November 11

November 11, 2018

Biyamiti Bushcamp

It’s 1:45 in the afternoon. I’m groggy after just awakening from a long nap. Gina’s still sleeping. It’s a very warm, clear day, but with a nice breeze. The house that we have at Biyamiti is a large bungalow, which has two bedrooms, two baths and sleeps five. Seems wasteful I know, but it was all that was available when we booked accommodations (back in January!) and we really wanted to be able to spend time in this camp.  It’s small (I think there are 15 units) and very isolated and private. It’s set along the dry river bed of the Biyamiti River, though our unit (#12) is set off the river and looks like it was just dropped into scrubby, thick bush.  Birdlife here is fantastic, though it’s settled down now as the birds are mostly hunkered down in the heat. Throughout the park, most of the bungalows have verandas or porches where you can sit outside in the shad and enjoy the bush. This unit and the one next door for some reason have enclosed rooms.  They’ve added aluminum framing and glass with two large sliding glass doors. I’m not sure why, but it really doesn’t fit these old, concrete bungalows with thatched roofs.

We haven’t seen vervets here, though we know they’re around and I’m certain create problems whenever possible.  What we have seen are very tame camp birds who’ve obviously been fed and pampered by previous guests.  When we first opened the sliding glass doors, a group of natal francolins just walked in like they live here, and just now, when I sat down to write, a redbilled hornbill just came and knocked on the door with his beak to let him in.

This has become my favorite camp here.  It’s just so peaceful.  No shop, no restaurant, no gas station, just a few bungalows spread out in the bush and a small staff working to keep the place going. And a cape glossy starling just walked to the open sliding door, looked in, awaiting an invitation and then walked off in disappointment.

Two days ago, on our last morning at Lower Sabie, we got up early and went for a drive north of the camp, taking a long unpaved road.  Just as the sun was rising, we saw a male lion crossing the road in front of us, moving left to right.  He was clearly on a mission.  Not in a hurry, but walking a deliberate pace and in a straight line, not looking at us. Not much to photograph – still pretty dark and he didn’t interact or look at us at all.  But being able to spend time in his world without being in a scrum of tourists parked on the side of the road is the best part of being here.  It’s a reminder of how fortunate Gina and I are.

Later that drive, Gina and I got to spend time sitting next to a white rhino bull, who was eating the grass on the roadway verge.  We probably spent 20 minutes with him, alone. You realize how vulnerable white rhino are to poachers.  Their disposition is generally very placid and it’s not hard to get right up to them. It’s like driving up to a cow. You can see how people with bad intent would find this such a tempting way to make some quick money.

Starling now back, standing on threshold of the door, waiting for an invitation that won’t be forthcoming.  Sorry.

We went back to camp, packed up to move and spent a nice leisurely drive headed to Biyamiti.  Along the road, we bumped into a black rhino.  Quite a different animal than the white rhino.  He took one look at us, and fled the road, but went into the bush, turned around and watched us secretly for a while before eventually moving off.  Black rhino are smaller, are browsers rather than grazers, more secretive and are generally more high strung and defensive (as you’d have to be when you tend to live in deep bush with limited visibility and room to move). It was a special sighting – we’ve only seen black rhino once before in the Park and both sightings were fleeting.

Yesterday was another beautiful, clear and not too hot day and we spent the day driving without a lot of photographic productivity.

Today, we got up early and went for a bush walk.  These are organized walks through, led by armed rangers.  The idea is to get out of your car and get you closer to the many things you can’t see from a vehicle rolling down the road.  Because Biyamiti is a small camp, there’s only one permanent ranger here so arrangements were made to meet other rangers from a larger camp so at the end there were 8 guests and 3 rangers for this walk at sunrise. It was a beautiful morning, transitioning from cool to warm. The walk was fairly arduous (for me, at least) but provided some elevation for beautiful morning views.  On the way back, we approached within about 50 yards of a big bull elephant in thick bush but then his trunk came up as he began to detect our presence and the group quickly moved off in the opposite direction back toward the vehicles.  And then home, wash some clothes, PBJ for lunch, nap and here we are.

Photographically, this trip hasn't been that productive yet.  You never know what's next of course.  I've edited only a small number of images, and haven't tried posting any yet due to very limited internet access (I'm connected by using a personal hotspot on limited cellphone coverage - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't). I don't know when I'll have better access (probably when we get back to Jo'burg) and so don't know when I'll be able to post any images.  But I'll try....

We’ll take a drive this afternoon and braii a steak and veggies this evening.  Tomorrow, we pack up and leave Biyamiti and take the long drive north to Letaba Rest Camp.  Over many years, Letaba has been a favorite but it’s sad to leave this beautiful little jewel in the bush.