Pungwe Bush Camp (2 Days)

CLICK HERE: PUNGWE BUSH CAMP PHOTO ALBUM
CLICK HERE: THE BIG FIVE PHOTO ALBUM

Monday, March 11, 2019

Woke up bright and early in the hopes that the sun was out and we could do a quick run out to God's Window before going off into the bush.  No luck.  Not only were the skies gray but it started pouring as we were eating.  Oh well, that puts an end to the "maybe" of it all.  Packed up and went up to reception to sign out.

The rain was coming down pretty hard at times on the drive across to Kruger.  Not much along the

way.  Some small towns.  Needed an ATM so we pulled off and went to the Acornhoek Mall. These malls are amazing to me.  They are huge and quite modern.  Got our cash, went to the loo, and we were off.  Got to the Manyeleti Game Reserve gate late morning. Paid our conservation fee and was given a map of how to get to Pungwe - right, left, right, left, left etc.  The bumpy road took us about 45 minutes to navigate.  We had one sighting of kudo at a watering hall and there was a turtle on the road.  Lots elephant dung - we were on the lookout - but didn't see anything lumbering out of the bushes.

Arrived at camp and Neville was there to meet us.  I must say that this guy is not warm and fuzzy for being in the tourist industry.  Emma, however, the other person wve met here, is lovely.  We are settled in our tent.  This is basically camping. Although we do have indoor plumbing and a real shower -- not a man outside filling a water bucket while you pull the cord.  There never was time to use that jacuzzi at the silk farm.  Maybe here we can use the clawfooted tub here. It looks pretty welcoming.  There is also a fan in the tent that is solar powered - and that outlet is not be used by anything but the fan.  There is a charging station at the bar at certain times of the day but that's it for power. Speaking of power, Geoff is now on a rant about the South African power adapters. They are absolutely huge and ridiculous to travel with.  They only ones worse, he says, are the British.  Some of the wall outlets here have various adapters in them already - mainly European - none of them are US.  So we have to be prepared for all kinds of situations.  No idea what we will encounter in Zambia or Botswana - but we're much covered.

They also have a very strange dining schedule.  There is the usual 5:30 coffee and muffins then a brunch at 10 after returning from the game drive.  But apparently, there is no official lunch. High tea is at 3:30 and then dinner at 8pm.  So if you don't fill up at brunch, you're kinda out of luck.  The last time we were driving to the safari camp in Shamwari, we made a point of having lunch before we arrived.  Only to find out that we could order lunch when we got there. Today, we specifically didn't have anything to eat after our 7:30 breakfast. So when Mr. Congeniality said the next meal was at 3:30, it didn't sit so well with me. "But what about lunch?"  "We have brunch at 10." "Yes, but we didn't."  Finally, nice Emma said "Are you hungry?"  DUH!!  Well there is rusks and coffee if you want. Rusks are the South African answer to the biscotti.  Ok fine.  Tomorrow we will plan better.

Resting out on our "porch" now   A wasp-type just dragged some sort of caterpillar-type across us and is now digging a hole to bury the poor thing.  It's all very nature channel stuff.  We have taken our anti-malaria pills and have doused ourselves in OFF - we are now ready for safari!  At 3:30 we have high tea and then off for a 4pm game drive. Tonight I think there will be six of us and tomorrow afternoon eight. We haven't run into any other guests as yet.   later

Ok - we are totally humiliated now.  Early this afternoon there was a very cute monkey hanging around our tent.  We totally forgot about the plastic bag containing a couple of rotten bananas that we put outside the tent so we wouldn't attract anything in the tent.  Well before we got a chance to get it down to the dining area, the darling little monkey grabbed the bag and was off!  On the walk down to tea, we tried searching the area for the bag - no luck.  Our fellow campers showed up and said "Is this bag yours? We saw a very happy monkey".  Very embarrassing.

Anyway, we met both couples all young and German.  We were off at 4 pm sharp.  The Pungwe game drive is much different from Shamwari - open jeep, no roof, no sides, no proscceo, and no rifle -- what they did have was on high power light.  That was great during the ride back and we could look in the trees and around the bushes in the dark.  Didn't see much, a lion and a hyena ran across the road, but it was exciting.  Saw the usual stuff on the drive - still in search of the elusive leopard and cheetah.  Maybe tomorrow.

Dinner was fine and we had a great conversation with the young folks about working and politics.  The weather held today and hopefully, it will be good for tomorrow as well. We all have to be escorted to our tents at night - you never know what's lurking in the dark. Early call in the morning.

The Big Five!

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Sleeping in a tent in under African skies is always exciting.  Lots of animal sounds - some big some not so big.  We saw stars as we were escorted to our tent last night.  We had thought it would be mean clear skies.  I guess not.  It poured during the night and when we woke up the skies were gray.  There was coffee and cereal waiting at 6am.  Then the rain came again.  Ponchos were handed out and we were on our way.  In an open jeep, we all got drenched even with our rain jackets and ponchos.

I was just finishing complaining "Why are we doing this!?", when we spotted the leopard.  WOW!! this beast is beautiful and so close.  That completes our BIG 5 for this trip:  Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion, and Leopard.  We stalked the leopard for a bit and left him in peace.  OK, so that was the reason we were out here in the pouring rain.  Fortunately the rain had stopped while we watched him in the bush.  It, however, start right up again as soon as the jeep started moving.

Back on the bumpy road with rain hitting our faces, what do we see next?  A cheetah!!  What are the odds?  This guy/gal was protecting a fresh kill so not going anywhere.  We watched as the kill was dragged into the bush and the cheetah proceeded to have breakfast.  Very hard to get a photo in all the grass.  Quite a magnificent sight.

Had a coffee break and we took off for the camp.  Along the way we passed the usual -- giraffes, elephants, gnus, and a tortoise shell turtle to name a few.  Got back at the lodge and had a hearty breakfast.  Said goodbye to one of the couples.  There will be more coming in this afternoon.  Time for a warm shower. Rested for most of the afternoon waiting for everything to dry out so we can pack.  Everything is still rather damp.  We talked with Michele, the owner, for a bit before retiring for the afternoon.  He is quite the entrepreneur an quite full of himself, but enjoyable to talk to.  High tea came before we knew it and we set out to dining area.  Three new guests have arrived. A couple for north of England and woman from Chicago.  Introductions were made, tea was had, and off we went.

Well guess what?  The rain came, again.  Bundled up in ponchos we came upon two male lions have a lie down.  We sat there for an extremely long time.  Long enough for the rain to let us for a while.  When we finally moved down the road, we ran into a herd of elephants in the middle of the road. All the females were trying to protect the young one who was very anxious to see what we were

all about.  She did manage to escape for a bit, but not for long.  At one point we were surrounded by elephants very near the truck.  The large females started charging us and trumpeting.  Well, that woke up anyone who was sleeping.  Our guide thought it was a good idea to rev the engine and move forward.  This action went on for a while.  All us tourists were pretty in awe of what was going on.  Eventually, Isaac drove the jeep right through the herd and we heard all about it from them. Phew!  We stopped for cocktails but Neville forgot our peanuts. Fortunately, the nice Englishwoman, Margaret (?), had some macadamia nuts that she shared.

On the drive back to the lodge, an owl swooped down and grabbed a bird right in front of the jeep.  In fact we drove right through all the loose feathers.  Neville was able to spot the owl with the flashlight. Apparently, he had put a whole through the bird which was right beside him.  The owl took off when he saw us but is sure to come back for his prey. This is a sight we will remember for a long time to come.

Dinner was good with lots of conversation.  I had a good talk with Isaac, our guide tonight.  He lives in the village and told me about his life and children.  He said living in the bush he was not really affected by apartheid.  We talked of the changes that have occurred for the young black people of today.  It was interesting to hear another side to the story.  For instance, he told us that a child has only one chance at free tuition at a university.  If you do not pass, they will throw you out.  If you want to return, then you or your parents will have to pay the tuition -- the government will not.  This is not what we were led to believe.

It was time to say goodnight.  We will see everyone for coffee early in the morning.  We have to leave here around 6 am to get to the airport.

CLICK HERE: PUNGWE BUSH CAMP PHOTO ALBUM
CLICK HERE: THE BIG FIVE PHOTO ALBUM

Next time.... Victoria Falls, here we come!