Night Drives

Yesterday, we went for a night drive. These are doled out sparingly -- one per customer -- and replace your normal afternoon drive.

The previous night, two Australians in our tour group came back with tales of lions and prowling cheetah (of which there are as few as 200 in a park the size of a small European country). I am afraid this set the bar a bit too high for the rest of us. We went to bed that night and had exciting exotic dreams involving safari encounters with various large cats.

Since the park's camps close well before dusk (with steep fines for anyone arriving after the gates are closed), night drives are run through the South African National Park system. In lieu of our regular nine-seater Jeep, we boarded one of three large open-air buses and after handing over our indemnity forms ("SANP accepts no liability of death, injury, illness. In the case of being eaten by a lion, blah, blah, blah...") we exited the Sukuza camp gates roughly one hour before sundown.

There are a few distinct differences between night and morning/afternoon drives. The most obvious being the chance to see nocturnal wildlife you would otherwise likely miss. Another benefit -- especially for those of us who have been charged with taking photos for newspaper Web sites -- is the wonderful glow that spreads across Kruger at twilight. The biggest thrill, however, is the relative and unexpected ease of spotting the animals. Kruger has received a lot of rain this summer, making the bush thick with vibrant green leaves and healthy tall grass.

During our day drives the lush surroundings made our guides' jobs harder than usual. The bushes in the bush easily obscured even large animals just a few feet from the road. It was not unusual to watch an elephant cross the road 20 feet in front of us, only to find it had disappeared 10 seconds later once we arrived at the crossing point. We assumed that the only wildlife we would spot during the night drive would need to be sitting by the vehicle waving signal flags. But with a bus-full of eyes scanning the ground and the aid of four spotlights on the side of the vehicle the slightest movements were quickly followed by a flurry of pointing fingers.

Though we never came across the illusive cheetah, we were able to spot some genet (a small nocturnal cat), mongoose, a leaping bush baby and one startlingly close encounter with a pair of rhinos who, in a hail of grunts and broken tree branches, fled in the opposite direction upon our arrival.

Official Vagablog We Learned The Hard Way So You Don't Have To Trip Tip:
While spot lights are essential to the success of a night drive, sadly, they also attract bugs. Expect to be regularly pelted with all sorts of flying insects. The beetles particularly hurt. Occasionally, after hitting you in the face, a bug will drop inside your top, inducing a seizure-like flailing attempt to free the offending creature. We highly recommend wearing snug long-sleeve clothes to limit these situations and keeping your mouth closed at all times.

By Meredith Bragg |  January 17, 2006; 11:25 AM ET  | Category:  South Africa
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Posted by: Alex Kendziorski | January 22, 2006 11:55 PM

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