Almanac Travels: Up close and personal in Idube

 

 

Xmas Day 2025

 

Today was like any other day in the wilds of Kruger National Park. It didn’t feel like Christmas, not that it’s been a day I’m that keen on since the kids were little. We were all pretty keen to get back into the bush, so with a quick ‘merry Christmas’ between the touring party of six, we were in the capable hand of FJ and Mike.

 

 

The reason I’ve been a Grinch at Christmas is because of the day’s mass commercialisation.

 

Shops have Christmas merchandise out in October and Easter hot cross buns out on Boxing Day! The poor Messiah has barely spent a day on earth and the supermarkets are nailing him up! I’m afraid it has lost its true meaning for me. I don’t reckon Jesus would approve and quite frankly he deserves better.

 

Yesterday, within five minutes we spotted a leopard in a tree with a dead impala he had recently captured. He had clearly had a gutful and was lying limp over a big branch sleeping with one eye open.

 

This morning we found him asleep in the grass near the tree, guts still full and dreaming like a pet dog with a twitch. Incredibly cute.

 

In the afternoon we returned and he was gorging on the headless impala in the tree. Everyone was silent as we uniformly did for all the viewings and you could hear the leopard crunching through the impala’s bones.

 

 

 

 

 

Lynda took this terrific photo of the leopard feeding on the impala while the hyena ate the craps.

 

 

In the interest of time I might just download some photos and the odd comment from what was another incredible day. Its late and we are off tomorrow. I doubt we will be able to sleep on the plane to Cape Town while we relive the memories of Idube.

 

I think one of the keys to the Lodge’s success is the fact only a maximum of twenty four guests can stay at any one time. It just provides a calm atmosphere for the staff who work like FIFO’s in Australia, four to six weeks on and two to four weeks off.

 

Everything here is understated, laid back, unpretentious and ultimately super relaxing. The perfect holiday spot and no surprise the three couples we shared the tours with were all on honeymoons. Lovely young couples from New York, Philadelphia and Sweden.

 

Elephants. We came a cross a large herd on day two eating their way along a plain of grass, almost in military formation. There was a  collective scream of joy upon the sighting, especially from the old people in the Jeep…that being us.

 

 

 

 

One of the funniest moments was seeing these four baby warthogs playing like kids while mum filled up on grass. Very amusing.

 

 

Water Buffalo. Caught these two having a chat in a spa. Apparently they are good fighters and cause considerable damage with those horns.

 

 

African Wild Dogs. A pack of about thirty were hidden in long grass a foot away from us when suddenly a couple of hyena entered the fray and the dogs jumped up simultaneously and chased the hyenas away. Scared the bejeezus out of us.

 

 

Zebra are simply majestic as are giraffes and we caught sight of quite a few.

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year everyone!

 

 

 

To read more by Ian Wilson click HERE.

 

 

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