Still staying in Kruger (Nelspruit, South Africa), we were able to go into Kruger National Park on an African safari. The way the park is set-up is so you can drive through with the windows down and see all the wildlife the area has to offer. The park is enormous with many endangered species. That day we woke up at 4:30am (sun was actually up) to get in line for the park. Inside the park, we saw impala, warthogs, zebra, giraffe, wildebeasts, exotic birds, rhinos, hippos, etc. Pretty much everything that is in "The Lion King." It was indescribable. The scenery was everything you would expect from the tall green grass, trees and kilometers of land.
Lions, leopards and cheetahs are hard to find and by 4pm we still hadn't seen one. Then, out of nowhere, a leopard crossed the road in front of us. A kilometer later, we saw a male lion sitting near a bridge. Although he was down below, I was still shocked to see someone actually get out of their car to get a better picture. A park ranger happened to be driving behind him and yelled at him to get back in the car, otherwise who knows what could have happened. Especially as we knew that there were two others roaming around unseen nearby.
But the real excitement was on the way out of the park. A big herd of impala ran in front of the jeep and it wasn't until we looked around us that we saw the pride. One lioness was approaching a hyena and 2 were cornering him from behind. We heard roaring, saw movement and a scuffle, until the hyena somehow managed to escape. A total of 6 lioness were seen in the one patch of land. They were impressive, and slightly terrifying (ok, if I'm honest, more than slightly), as they were so close. It was a great way to end the day.
But the real excitement was on the way out of the park. A big herd of impala ran in front of the jeep and it wasn't until we looked around us that we saw the pride. One lioness was approaching a hyena and 2 were cornering him from behind. We heard roaring, saw movement and a scuffle, until the hyena somehow managed to escape. A total of 6 lioness were seen in the one patch of land. They were impressive, and slightly terrifying (ok, if I'm honest, more than slightly), as they were so close. It was a great way to end the day.
Day 5: Please don't stomp on us or the car!
For our second day in the park, we went on our own in the rental car. Right when we entered the park, we saw part of the same pride. A lion and at least 3 lioness were sleeping after a long night of hunting.
With the smaller and quieter car, we were able to see a lot of the birds of South Africa, including some of the rarer ones. We found a rare stork (can't remember the name right now) who is one of the remaining 50 mating pairs in the world.
For our second day in the park, we went on our own in the rental car. Right when we entered the park, we saw part of the same pride. A lion and at least 3 lioness were sleeping after a long night of hunting.
With the smaller and quieter car, we were able to see a lot of the birds of South Africa, including some of the rarer ones. We found a rare stork (can't remember the name right now) who is one of the remaining 50 mating pairs in the world.
While driving and pointing out the smaller animals, we see an elephant in the middle of the road up ahead. No other car was around, and he was walking slowly toward us. Now when you are in a car low to the ground and see a big elephant walking toward you, it is a bit unnerving, but we turned off the engine and stayed put. It just continued stomping around the car and continued on it's way like we weren't even there. Later, another elephant crossed in front of us and we watched as he scratched his back on a tree (nearly knocking it over). We also saw a big group of elephants pass by. It was definitely elephant day.
During breakfast and lunches, we would stop at look-out points. We ate the fruit and bread that we had and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the area. It was (and still is) hard to believe that places like this exist.
There was more stress later when we realized the bus we were planning on taking only leaves on Thursdays. We found out on Friday. After looking through all our other options and having most of them unavailable, there was only one decent option left. So for the next part of our journey we had to head to Mozambique. The next morning, ASAP.
It was New Year's Eve and so we went to a local restaurant, got a bottle of wine and ate fish. I had an amazing "butter fish" with a baked potato and their fresh vegetables of the day. It was delicious. We arrived back to Kruger View Lodge just before 11:30 pm and I am ashamed to say that I was so tired, that I fell asleep listening to the fireworks go off, celebrating the New Year.
There was more stress later when we realized the bus we were planning on taking only leaves on Thursdays. We found out on Friday. After looking through all our other options and having most of them unavailable, there was only one decent option left. So for the next part of our journey we had to head to Mozambique. The next morning, ASAP.
It was New Year's Eve and so we went to a local restaurant, got a bottle of wine and ate fish. I had an amazing "butter fish" with a baked potato and their fresh vegetables of the day. It was delicious. We arrived back to Kruger View Lodge just before 11:30 pm and I am ashamed to say that I was so tired, that I fell asleep listening to the fireworks go off, celebrating the New Year.
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