Kruger National Park Day 7 Orpen

5 July 2014 Orpen

Today was a rest day. Well for us it was restful compared to our normal hectic pace. I set the alarm for 7 but both Earl and I were awake before 6. We needed to do laundry but the washing machine was a bit odd so the maids offered to sort it out for us. Very kind of them.

We left camp just after 9 and stopped at Satara for brunch. To our horror Mug and Bean have been given franchise rights in the park. We found them at Lower Sabie first. We do realise that the masses of visitors need to be fed but the last Franchise – Tree – worked fabulously. We seldom had complaints. Admittedly our lunch at Lower Sabie was efficiently dealt with too. But at Satara we waited ages before our order came and then it wrong! Peter’s order didn’t arrive at all and when he complained there were a million excuses about being misunderstood. He said he would give them 2 minutes to fix it otherwise they could just not bother. 5 minutes later he got his order. My order came with an ingredient missing. Earl’s tomato for his Eggs Benedict was uncooked. Heather got cucumber and cheddar cheese instead of Avo and cream cheese in her chicken wrap! Really there was no excuse. I called the manager and he took his time coming. He apologized but made the excuse that the kitchen was not yet used to the very varied menu! Really? Mug ‘n Bean? Then they shouldn’t be in the Park. I told the manager that they were highly privileged to have this franchise and that I hoped things were going to improve fast. We could see from other patrons that things weren’t going well. Kruger is our a flagship and I would hate our overseas visitors to get a bad impression! Mug ‘n Bean – you have a huge responsibility to this country!
Well complaints over. The food that we got was good and the manager gave us free coffees and didn’t charge for Peter’s meal. It was the least he could do.
Now for the sightings of the day. Each day always has a special highlight and for us today it came early. We stopped to see two birds – a tawny eagle and a white faced vulture on a kill. It took a while to work out that they were devouring a python! We have never seen a python in the park dead or alive so this was very interesting.

Tawny Eagle scavenging on Python

White-headed vulture sitting on the python – note the full crop

Tawny flew into a bush with very full crop

We saw lots of other animals and birds on our route which took us to Satara and back via a few detour loops.

Fiscal Flycatcher

Ground Hornbill

Male Waterbuck having a rest

Ellie reaching for a tasty snack

As I type Heather is cooking our evening meal. The weather is amazing. Not a breath of wind and temperatures to day shot to 32. The mornings are cold but the evenings are still pleasant enough to sit outdoors. Kruger is indeed The Best Place on Earth.

Orpen Camp