Safari Blog

In the early days of the Kruger (actually the Sabie Game Reserve back then), days were dark and friends of the KNP were few. The Park often came under fire from residents in the surrounding areas, who thought the land could be put to better use. In one letter to the press, “Anonymous from White River” wrote “We might have had a wondrous landscape, filled with smiling homesteads, but what have we got instead? Lions!!!!” In order to increase the diminished herbivore numbers, and appease the Park’s detractors, a predator control policy was launched, and a large number of lions were shot. Therefore, when Kruger was finally declared a National Park, in 1926, there was much anticipation as to the reaction of lions to tourists. Happily, the lions adapted very well, and as we all know, lions are the “mane” attraction for any safari. (Sorry, I was watching “The Lion King” with my sons last night!)

It is really gratifying to see that lions have become habituated to vehicles, allowing guests to have close encounters with these amazing animals. However, one must remember that although habituated to game drive vehicles, these are genuinely wild lions, and their natural history is the same as it has been for centuries. Male Coalitions still fight for territories, young cubs suffer high mortalities, prides still must hunt for prey, and defend kills against clans of hyenas or nomadic male lions. These are not Zoo animals, but rather animals that have become accustomed to the presence of vehicles, by virtue of not having been shot at in over a century!!

The lions in the Tinga concession are no exception. However, sightings are not only restricted to the game drives. Recently, a pride of seven lions were seen on banks of the Sabie river, directly opposite the deck at Legends. At the time of writing this, I had just been informed that the pride were disputing the rights to the shade of a fig tree with seven buffalo bulls.

The name “Tinga” is actually derived from the Shangaan word “Tingala” meaning “lots of lion” – I am sure Tinga’s guests would concur that the name is appropriate.

The other day, I was fortunate enough to be up Tinga for one night (I know, far too short a time to spend in the bush). We had stopped for sundowners on the banks of the Sand river, just as the sun was setting behind a marula tree. Someone in the group voiced our thoughts, asking “What can be more beautiful than an African sunset?” Ostensibly a rhetorical question, however one of the resident male lions we had seen minutes earlier in the river bed, answered with a resounding roar that reverberated down the river bed. Please forgive the hyperbole but for someone who had spent many years in the bush, and now works in the city, it was particularly poignant. My joy at being able to experience one of Nature’s wonders was tempered by the knowledge that the following evening, I would be stuck on a gridlocked highway of Johannesburg, trying to get home. However, to put a more positive spin on it, it is precisely moments like this that make being stuck in the traffic, or working late in the office, bearable. Literally translated, the lion’s roar means “Whose land is this? Mine! Mine! Mine!”. It is however, so much more than that – an evocation of the spirit of wild Africa, which can happily still be found in places like the Kruger …..at Tinga.