mike & rhonda's latest adventure: Kruger Delivers

We just finished a wonderful week in Kruger National Park which is in the NE section of South Africa. Our week started with a 3 day hiking safari on the Napi Wilderness Trail which is in the southern area of the park. There were 5 other hikers, all from Germany (two recent Spanish converts), and we got along well with our two guides and a camp cook. The days started with 4:30 am wake-up calls (the morning bird symphony made it a little easier) at our permanent en-suite tent so that we could get out early to see the morning action before the wildlife had their mid-day siesta in the 35C heat, of which we also took advantage. We then went out in the late afternoon for some more action. We hiked about 15 km's each day, most of it early in the day. It was a fascinating and peaceful experience. We never saw any other people on our walks, only the wildlife, and there was lots to see. Our guides carried rifles in case some of the more dangerous animals were disturbed by our presence. The guides tried to maintain a 40 metre distance for our safety. Only twice (rhinos and elephants) did they see a disturbing signal and ask us to back off quickly. We observed lots of Cape Buffalo, White and Black Rhinos, Elephants, Giraffes, Wildebeests, Zebras and just about every kind of antelope (there are many) that you can imagine. There were many types of birds, warthogs, baboons, vervet monkeys and other small creatures as well. We came across leopard tracks but didn't spot any. An unexpected highlight was a night drive on the way back from a sunset hike where we saw cheetahs and a large group of hyenas who were happy to approach our 4x4 to snack on the front bumper insects. Our driver didn't let that continue for too long because he told us their next step would be to feed on the wildlife dung that was in the tire grooves which could lead to a punctured tire (that none of us were interested in changing). One day at our campsite a large bull elephant came within 20 metres of our tent (separated by a fence) and when I got closer for an even better photo, he looked at me, shook and bellowed which sent me scampering away like a primary school girl. Our head guide (Kali) later told me the fence was to keep other animals out, nothing but the Great Wall will stop an angry elephant. Shortly after we saw the whole family in the river bed below our site which helped explain his angst for protecting the young calves which I had not initially noticed. Elephants have incredibly long memories so from now on I will need to be a lot more cautious when I am near them. Overall, it was a great experience, just us and mother nature and we would highly recommend it (thanks for the tip Shay).

From there we drove to the middle of the NP and spent 3 nights at the Satara Rest Camp in a rondeval which is a circular hut with an 8 metre ceiling and a thatched roof. From there we did morning and evening drives in our rental car to many different areas of the very large Kruger park......now that we think we know what to look for. Actually it is quite easy in Kruger, the wildlife is very visible from the road and often we needed to stop quickly to wait for the herd to cross the road, or make sure they wouldn't step in front of the vehicle while feeding on the roadside vegetation. We also somehow turned into "view snobs", only slowing down for a quick look if the larger beasts weren't within 50 metres of the road. The herds were always fun to watch.......mothers nurturing / teaching their babies, young ones playing around and males trying to establish their dominance......did we teach them or did they teach us? The highly recommended S100 road did not disappoint as we spotted all kinds of wildlife in the first 2 km's including a jackal, and on a return trip we saw lions, relaxing rather than hunting. The Oliphants area in the north had a more varied landscape (escarpments, more water) and the rest camp there had a scenic view of the river valley below. Driving around KNP we favoured dirt roads that had small rivers alongside where there was lush vegetation and the wildlife seemed a little more varied, including hippos and crocodiles. The opposite side of the road often had an open plain making for ideal viewing. It was nice to move along at our own pace but we still found ourselves sticking to the routine of getting up early in the morning to observe the most active part of the day. Our evening drives both ended within 5 minutes of the camp gate closing for the night so we took advantage of that active window as well. Kruger certainly offers everyone the opportunity to explore it on your own, as long as you remain in your vehicle at all times.

We are now back in the very scenic Panarama Route area just west of Kruger. I had trouble adjusting to being back in normal traffic. The speed limit within the NP was 50 km/hour (and 40 km/hr on the dirt roads) so for the first hour outside the park it was difficult to get the speedometer above 80 km/hr in spite of the 100 km/hr speed limit. It not only seemed extremely fast after a full week at the slower limits but I was still anticipating animals to emerge from the bush onto the roadway as had come to be commonplace.

Another update to follow in a few days.