Satara - Kruger National Park

The next day we packed up camp and moved onto the camp at Satara. We were still seething from the previous nights events, the Canadian (if that what he was?) had headed away from the camp so we assumed he had slept out in the bush somewhere. On the way out we passed the reception and I turned just in time to see him walk out, get into his car and drive off .

At least this time we got his registration so we parked up and went in to warn them they had a nutter lose in the park, unfortunately there was just one receptionist on duty and she was snowed under dealing with a line of waiting guests, we decided we would report it when we got to Satara.

On the way to Satara we decided to take the longer route via Skukuza which is the park headquarters and the most sophisticated camp within the park, its also the venue where most overseas tourists, especially Americans stay. The main reason to stop off was it is also the only camp with Internet access so we hoped to catch up with emails at least.

Skukuza is clearly more up market than the other camps we had visited so far with better facilities in terms of shopping and accommodation but it lacks the feel of being in the bush and felt crowded so we would not recommend staying here, its useful for checking emails and doing shopping we would say.

It was 6pm by the time we reached Satara, we would have been there earlier but for a herd of Giraffe who we followed at a very sedate pace for over a mile along the track. Its only when you  observe Giraffe up close that you appreciate what beautifully graceful animals they are.

We had heard that Satara was one of the best camps to stay at in Kruger but sods law when we arrived at the campsite we found that like Lower Sabie it was in the midst of a major rebuilding programme and most of the best places were off limits.

Again like Sabie there had been no warning signs about this at the other camps or even when you checked in which was annoying as we could have diverted elsewhere if we had known in good time. Ideally we wanted a site with power but the only ones available were right next to the ablutions so in true benboo style we opted instead for the only decent spot on the fence which wasn't too close to others and had to forego the power.

That night we had Hyena calling around the fence but little else to disturb the peace. The next day we headed out on a game drive and came across a kill. An adult Giraffe had been killed the week before by a pride of Lion, unfortunately the lion were now long gone and the carcass was left for the Vultures to finish off. 

After seeing the Giraffe the night before it was sad to see how such a lovely animal had ended up, but that's nature for you. Till now we had not seen any Lions in Kruger but that was about to change with a vengeance.