On Lock-Down inside Kruger National Park – Day 2 & 3
Day 2: Cabin Fever and Leopard-crawling Warthogs
The Boys have been home from school for almost 2 weeks now. I have been very cautious about taking them places, so they have spent all this time at home. So on just day 2 of the 21-day lock-down, I can see some cabin fever-like symptoms in our boys. Even Steven is feeling it. (You should have seen him in my small 80m2 flat in Holland!)
We have been blessed with a very big garden, so we try and keep the boys busy outside as much as possible. This morning, we took them ‘tracking’ in our yard and in front of the house. After all the rain we had, the birds and other critters left some nice and clear tracks in the sand. It was a lot of fun for the boys looking for tracks and using their imagination trying to figure out what bird or animal had made the imprint in the sand. I think we’ll do this every other day to beat the cabin fever!
While we were outside, Steven heard a noise at our back-fence. There was a warthog trying to get under the fence and into our yard! Haha, it was the most comical sight watching this big pig leopard crawl and shovelling dirt with his nose in an attempt to get in. I honestly have no idea what his plans were once he managed. But after we all laughed at his attempt he got up and ran away; In typical warthog style with his tail up in the air like the antenna of a remote control car!
Steven made the boys a swing by hanging a rope with the lid of an old toilet seat from one of the trees at the front of the house. This kept Alex entertained while we made a fire and waited for the flames to die down so we could braai.
The sun was slowly setting behind Schalapia mountain on the horizon. The troup of vervet monkeys were coming ‘home’ to sleep in the trees above the safari tents next door. And the warthog family that burrows close by, were eating the grass and roots right in front of our gate. We have seen their family grow for the last year and a half and this season’s piglets are getting so big!
The Vervet Monkeys and Warthogs were going about their business as usual. I suppose for them nothing has really changed. They don’t need to practise social distancing. They are not on lock-down. Watching them distracted me a bit from the strange situation we are currently in.
Day 3. A Grocery Run and Trumpeting Trumpeters.
We started day 3 of the 21-day lock-down with an assembly of at least 12 Trumpeter Hornbills that were sitting in the dead, heart-shaped tree in front of our gate. “(Social distancing also does not apply to them;-) Their typical, baby-cry-like call echoed through the kitchen. They flew low through the trees in and around the garden and Steven reckoned they were gathering like that for some sort of mate selection ritual. It was amazing to watch and to listen to!
The big warthog that took a shine to our garden tried to burrow under the fence once again today. I really wonder what attracts him to our garden. There is so much more to eat on the outside now that I stopped trying to grow vegetables in our garden. Maybe just a case of ‘the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence’?
Early this morning, Steven braved going to town for some essentials and to get over his cabin fever a bit. I have to be honest, I was extremely happy to have him home safe again. And after hearing Steven tell us about Malelane Town still being quite busy, I am even happier to be tucked away safely inside Kruger National Park. This social distancing thing is hard. But at least we have the animals to keep us company!
If you missed day one of our diary, you can read it here: Silence…. and a broken washing machine
Thank you for the lovely updates! They make our lockdowns easier knowing life in the kruger is waiting for us!
Hi Linda – I came accross your blog on Day 1 of Lockdown and as a lover of “Die Bos” and all game reserves can only whish I was able to go “bossies” during this tough period.
I immediatly subscribed and informed my boys in Dublin, Toronto and Sunninghill to check your sight I know they will be in stitches when theyb read some of the monkey and Ellie escapades you and your family have endured – I have a trusted Ketty and ammo when I go camping but the little buggers just sit and shake their heads at me with indignant grunts….. Little “turds”.
Thanks for keeping us sane and stay safe from the unseen enemy.
Hi Joe!! Thanks for your lovely message! Wow your family lives all over the world. Must be especially hard now not knowing when you see each other again!
Glad to hear our adventures are keeping you entertained;-) stay healthy and stay safe out there! Best, Linda
Your stories are helping me cope with my cabin fever. Thank you.
I am glad! Such a strange time we live in!
Hi Linda, Wat leuk om je “Blog” te lezen!! Vandaag landde de laatste Boeing 747 op Schiphol maar er mochten geen mensen komen om afscheid te nemen van de Boeing 747 vanwege de virus.
Gelukkig hebben wij hier ‘n ruime tuin en bungalow, het lijkt mij verschrikkelijk om in ‘n flat te wonen nu we de Lock down tijd hebben.
We hopen je ‘n keer op te zoeken in Kruger!![ Daar heeft mijn man Paul mij ten huwelijk gevraagd!!]
Tot de volgende keer,
Groetjes van Tessa, Birchleigh, ZuidAfrika
Thank you Linda keep the blogs coming it must be a very strange world for you . It is very different for us but you see so many vehicles in and out in a daily basis the silence must be uncanny
Stay safe
Alison
Hi Linda, I couldn’t think of a better place to be “quarantined to “, but for the boys, Steven and yourself, it must be frustrating not to be able to go out on a game drive. On the plus side, you guys light the braai, open a nice bottle of wine, watch the glorious Kruger sunset and know that you are all safe and well! Best Regards, Ray
Hi Linda, I stumbled upon your blog yesterday and wow, I was hooked. As Kruger lovers (and Kgalagadi) we spend at least a month at each park every year, not just to look for sightings but to actually experience the park which is why your writings are so special, they allow us to be there even when we are not, a huge thank you. I so look forward to a long relationship with your blog.
Kind regards
Jenny Walden
Wow Linda, I have to say this first – I am so impressed by your grass patch! Its grown and is beautiful and green. long may it last and further grow!
It sounds as though you are managing to engage the boys – they will soon be as good at tracking as their dad at this rate. 🙂
Thanks for giving us these lovely glimpses of Kruger, keep safe.
Linda..thankyou for keeping us enamoured with your stories. I live in an apartment in a Retirement Village and our Owners and Tenants in our high rise buildings arent allowed to go outside our apartments for anything but buying prepaid power and paying levies making it very quiet here.