, left to right, are Patricia and Gary; in the middle, Lynn and John; in the back, Dries and Hannes.

Our days started early. At Satara, we stayed in the Frankel House, a collection of guest houses with a community area central to our rooms. We met at 5 AM for coffee and rusks, a hard double-baked bread initially brought with the Dutch settlers on their journeys to the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th century. Over time, rusks became a South African tradition. A more complete breakfast would happen during our first outing of the day.

We saw many small herds of elephants. It appears this group recently felled a tree. I was surprised how many trees had damaged bark or were completely uprooted. Elephants eat the leaves, bark, and sometimes even the roots of trees. Knocking down a tree makes it easier to reach all the edible parts. I was taken by a young elephant, probably the youngest we saw on our journey.

Lions were our journey’s most frequently seen cats, but very few males were spotted. This is the sharpest photo I captured of a male lion.

According to Google, waterbucks are excellent swimmers and often retreat to water when threatened. The large antelopes have a characteristic white circle on their rump. Male waterbucks have beautifully curved long horns, which are primarily used to display and establish dominance within the herd. They can also be used in territorial disputes and defense against predators.

The spiraling horns of a male kudu are symbolic of Africa to me. According to Google, the kudu is a large antelope. Male kudus are known for their spectacular, spiraling horns, which can grow up to 6 feet long. These horns are used for display and defense.

Those long white objects at the kudu’s feet are fruits. I didn’t realize the large tree behind the kudu was a sausage tree. The fruits, scientifically known as Kigelia Africana, resemble a large sausage hanging from the branches of a tree. Google tells me that these fruits can grow up to 2 feet long and weigh as much as 15 pounds.

Despite the name, the plants are not edible but are used medicinally to treat various ailments. Extracts from the fruit are also used in skincare products.

One of the things we noticed about the zebras we saw is the brown stripes alternating with black stripes in their coats. The only zebras I’d ever seen in zoos in the United States didn’t have any brown stripes, only black and white. When I posted one of the zebra photos I took on Facebook, I asked Dries to comment on these African zebra’s brown stripes. He responded, “The race of Plains Zebra that occurs in the Lowveld of South Africa (including the Kruger National Park), Chapman’s Zebra (Equus quagga chapmani), sports what is termed “shadow stripes” – brownish stripes between the dark black stripes on the rump and buttocks – while the race occurring in Kenya and Tanzania, called Grant’s Zebra (Equus quagga boehmi) and which apparently is most numerous in northern hemisphere zoos, has only the pure black and white pattern.“

The black-backed jackal resembles a fox’s face in some respects. The black “saddle” that extends from the shoulders to the base of the tail is the prominent marking, hence the name “black-backed.” Large ears, long legs, and a slender body are characteristics of the species.

Our days were usually divided into thirds: a morning safari, a return to camp in the early afternoon, as it was siesta time for the animals, and an afternoon safari, usually starting between 3 and 4 PM. As we had to be back in camp by the 6 PM gate closing, our afternoon trips were usually limited to three hours maximum.

On our way back to the Satara Camp for the evening, we noticed a large line of vehicles lined up at the entrance. We were close to the 6 PM gate closing but could see the gate was still open. We couldn’t figure out why there was a line at the gate until we got closer. Once we exited the main road and turned onto the camp access road, we could see a mama jackal and her three pups.

Of course, we also had to stop so that everyone could get photos of the pups as they played on top of an ant hill. The black “saddle” marking is visible at even this early age.

We came upon a herd of impala grazing contentedly when suddenly, the herd broke into a run. I captured this photo of the lead runners as they encountered an impala that hadn’t yet gotten the message. In a split second, that impala turned and joined the running herd. Impalas can run over 50 mph (80 kph) and leap higher than their body height.

We noticed the black stripes on their rumps resemble a McDonald’s logo. The ongoing joke in the vehicle became, “Why do impalas have a McDonald’s logo on their rump? Because lions like fast food.” >grin<

Warthogs aren’t as visible to us as I thought they might be. We did get several opportunities to photograph them, but we didn’t see any large groups. My photos included just one or two walking along the savanna or crossing a road.

Large tusks and aggressive behavior make warthogs capable of defending themselves against predators like lions and hyenas. Google also notes that they can reach speeds up to 30 mph (48 kph.)

The camps typically have at least one restaurant. One evening, I noticed a pizza on the nearby restaurant’s dinner menu. The ingredients included warthog sausage, bacon, and avocado. I am generally not one to try game foods, but this time, I made an exception. The pizza was delicious, and the meat was not at all “gamy.”

Driving on the road paralleling a nearby river, we’d just passed a nyala, an African antelope walking along the river bank. Moments later, Irving spotted a lion clearly aware of a potential meal. We stopped and waited for a few minutes to see what might happen.

After only about five minutes, the lion started moving. She quietly walked between the road and the river bank, moving closer to our vehicle as she stalked the nyala. I was glad to have the 200-500 mm lens and racked the zoom to almost full extension to get a portrait of the lion. As she passed near our truck, she was laser-focused on her target. She was out of luck on this hunt as the nyala sensed the danger, and we saw him bound across the river and up into the hills.

I processed many more images than featured in this post. If you’d like to see more from the day’s travels, I posted them on my Flickr site here. Next Friday, we will travel north to Olifants and Letaba Rest Camps, where I will share spectacular views of the Letaba and Olifants Rivers. We also go on a night safari.

John Steiner