Simbambili Camp.......Northeast in Kruger

To all the faithful followers of Despicable Tours, I dedicate this bit of verse, especially Aubrey
and Walter. Also to Tracker Sam and Driver Colbert who found our first leopard.





The Spotted Towel


Draped o'er the limb like a towel,
Feigning sleep yet so wide awake.
Ears alert for a crunch or a howl,
Claws eager and wide as a rake,

Beneath, the bush all aquiver,
Some creature has broken its stride.
Above, the limb starts to shiver,
And the towel begins its slow slide.

Not seeing the spots carefully blending,
With tree leaves and bark o'er its head,
The creature not sensing the ending,
From a towel that demands to be fed.

We went on our final morning drive. This time we spotted several jackals trying to raid a nest
of guinea hens and the adult birds were putting up a great fuss trying to chase them off. Watched a large male elephant munching his morning shrubbery.
Last night, instead of heading back to the camp, we were surprised by a special dining event.
The Camp staff set out a full dress feast in a clearing in the bush. The area was surrounded
by campfires and the sky was lit by big round red orange moon. A new camper joined us
and what do you know, she grew up in Garden City NY and spent lots of time in Mineola
where she attended a girl's Cathlolic school that I knew quite well when I worked at Mineola
HS. Small world.

We've been resting on our front deck which overlooks a dry river bed about 30 feet below. There's a large water hole about 100 yards ahead and a number of zebra and Cape buffalo
are milling around. A couple of monkeys are squawking in a tree above our thatch roofed
cottage. A large African hawk eagle is soaring by not 25 feet over the cottage. This place is
much more rustic than King's camp The altitude is higher and the jungle more dense.

We were transferred from Kings Camp by Tom, one of the locals and drove more than 2
hours to Sabi Sands, a different section of Kruger where this lodge is located. On the way, we
had to stop short to avoid a collision with a massive male giraffe who kept trying to cross the road There was a decent paved road for half the trip but it gradually disintegrated.
The beat-up toyota sedan rattled and shook and I expected pieces to fly off as Tom pressed the pedal close to 100 KM, grinning and enjoying the ride.

On part of the trip we past several small villages and the contrast in lifestyle was obvious. I spotted a tall black gal in native dress toting a big basket of produce on her head then further
down the road we saw a tin shack not more than 15' by 15' sporting a crooked sign painted
bright red above the door which blared, "INTERNET CAFE'. Maybe the gal was bringing
lox and bagels to the hackers in the cafe'. So much for jungle life..
We stopped at a fairly large town where I bought a small scissor for R3.95 (about 50 cents).
What do you know, most of the items were labeled, "made in China'.
We were reluctant to leave Kings Camp. I guess, Liselle, our gal from Sunsafaris who
arranged the itinerary, wanted to vary our safari experiences. Now we have to learn all
over again the "whys, wherefores and do nots" since no camp follows standardized procedures.
We also have to make new friends at dinner time and unravel the lingo of the mostly black
staff. There are few oldsters doing this thing and the young people in the group spend as
much time looking at Annabelle and I as they do the wildlife. Next time, I'll charge a fee.

Kerry and Anton were at the entrance to the main lodge with glasses of juice and wet
towels in hand and we were escorted to lodge 1 near the dining area. Our lodge is
furnished with the African motif including animal skins on the floors and patterned
pillow cushions. Quite lively.
We were too tired to make the afternoon game drive which was leaving a few minutes after
our arrival but we did arise at 5:00am today Feb.21. to join the group. Charles, the driver
took us on a leopard hunt and we managed to follow two female leopards. It was funny,
that when we caught up with one leopard, she turned around and looked at the wagon,
gave us a wide yawn and a disinterested look, then trotted down the path. It could have
made a great photo but my camera battery died. One of party with us, a young doctor
from Pretoria, who was armed with a monstrous camera and no doubt was a camera devotee,
promised to send us some of his photos.

Annnabelle is lounging on our front terrace reading a book about the trek of the early
Dutch settlers in Africa while I'm in the lodge office on their computer, with a number
of keys sans lettering. Fortunately, I can't go out of this place since we were advised to
stay in sight of the lodges. Pete, they do have a small fitness center on the grounds so if you want to get back in business, the prospects are great here in the bush.

I may not get back to the blog until we return to Johanessburg and civilization so if you
don't hear from us, I bid you goodbye in Zulu, "UNT-ILL-THE-NNN".