Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Kickin' it in Kruger--Safari Anyone?
And finally, we got to Kruger Park and started the safari. Because it is winter in the southern hemisphere, temperatures during the day aren't as hot and it's much better game viewing at this time of the year. And, we got extremely lucky with the different animals we saw. Here is a picture that just shows how far it goes...as far as the eye can see...in every direction. (CLICK ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE)
Kruger Park, in the northeast of South Africa, is some 350 kilometres in length, and averages 54 kilometres in width – in size it equates to the countries of Wales or Israel..that's 20 000 square kilometres/nearly 2 million hectares. Kruger National Park itself has been in existence since 1926, effectively, in its present form. According to the Internet, it is virtually unrivalled in species diversity (both animal and plant), and is a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and policies. Recent figures indicate that there are some 147 species of mammal, 507 species of bird, and in excess of 1950 plant species in the Park.
But of course the most important is that it is the home of the "big 5" that Africa is famous for--lions, leopard, elephants, buffalo, and rhino. Kenz and I did a camping Safari and it was amazing. I'll post more pictures elsewhere but below are some that capture the experience. (AS USUAL, CLICK ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE) 
There was also a game drive that night. As we were just getting going, the guide got word that there were some lions just resting by the side of the road. We hustled over there and sure enough, there were a small pride of lions...4 females and a male. It was about dusk so the pictures aren't really bright. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
Later on, after it got dark (and COLD), we heard more lions but we didn't see them. The second day was a full game drive in open air game viewing. We saw tons of animals including these:
Zebra--they tend to be in small groups. We even saw one with a baby.
We saw our own little Phumba...Warthogs. These are the cutest ever. They are very skittish and would always run away when we stopped to see them. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
The full day game drive was definitely a full day activity. We started around 6am, when it is still dark. It was a stunning view to watch the sun rise in the vast expanse of the park. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
Kruger Park, in the northeast of South Africa, is some 350 kilometres in length, and averages 54 kilometres in width – in size it equates to the countries of Wales or Israel..that's 20 000 square kilometres/nearly 2 million hectares. Kruger National Park itself has been in existence since 1926, effectively, in its present form. According to the Internet, it is virtually unrivalled in species diversity (both animal and plant), and is a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and policies. Recent figures indicate that there are some 147 species of mammal, 507 species of bird, and in excess of 1950 plant species in the Park.
But of course the most important is that it is the home of the "big 5" that Africa is famous for--lions, leopard, elephants, buffalo, and rhino. Kenz and I did a camping Safari and it was amazing. I'll post more pictures elsewhere but below are some that capture the experience. (AS USUAL, CLICK ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE)
Here's our sleeping arrangement. And there is Kenz coming out of the tent.
I can tell you from first hand experience, it is *really* cold at night in South Africa in winter. It seems to be common thought that in Africa it must be hot, but South Africa is pretty far south and the temperature was probably in the single digits overnight. (I know that in Johannesburg it gets around zero celsius overnight). I like camping as much as the next person, but tents in winter may have been pushing it a bit. It was a great time but something that required me to be pretty flexible in my outlook to things was the mongoose. There were quite a few of them that scatter when people come, but still, they are extrememly creepy. In case you don't know, mongoose are basically large fat brownish rats as far as I could tell. The tents are up on a pallat a few inches off the ground. When we came into camp one time, a few of them scampered under the tents. The only way I could get through sleeping in the tent was to not even think about it again...to not think about creepy rats being under the tent. I never felt or heard one again so hopefully they went off not to return while we were there. (that's the delusion I am living under). We got to the camp in time to do a game drive in the afternoon, and promptly saw some animals. The game drives are done in open sided/open air game viewing trucks. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
There was also a game drive that night. As we were just getting going, the guide got word that there were some lions just resting by the side of the road. We hustled over there and sure enough, there were a small pride of lions...4 females and a male. It was about dusk so the pictures aren't really bright. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
Later on, after it got dark (and COLD), we heard more lions but we didn't see them. The second day was a full game drive in open air game viewing. We saw tons of animals including these:
Elephants:
Zebra--they tend to be in small groups. We even saw one with a baby.
We saw our own little Phumba...Warthogs. These are the cutest ever. They are very skittish and would always run away when we stopped to see them. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
The full day game drive was definitely a full day activity. We started around 6am, when it is still dark. It was a stunning view to watch the sun rise in the vast expanse of the park. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
Mid morning, we stopped at a rest stop and had breakfast. Here is Stephen, our Zimbabwean guide, cooking breakfast while our group helped. Our group was made up of: Mackenzie, the Mackenzie sisters (Siobhan and Kristy) from London, England, and two Asian girls living in Australia. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
Overall, Kruger is a can't miss activity when in South Africa. There are of course, various offerings of days, accommodation, waling versus game vehicle, but whatever the choice, it's a stunning, unbelievable experience. If anyone decides they'd like to see the genesis of the Lion King and wants to come over and do a Kruger safari, it is surprisingly affordable--let me know and I can hook you up.
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