Punda Maria Restcamp
We reserved a campsite at Punda Maria restcamp for the night that we ended our Lebombo 4×4 Eco Trail and ended up staying for two. We wanted to linger in the Park for as long as possible. Eugene and Marlene decided to stay on as well. After all, there is no point in arriving home on a Friday, is there?
Eugene and Marlene’s friends Riaan and Alida also happened to be at Punda Maria so we had a lovely social evening catching up.
The restcamp has a hide overlooking a waterhole that allows for great game viewing. One can sit there all day and watch the animals come and go. Flood lights even allow for night-time viewing.
At the end of our first day in camp Roger and I went for a walk along the Flycatcher Trail, inside the camp fenced area, just before sunset. It was good to stretch the legs after so many days of driving/sitting in the car.
On the second day we encountered countless herds of buffalo and elephant, huddled under every conceivable shade tree, conserving energy and waiting for the day to cool down.
At around mid-day we spotted a Bateleur in a dead tree. We both immediately remembered what Nico told us:
“If you see a Bateleur perched during the day you can be sure there is a kill or carrion nearby.”
And it was so. The driver of the only other stationary vehicle near us pointed out a dead scrub hare, possibly road kill, with a piece of flesh ripped out of it. Closer inspection showed that the raptor was busy snacking on something.
Back in camp we enjoyed a long leisurely cool-off in the swimming pool, followed by sun-downers and a braai.
We always enjoy this camp. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to the others on Saturday morning. Eugene and Marlene wanted to sleep closest to their exit gate on their last night in the Park; they had to be back home on Sunday. We moved on to Tsendze and planned to be home on Monday. It was once again a wonderful privilege to have shared such a special experience with them.
Eugene told us about a pride of lions they saw the previous day, so we set out to try and find them. We took every little loop down to the river, without any luck. Then, at some point Roger turned to me, pointing over towards my side of the road, and said “for all we know they are not on the river’s side but right here”.
And much to our surprise, there they were; seven of them sleeping in the shade. Had it not been for his joking comment at that very moment we would have missed them as we were both constantly scanning the bank on the opposite side of the river. There were no other vehicles either, which is unusual for a lion sighting.
We checked into Tsendze Rustic camp at the Marula camp office and went straight to the pool before moving on to find our campsite for the night.
