On the 5th of August, after a one night layover in Johannesburg we hopped a short 55 minute flight to Hoedspruit and were picked up at the airport for a 45 minute drive to Umlani Bush Camp, an off the grid camp located in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve located in The Greater Kruger National Park open system.
The Greater Kruger is essentially an extension to Kruger National Park. It lies in the west and shares a 50km unfenced boundry with the park and is made up of a parchwork of private game reserves measuring 1,800 square kilometres, all under the umbrella of the Associated Private Nature Reserves.
The Timbavati Reserve and surrounding area has never been permanently settled from the stone age down to the 20th century so the lands have been barely touched and therefore the area is regarded as truly pristine and unspoiled and is considered to be genuine wilderness. At approximately 534 sq kms The Timbavati comprises over 1/4 of the land area of the Greater Kruger and protects black and white rhinos, pangolins, saddlebilled stork, southern ground hornbills and many other species.
And lots of lions!
Umlani Bush Camp is completely off the grid and can accommodate a maximum of 17 or 18 people. They have two beautiful uncovered Toyota Land Cruiser safari trucks that can seat ( in individual bucket style seats) a maximum of 9 people in a 3x3x3 configuration. They are super comfortable and everyone has superb viewing lines.
The camp is all inclusive with three delicious meals per day, drinks and two game drives daily. Morning from about 6:15- 9:30 am and late afternoon from about 3:15- 6:30 pm. The mornings are cold so everyone is provided with thick blankets and hot water bottles. A nice touch.
Breakfast and dinner is served in a cozy traditional boma/dining room while lunch is served in a bushbar and deck on the edge of the Nharalumi River (dry this. time of year) and overlooking a waterhole above the opposite side of the river bank. It was a great spot to relax between drives, play some cards and watch the variety of animals that would stop by for a drink from the waterhole.
On the first afternoon drive after our arrival we were treated to giraffes, elephants, kudu and a wide assortment of wildlife but the icing on the cake was a small pride of three lionesses, one male and four very cute four month old cubs.
After and excellent dinner we hit the sheets early and were lulled to sleep by roaring lions in the distance.
5:30 in the morning comes quickly and we made our way to the boma where the fire was roaring and pots of hot coffee lined the exterior of the fire.
With the sun poking up over the horizon we headed out on our second drive. It was very cold outside but the blankets and hot water bottles took the edge off.
Our first encounter was a den of hyenas. There was one female adult that we could see, a juvenile and a very young newborn. The juvenile would grab the newborn by the neck and try to cart it off and without hesitation the mother would come to the rescue, grab the newborn by the neck and take it back to the den where it would immediately leave and the whole process would start again. What can you say?
Later in the drive we stopped at water hole to excitedly watch a very large white rhino relax upon a hill. The drive was excellent, the rhino was boring but still amazing.
We returned back to camp for a delicious breakfast of coffee, juice and some amazing Egg Benedict.
The camp boasts a “tree house” that sits in front of a watering hole and is located 1 1/2 kms from the camp. Joyce and I spent a night there when we were last there in 2017. Kristina and Lucy opted for an early afternoon two hour visit and were not disappointed.
After our first morning drive while having lunch we were chatting with a nice family from Pensilvania and they told us about witnessing a giraffe giving birth. They saw the legs exposed but didn’t see the whole birth. Something you only see on TV.
On the following morning drive we saw nature at it’s most brutal. A pride of many lions including five dominant males took advantage of the weakened mother and it’s newborn and essentially had a very large meal that lasted them the next two days.
The smell of dead flesh permeated the air. Vultures waited patiently in the nearby trees while the occasional hyena stalked nearby waiting for the feast to end so they could clean up the remaining scraps.
We visited the feline smorgasbord three times over three drives and were amazed how quickly the two giraffes were reduced to skin and bones.
In between visits we encountered a mother White Rhino with her very young offspring, Cape Buffalo, Giraffe, Hyena, Kudu, Bushbuck, Wharthogs, and the list goes on. One drive melds into another so it is difficult to do a daily play by play. Suffice to say we saw the big five, we saw it all but we still haven’t seen a Cheetah in all of our African travels. Maybe next time.
The advantage of a safari drive in a private reserve is you can go off road in pursuit of something deep in the bush. You can get closer. You definitely cannot do this in a national park. I have nothing against the parks, you see wonderful wildlife but sometimes you can’t get as close as is possible.
The ladies skipped the final drive on the morning of the the 9th but I felt inclined to get up at the crack of dawn to go out into the bush and hopefully see something we hadn’t seen yet. We did a quick stop at the lions diner and we came upon four of the five dominant lion males licking at the last remnants. The first time I had seen so many males in one close location.
I have video but no pictures so this part of the story may stay the same unless I can find a good photo to end this story.
Umlani was an excellent experience.
We made our way back to Hoedspruit and connected to Johannesburg.
Kristina and Lucy ccontinued on to Vancouver and we headed off to Malawi.