Amakhala Game Park

 April 1, 2025
from Port Elizabeth, SA

"One cannot resist the lure of Africa." ~ Rudyard Kipling

Our last game drive was a longer 8 hour affair that almost didn't happen. The wind and weather was against us and for several hours, the Sky was unable to make it in to her berth at Port Elizabeth. But in the end, we left for our day at the Amakhala Game Preserve a little after 10 am, instead of 8 am. 

This park is home to the Big 5 and the only one we hadn't seen were elephants. I was delighted when Monde, our driver/guide, pulled off the game trail to an overlook from which we could see a trio of elephants playing in a mud hole. There were two adults and a juvenile, but they all enjoyed the wallow. The only thing I could've wished was that we were closer. Thanks to our cameras, we could zoom in a little, and it was okay. After all, we wanted a real experience. These were elephants living wild, not zoo residents or rescue stock. It was best that we not stress them by being too close. 

We also learned the difference between white and black rhinos. It has nothing to do with coloration. It's about their mouth shape. White rhinos have the flat lips of a grazer. They eat with their noses to the ground and couldn't lift their massive heads to eat leaves from bushes if they wanted to. Black rhinos have a clever upper lip that allows them to forage in the bush. I wish we could've seen Amakhala's rhinos. Since there are lions and cheetahs in the park, they haven't had their horns cut off. Monde said the rhinos are one animal they don't put trackers on lest poachers somehow hack the system. The guides also don't report rhino sightings on their radios, though they share all other animals locations with each other.

Our list of sightings have grown. We added black-backed jackals, blessbucks, kudu, oryx, and several other antelope species whose names have escaped me. But let me tell you, there is something majestic about seeing a mixed herd of prey animals bolting across a plain. 

They have reason to be fleet of foot. There are seven lions and six cheetahs roaming and hunting freely in the reserve. We didn't see any of the lions because they'd killed a baby giraffe the day before and wouldn't need to hunt for several days. Lions are great at conserving their energy. 

We did manage to see three male cheetahs. These three are brothers of the same mother, otherwise, they'd be leading solitary lives. Only siblings seem to hang out together once they reach maturity. The three we saw were lean and hungry as compared to the two cheetahs who were lounging just on the other side of the tall fence separating Amakhala from the neighboring park. The two neighbor cheetahs had recently made a kill and their distended bellies showed they'd gorged themselves. Monde said the two opposing groups occasionally smack at each other by the fence, but can't really reach through. They just like to make sure the other cheetahs don't invade their "turf."

Hope you enjoy the DH's photos from our last game drive. It was a majestically beautiful park and we have been so blessed to be able to see it. 

Inkwenkwezi...Say that three times!

 March 31, 2021
East London, South Africa

Inkwenkwezi ~ "Morning Star" in the Xhosa language.

If you think the name of this game park is daunting, you don't know the half of it. The Xhosa language incorporates three different "click" sounds in place of various consonants. Unless you're raised with it, I can't imagine how long it would take to sound conversant. But it makes for a beautifully unique language. 

I have to be honest. This was not my favorite game park. First, we were subjected to a 30-40 minute bump and meat-grinder of a ride in the 4 X 4 through a dense forest that thumped us up and down hills and dales, after being warned we wouldn't see any animals here. 

Finally, we reached a relatively level savannah type topography. There were herds of antelope, but all were so far away, even with my camera on zoom, I couldn't get an idea what sort of creatures we were seeing. 

However, I was willing to forgive out driver/guide when he drove us into the separately fenced off section where their pride of lions lived. We didn't see the females, but were told they'd killed a giraffe yesterday that had wandered too close and leaned too far into their enclosure. The lionesses had pulled the hapless giraffe over the fence. 

But the two males were on display for us. They are white lions, which means their manes are blonde rather than dark. After viewing the herd animals from such a distance, I was surprised that we were driven so close to the lions. When I asked our guide why they seemed unconcerned about how close we were to them, he explained that as long as we remained in the 4X4, the lion perceives us as one creature and a big one at that. However, we're not considered a threat, so they ignore us.

Please enjoy the DH's montage to see these two big cats!   

Welcome to the Monkeyland Movie!

 March 30, 2025

Hope you enjoy the DH's collection of primates from our day at Monkeyland. It's not far from our second South African port, Durban. 

This section of eastern SA is still very tribal. Zulu culture is alive and well, including buying a bride with 11 cows. Our guide explained that if someone was walking along the road barefoot on a Saturday, they were probably going to "church." By that, she meant the gatherings that celebrate animism and ancestor worship. As we passed the small shanty towns in the countryside, we noticed the little cylindrical column houses with thatched roofs in the back yards. This is the place where the men of the family can go to talk with their ancestors and get the departed's advice and help with their plans. 

If someone in the township becomes ill, they are likely to visit a "traditional" medical person instead of going to the public hospital, which is seen as too expensive. They seem to have great faith in the poultices and teas prepared by these shamans. 

Apartheid has been abolished since the early '90's, but education is still segregated. As we've learned in the US, separate is never equal.  

(Quick note about the small antelope who lived in Monkeyland.  It's a duiker, a very small, shy creature who loves the forest, not the open savannahs. You'll see one in the montage.)

Bonamanzi Montage Catch up!

 March 29, 2025

Bonamanzi Game Park

I'm playing catch up today. Here's the DH's montage of photos of our exciting game drive from our Richard's Bay port of call. The experience was full of wonder. The music the DH used is a loop of singing from the kitchen staff at Bonamanzi. The women greeted us with singing and smiles as they welcomed us to their very special place.

Monkeying around in Durban, SA

 March 30, 2025

Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage. ~ H. L. Mencken
(And that's my last political thought for the day...)

Today we visited Monkeyland. To be honest, it was not my first choice. All the big game drives had been booked before we had an opportunity. This was the only excursion left that featured a chance to see some animals.

It turned out brilliant!

 

Monkeyland is a rescue mission, a sort of retirement home for primates who've got a sad history. Some had been stolen from the wild and sold as illegal pets. (Never a good idea. Monkeys can be bad tempered and the bacteria under a primate's fingernails guarantees that even a scratch from one can be dangerous!) 

Some had been abused and we saw one poor fellow whose long tail had been docked.

Others had been kept in small zoos all over the world which have subsequently been closed. Since they've all lived in captivity, this fully fenced and electrified enclosure of several hectares is the equivalent of monkey-heaven. 

Our guide explained that they host both Old and New World primates. One of the best ways to spot the difference is that primates from the Americas have prehensile tails they can use to grip as if it was a fourth hand. No African monkeys do.  

The New World refugee above with the mohawk above was bottle raised in Brazil and still really likes humans. Whenever guests tour the park, he leaves his regular troop, and follows from the safety of the canopy to study us and creep down close enough to hear us speaking to him. However, like all the other primates in the park, he was careful not to come within reach.

There were several subspecies of capuchin monkeys. This little acrobat on the low wire checking out the offerings on his feeding station is an aptly named "golden capuchin.

You may recall that I was disappointed over missing the lemurs on Madagascar. Several of our fellow guests had visited Lemuria Land there and reported having lemurs climb on their shoulders and be very friendly.

I wasn't after that sort of interaction. The lemurs here in Monkeyland were still wild enough to remain a respectful distance from us, but curious enough in a simian way to want to look at us as much as we wanted to see them!

There are several kinds of lemurs other than this ring tailed one. Our guide called one subspecies "Panda" Lemurs because they are all black and white. The DH included a couple pics of them in his montage!

The howler monkeys above are the largest of the species in the park. The black one is the male, the orange-brown one is female. All the males in the park are neutered because the park is focused on rescue, not breeding. But if they were to have a juvenile howler, it would be colored like the female even if it was male. The black color only comes with maturity because the little guys would be too vulnerable to predators if they showed up as dark as dad.  

The monkey in the foreground looking over her shoulder at me is a spider monkey, so called because of her overly long legs and arms. She's unique in not having an opposable thumb.

There are about 7 different species at Monkeyland, but there's no rivalry or fighting between the troops. For one thing, they don't have to forage because they are fed regularly at several different feeding stations across the park. It's a large area and ranges up and down several hills. (In fact, our walk was quite a challenge to me because of the long ascending pulls made more tricky by lots of stones and tree roots snaking along the the ground.) But because there's plenty of space, none of the monkeys feel pressed by the others. 

There is, however, a pecking order. As you can see, the larger monkeys eat first. The three howlers and the spider monkey have claimed the feast first. The lemurs will descend when its safe to do so, followed by the smaller capuchins and vervets. 

But no one will go hungry. Even if there isn't a fresh offering of fruits, there's plenty of natural food available to them in the "Hidden Forest." They just might have to graze a bit while they leap through the canopy. 

One final bit to share. Our guide told us that all animals are colorblind, with one exception. That explains why the markings that look as if they'd stand out starkly to us (giraffe's mottled coats or the zebra's stripes) do work against their predators.  

Anyone care to guess which animal can see colors as well as we can?