Grand Africa Cruise - Safari Day 2

Cruise Day 42

Sunday, November 20, 2022

“Travel makes one modest.  You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”     -- Gustave Flaubert

Rattray’s Camp Day 2, Mala Mala Game Reserve

The alarm clock went off very early at 5:00 AM, but we were anxious to get started on our first game drive so we were quickly up and dressed and headed off to the main lodge.  Out on the main lodge verandah, there was coffee, tea and juices plus pastries and fruit laid out for a snack before we left on our game drive.  We met some of the other guests and our ranger Chad was there to greet us.

After we had our morning snack, we were off on our first game drive.  The maximum number of people in a jeep at Rattray’s is four, unless a larger number is requested as was the case with the group we saw last night.  The jeeps are specially built Land Rovers that are very rugged and off-road capable as we found out on our game drives.  We were surprised and pleased to know that we would be the only ones on the game drive with Chad, and it would stay that way until our last evening when we would be joined by another couple.

Chad gave us a quick orientation on what we could and could not do and we were on our way.  He told us that the animals were so used to seeing the jeeps over many years that they didn’t see us either as a threat or as food and although aware that we were there, they ignored us.  That was hard to believe, and I was still amazed even as it was demonstrated over and over during our visit.  Chad also told us to remain seated, not to get our of the jeep, and not to make any loud noises that might unsettle the animals.

MalaMala is the largest game reserve in the Sabi Sands and abuts Kruger National Park.  There are no fences, so the animals are free to roam to and from Kruger and the adjoining game reserves.  The MalaMala also has the Sand River running through it and that makes it extra attractive to the animals.  Each game reserve has exclusive access to its own area so only the game drives from the three MalaMala camps can access the reserve.  Chad told us there are a couple of small areas where the MalaMala vehicles have access to another reserve and vice versa.  The MalaMala rangers stay in radio contact with one another so if anything of interest is spotted, they can let the other rangers know, but only three vehicles are allowed at any one place at the same time.

We had barely left Rattray’s Camp when we started to see impala.  Our first sighting was impressive, but they would turn out to be everywhere and by the end of today we wouldn’t even stop when we saw them.  The impala is a beautiful and graceful animal, but they are also the favorite food for the predators and particularly the big cats such as the lions and leopards.

We are off on our first game drive.

Impala

 

Speaking of leopards, within twenty minutes of our drive, Chad got a message that there was a leopard in a tree with an impala carcass nearby so we headed off to that.  We were off in search of the spot and soon found it with another vehicle already there.  The leopard had killed a young impala and brought it up into the tree to keep it away from other predators.  It had already eaten its fill for the time being and was napping.  The two vehicles got quite close and sure enough, it really paid us little attention and just alternated napping and looking around. Chad asked us if we would rather not see the impala carcass, and if so, he would not take us there, but we decided it was just the reality of life here, but I have to admit it was sad to see.

Our first leopard sighting, you can see the impala he has caught in the tree beside him.  The leopard and tree was backlit and the leopard was mostly shaded so I am only publishing one of the many pictures we took.  We got much better pictures later, but it was a thrill to see our first big cat.

This was so exciting for us, we had hardly started and there was a leopard.  It was incredibly beautiful and powerful looking.  As we watched it, its mannerisms were much like a common house cat, but so much more dangerous and powerful.  We watched for quite a while, took many more pictures and then drove on.

I’m not going to detail each animal sighting as there were many, but in the course of the morning drive we saw another leopard, many, many impalas, zebras, elephants, and wildebeests.  The zebras were another of our favorites with their striking stripes and so graceful as they moved.

Wildebeest

Our second leopard of the day.  We followed him and he eventually wound up in a tree.

Some waterbuck resting.

About halfway through the drive, Chad stopped and brought out tea, coffee, and juices as well as some snacks.  Val had a cup of tea and I had some juice and a cookie, or biscuit as the British influenced South Africans call them.  We crossed the rivers several times, mostly through it, but there was also one bridge built across it for when the water was too high for an overland crossing.

This is the only bridge crossing the Sand River in the MalaMala.  During the dry season (when we were here) the Rangers just drive through the river, but during the wet season the river is too deep to ford and they have to use the bridge.

Chad drove across the bridge and we were surprised to look down and see a large crocodile.

This is looking up river from the bridge.

Chad found a nice spot to stop and after checking the area for any predators, we had our morning break.

The elephants were amazingly large ranging from the small young ones to huge bull elephants.  They also pretty much ignored us and went about their business as we sat and watched.  They are usually in large herds and graze on bushes as they wander around.  They have no natural predators and when we asked Chad where they wandered to, he said “where ever they want”, and we believed that as they are very large and only large trees are obstacles.

Our first elephants of the day, they were incredibly large when see up close.

When I saw that game drives would last from three and a half to four hours, I wondered whether that would be too long, but nothing could be further from the truth, the time flew by, and we could have stayed out longer as far as I was concerned.  I also thought the game would be the main interest and of course it was, but I also found that driving through the bush and enjoying our surroundings was very satisfying.  It was just amazing to think we were out in the bush, away from civilization amid all this beautiful scenery and wild animals.  It is a little hard to put into words, but we were just totally engrossed.  The MalaMala has a varied landscape with wooded areas, savannah and wetter areas along the river.

Besides seeing the animals, there was something very satisfying and special about driving through the bush.  I was a happy guy.

All too soon our drive was over, and it was time for breakfast.  One thing I failed to mention earlier is that after the heat we arrived in yesterday, it was very cool today and we actually wore jackets this morning.  There was some cloud cover, and it was very comfortable.

When we arrived back at camp, we were met and welcomed back and again offered wet towels to wipe away the grit of our drive.  We were given the option of freshening up before breakfast or going right to it and as we had a rather long walk to and from our lodge, we opted to go directly to breakfast as it was 10:00. 

Chad had breakfast with us, and we were served a selection of starters including bread, cheese, fruit, pastries, and granola.  We then ordered our main course off a menu which gave a choice of eggs cooked anyway we wanted them along with bacon, sausage, toast and some other options that I don’t remember. 

It was nice to get to know Chad and he had many stories to tell and a lot of information from his time he had spent as a ranger.  He is quite young (at least compared to us) as are most of the rangers and has been in the MalaMala for six years.  After breakfast we returned to our room to rest and relaxed until 3:30 when our evening game drive would begin.  Our first game drive had been wonderful and far exceeded our expectations; we can’t wait for the next one.

This is a good spot to spend a little time giving a history of Rattray’s.  MalaMala Rattray’s Camp has been here since 1927 and was originally a British hunting lodge.  Rather than the newer style of luxury tented camps, the rooms are buildings, and the structures look more substantial.  Many of the British traditions and styles have been maintained and while to some it may seem a little formal, we enjoyed the feel of the tradition of Africa of the past.  That said, it wasn’t stuffy or anything like that and the dress was very casual, it just had an air of tradition around it and an emphasis on service.

One other thing about Rattray's and I would guess most of the safari camps.  It is quite expensive to stay here, but it is all inclusive.  All game drives, meals, snacks, drinks and even the minibar in the suites are included in the cost.  The only thing extra to pay for is for souvenirs from the shop in the main lodge and any gratuities you may want to leave for the staff.  I will say, for the excellent service we received, we were more than happy to leave generous tips for all of the staff, they really enhanced our visit.

Here are some pictures of Rattray’s Camp.  The first pictures are of the main lodge and taken from the Rattray's Camp website.

This is library / lounge area where you can relax.  There are several other areas in the main lodge where you can relax and meet with other lodge guests.

 

This is the bar where everyone would meet for pre breakfast or pre dinner drinks after the game drives.

This is the seating area in the bar.

The pool area of the main lodge (each suite also has its own plunge pool).

This is the lodge verandah where we had our pre game drive snacks.  Dinner was also served out here when weather permitted.

 Here are some pictures of our suite that I took.

This is the entrance to our suite and as you can see it is quite substantial; we were amazed at how big it was for just two people.  It is almost 1400 square feet in area with just over 1400 square feet more of verandah and plunge pool deck space.  It was truly amazing, we have never come close to staying in a place like this.  We took the pathway to the left to get to the main lodge.

This is a view of the sleeping area from the living room space.

If you turn around from the previous picture you are looking out at our verandah and the Sand River beyond.  It is the dry season so there isn't much water to see in the river now.

This is another view of the sleeping area.  The open door on the left leads to the bathroom and closet / dressing area.  There is another one just like it to the right with the only difference being one bathroom has a bathtub (hers) and the other has a shower (his).  I guess this goes back to a time when the gentlemen took showers and the ladies always took baths.

This is the small plunge pool deck area.  In hot weather it would be a nice place to cool off, but we didn't use it as temperatures were just a little to low for us to use it.

This is the verandah area.  We were the last suite so the area past the verandah was an open area and we would see animals out there.

This is the verandah itself.

Val is out relaxing after our first game drive.  We could see elephants wandering down along the river below as we relaxed in the afternoon.

We took showers and cleaned up and then relaxed out on the verandah.  After a while we noticed some elephants down by the river.  The river flood plain is quite wide and there is an incline up to the camp, so the elephants were quite a ways away, but it was very special to be sitting and relaxing and watch elephants going about their business.  I also saw some nyala in the area beside our lodge and got some pictures of them.

We often saw elephants wandering along the river in the afternoon.

We saw some nyala out beside our room.

It was soon 3:30 and we were anxious for our next game drive, so we headed down to the main lodge.  There were snacks and drinks laid out on the verandah for a small lunch before we left.  I say small, but there was plenty of small sandwiches and other finger food plus fruit and breads.  After eating all we could eat, it was back out with Chad and the start of our second game drive.

Time to head back to the lodge for our evening game drive, you can see the jeeps lined up ready to go in front of the lodge.  The walkway going off to the right in the foreground is the pathway up to the first suite.  We were number eight so you can see that we had quite a long walk to the main lodge,

Back into the bush.

The first thing we spotted was another elephant herd and one of the elephants was amazingly large, quite impressive.   

We had crossed the river and spotted this herd of elephants.

Near where we saw the elephants you can see Rattray's Camp among the trees.

Next, we came across some baboons, more impala, some kudu, some more zebra and then Chad spotted another leopard walking along the riverbank; our third of the day, amazing!

We came across a group of baboons.

Here is one with a young one.

Nap time.

 

This is a Kudu.

Chad followed the leopard quite a while and again, I was just amazed that it was like we weren’t there, the leopard went about whatever he was doing, and if we happened to be in his path he just walked around us without a glance; we were just part of the background.  We followed it quite a while and then Chad went down and crossed the river so we could get a better view.  This sounds a little gruesome and I would have agreed before we got here, but one of the more interesting things to see is the big cats hunting and making a kill.  Not a pleasant sight to see an impala run down, killed and eaten, but that is part of life here.  That is why Chad spent so much time following this leopard to see what he might do.  The leopard never found any prey and eventually disappeared into the underbrush so we were off to what awaited us next.

You can see how close they come to our jeep.

The area around the river is very sandy and even though the Land Rovers can go almost anywhere, Chad had a bit of a problem getting up a sandy slope and had to try several approaches before he was successful.  I asked him if he ever got stuck and he said several times, but he is always in radio contact and just had another jeep come and pull him out.

Chad got a radio call that a pride of lions had made an African Cape buffalo kill and were in the process of feasting on it.  There were already three vehicles there, but it was a ways away so Chad said we would start heading that way and see what we could find along the way.  What we found as we headed towards the lions was our first giraffe sighting.

This was quite amazing, we were driving along and suddenly there they were, heads up in the tree tops, just an incredible sight.  The giraffes, despite their size, are very graceful and beautiful to look at.  We loved the giraffes and spent a while watching them.

Chad got a report that we could proceed to the buffalo kill and we were on our way.  There were fourteen lions in all with full grown females and young males, but no mature males as they usually stay apart.  We first drove down by the river where there were nine or ten just lying there, mostly on their back with their obviously very full bellies on display.  It was an amazing sight and again, the amazing thing to me was we were very close just sitting in the jeep and we were totally ignored; that just continued to amaze me.

Lions after gorging themselves on the buffalo they had killed.

After a while we drove the short distance to where the kill was and despite the stench, we watched four or five other lions devour what was left of the remains.  Watching that display made me never want to be the object of a lion’s wrath.  At one point one of the lions must of have encroached on something another was doing, and it let out a loud growl that was both startling and awe inspiring and more than a little scary.

 

Vultures in the trees waiting for their turn after the lions were done.

It was starting to get dark, so we moved on and started making our way back toward camp.  A short distance from the lion kill we spotted a couple of hyenas waiting for the lions to leave so they could scavenge what was left of the remains.  Hyenas do sometimes hunt and make their own kills, but they usually scavenge the remains of what the big cats kill.

A hyena is also waiting for the lions to finish and move on.

On our trek back we also saw more buffalo, elephants and a hyena and in the darkness, we saw our fourth and last leopard of the day.  Chad had a spotlight to spot and follow the leopard and again it was oblivious to our presence even with the spotlight.  Chad was careful not to shine the light directly into the leopard’s eyes, though.  What an amazing first day, as I said earlier, this is so much more than expected and if I never saw another animal, I would leave happy.

Our fourth and final leopard of the day.

There was another game drive jeep across from us and the leopard just went on his way between the two vehicles without giving them a second look.

It was getting dark and Chad used his spotlight to locate the leopard.

With sun setting, it was time to head back to Rattray's Camp for dinner.

We got back after dark around 7:30 and it was time for dinner.  It had stayed a very comfortable temperature all day and was very pleasant, we had arrived at just the right time.  We opted to go straight to dinner and tonight we were led into the boma with a fire burning in the middle and very subdued lighting.  The word “boma” dates back to precolonial days in Africa and is an enclosure.  The primary meaning is a livestock enclosure, but it also can be a community gathering place.  The other game drives hadn’t returned yet, so we were the first ones in and had almost finished when they came in.  It was a wonderful experience and dinner was also wonderful.

This is a picture of the boma from the Rattray's website.

Val and I waiting for our dinner to be served in the boma.  It was a beautiful balmy evening and we had an excellent dinner.  What a way to end our first full day in the MalaMala

What a first day we had, this is so special, and we are pinching ourselves to make sure we aren’t dreaming any of this.  We had high hopes, but wow, we never would have guessed how special this is!

After dinner we were escorted back to our room and went straight to bed as we had another 5:00 AM wakeup call tomorrow.