Pilansberg, Where the Lion Peeps!

With Bernie and Sonja over for a few days from Hong Kong, we had an excuse to get out of the house and visit Pilansberg National Park, only 2 hours from our place. I love going there – every time we see something different, and this time, the road for our usual route being closed, we were forced to venture into unknown corners.

The best thing about Pilansberg is that it’s quite possible to be there for hours and not see any of the big five at all! It’s full of birds and animals but we once spent a whole morning looking, but finding nothing larger than a guinea fowl, so any sighting can feel like a major event.

Bernie and Sonja were delighted at the springbok and eland we saw first, but we were unimpressed. It’s bad when these animals are considered beneath us, but such is life in South Africa. We were after greater things!

After much meandering, we came to Zebra and Wilderbeest, something of an improvement, and eventually, elephants! It never ceases to amaze me how easily such huge animals can disappear into the background, but once you find one, you’ll probably find a whole crowd right in front of you! Giraffes are the world’s greatest camouflage experts. Often they are easier to see from afar, where their heads stick out above the bushes and trees. Closer up, they’re often invisible, and even when spotted, can merge with the background in the blink of an eye. Rhino, on the other hand, don't hide! And if you meet one on the road, guess who needs to give way!

We have a favourite watering hole, where hippos (my all time favourite) are guaranteed, but our roundabout route never led us there, so we had to content ourselves with a smaller and less-well-populated lake. But there were crocodiles and a couple of hippos lazily floating about. No open mouths or out-of-water escapades, but still, a glimpse.

Happy with our sightings, and with the light fading, we headed for home. But on the last road out to the gate we saw a guide and her guests looking avidly up the side of the hill they were parked next to. We drew up behind to see what they were watching, and saw nothing. Bernie and Sonja scanned with binoculars and Kurt, who can pick out an ant moving from five hundred yards was also non-plussed. Just about to give up and head off, we asked what everyone was looking at, and were told ‘a lion!’.

Still we peered, and still saw nothing. Until, as though it had read our simple minds and felt sympathy, up stood a lioness on her rock ledge, looked straight across at us, making sure we had seen her, and then lay down, once again completely invisible against the stone!

An amazing end to a fabulous day!

It was too dark to get a pic of that lion, but here's a couple to give you an idea of how hard they are to spot. These are on full zoom and cropped!

Post script – the drive home!

Pilansberg National Park is situated in an area where platinum is mined, and so is surrounded by little mining towns. These are quite interesting to see on the journey there; houses in various stages of building, as money earned pays for the construction.

However for the return journey, in the dark, interest turns to terror. There are zero street lights or road markings until you get to the national highways, and somebody thought it would be a good idea to put speed bumps at every crossroad. The idea is actually sound – I’ve driven in Africa in the dark before and not even seen that there were intersections. Highly dangerous when you’re cruising at 120kph!

However, with no lights or markings, any stop signs or speed bumps are invisible until you are upon them. The only way to survive is to get behind someone who (you hope) knows the area and so slows down in advance. That is pre-supposing they have working brake lights! What had been a relatively pleasant journey to Pilansberg became a marathon test of endurance on the return.

The number of cars without rear lights was staggering, and the number of people walking along the road in black clothing in the pitch dark was incredible. After missing a turn onto a major highway because there was no road sign or road markings even to indicate a junction, let alone say where it may be leading, we narrowly missed hitting an almost invisible man as we pulled over to turn around.

I think everyone (including the guy we nearly hit) was relieved to eventually get home in one piece.