KNP Maroela

At Maroela campsite we had to reconsider our ‘fence’ point of view. We arrived 14h30, the hottest part of the day with temperature reading 40 ͦC. The deepest shade was along the fence so that is where we would be camping. It took some manoeuvring to get Ufudu, the trailer and Suzi in place though. Now we have deep shade but it does not take away the claustrophobic feeling.

Again, hyenas patrolled the fence every night.

On the morning of the 16^th we were out at 5am again (this is becoming a habit!). Within 100 metres from the gate a blind snake crossed the road. This excited Roger because he did a snake handling course in preparation for our trip and this is only the second snake we have seen since starting the trip.

Just before the 1Km mark there was a family of Black-backed Jackals (2 adults and 4 pups) enjoying the early morning cool. The pups were exploring the surrounds and every now and then pulled an unsuspecting parent’s tail. One could watch them for hours… They would unfortunately not pose nicely for a group photo!

The trip down the road did not offer much besides a wonderfully cool breeze. The highlight of the morning was when we took a little side road to a lookout point and suddenly surprised a litter of 3 leopard cubs. They scattered for cover the minute they saw the car so sadly we have no photos. They were so chubby and ‘cute’. A special sighting indeed!

That night we were visited by a huge herd of elephant. The camp is adjacent to the Timbavati river which is currently dry. It was full moon and the sand created the effect of being at the coast. What a sight to see the herd slowly work their way past, feeding as they go.

17^th was pack up and move on again. We did not have a booking but hoped to get into Lower Sabie on the off-chance that some-one had cancelled. Pre-booking was not possible because they were already fully booked.

About 1,5Km out of camp we spotted a pride of lions napping next to the road. There were 3 females and 3 ‘teenagers’, all enjoying a siesta. It was very interesting to watch the ritual when one of the females got up, went to another one and rubbed her face against her before moving off. We had just recently read about this behaviour which serves to strengthen the pride bond through mutual ‘scent’.

The route to Lower Sabie took us through a wetland area called Fairfield along the S145 which was dotted with lilies. Once we passed the lilies the next patch was covered in Chincherinchees. The whole route was very scenic but sadly we were driven by the clock and could not take time to stop too often, lest we miss the gate times.

At Lower Sabie the receptionist once again said that they were fully booked. Roger asked very nicely if there was not perhaps a possibility of a ‘no-show’. Dorcus then volunteered to check up and asked us to come back later. An hour later we were checked in for the night! At least we were in time for a visit to Sunset Dam.