Kruger

Woke up to a sunny day here in Graskop. After a lovely breakfast, I wandered town in search of after sun lotion or aloe. We had visited one pharmacy yesterday, so swung by the other one today. Both pharmacists said people don’t really use it, but I should try the much larger grocery store (we went to a U-Save yesterday). So I found Spar which is a Dutch retailer and found an after sun spray. Despite how good we are with sunscreen, the African sun is so strong and I will sweat off the protection, so I wanted to be prepared for our time at the safari.

Here are some pictures of the Graskop hotel under the bright sun - it’s definitely not as cloudy as it looks compared to yesterday:





After checking out, we drove east to Kruger. The roads still had many potholes and we snagged a picture of this sign:



The scenery was beautiful and we passed through Hazyview where we filled up for gas at Elegant Fuel. The town name is indeed accurate as we experienced so much haze yesterday. We got cheesy maize chips which tasted like local Cheetos and typical salt and vinegar chips. We continue to stay classy on our trip!



En route we saw warning signs related to elephants and antelope, but only managed to get this picture. I did have to yield to a dog that was crossing the street. Thank goodness I was driving very carefully.



We then entered Kruger National Park which is one of the largest game reserves in Africa and South Africa’s first national park. It’s approximately 19,623 sq km or 7,576 sq miles. Here are a few photos as we entered:





I sat in the car while Amanda handled the admission at the entrance gate. Again, there are higher rates for foreigners and there is a maximum allotment of daily visitors. We were headed to Skukuza airport where we will drop off the rental car and be picked up by our safari lodge.

Although the mileage is not that long, you cannot rely on Google maps for timing. You have to travel real slow due to the animals. On the initial road and almost right away, we saw a heard of zebras:





More impalas and as we took photos from the car:



A pair of giraffes:



There wasn't great signage and I second guessed Google maps, so we got turned around in the village area. After getting directions from the only gas station, we found the airport and dropped off the rental car. We will actually fly out of Skukuza on Sunday and it was definitely a glamped up airport.

We met Lucky who drove us to the lodge. We also learned he will be our tracker on safari. Again although not far, we had to drive slowly to be mindful of the game and we sure saw lots of animals on our 45 minute ride.

We saw zebras and warthogs, but got close to this tall male giraffe that had a damaged tail, most likely from a lion attack:



This lone male elephant that was most likely kicked out of his herd and family because he got too frisky:



A crocodile…



And a herd of wildebeests:



Then we arrived at Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge:



We were welcomed by Lawrence and Lauren who were the managers and sparkling fruit drinks:



Here’s the lobby area:



We were escorted to our room and learned at night, we have to be accompanied by a guide or ranger due to possible animals:



Around 4 pm, they organize a lovely afternoon tea and I opted for roobois chamomile. Then we were off at 4:30 for my first safari! There was a Dutch family with two boys in the car - Paul and Amy and their sons, Oliver and Tim. Our tracker, Lucky is sitting in the jump seat upfront, Will is our driver and guide, and then the parents were in front and the boys in the back.



We saw a lot of kuru or antelope, but we caught one going to the bathroom up close:



We saw a large hippo too, but apparently it was a little odd for it to be alone:



Birds known as crested francolin:



White-faced whistling ducks:



About halfway through, we enjoyed a sundown drink and snacks. Will had suggested to stop here which I said reminded me of Pride Rock from the Lion King. We climbed up successfully with our gin and tonics:









Unfortunately, we found a dead baby zebra which made us all sad. Apparently, it probably was separated from its mom and herd because a new stallion wanted to mate with its mom. Without the milk of the mom, the baby just can’t survive. We then saw a herd go by and Will said it was most likely part of that herd.

Then at this old termite mound, we say baby hyenas but I didn’t get a photo in time. Apparently, many animals will use old termite mounds as dens. The boys said they loved hyenas and wanted to cuddle with the baby. We all agreed that would be a bad idea…



Here are some waterbucks, which is a type of antelope:



But the highlight was this mama elephant with her three little ones passing by so closely:





When it was very dark, we saw an African civet which is apparently very rare to see and enjoyed being serenaded by frogs. The only photo I got was this more mature female hyena:





As it rained for about half the safari, I went back to the room, showered, and hopped on a work call. I decided to skip dinner as my stomach had been a bit touch and go all day. However, considering a successful drive, transfer, and seeing so many animals right away, I’m really looking forward to the next several days!