IUP AFRICA TRAVEL 2017
UPDATED ITINERARY
NEW Draft Revised and Updated April 5, 2017
1. INTRODUCTION
Our upcoming travel to southern Africa provides an introduction to indigenous wildlife through first-hand experiences and observation. Our travel will also provide an opportunity to observe social, political and historical developments in southern Africa’s ethnically diverse and multicultural society. In a series of guided field trips, visits to cultural sites and on-your-own activities we will experience national parks and game reserves, UN biodiversity sites, museums, botanical gardens, open-air markets and many other activities.
We will travel in four general areas in southern Africa: (1) the high plateau area around Johannesburg, (2) the mountain peaks of the Little Drakensberg escarpment, (3) the hills, plains and scrub forest of Kruger National Park (South Africa) and Hlane Park (Swaziland) and (4) the subtropical, coastal region of KwaZulu-Natal around St. Lucia and Hluhluwe. In these areas we’ll observe and study wild animals in a variety of settings. Also we will interact with people from a variety of cultures and heritages, including Afrikaner, European, Indian and Malay as well as Bantu people of many different tribes and cultural groups. We’ll spend time in gated bush camps, in bustling cities, in small towns and in former fishing villages now repurposed for eco-tourism. We have about three weeks in southern Africa-we want to experience as much as possible in that short time.
The Narrative Itinerary that follows includes our updated travel plans for the Africa trip. It represents our plans at the current time. Please note that weather conditions, road conditions or other factors may force us to make changes as we go along. Please also note that all times given are local (South African) times. South African time is six hours ahead of the US Eastern time zone. Noon in Pennsylvania is 6 PM in South Africa.
2. NARRATIVE ITINERARY
After a long flight from Dulles or other points of departure via various layover airports, we will arrive in Johannesburg, the metropolis of Gauteng Province and one of Africa’s largest cities mostly on the morning of May 15. After clearing customs etc., we’ll all transfer directly to the Lesedi Cultural Village (http://aha.co.za/lesedi/) with our transport provided by Unforgettable African Journeys. Lesedi is well north of the city proper and will be our headquarters for the Johannesburg part of the trip. Lesedi is a full-service lodge/ hotel with a dining room, a lounge and some transportation services. Furthermore, Lesedi is no exception to the general rule that in South Africa you are never far from a curio shop. Lesedi is also the home of a showplace village that aims to depict the day to day life styles of traditional African cultures in the 1800s. Our large group is booked in double or triple occupancy rooms/private baths at Lesedi. We’ll get checked in by around lunchtime, I expect, and have about an hour or so for unpacking or a brief rest.
In the early afternoon (exact time TBA) our class will officially begin when our drivers from Unforgettable collect us in the parking lot and take us for a short drive up the road to a place that is called the Johannesburg Lion and Safari Park (http://www.lionandsafaripark.com/) for an overview of and an introduction to the wildlife of Southern Africa. Complex issues surround institutions such as the Lion Park. On the one hand, they do help to protect and preserve animal species that are approaching extinction. The institutions also help to educate the public and build a conservation ethic in the population in general. On the other hand, places like the Lion Park do not represent a natural habitat or life style for the animals that they house. For example, their range is highly restricted in captivity and their behavior is not normal. They become habituated to humans in ways that are never characteristic of truly wild animals in a natural setting. Sadly, with continuing human encroachment and destructive activities such as poaching, the number of truly wild animals in nature is dropping fast and soon the only place to observe them at all will be in settings such as the Lion Park.
If the past is a good guide, in the Lion Park you will at least see animal species that you would otherwise not observe on our travels: e.g. black wildebeest and meerkat. Also, we are all booked for a quick interaction with lion cubs if they are not napping. Finally, you will probably have some good photo ops at the Lion Park. Our drivers from Unforgettable will be driving us through the Park.
Weather and time permitting after the Lion Park we will take a short drive to the north for a visit to the scenic Hartebeestpoort Dam for more photo opportunities.
We will be on our own for the evening meal meaning each person gets to make their own choice. Lesedi does have a restaurant. I have eaten there and the food was good but I do not know how far it is from the accommodations. The Lesedi front desk can probably arrange transport to other dining locations, if we want to go.
After breakfast at Lesedi on May 16 (should be included but I am double-checking this) Unforgettable will take us southwest across the city for a visit to the township of Soweto (http://www.sahistory.org.za/places/soweto), famous as the scene of many unforgettable moments during the Apartheit era and the Struggle for Freedom. We’ll have lunch at Wandie’s Place (cost of lunch included) and after lunch will move on to the Apartheid Museum (http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/), which will give you a very different view of South Africa than the one you will get at Lesedi or in the internet tour guides. You’ll find out where the anger comes from in some of the African literature you may have been reading or the videos that you have been viewing. We’ll return to Lesedi late in the day. Again, we will be on our own for the evening meal.
After breakfast at Lesedi on May 17, Unforgettable will transport us a few km to the west for a visit to the Cradle of Humankind, one of the world’s most significant sites for ancient hominin fossils. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_Humankindone) We’ll visit both the Maropeng Visitors’ Center and the Sterkfonteyn cave/mine with the midday meal on your own. In mid-afternoon we will return to Lesedi in time for the late afternoon presentation at the Cultural Village and our evening meal, which carries no additional charge.
Depending on the late fall weather and the traffic conditions in Johannesburg, we may need to rearrange or reschedule some of our May 15-16-17 activities. Our drivers will be the best judge of this.
Early on the morning of May 18, we will meet up with our main provider for the trip: Mzansi Safari Africa (http://www.safariafricasa.com/). We will leave Lesedi and travel east by passenger van for the long drive across the plateau (highveldt) and down through the Little Drakensberg Mountains of Mpumalanga Province. The drive will take most of the day, but time and weather permitting, we’ll have a chance to take in some of the natural beauty of the mountain range at sites such as Long Tom Pass, Berlin Falls or God’s Window. Our destination for May18 is the small town of Graskop, where we’ll arrive in the late afternoon or early evening. Our lodging for May 18 is at the Log Cabin Village (http://www.logcabin.co.za/).There will be kitchenettes for those who wish to prepare their own meals (but nearby grocery stores close EARLY). Otherwise restaurant meals are available nearby. All May 18 meals are on your own. Graskop also has some interesting shops including a silk weavers coop.
On May 19, we will be up early to continue in a generally northward direction from Graskop. We will come all the way down off the plateau, through the escarpment, and emerge in the lowveldt area of Mpumalanga, a warmer region of bush and scrub forest set in hills. We have a busy day planned, with a stop at Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (http://www.moholoholo.co.za/) located near the town of Hoedspruit. A little farther on we’ll pay a visit to the Kinyonga Reptile Centre (http://www.kinyonga.net/). This will be one of the few opportunities we will have to observe snakes (captive) as well as other types of reptiles while we are in South Africa because most of them (except for the many Nile crocodiles) will already be asleep for the winter while we are there.
Later in the day we’ll turn northeast again to reach our lodgings at Tshukudu Bush Camp (http://www.tshukudubushcamp.co.za/). In the evening we plan an opportunity to search for wild animals via 4 x 4 in Tshukudu Game Reserve. All May 19 meals are on your own.
On May 20 we will travel into Kruger National Park. We plan to enter via Phalaborwa gate in the north-central region of the Park. Kruger is widely considered to be one of the world’s finest national parks and our visit to Kruger will be the centerpiece of our trip. We will have a total of five nights in Kruger (May 20-21-22-23-24) with successive stays in three different rest camps: Olifants, Satara and Lower Sabie. These are all medium- to large-sized camps, with good access to facilities but not too crowded in my experience compared to the main camps like Skukuza. Descriptions of the three camps and the available facilities can be found at the following urls.
Olifants: (May 20, 21)
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/Kruger_National_Park_Lodging_&_Camping_Guide-travel/olifants-camp.html
Satara: (May 22, 23)
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/Kruger_National_Park_Lodging_&_Camping_Guide-travel/satara-camp.html
Some of you are booked for a bush walk on one of the mornings in Satara.
Lower Sabie: (May 24)
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/Kruger_National_Park_Lodging_&_Camping_Guide-travel/lower-sabie-camp.html
You should expect to see plenty of wild animals while in Kruger. Antelope species will be the most obvious, with numerous wildebeest (blue), kudu and waterbuck in many locations. We may see sable or roan in the south or tsessebe or nyala in the north. Large herds of Cape buffalo will easy to spot in all areas.
Plains zebra will be almost everywhere, usually accompanying wildebeest. Just about every riverbank or water hole will have a resident population of hippo and crocodile. Giraffe are found throughout Kruger and are usually easy to see because they tower over the tree line and seem to “pose” for photography. Elephants from all across Southern Africa migrate in to Kruger because they know it is a relatively safe zone for them. Consequently the park is overpopulated with elephants and we are not likely to have any trouble seeing them in numbers: solitary bachelors, small family groups or larger pods of 50-60 animals at once. Rhinoceros are under constant threat from poachers but we will probably see one or two wide-lipped rhino in Kruger. The hook-lipped rhino are much rarer and we will be lucky if we see any of those.
Kruger has plenty of carnivores as well. Spotted hyena will be obvious by sight and sound but it is possible that we might also see wild dogs or jackals. Aardwolf, bat-eared fox, honey badgers, civet cats and genets tend to be much more solitary, nocturnal or afraid of humans so we are not likely to see those animals. There are big cats in Kruger as well, especially in the Satara area. Lions are not really concerned about humans or cars so we will probably see them dozing in the sun somewhere or even traveling from one location to another in a pride. You can sometimes see cheetah around Satara but leopards are very hard to find anywhere in the park. The smaller cat species such as caracal and serval will be essentially invisible to us in the daytime but we may see African wild cats staring at us from the bush at night.
Innumerable vervet monkeys have their home in Kruger. They are very cute but they are pests. Never feed the monkeys or encourage them to get close to humans. They will steal food so never leave anything edible out in plain sight without your direct supervision. We will also encounter baboons in Kruger. Baboons are intelligent, aggressive, dangerous animals that are not at all scared of their human cousins and that readily associate us and our cars with food! You should keep away from baboons or troops of baboons. At night in the trees around our rest camps we might also see (or hear) bushbabies.
Though it will be late fall when we are in Kruger we will see many resident birds, particularly raptors and waterfowl. Eagles of various species are relatively abundant. Hawks, falcons, kestrels and owls are also present but more difficult to see. There are vultures at every carcass and sometimes these birds can be seen roosting in bare trees. Ground birds include ostrich, bustards, hornbills, hoopoes and secretary birds. Around water holes and riverbanks you will see stork, ibis, heron, kingfishers and egrets. My favorites among the water birds are the Goliath heron and the hamerkop. Let me know if you spot either of these. I want to get photos.
Overall, Kruger Park is generally acknowledged as one of the world’s finest national parks and perhaps the world’s best spot for observing wild animals in a relatively natural setting. We want to make the most of our opportunities in Kruger so we will be on the go as much as possible for our entire time in the park. We will be up and about EARLY while in Kruger, heating up a quick microwave-style breakfast and packing up to move on to the next day’s camp or to move out for a morning game drive. The animals get up and start walking around early so we have to get up early as well if we are to see them! We rest up in the middle of the day and then go back out in late afternoon when the animals are more active again.