Over the next 8 days I will be blogging live from the Africa on Foot and nThambo camps in the Kruger Park. I’m here on an 8 day safari to track lion prides, soak up the heat, birdwatch and identify tracks. Oh, and I am also here to do a bit of work. I keep forgetting that part. If you would like to read my day-to-day entries of what life is like at camp and the wildlife I’ve seen, then please read my diary entries on the Africa on Foot blog. The first entry will be uploaded later on today – provided I’m not distracted by a Leopard kill.
For those of you who don’t know, Africa on Foot is an authentic safari lodge in the Klaserie Private Reserve specializing in Big Five walking safaris. Their sister camp is the nThambo Tree camp, famous for its accommodation which towers over the reserve at eye-level with the trees.
Both camps offer an affordable safari option in a private Kruger reserve that is not inundated with game vehicles, self-drive guests and tourists. Yesterday, en route to Africa on Foot, I saw a herd of Cape Buffalo, a Giraffe and a few Impala ! This “by-the-by” wildlife spotting was only to be surpassed by the incredible sunset that evening.
Last night there was a bat in my room which provided me with a bit of an adventure. Yes, I was scared. And no, it didn’t eat my hair! They eat mosquitoes, which is a bonus considering the mosquitoes are out in full force. This morning at 3:00 a rather vocal lion walked past my door. He sounded a bit arrogant – opening the door was the last thing I wanted to do! Lion pride tracks are all around the camp so I suspect we’ll see the pride on tonight’s game drive at 16:00.
We’re always talking about the large predators in the Kruger but there is great flora in the reserve. I had no idea just how many poisonous plants are in the Klaserie, not to mention plants with healing properties. There’s the Poison Apple, the Japanese Mushroom and number of other shrubs. For keen botanists, Rein (the incredibly knowledgeable, fantastic Africa on Foot guide) has promised us a blog post about poisonous plants. I look forward to that !
This is a great place to soak up “real life” Africa. If you’d like to book an affordable safari and experience first-hand what I’m doing, then please contact us.
Anyway, I will update the Africa on Foot blog at a later stage. I need to dash – I think there’s an elephant at the pool!
