As much as we have enjoyed all the new animals we have encountered along this trip, Kruger’s National Park was where we were hoping to be amazed by the incredible animal life. Kruger has been a protected animal sanctuary for over one hundred years, so all the animals are very comfortable around the constant traffic that parades by them. We, like everyone else, were hoping to see the Big 5, but there were other animals that were just as exciting. The Big 5 are the Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino, and Cape Buffalo. These were classified as the Big 5 because they are the most dangerous to hunt. That is, if you don’t kill them quickly…they will kill you!
Safaris are now called “Game Drives”. I guess it is due to the fact that you drive everywhere, because getting out of the vehicle and walking around is not allowed. The animals are comfortable around a vehicle, and as long as you don’t get out, they don’t realize people are inside of it. You never know when a Lion or Leopard will be hiding in the grass next to the road. In fact, that is actually where we saw our Leopard, and it was amazing how well it can camouflage itself within two feet of the roadway. I had booked our Game Drive with Outlook Safaris and was able to have a true safari vehicle. They are open Land Rovers with elevated seats and canvas tops. They can hold nine passengers and our group were paired up with a nice family from Germany. Kruger, being a National Park, is very regulated on where and when people travel. If you stay in the Park, as we did, you book into one of about a dozen facilities scattered about their 4 million acres. Our compound had about fifty bungalows and about as many campsites. The entire compound is surrounded by electric fence in order to keep out the locals. As we were heading to dinner our first night, we saw a hyena patrolling the fence line looking in on all the easy prey!!
Days start early here, around 5:00 AM. The gates to the Park and the compounds open at 5:30 AM, and the best viewing is usually in the morning before the temperature gets too hot. We would normally go out for about four hours and then head back for breakfast. During the middle of the day we would usually rest, walk around the compound, or shop at their main store. The afternoon drive started about 3:00 PM and lasted until 6:30, when the Gates to the Park and the Compounds were locked down. Anyone found still in the Park would be severely fined or left to be dealt with by the locals!! Dinner usually started around 8:00, and our group had a private dining area which our guides set up and where they made all of the meals. Dinner was a fun time to recount the day, share animal stories, and talk about the next day’s itinerary. We were usually in bed by 10:00 PM, trying to get enough sleep to be ready to go the next morning.
It didn’t take long before we saw four out of the Big 5 and a few other great animals. The Lion was the hold out and it took five drives before we saw a pair lounging in the grass getting ready for the night’s hunt. The best animal scenes we had were the hippos in their pond and two male elephants fighting each other. There was a covered/protected walkway down to a pond that had about twenty hippos in it. We stayed there about thirty minutes and really enjoyed watching them in their natural environment. The two elephants that were fighting were about one hundred yards away from the road in a large opening and were seeing who could push the other one around. During our four days, we saw lots of elephants, zebras, giraffes, several types of antelope, Cape buffalo, wilder beast, warthogs, monkeys, baboons, and rhinos. It was great to see all of these animals, some of which are extremely endangered, in such a natural and safe environment. South Africa takes great pride in its Game Parks and it shows. Our next stop Cairo, Egypt.
Safaris are now called “Game Drives”. I guess it is due to the fact that you drive everywhere, because getting out of the vehicle and walking around is not allowed. The animals are comfortable around a vehicle, and as long as you don’t get out, they don’t realize people are inside of it. You never know when a Lion or Leopard will be hiding in the grass next to the road. In fact, that is actually where we saw our Leopard, and it was amazing how well it can camouflage itself within two feet of the roadway. I had booked our Game Drive with Outlook Safaris and was able to have a true safari vehicle. They are open Land Rovers with elevated seats and canvas tops. They can hold nine passengers and our group were paired up with a nice family from Germany. Kruger, being a National Park, is very regulated on where and when people travel. If you stay in the Park, as we did, you book into one of about a dozen facilities scattered about their 4 million acres. Our compound had about fifty bungalows and about as many campsites. The entire compound is surrounded by electric fence in order to keep out the locals. As we were heading to dinner our first night, we saw a hyena patrolling the fence line looking in on all the easy prey!!
Days start early here, around 5:00 AM. The gates to the Park and the compounds open at 5:30 AM, and the best viewing is usually in the morning before the temperature gets too hot. We would normally go out for about four hours and then head back for breakfast. During the middle of the day we would usually rest, walk around the compound, or shop at their main store. The afternoon drive started about 3:00 PM and lasted until 6:30, when the Gates to the Park and the Compounds were locked down. Anyone found still in the Park would be severely fined or left to be dealt with by the locals!! Dinner usually started around 8:00, and our group had a private dining area which our guides set up and where they made all of the meals. Dinner was a fun time to recount the day, share animal stories, and talk about the next day’s itinerary. We were usually in bed by 10:00 PM, trying to get enough sleep to be ready to go the next morning.
It didn’t take long before we saw four out of the Big 5 and a few other great animals. The Lion was the hold out and it took five drives before we saw a pair lounging in the grass getting ready for the night’s hunt. The best animal scenes we had were the hippos in their pond and two male elephants fighting each other. There was a covered/protected walkway down to a pond that had about twenty hippos in it. We stayed there about thirty minutes and really enjoyed watching them in their natural environment. The two elephants that were fighting were about one hundred yards away from the road in a large opening and were seeing who could push the other one around. During our four days, we saw lots of elephants, zebras, giraffes, several types of antelope, Cape buffalo, wilder beast, warthogs, monkeys, baboons, and rhinos. It was great to see all of these animals, some of which are extremely endangered, in such a natural and safe environment. South Africa takes great pride in its Game Parks and it shows. Our next stop Cairo, Egypt.
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