The Kruger National Park unfolds across five main geological formations, dissecting the park from north to south. The western side is characterised by granite, interspersed with gabbro, followed by bands of ecca shales and sandstone.
Granite is a very hard rock that weathers slowly over time due to the silica content. The result is very coarse grainy sand, which is in most places well leached. Most trees lose their leaves during the winter months. The tree simply pulls all the nutrients into the roots until the next rainy season. Grasses do the same, with the result that the most grasses on the granite become unpalatable during the winter months.
The eastern side of the Kruger Park is dominated by basalt plains. These soils have a very high clay content, meaning the water and the nutrients cannot penetrate through the clay. Water running into small depressions will evaporate quickly in the sun, but it is very high in nutrients. Most plants found on the basalt plains are highly palatable, with small leaves to minimise transpiration. Due to this, most grasses remain highly palatable.
There is a definite movement from north to southeast during the change of the season around the end of May to mid-July, where animals tend to move from the well-leached granite and its associated sour grass to the sweet grass on the basalt plains around Satara and to the north of Lower Sabie on the Mondolozi Plains.
Satara Plains Camp is a magnet for these migrating animals, as this camp lies on the bank of the Mavumbye River with its own natural spring, holding water throughout the year. This attracts hundreds of plains game, elephant and buffalo. No wonder the Satara area has one of the highest lion populations in southern Africa, and certainly in the Kruger Park.
During spring, this movement reverses direction when there is young, sweet grass sprouting on the granitic areas that are full of nutrients. As with everything in nature, this is not an exact science and is influenced by rainfall and by controlled burns in sections of the park.
For reservations and enquiries, contact Kruger Untamed reservations at reservations@krugeruntamed.com.