Satara 7 – 11th August

Wednesday, 7th We always like to arrive as early as possible at a new camp so as to secure a decent campsite before the ‘main manne’ arrive later in the day. Leaving Shingwedzi early we reached Satara at 11am and find a really good site at the south end of the campsite with privacy and shade. Within an hour we are setup and ready for action.

This afternoon we go out west along the H7 Orpen road to Nsemane Dam which still has a fair amount of water in it.

From there we go to nearby Girivana Dam along the really badly corrugated S40. Predictably this dam is bone dry. The first day or so at a new camp is spent reconnoitring to find out which dams have water, which areas have been burnt and the condition of the roads. Girivana is therefore quickly discarded from future plans. We go back to the main H1-3 road and where this crosses the Nwanetsi River we find some lionesses in the grass.

Everywhere around Satara the grass is long and dry making spotting a bit difficult. If Cheetah or Lions are not on the road one will be lucky to see them.

Thursday, 8th Satara seems to attract the early birds and despite getting to the dark gate at 5.45am, we are still well back in the queue. Today we are heading south to the Sweni S126 Road that has served us so well in the past. We really creep slowly along this beautiful road before finally reaching the Muzandzeni Picnic Site. I am afraid that we have absolutely nothing to report for our efforts.

Thence northward along the S36 where we briefly stop at the Rockvale to watch zebras drinking.

This afternoon we head 7km north of Satara and turn right onto the S90. We have evening coffee at the strongly flowing Mavumbye stream.

Whilst sitting there, a military vehicle stops and the friendly soldier driver is delighted to find someone from Somerset West to talk to. He hails from Mitchell’s Plain and bemoans being so far from home. “But a job is a job and there’s nothing I can do about it”.

Friday, 9th Again we are at the gate at 5.45am and again we are well back in the queue. All winter days are the same in Kruger – clear and still. A couple of cars join us as we drive down the popular S100 gravel road that runs eastward along the north bank of the Nwanetsi River.

Sunrise and sunset are nearly always clear with no clouds at all.

But my goodness things here are quiet as well and we draw an absolute blank. Photography is my game and I do not need spectacular sightings to measure my day’s success. This morning though, I hardly lift my camera and I think back fondly to my mornings along the S56 north of Shingwedzi.

Returning to camp along the S100 some game is now present.

A young Bateleur changing over from its brown youthful plumage to the adult black.

The temperature today reaches 35ºC and the mild Lowveld winter seems to be already over. But it is a dry heat and I do not find it at all unpleasant.

This afternoon we travel north along the H1-3 for 15kms before turning and creeping homeward – but without success. Like all good anglers know, one must keep one’s line in the water and persevere and suddenly the fish bite.

Saturday, 10th Surely Sweni S126 cannot be so dead twice. We are even earlier at the gate at 5.40am but still leave fifth in line. But we are in luck as all the traffic goes elsewhere and we have beautiful Sweni to ourselves. If Thursday was bad today is even worse and we see nothing at all, all the way round past Rockvale and along the H7 back to camp. We have now been almost four weeks in Kruger and were it not for the Sabie H4-1 and Shingwedzi then this would be a particularly barren trip.

Back in camp early, I decide to go down the S100 in search of birds to photograph. Speeding tourist bakkies down the S100 always alert one to a lion sighting so I abandon my birds and follow them. Sure enough at the Shibotwana windmill three large male lions are sprawled in the shade sleeping off a recent good meal. One of the lions is very pale coloured and I would like to take you back to 2014 when we came across these cubs along the S100. Amongst them was an almost white little fellow who no doubt has now grown into a huge adult.

Back in camp I photograph a few birds.

,This afternoon we go out west along the H7 towards Orpen and enjoy coffee at a favourite afternoon spot – Bobbejaans Krans.

We do see a little game along the road and at one point a cluster of cars tell us that a distant cheetah is lying in some shade. I never saw it.

And thus ends another threadbare day at Satara. I chuckle when I recall a tourist saying to me the other day that he prefers Satara because it has more game than up north at Shingwedzi. The wonderful Mphongolo S56 road was positively teeming with game by comparison. But the lifestyle is just superb and tomorrow is another day.

Sunday, 11th Satara just isn’t working for us. We are a little late to the gate this morning arriving 10 minutes before opening at 5.50am. We trail out behind about twenty cars all jockeying for position. We are fifth going north up the H1-3 but are quickly overtaken as we join this impatient queue. Ten km’s up the road, as is so often the case, we come across lions in the road – a mating couple and a real battle scarred hopeful.

Judging by his scarring, this poor chap suffered some terrible facial injuries at some time.

Extracating ourselves from the car-jam we continue to the S127 and turn off left towards Timbavati. At this point everything starts to go wrong. The road is so badly corrugated as to make it almost impassable, especially in a tightly sprung Quantum. Shaken, we make it to the beautiful S39 Timbavati River road which is disapppointingly also in a mess. I spend the next two hours scanning the road to avoid bumps rather than looking into the trees and grasses for wildlife. We emerge at the end of the road rattled and fed-up that incompetent management can allow this to happen in Kruger. With a ‘captive market’ and flush with money, there is just no excuse.