ROAR 3


May 11, 2011

Other Creature Comforts

As I write this second and final chapter of our 12 day Roar safari vacation, Doug and I are settling in for our final night at our exquisite Ivory Lodge suite, Peregrine. Something has gone terribly wrong with the AC (as I write this in bed)and Doug is being sprayed with ice cubes shooting out of the AC and onto his side of the bed. It's like a hailstorm in here. At Tintswalo, we had no hot water and broken water pipes...here, we have frozen water! Teaches us to have Waterhouse as a last name.

Sadly, not all of the final Roarers got together for our final dinner as we are scattered across various venues at Lion Sands (LS).

Update: We had a great final am drive and found the female leopard we have been tracking on the road. We must have watched her stalking impalas for 90 minutes before heading off to search for the 2 male and 2 female lions. We found only 1 male lion and he was in an area that was not drivable so we moved on. We had breakfast and lunch and left LS at 1 pm. As we drove to the airport, Doug yelled out "lion" and here were the two females and one male lion our sunning themselves right by the road. These lions, once a pride of 20 at LS, are now only 4 and not that easy to find in LS's large compound. But, here they were in mid day - I thought only early morning and evening drives offered viewings. We hadn't gone over a mile from the lions, when someone yelled "leopard!" The two most difficult animals to see were right under our noses as though they came to say goodbye.

Weather: The days both begin and end very cold (30s to 40s) with the daylight hours probably ranging in the 80s, though our final day must have been in the 90s. So, it was back and forth from heat to AC and back to heat. This switching must have been the cause of our inside hailstorm! We have been blessed with delightful weather. Most days have been blue skies and our only rain was during one evening. While it ruined a boma dinner for one group, the following morning was clear and the wet dirt roads showed clear imprints of every lion, impala and other critter who wandered in the dawn. Even I could see the tracks and follow them. Usually I just smile and nod as the rangers circle indecipherable tracks and explain what we are looking at...but I really don't see much and am amazed at what they see.

Schedule: A typical day included
1. Wake up call between 5 to 5:30am
2. Drive 5:45-6am
3. Breakfast at 9
4. Lunch at 1
5. Drive beginning 3:30-4
6. Dinner at 7:30
7. Bedtime 9:30

The entire group met the evening of April 30th at the Joberg Intercontinental before splitting into two groups the next day. One group went to Tintswalo for 4 nights and then to Leopard Hills for 4 nights. We were the other group and did the same itinerary only reversed. We lost 3 couples,David/Cindy from our group and two couples from the other group (not to lions thankfully), who went home. The rest of us continued onto Lion Sands (LS) for our final three nights. Here is where most of us were able to catch up with one another from each of the groups. It is fascinating to note how different the experience can be depending on the day you visited each camp.

Animals seen: turtles, crocodiles, lions, leopards, spotted hyena, wild dog, bats, large spotted genet, serval, caracal, dwarf mongoose, banded mongoose, white tales mongoose, baboons, vervet monkey,elephant,hippos, white rhino, giraffe, zebra, squirrel, kudu, hare, waterbuck, vultures, zebras, steenbuck, buffalo, many beautiful birds and, of course, the impala.

The final days
Our second to last Tintswalo drive was a good one for the ladies and a poor one for the gents. We got the experienced ranger who amazed us all by finding a leopard in thick bush. He and his tracker told us to stay put as he thought he saw leopard tracks. He came back about 10 minutes later saying he saw the leopard and it had a kill but ran away when it saw him. Off we darted and dashed in and out of the thick bush until there before our eyes was not just 1 leopard, but 3. We watched them eat, groom, stare at us for what seemed like hours and then our ranger radioed the guys' ranger and told him of our find. He gave clear directions... Take a right at the vulture nest, then drive 300 yards and take a left at the jackelberry tree and so forth. All of a sudden we heard their jeep near ours and things came to a grinding halt. Our ranger answered a call and it was a distress call from the guys' ranger. As we sat and watched leopards feeding and at play, the guys were about 100 feet from us behind some bushes with a flat tire. As we squealed with delight and watched the leopards with rapt pleasure, we could hear the tire jack and the guys being told to stay put as leopards were a few feet away from them. Not a good night for them!

To make matters worse, the afternoon had been so dull for the guys, that I believe their highlight was photographing termites. While our ranger and tracker sniffed out the leopard, their guide had resorted to finding insects.

During our second to last evening drive at Tintswalo we journeyed in the dark, stopping for sundowners in the pitch darkness and kidded that there were dangerous animals nearby. Our tracker and ranger laughed and we all piled back into the jeep and weren't 100 feet along when we came face to face with a lion sauntering down the road for a drink in a watering hole. A few minutes earlier and we might have been the accompanying dinner!

On our final morning drive at Tintswalo, our little team of Susan F, Ken/Sheila, and Ngaire/Ken found ourselves with the temporary ranger. He worked very hard for us, after his disastrous day before, and found us a couple of leopards...one even in a tree. As if this wasn't enough, we went to see a supposed buffalo kill by lions before we left Tintswalo. The other jeep hadn't been able to find anything, and we thought we would have the same, when a swarm-hundreds- of vultures darkened the sky. We yelled "follow them" to our guide and lo and behold we found the remains of the carcass. The lions had moved on, having devoured the buffalo and having run off when they saw the anti poacher squad on foot. The sight of three various types of vulture in massive quantities was a sight I will never forget.

We arrived before lunch yesterday at Lion Sands. Our tight knit group of Cindy/David, Susan F, Susan/Paul, Guy/Jacob, Ken/Sheila and Doug/me was broken up. Cindy and David stayed behind to return home, Susan F, Susan/Paul along with Ngaire/Ken went to a Lion Sands (LS) property called 1933, Susan and John Walsh (adorable couple--Susan is a gem who works for Ngaire) to another property called River Lodge, and Guy/Jacob and Doug and I joined Pat/Ray, Ralph and Dick at Ivory Lodge. It's cumbersome to get us all together with the 1933 Lodge about 15 minutes away, but we have been promised dinners together.

Our first afternoon drive at LS was nothing special and ended early for a get together at the 1933. We all shared stories of the day and discussed Susan F's greeting by a snake outside of her room. Many of our evening drives seemed devoid of animals, with the morning drives being quite exciting. It's amazing how animals can seem to disappear into the landscape and not be found while at other times you seem to trip over them.

At LH, our rangers were bright, young, full of info and great for photographers; at Tintswalo, our rangers were less informative and talked less and and Eric and Foster were a great ranger/tracker team and really entertained us with cultural information about South African tribal practices. The LS rangers are polished and professional and full of fascinating textbook info on flora and fauna. Our three rangers, Hawgie, Jono and Sidonia, were all excellent and really gave us a new flavor to the drives. Hawgie even made impalas sound fresh and interesting.

Properties
Physically, Lion Sands (LS) is stunning and professionally run. It is definitely the 5 star property of the three. However, personally, I felt food was better at LH and Tintswalo. Others would disagree.

LH needs its rooms refurbished and Tintswalo needs a slightly more professional touch. It is half the price of the other properties, so you have to consider that. While we had the best sightings at LH, the non Roar group which came in after us were disappointed, so game viewing is really a crap shoot.

Lion Sands River Lodge has now been totally refurbished. The basic rooms have been doubled in size and and are decorated in the same style as Ivory Lodge. Additionally, the superior River Lodge rooms are brand new construction and are larger than the bedroom/bathroom combo at Ivory. They don't have the plunge pool or living room, but I have never used the plunge pools provided and have rarely used the Ivory Lodge living room. Each villa at Ivory Lodge is huge, gorgeous and a destination to itself. However, at $500 more pp per day than the superior River Lodge room, I am not sure if you need to stay at Ivory anymore. I always felt guilty not staying in those gorgeous villas at Ivory Lodge.

We all had differing opinions about the properties and, with Tintswalo about half the price of LH, it was a good value. The rooms and food there are exceptional.

Personally, except for the lighting, I was really happy at LH. I loved the way the rooms weren't so nice that folks kept to themselves, holed up in the lovely villas, as I noticed they did at Ivory and Tintswalo.

Cougar
Now, this blog wouldn't be complete without a story of the CP. We were at LS and were discussing CP's inappropriate safari attire when sone rangers started laughing. We found out that she continued her obnoxious behavior at LS. Lion Sands offers a rhino tour. A ranger suggested 10:30. She said "who are you to dictate when the tour begins? We are the clients and we will tell you." Well, the ranger let her set a time and waited but she did't show. When he called her, she nonchalantly responded: "oh, I forgot to tell you I'm not going." she evidently prefers Londalozi...perhaps this is because they have loads of 20 year old males?

Rhino
The rhino has become a favorite of mine. Yesterday, we actually witnessed these grass grazers doing something other than eating. A mother protecting her young rhino got in a fight with a male rhino. Compared to the black rhino, not seen in the Kruger area, it is a far more placid animal and much less prone to attack. It can, however, reach speeds of 40 km/hr over short distances so you don't want to piss one off.

Elephants
Our encounters with elephants continues to be fascinating. We were greeted by an elephant during lunch at Tintswalo who became quite annoyed with our having lunch where he wanted to have a dirt bath. Of all the animals, most of us are most concerned when an elephant approaches our vehicle. Our ranger shared some stories of elephants lifting Land Rovers or chasing them at a fast pace. The bull elephants in musk and female elephants with youngsters pose the greatest threat. With a gestation period of 22 months, you can't blame them for being over protective. This morning, for the first time, I saw an elephant nursing. Since they only have one or two babies at a time, interestingly, they only have two nipples; a fact I never knew. Elephant cows will not hesitate to attack if provoked. Bull elephants, on the other hand, will charge, but it is usually a bluff. When they so attack, they shake their heads and approach you head on with a rocking motion.

Lions
While lion sightings were plentiful at LHs, the lions we saw at Tintswalo and LS were not terribly exciting. The Tintswalo male and female just played cat and mouse with one another while we were there, but evidently got it together just after we left. I'm told they "did it" every 5 minutes.


Leopards
This was certainly a trip filled with leopard sightings. They are perhaps the most beautiful and interesting of the lot because they never stay still. We saw leopards mating, calling for mates, rejecting mates, stalking, fighting, eating, on ground and in trees. They provided hours of entertainment.

Other Critters

Hippo
At Ivory, We were kept awake by the hippos marking their territories all night long. We were even treated to watching them mate...which they do in the water. What was even weirder was that other females try to join in on the act, making it a manage de trois or more! We found out that weird machine gun pooping sound is caused by their flapping their tales on their rumps when they go, splattering the dung everywhere.

Hyena
At LS, there was a hyena den. Hyenas are quite social and form collective clans. We spent a lot of time watching them at play, with the female chasing and reprimanding the month old pup in her brood.

So, here we sit, in the Turkish Air lounge. This trip home is long. We left at one yesterday from Ivory, waited at airport until our 6:30pm boarding, slept fitfully through the 9 hour flight and had a 4 hour layover. We still have another 8-10 plus hours till we get home. Our business class flight was superb and the seats, service and configuration among the best we have had. We were met by airline reps who whisked us through, carried our bags and delivered us to the lounge. We are going home first class. I can only imagine how nice that will be. So this concludes our trip. Tomorrow will be back to laundry, cooking and walking the dogs. Back to reality.

Footnote: They found our laundry at Tintswalo. The monkeys must have taken it to the river, but everything was intact. However, when the bag was returned, two pairs of white socks and a silk tee shirt were missing. Now, either the laundry, after washing the clothes, forgot to pack these three things back into the mesh bag or we have some discriminating monkeys who are now dressed in white socks and my T and have figured out how to zip and unzip our mesh laundry bag! Tintswalow management insisted on sending our lost clothes by private driver even though Susan Walsh told them the clothes could be mailed. Wow!