Kruger National Park

After spending the evening in Nelspruit we were ready to set off bright and early the next morning so that we could be at the gate by 6am when it opened.  About 5:50am we were at the gate and were about 10^th in line.  A few minutes later they were opening the first gate and handing out the entry cards that we quickly filled out so we could pay and get into the park.  By about 6:20am we were finally on the roads in the park and were on lookout for any animals, specifically rhinos.

By 6:45am (after we passed a bunch of cars crawling along) we had seen the first elephants which were literally on the side of the road (scared the heck out of Dave who was driving).  We stopped for a few photos and then were back driving again.  Just a few minutes later Lisa spotted something in the bushes which turned out to be a white rhino!  After taking a few photos we saw something else move and quickly realized it was a little baby with the mom which was awesome to see as they are endangered.  We stayed for a little while longer (no one else came up on us) before moving on to spot some more animals and find a campsite for the night.  After a couple of hours we were finally getting to Skukuza camp to see if there were any open spaces.  Luckily there was 1 tent spot left in Pretoriaskop so we booked it, bought some snacks and then were back in the car.

The rest of the first day we saw more elephants (one of the young ones had very red eyes, ears and mouth – park ranger said it may have been burned in a wild fire), more rhinos, one lion, buffalo, antelope, baboons, zebras and other small animals but didn’t get to see any leopards.  Around 4pm we realized we needed to start heading to camp which was still pretty far (the map made it look much shorter) as the gates closed at 5:30pm.  We finally made it to camp just after 5:30, checked ourselves in and went to find ourselves a tent spot.  After finding a spot and setting up our tent (which we had just bought from the hostel the day before) we walked over to the park shop to buy some food and cooking utensils (which ended up being a cheap little pot, pasta and sausages).  The rest of the night we finished cooking (saving some for lunch the next day) and hit the hay as we were planning on waking up early to be one of the first ones on the road.

Our second day in Kruger we woke up at 5am, cooked some baked beans and toast, packed up our tent and got in line at the gate for opening time.  By 6am the gates were opened and we were on the roads.  A few minutes later we decided to change roads and go down a different road to get away from the people in front of us.  We realized we were the first ones down the new road when about 10 minutes in (after we had seen elephants and buffalo) we saw this big black shadow right in front of us on the road stand up and start to walk away.  Turns out it was a rhino that had been sleeping in the road (pretty cool and scary at the same time).  Further down the road we saw more typical animals as well as two other rhinos that were grazing just off the road and two hyenas (which were the only ones we ended up seeing the whole time) walking down the road.  At one point we stopped to talk to someone coming the opposite way who ended up being an off-duty guide and told us about a spot that they had seen some lions and a leopard at the day before so we decided we would head that way next.  An hour or two later we were in that area and were still just seeing antelope, zebras, giraffes, and other typical animals. That is until we crossed a bridge and saw a convoy of cars.  It turns out there had been a leopard that had tried to catch an antelope and had not succeeded and then they lost where she went.  A little while later most of the cars had gone and we decided to drive slowly up the road to see if we could spot her.  Just a few kilometers up the road we saw a few cars pulled to the side of the road and right behind them, about 3 meters back, was a female leopard sitting on a rock in perfect view!  We pulled our way into the line so that we could have a better view for some photos; it was amazing how close she was.  Since leopards in Kruger are a rarity we decided to stick around for a while and ended up staying about 30 minutes and were able to get even closer to her.  We finally decided it was time to go and on the way back saw another convoy of cars where another leopard had been spotted.  After getting stuck in the line of cars we turned back around as the leopard was pretty far off the main road and wasn’t very easy to see.  As we were driving we decided to stop at all the camps as they have boards where people can mark what they’ve seen (so we would stop to take a look).  We saw a few more rhinos along the drive as well as other animals until we decided to take a little loop off the main road.  As we were driving along Dave quickly told Lisa to stop and reverse, he had spotted another leopard that was climbing a tree.  By the time we reversed she was already up the tree and panting very heavy as thought she had just come from a run (we assumed it was a female because they are smaller than the males).  After sitting for a few minutes watching her we saw a few scavenger birds circling the air and assumed something had taken her kill from her so we decided to investigate.  We came up empty handed but couldn’t believe we had just seen three leopards in one day.  That night we were staying at a different camp (the only available spot again) so about 4pm we headed south to make it there in time.  We got in a little early this night so that we could take the rhino trail walk that the camp had.  After checking in we started the walk and about an hour later we were looking for a camp site.  We found a site, set up our tent, cooked and ate some dinner and then went to sleep.

Our third morning in Kruger we woke up about 5:30am and went straight to the gate to try and be first out and ended up being the only ones in line until 5:55am.  After leaving the gate we hit the road to try and find some wildlife.  This day we ended up seeing all the same animals (two leopards this day) except for rhinos which was quite a bummer as it was going to be our last day in the park.  On our drive out we had to rush once again to make it to the gate on time and still ended up being a few minutes late.  Once out we decided to try our luck staying at a 4 star resort that we found a really good rate for (if it didn’t work out we would just go back to the hostel – which was actually the same price as the hotel).  We got to the hotel around 6:30pm to find out they did have a room for us and it was even cheaper than we thought, it included free breakfast (which was delicious) and the hotel was awesome.  After getting in the room, showering and going for some dinner (which was delicious as well and cheap) we decided we would stay there an extra two nights if we could.

The next morning we found out we could extend our stay so we took the day to go to the Blyde River Canyon (largest green canyon) and the bar in the Baobab tree (a bar carved into a huge tree).  Dave wanted to have a beer in the tree but it cost 15 Rand each to enter (no credit cards accepted) and we only had 30 Rand in cash so we just got to go in and look around which was fine.  We got back to the hotel around 6:45pm after a long drive (scary as heck at night), had some dinner and decided we would spend our final full day in Kruger.  We figured we’d go to bed early and wake up early but found ourselves watching some movie on tv (yes we had a tv in our room – luxury!) called ‘The Losers’ which ended up being pretty good.

Thursday morning (our last full day in Africa) we got up bright and early (well 45 minutes later than we wanted) and headed to one of the park gates for a morning game drive.  The coolest thing that morning was first seeing a helicopter (we took a photo to find out it was a park one), then seeing an elephant running (he had a dart in his butt) and then seeing a convoy of vehicles that stopped to tell us they were doing research.  Shortly after that we left the park in order to get back to the hotel before breakfast ended (since it was free after all).  We got back with plenty of time, ate some breakfast, went to find a bag (so we could bring home our tent and everything else we acquired along the way) and then headed back into the park.  This time around we went straight up to central Kruger to see what we could find out that way and ended up finding some rhinos, elephants, buffalo, lions and some other animals but didn’t get to see any leopards this time around.  Another cool thing we saw this day was a dead baby zebra on the side of the road and about 2 meters away a sleeping lioness.  After stopping to see that and stopping to see another lion and some other animals we were running out of time and had to race to get out of the park.  Of course we were late once again, but this time it was because we stopped for a few minutes to watch two elephants playing and rolling around in a watering hole which was pretty amusing.  About 5:45pm (15 minutes late) we finally made it to the gate to exit but we still had a two hour drive ahead of us to get back to the hotel since we had to exit out of a gate further north (due to running out of time).  We made it back to the hotel around 8pm, packed our bags, had some dinner and hit the hay.  We are definitely glad we went back to Kruger for one more day as it turned out to be a day filled with cool things to see.

First gate we entered

Elephant with the burns

Cute baby elephant

Crazy baboons

Buffalo

Giant Kingfisher

Rhino

Leopard

Leopard

Same leopard yet again

Baby rhino

Silly baboon baby

Waterbucks

Convoy of vehicles looking for the elephant they tranquilized

Brown-hooded Kingfisher

Giraffes

Inside the Baobab Tree Bar

Dave inside the Baobab Tree Bar

In front of part of the tree

Dave up in the tree

Lisa up in the tree

Both of us with the tree

Getting to Johannesburg

The morning after getting back from the Deltas we were in a taxi to catch the 5:30am bus from Maun to Gaborone where we would have to stay for the evening until the 6am bus the next morning to Johannesburg (or so was the plan).  The taxi driver was late so we ended up missing it and had to jump on the 6am bus instead.   The bus ride was typical, stops along the way, people standing in the aisle, people trying to sell stuff and the random check points to put our shoes on the Botswana disinfectant sponges.  The strangest thing about this ride was the drunk man who decided to sit on Lisa’s arm rest and in turn sit half on her.  After saying something and him not moving she stood up to sit on Dave’s lap and the guy still just sat there as everyone on the bus was laughing.  Luckily one nice woman got the bus attendants attention who came back and told the man to move away.  We had no idea where he went in the back of the bus (or who he sat on next) but were just glad that he was away from us. 

About 4:30pm we were finally pulling into the Gaborone bus station and sick and tired of buses we decided to try our luck at the airport to see about flights.  We quickly got a taxi to the airport and there was one more flight that day going to Johannesburg that was leaving in a couple of hours.  After going back and forth between renting a car for the night and taking a bus or flight the next day we decided to spend the little extra and just get to Johannesburg.  We paid, checked in, went through security and customs and had a little while to spare since the flight was delayed.  As we were chilling in the waiting area reading up on Johannesburg (which is a pretty dodgy area) Dave decided to go ask this young man sitting in the next row about the area. 

It turns out he is from there and was currently living in Botswana but was heading home to sign up for some MBA courses.  He lent Dave his Iphone to look about booking a car online as well as calling a couple places to see if they had room, neither of which were successful.  Still being helpful he mentioned that his parents owned a Bed and Breakfast in Pretoria but Dave kindly told him we wouldn’t be able to afford it.  After some more chit chat he got a phone call which he walked away to take and at the same time boarding began so we started walking out to the plane.  He caught up with us a few minutes later and told us that we could go with him and stay there, but not to expect anything (as in free food).  Completely taken by surprise we accepted the offer as we had no other plans.

The flight was just over an hour and being international we got a small meal which turned out to be really good.  Once to Johannesburg we went through customs, collected our bags and walked with Heinrich to the Avis car rentals.  Still thinking we were heading to his parents Bed and Breakfast we drove towards the Pretoria area.  During the car ride he was telling us about Johannesburg and how to stay safe and hot get robbed or hi-jacked (which both happen).  About 30 minutes later we got to a street light and he pointed to a sign and told us that was his parents Bed and Breakfast, yet we turned in a different direction.  A few minutes later we were pulling up to a gated community and after entering were pulling up to a magnificent house. 

Next thing we know we were being welcomed into his parents personal home (which the family built themselves) and were being shown one of his sisters rooms (who happened to be in Sydney at the time).   The house was gorgeous, all slate tile flooring and back splashes, wooden beams on the ceilings, handmade furniture and the bathroom was all slate as well.  We put our bags down, went back into the living room and were quickly being offered drinks and food.  The father had just gone hunting so had a whole cooler filled with Biltong which we both had (Dave loved it).  Dave also had some sherry and we spent the next hour catching up with these total strangers who turned out to be amazing people.  Around midnight we were finally getting to bed and had a chance to jump online (they offered up their wi-fi for us) so we could book a car for the next day.

After a wonderful sleep and a shower in the morning (which was AMAZING!) we packed our bags back up and went out into the living room to see yogurt, cereal, fruits, milk and tea.  We ate some breakfast, exchanged details and were on our way to the car rental place that Heinrich was dropping us off at.  We said our goodbyes and thank yous (which are not nearly enough) and went to rent the car.

We ended up having to wait about an hour for the car (as we wanted an automatic and everything here is manual) so we walked across the street to a little pancake shop for a second breakfast.  While we ate and jumped online we still couldn’t believe the previous night had happened and the fact that less than 24 hours before we were on the last bus we would ever be on in Africa, what a great feeling!  An hour later the car was there and we were on our way to Nelspruit where we stayed for the night to plan our Kruger adventure.   

Hi-Jacking Hot Spot - These signs are everywhere

Driving down one of the main roads

Okavango Delta Trip

8:00am rolled around and we were packed up and ready to go for our trip.  The four of us loaded in the safari truck with a few others (who were doing day trips) and set off up the road to where the boat would pick us up and take us to the village just up the river where we would meet our polers and set off from.  The most interesting thing we saw on the short boat ride were some locals crossing the river in some mokoros … with their cattle and dog in tow … all swimming across the river as well.  Thirty minutes later we were pulling into the village, unloaded our stuff, settled into our mokoros (which would be our transport for the next two days which felt like they were going to topple) and were quickly on our way into the delta.

The area as a whole is absolutely beautiful, there is abundant bird life and wildlife to watch and the time in the boat is extremely peaceful and relaxing.  The first morning on the water we spent getting to our camp site where we would set up camp for the night.  After getting there the four of us set up camp (which consisted of our 3 man tent and sleeping bags) ate some lunch and hung around while our polers started a camp fire and dug us a bush toilet.  A few hours later Dave decided he wanted to go fishing, so the four of us all loaded in one mokoro (with one poler – the other stayed back because of the baboons) and headed to the lagoon.  Once there our poler looked for the hippos (which live there) and since there weren’t any said we could stay there and put the fishing net out.  It took about 30 minutes to get the net in the water and all the while our mokoro felt like it was going to tip, we had some good laughs.  Dave was laying in the front of the boat, Kate was weaving herself a pillow from the reeds she pulled out (with Lucy’s help) and Lisa was holding on to the reeds hoping she wouldn’t fall out.  Once the poler finished putting the net out we left and went to another spot in the lagoon so Dave could try his fishing skills with the pole we borrowed from the hostel.  Of course he caught nothing although we did get some good laughs watching the poler trying to use a modern fishing machine (aka a fishing pole). 

After getting back to the campsite we decided to have a go at poling which is actually surprisingly easier to balance then we first thought it would be.  A few hours later (after dinner and more relaxing) the four of us loaded back into the mokoro to head to another island for a nature walk.  On the walk we saw some baboons and antelope as well as a puff adder (poisonous snake) which was seen when some other lady (who was from Texas) almost stepped on it.  Once our walk was over we went back to camp and spent the rest of the evening snacking, playing games, listening to stories the poler was telling before hitting the hay as we were waking up early to go on another nature walk in the morning.

The next morning (after a fairly good sleep) we woke up, had some breakfast and then got in our mokoros to head to a different island for our nature walk.  This walk we had both our polers and were able to see baboons, zebras, antelope and an elephant who was shaking the tree to get the fruit out.  It was crazy to think that we were so close to all the animals and were just on foot although there were a lot of other tourists out there as well and as long as we could run faster than the slowest person we were safe (as Lucy's mum put it).  After about three hours or so we headed back to the mokoros so that we could get back to camp.  Once back to camp Dave decided to go with the poler to collect the fish net (to see if we caught anything) while Lisa, Kate and Lucy stayed back to pack up camp.  About an hour later Dave and the poler were returning with three fairly large fish.  The net ended up catching two catfish and one tilapia.

While we were amazed that the net had actually caught fish, the polers saw it as a meal and went straight to preparing it.  He started with the tilapia as it was the smallest and they were going to eat it for lunch.  After preparing that one he started on the two catfish while Lisa, Kate and Lucy all watched and had an anatomy lesson.  Dave was out in the mokoro the whole time with his modern day fishing pole catching nothing.  Once all the fish was prepared and being cooked we decided to all have another go at the mokoros and spent some more time around the camp.  A little later we were packing everything back into the mokoros and heading to the poling village.

We had to be there by 4pm to be picked up by the boat but were interested in trying this wine that they make from a plant so asked to go back a little earlier.  After a two hour mokoro ride we were pulling into the village.  Feeling successful that we survived our night in the Deltas, we unloaded the boats and walked into the village to a little house where there were some kids playing, a man hand carving toy mokoros and women were sitting around chatting.  We bought one glass of wine between the four of us and spent the next few minutes testing it and trying to decide what we thought of it.  It actually wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t quite ready yet so the flavor was still a little off.  After we finished there we walked back to river and were picked up by the boat shortly later. 

After getting back to the hostel we cooked some dinner, ordered some food (we sold our share of the tent for a pizza and a beer) and hung around before getting to bed (the last night we would have in our 3 man tent - bitter sweet).  The next morning we were parting ways after our week we had spent together and we were on our way to Johannesburg.  All in all we had an awesome time on the trip and really enjoyed having Kate and Lucy as company and now have a place to stay shall we ever visit wherever they are living and likewise for them!

In our mokoro

Lisa and the poler

Dave in the mokoro

Our awesome camp site - and Dave preparing his fishing pole

Dave poling

Lisa poling

Lisa, Kate and Lucy with the poler

Proud of his only catch that day

Sunrise

Zebras

Elephant

Puff Adder

Fishing again

Preparing the fish

Dave trying the local wine

Lisa trying the local wine

Lisa, Lucy and Kate on the boat back to the hostel