AnnYuan
記錄生活點滴，分享旅途快樂
最近在風壇裏泡的時間比較多，看到不少帖子記錄了非洲看野生動物的經曆。坦桑尼亞，讚比亞是首選。特別趕上動物大遷移找水源，那場麵何其壯觀。其實南非的Kruger National Park地域廣闊，動物也非常之多，況且環境條件都比較好。不知道是不是因為我們去的時候是雨季還是平時就這樣，沒有沙漠，草肥水旺，綠樹成蔭，動物成群，一片祥和的氣氛，真是動物的天堂。國家公園裏Camp條件很不錯，有獨門獨戶的house／Bungalow, 自帶廚房浴室。每個camp裏有一個餐館，雖然菜式花樣不多，味道一般，但是都是新鮮做的。所以這裏看野生動物的吃住條件比其它非洲國家都要好，而且自駕有了更多的自由度， 累了就回去打個盹。
雖然十年前去的，是我們第一次看到那麽多野生動物，非常刺激，仍然記憶猶新。旅遊回來把每張照片都認真地寫下了英文注釋，但是大概太忙沒有寫成遊記。現在把它們轉到博客裏也相對容易。就有了寫這篇遊記的動力。當年拿著一張公園的動物圖和照片對比把動物英文名搞清楚就花了不少時間。我試著用穀歌翻譯，不少非洲動物名找不到合適的中文名。如果有中文名的我也標出來了。總之，所有的中文部分都是現在新加寫的。
2010年12月初我飛了20+小時到南非，那時老公已經在那裏做谘詢幾個星期了。等他的項目結束。我們從Johannesburg機場租了輛車， 往Kruger National Park 進發。我們從公園的官網已經訂了三晚國家公園裏的camp，打一槍換一個地方，每天換一個camp。在公園外的小鎮買了很多水果，西紅柿帶進去。
這個國家公園方圓七千多平方英裏。把我們住的camp和主路標出來，平時去找動物還有很多小路可開。我們從公園南麵進去，迂回北上。頭兩天看到的動物最多，越往北越少。如果再去，中部，南部可以再加一天。
圖中的縱向黑線是國界線，線東邊就是莫桑比克。以前假期有限，如果是現在應該把莫桑比克也順道玩了。
Crocodile Bridge Gate is on the south side of the park, where we entered and our safari trip was started.
不知道是不是我們去的時候是雨季還是平時就這樣，沒有沙漠，草肥水旺，綠樹成蔭，動物成群，一片祥和的氣氛，真是動物的天堂。
Within the first two hours in the park we were very surprised to see so many wild animals lived in this peaceful and beautiful environment. It is our first time to watch wild animals so closely in a natural forest. We are excited and cannot believe it.
Day 1, 圖 1.1
These are steenboks. The size is smaller than impala. 1.2
Our first close look at a giraffe. 1.3
Warthogs 疣豬. 1.4
We spotted a group of 20 or more elephants from far away marching towards us and we waited in the car and captured this moment. 1.5
The group of elephants marched towards us to cross the road, we had to escape after taking this close-up photo. 1.6
Impalas and reedbucks? 1.7
A beautiful impala, 高角羚，did you notice a Red-billed Oxpecker 紅嘴啄木鳥 on the top of its head? 1.8
What do they talk about? They are young impala, because there is no dark mark in front of their eyes. 1.9
Helmeted Guineafowl,頭盔珍珠雞， scratching the ground with their feet as they go, like chicken. 1.10
人住的camp是保護區，鐵絲網圍起來的。早上四點半開門。如果跟早上的tour，4-7 Am，可以更早出去。我們不熟悉情況，先報了一個tour，看到的動物不比後一天早上我們自駕看到的多。
第一天晚上住在Lower Sabie rest camp。The house has its own kitchen and bath room, very spacy and comfortable.
Day 2
We took park's early morning game drive (4-7 AM) from Lower Sabie rest camp. The guider calls this a Kudu, which is one out two new animals we saw this morning drive. This is one of the largest species of antelope. 2.1
Closer look at the hippos. 河馬。導遊說 If you shine a light on the pond in the night, and we did, hippo eyes look like golden stars in evening sky。 2.2
After an early morning game drive we are so tired and back to our house for a morning nap. 2.3
Lower Sabie Rest Camp overlook. 2.4
After morning nap we were on the road again. The first thing we saw is a group of 20 or less Chacma baboon 狒狒 .2.5
looks like the newborn is only a few days old. 2.6
幼象 2.7
These are female waterbuck (非洲大羚羊), very tall. 2.8
This is a male Kudu with long spiralling horn, the symbol of Kruger National Park. 2.9
More Kudu 2.10
The Martial Eagle. These large eagles catch a wide variety of prey including guineafowl, duck, small antelope, hares and reptiles. 2.11
Vervet monkeys 黑長尾猴 at picnic area. 2.12
The Vervet monkey is the only Cercopithecidae in Africa with an entirely black face. Dominant males have a blue scrotum and red penis. They live in family groups of as large as twenty. They forage all day for fruits, nuts, insects, scorpions, seeds and edible shoots. 2.13
closer look of Vervet monkey 2.14
Vervet monkey, motherhood 2.15
吃過午飯再繼續開。又是一群大象。
How many elephants? How many times we saw elephants. There was a great effort of elephant population control. This year (2010)the number is up 5 % to 13050. 2.16
Impala, the largest population (100,000) in Kruger. 每天都能看到Impala， 2.17
Impala and zebras 可以和平共處。2.18
This one is male vervet monkey since it has blue scrotums。中午在picnic area 看到媽媽帶著幼子，沒見到公的，原來它在這裏溜達呢。2.19
The southernmost baobab tree, 猴麵包樹(25 km south of Satara camp), may be thousands years old. 和這麽大的樹合影人顯得這麽渺小。2.20
Are they some kind of geese? 2.21
Comb duck, also called Knob-billed duck. The right one is male with a knob. 2.22
Africa Buffalo, 非洲水牛，the population of 36000 as 2009 in Kruger。some buffalos with hat and some without hat。2.23
buffalo cross road 2.24
There are a lot of large ant hills in Kruger, where trees or bush grow from them. 應該是先有樹再有蟻窩的吧。2.25
Waterbucks， distinguished by the white ring around their rumps。2.26
Blue wildebeest，斑紋角馬（學名：Connochaetes taurinus）也稱黑斑牛羚、藍角馬， 牛科角馬屬的一種。2.27
Waterbucks and blue wildebeest, they are not the same species。也能和睦相處。2.28
第二天晚住Bungalow at Satara Rest Camp， 每家門口還有一個烤爐，聞著別人家飄來的肉香還真的後悔沒有準備一些。我們隻帶了一些水果，頓頓要買的吃。Camp裏餐廳不小，菜的味道很一般。2.28
第三天淩晨4點起床（Camp開門4:30），自己開車去看動物了。
In the very early morning (around 4:50 AM) near Satara Rest Camp we are very luck to spot those six lions slept on the road. We hate to wake them up but many cars follow us (our car is the second car). We waited a few minutes and they were reluctant to leave the road. 3.1
There are five females and one male lion. They finally standed up and gave us some attention. 3.2
離開路後蹭蹭樹，撓撓癢，大概像人早上洗漱一番。3.3
The sun rise around 5 AM. 3.4
Buffalo's closer look. 3.5
In the same lucky early morning we spotted two white Rhinos 白犀牛。看它們個大有角， 沒敢下車，長鏡頭拍了一張。3.6
more zebra 3.7
晨練後照例回到Satara Rest Camp休息。這個camp裏鳥不少。
What a beautiful small woodpecker! 3.8
African Hoopoe 3.9
colorful lizard 3.10
Cape glossy starling 3.11
African Scops owl, the smallest owl in the world, only 15 cm high。這個世界上最小的貓頭鷹臉部和人有幾分相似。3.12
Camp裏植物。The Candelabra tree燭台樹 is a succulent tree with highly toxic latex. It has a sturdy main stem with a large round crown. 3.13
There are a pair of ostrich鴕鳥 3.14
How many Giraffes do you spot in this picture? 3.15-16
Olifant Rest Camp, which is the third and the last camp we stayed. 在Kruger公園裏，早晚看動物，上午打一個盹，中午開車到下一個camp，有時下午再打個盹。3.17
下午休息好了再開車出來找動物。
Olifants river has many turns. 3.18
Olifant River, took from Olifant Bridge 3.19
Swainson's francolin 3.20
夕陽下，動物們也要回家。這一群是impala 還是Steenbok （短視頻，15秒）？3.21
第四天，動物看多了，清晨也沒有早起，
blue wildebeest again. It is our last day in the park. 4.1
Saddle-billed stork, 鞍嘴鸛 walks slowly through wood near the road to Phalaborwa Gate. 4.2
又看到不少河馬，遠遠的，照片不理想。
Phalaborwa Gate, which we exited from Kruger NP and headed to Panorama Route (Blyde river canyon, ...). 4.3
我們的camp鄰居老兩口從委內瑞拉來度假。每年都來一周，他們熟門熟路，食品準備齊全，自帶小煤氣爐，吃吃喝喝，看看動物，非常放鬆。
再說一下費用。camp 每晚平均一百美元，餐館就餐每頓每人大約10-15美元。清晨的tour價錢忘記了， 印象中也不算貴。所以這裏看野生動物的成本真是便宜。從首都機場開過來大約4小時，不過是路左邊駕駛。
我們還會再來嗎？現在南非有變異新冠病毒，暫時進出都不行了
沒摸黑趕夜路吧。那夜可真是黑，大燈照出去完全看不見路麵。