Roxanne Reid - Africa Addict
  • Home
  • Book author
    • Travels in the Kalahari >
      • Photo gallery: Travels in the Kalahari
      • Book reviews: Travels in the Kalahari
    • A Walk in the Park >
      • Photo gallery: A Walk in the Park
      • Book reviews: A Walk in the Park
    • The Essential Guide to Self-Editing >
      • Book reviews: Essential Guide to Self-Editing
    • Betrayed
    • Book reviews online
  • Editing & proofreading
  • In the media
    • Travel features
    • Health features
    • Online media
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Links
  • Contact

Sunset drive at Pretoriuskop, Kruger Park

9/9/2015

2 Comments

 
Sunset drive at Pretoriuskop, Kruger Park
By Roxanne Reid
Hubby and I can drive around game reserves all day and not get tired of watching animals and their interactions. By dusk, though, the rules say we have to be back in camp. Yet our best chance of seeing creatures of the night like genet, serval, civet and porcupine is after gate-closing time. That’s why we signed up for a sunset drive at Pretoriuskop, Kruger Park.

With head guide Pat at the wheel forour sunset drive at Pretoriuskop, things started well with a lone bull ellie on some rocks. He came up really close to the vehicle to continue feeding. ‘An elephant will eat 70% grass, 20% leaves and 10% fruits,’ Pat told us. In winter, this will change to 70% trees – and they use every little bit, from the bark and leaves to the roots. The roots give them moisture content. ‘That’s why in winter you’ll see so many pushed-over trees,’ he explained.
Pretoriuskop, Kruger National Park
A stately giraffe gave Pat a chance to tell us more about their way of life. ‘The female with a newborn stays on her own for a few days so the calf imprints on her, learns that “this is my mum”,’ he said. He also reminded us that the giraffe has excellent eyesight but no voice box, which is why they’re so silent.
Sunset drive at Pretoriuskop, Kruger Park
Three bachelor buffalos looked at us as if they’d rather have had us for supper than endure our gazes. So why do they detach themselves from the herd when they get old? ‘First, the females want good grass for their young and will keep walking till they find it,’ he said. ‘But the old guys don’t want to walk so far. Second, they don’t want to carry on having to fight for dominance, so it’s better for them to go off alone away from the herd.’ No wonder they’re often so grumpy.
Pretoriuskop, Kruger National Park
Once darkness settled over the bush things got very quiet. For almost an hour and a half we drove around seeing nothing. Pat said nothing. At one point he turned off the noisy diesel engine to listen for promising sounds but the bush was dead quiet, not even the hoot of an owl. 
Sunset drive at Pretoriuskop, Kruger Park
Again we drove, the spotlight sweeping from side to side. Still nothing. I was just thinking this had been the most unproductive night drive of my life when, about 30 minutes before it was due to end, I spotted a white rhino and her calf. It seemed to be a curse-breaker because soon afterwards we saw a Mozambique nightjar sitting like a statue in the middle of the road, a small spotted genet in the bushes, another two sightings of lone rhino, and a spotted hyena sniffing along the road. 
Pretoriuskop, Kruger National Park
No civet, no serval, no porcupine and no owl, which are among the top reasons for doing a night drive, but at least we saw three of the Big Five, as well as a genet and a hyena. It was better than sitting back at camp and seeing nothing at all. 

Like it? Pin this image!
Sunset drive at Pretoriuskop, Kruger Park #SouthAfrica #Kruger #safari #travel
More about Kruger Park

Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
2 Comments
Jonker - Firefly link
1/10/2015 11:13:34 am

I should stop following your blog. Namibia, Kalahari and Kruger. All places I've never been but would love to visit.

Reply
Roxanne link
2/10/2015 08:50:14 am

Lots of driving and money spent on fuel, Jonker - just to put it in perspective. 11,500km in Namibia and 7000 on our Kruger, Mountain Zebra trippie!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Get email links to the latest posts

    Buy my books
    Travels in the Kalahari, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2012​

    A Walk in the Park, amazon.com e-book
    2nd ed e-book 2015
    The Essential Guide to Self-Editing, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2017

    About 

    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
    My travel buddy and husband Keith is the primary photographer for this blog.
    We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.
    Use this website to discover new places to go, revisit places you've loved, or take a virtual tour of destinations you only dream about.

    Categories

    All
    Baviaanskloof
    Books
    Botswana
    Camping
    Cape Town
    Chobe
    Conservation
    Drc
    Eastern Cape
    Etosha Namibia
    Food
    Free State
    Garden Route
    Gauteng
    Issues
    Kalahari
    Karoo
    Kenya
    Kruger National Park
    Kwazulu Natal
    Lesotho
    Limpopo
    Linyanti
    Malawi
    Mozambique
    Mpumalanga
    Namaqualand
    Namibia
    Nature Parks
    Northern Cape
    Okavango
    Overberg
    People
    Photography
    Richtersveld
    Tanzania
    West Coast
    Western Cape
    Wild Creatures
    Zambia
    Zimbabwe

    Archives

    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    January 2010
    November 2009


Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za

Privacy Policy, GDPR and POPIA compliance
​* We promise that we take data safety seriously and use your private data only to offer a personalised experience
* If you subscribed to our newsletter, you will receive our newsletters. You can always unsubscribe by following the link in email or by emailing us
* If you gave us your name, it will only be used to personalise the newsletters
* We have never sold, we are not selling, and we will not sell any of your personal data provided to us
* The blog uses cookies to track activity. It is anonymous except for telling us your location and what you did on our blog
​
Photo from berniedup