21. It's the Circle of Life: Another Day in KNP

Kruger Day 4

Wednesday April 24

From the day we arrive on the planet

And blinking, step into the sun

There's more to see than can ever be seen

More to do than can ever be done

There's far too much to take in here

More to find than can ever be found

But the sun rolling high

Through the sapphire sky

Keeps great and small on the endless round

   "Circle of Life" 

After another early breakfast and sandwich making marathon, we packed ourselves back into the cars and headed off for Mopani, again taking the semi-scenic route. It was a long drive though, and took most of the day. We searched for lions again, but to no avail. We drove across the Olifants River again just to look at it since it is so pretty.

            

                                        

                                               Hippos on the edge of the Olifants

Young Giraffe

We saw a bunch of hippos there too. They were sunning on the side of the riverbank. They looked like rocks from far away. And we saw a croc swimming in the river.

             

Never smile at a crocodile... 

And we saw a dead buffalo in the river as well. He had a wound on his neck, but we couldn't tell how he must have died. 

Dead Buffalo in the River

We also saw giraffes and some really rare kind of antelope called roan antelopes. They are an extremely endangered species so it was a rare treat to get to see them. Whooo!

Giraffe with his little oxpicker minions lined up on his back. 

            

Family of Roan Antelopes

Also saw some elephants. Classic. We saw one really up close and personal, and poor Xolani was freaking out.  We even had to move out of the way so it wouldn’t run into us. The elephant was behind the car, so Jimbo said to us in the back row, “tell me if he starts running.” He started lumbering along at a slightly faster than walking pace in our direction. And Neha shrieked, “He’s running!” So we drove off. But it wasn’t more than a jog if that.  But we all lived so it was ok. And it was exciting.

             

"He's Running!"

Baobab Tree, believed to be the oldest living
species on the continent

We arrived at Mopani camp and went to look at the beautiful giant Baobab tree on site. Baobabs are common up in the northern part and they are so cool! We had a little bit of free time after we settled into our huts so me and my two hut-mates did some abs. Too much sitting. It’s easy to forget that you’ve been sitting for so long in Kruger because it’s amazing and beautiful and interesting. Plus the company was really fun and we were always having a great time, but still, it was too much sitting. So we did some abs workouts.  And then we went and undid our abs by getting snacks at the bar before our afternoon game drive. It was a short drive but we saw an elephant in must! And millions of Mopani trees. These are the green trees that line the roadside here and give the region its name. They are an indigenously invasive species. And make game difficult to view.

            

@ Mopani Camp

Really cool flower at the camp

We also saw a family of elephants crossing the road right in front of us. The cuteness of the baby was overwhelming. Ahhhhh!!!!!! I miss it already. I wish that moment could last forever. But at least I have the memories. Baby elephants don’t know what to do with their trunks so they tend to just hang there limp or flop around. This little guy is a perfect example. His mom looked pretty grumpy though, so we drove off pretty quickly after the baby passed.

            

Is it safe to cross? 

"I don't know what to do with my trunk." 

Grumpy mamma 

We also saw the usual waterbuck and zebras and I found myself startled at how quickly I had begun to take for granted an animal I’d never even heard of.

             

But then, we were privileged to see what I’m pretty sure is the most beautiful sunset that ever happened.

            

After yet another delicious dinner, David gave us a lecture about Hamakuya where we would be heading the following day. He talked about what we’d be doing in our water research and our homestays. There are twenty of us, and there were four homes, so we divided into groups of 5. He told us that since we’d been so well behaved and friendly and patient with each other all week that he was so impressed that he’d let us choose our own groups. So we decided to randomize it because we’re cool like that and are very mature. J So we arranged ourselves in order of birthdays throughout the year. I was surprised I was the first calendar birthday in the year. But my group was super cool. I mean everyone is really awesome in my program, so it would have been fine, but the particular dynamics of my group and our strengths combined to make a really strong and adaptable group. Go team! My team included Hope, a pre-med psych major from the Chicago area; Smitha, an accelerated medical education program major from San Jose who is a junior but who is graduating in June and going to Feinberg Med School in August; Katie, a pre-med bio major from the Chicago area; Michelle, a communication studies major from New York; and me.

David designed a water research project for us to do for him as part of his larger water research program when we were in our homestays. So we had to learn how to use the GPS equipment we’d be using on our homestays. So he had us do a scavenger hunt after our lecture. Each of us had the geographical longitude/latitude coordinates of two points and had to go find something hidden at each spot. It was pitch black also, so we had to use our flashlights. Thank heavens for my Maglite. Definitely the brightest flashlight in my whole program. Ask twenty overachieving Northwestern students to do a scavenger hunt and what happens, the ferociously competitive side comes out in everyone! It was hilarious. We literally sprinted back to the main house when we found our objects: two rubber snakes. Really? Snakes? In the dark? That was terrifying!!

Anyway, we won. Not that it matters… haha. The prize was a box of Salty Crax, a kind of baked crackers that are amazing! During our whole trip so far, we’d been munching on salty crax in the safari vehicles and every time someone opened the snack box, salty crax were the most wanted food. We didn’t fight over them, but we tried to politely figure out how to have as many of them as possible without making enemies out of everyone else in the car.

After the hunt was over, I couldn’t get to sleep fast enough. Kruger is the most fun place on earth, but to do it right you have to tire yourself out. And our program directors made very certain that that was the case for us all.