Quick trip report: Ngala Private Game Reserve, South Africa
Ngala (Shangaan for Lion) walks past Ngala Tented Camp: A marketing shot if I ever saw one!
So its been about a week now since I am back from my latest trip to South Africa.
The first part of my trip was spent in the Ngala Private Game reserve. This is right next to the Timbavati Private Game Reserve and about 1h30 from Hoedspruit, which is one of the main gate ways into the Greater Kruger National Park.
There are two lodges in the Ngala Private Game reserve both run by &Beyond. I opted for the Ngala Tented Camp. Although the name is quiet deceiving. This is not camping. The tents are luxurious with a tented roof. It wasn't really what I had expected, but it certainly exceeded my expectations! As well as lions roaring through the night, at 4am vervet monkeys would jump on the canapé of the tent and wake you up. The first morning it was quiet a shock to be woken to a noise that felt like something was invading my room! It wasn't until the second morning I worked out what the noise was.
What can you say about South African hospitality? Well it is right up there. All the staff were fantastic, right from the off at the air strip pick up through to a low point where I had to do a round trip to see a Doctor in Hoedspruit due to a bad reaction with the Anti-Malaria pills (another story!). The staff, field guide and trackers really play a big part in the experience of your stay.
As for the game viewing? Well after two drives the big 5 were ticked off! This is not the norm. The first timers in our jeep probably didn't realise how lucky they were to see; two young leopard siblings climbing trees, rhino grazing, a female lion with 4 cubs, a male lion walking past camp along the river bed and then roaring (yes roaring) 3 times, elephants and cape buffalo (twice). Whilst seeing all that in your first two game drives is truly unbelievable, it does mean the ranger has raised the bar quiet high for the rest of the drives.
Whilst I am a bit old for the "selfie" generation, I just couldn't resist with this male lion. The GoPro made him look further away than he was. This Lion is just 2 meters from me!
The camp is situated on the banks of the Timbavati river, which was dry at the time I visited. It doesn't really start flowing until January/February when the rains are consistently falling. I had chosen this camp due to its proximity to the river. Whilst I have a soft spot for the Lowveld in South Africa, some of the sectors of Sabi Sands from a landscape perspective can look very similar. Having a river run through the landscape I felt would give a few more interesting photographic perspectives and I was proved right.
Aerial view of the Timbavati river: A stunning location in the Lowveld of South Africa for Game viewing.
This male lion provided much entertainment on the banks of the river, from a long walk, to roaring, our vantage point was from the river bed giving some really unique photo opportunities.
The river really was a hub for the animals, we routinely saw Lions lying in the river under the shade of the trees on the banks. The lead photo I posted at the top of this blog shows that male lion that eventually roared walk straight past camp: Ngala (the Shangaan word for Lion) at Ngala tented camp, I don't think you'd get a better marketing shot than that for the lodge management!
Finally there was an active hyena den, with many pups. This was really a highlight for me. Hyena's really have a bad reputation, but they are seriously impressive animals, with a complex social hierarchy and a very high success rate of any of the predators. What I find interesting is the difference between adults that tend to be over protective of their young, versus the pups that are super curious. As one of the female hyena's returned to the den to suckle some of the pups, this left the den with three young pups who were curious to find out who we were. This photo tells the whole story:
This young pup was only a meter from my lens. As cute as he looks, and smiling for the photo, lets be clear: he'd take your hand off if you offered it to him!
All in all, it was a memorable trip. I really have to give special thanks to Zané, Jenni, David, Alan, and Elvis for looking after me during my stay there.
Cheers
Jon