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!

Blyde River Canyon

Our plan for today was to explore the Panorama Route and the Blyde River Canyon area. After breakfast, we drove about 20 minutes north to the most famous viewpoint called God’s Window. But it was so foggy, that you could barely see the road. We had headlights and hazard lights turned on because it was so thick.

So we decided to head north some more and planned to double-back when it was clearer. We first stopped at Berlin Falls which was actually free. Here’s a photo of the first waterfall on the route which is dotted with at least 7 per various sources:



We then headed to Bourke’s Luck Potholes. Here we had to pay in cash while other locations were credit card only. There was a higher entrance fee for foreigners at all the locations, but the cost ended up being $2 to $6 each time per person. Here’s Amanda in the sign pointing to Bourke:



We walked along and traversed the area and finally came to a bridge where you can see the famous potholes. These potholes have been formed by the water eroding the quartzite over the years:





You can see the various pots below from 2 different bridges:





These potholes were way cooler than the ones we had to avoid on the road. There were so many, there would be warning signs that just said “Potholes!”. For some reason, the exclamation point made me chuckle - I mean, isn’t it redundant on a road sign?

Here I asked Amanda to take our first panorama selfie of the day:



Then we headed to the famous Three Rondavels. These formations look like huts and were apparently named after three of many wives of a local chief. You can see the names here:



It was quite stunning and a very clear moment of the day. I was told by Daniel, our Devil’s Pool friend, that it can be very hard to see as it’s often cloudy. You could really see the formations and layering of these mountains. Here’s us counting to 3!:





You also got a good view of the river which bends like a horseshoe and leads up to a dam:



Looking westward toward the dam and mouth of the river, you also saw a series of hills that were called “Rodille” which means bundles as they looked like bundles carried on top of women’s heads. Here’s the back of my head in front of these bundles:



And our selfie:



We then decided to return to God’s Window to give it another shot. Although the fog had dissipated a little, it was still too intense. So we drove down the road to Pinnacle Rock. Earlier in the morning, this parking area was also engulfed by fog, but we were able to park and enjoy the area:





At each stop, we would go down the traditional path, but then ventured off to these side paths. They were easy to track as there would be large families who had already ventured to the next viewing point. At each stop, you could get a different angle of the natural wonders and undoubtedly, we would see the river and a waterfall:



Pinnacle selfie:



For lunch, we returned to town for Harrie’s Pancakes. Graskop is known for pancakes and Amanda had seen a line here yesterday. I had a savory chicken curry with a homemade ginger beer and Amanda had a sweet banana pancake with caramel and lime (interesting combination, but it was tasty) and a red cappuccino:



After lunch we walked around town and stopped into a pharmacy and a grocery store and then headed south. I had wanted to check out the latest attraction in the area called the Graskop Gorge Lift. It is highly developed and includes a zip line and a swing / bungee activity. For us, I just wanted to head down to the canyon floor and explore the river area after having seen so much from up high. Here’s a photo of the lift from the bottom and swing / bungee landing platform:



They had built these walkways with informative nature signs that brought you on a big loop:



They also had these motivational signs:



But what was impressive was this very powerful waterfall called Motitsi that people were swinging in front of and there were huge boulders:



We did our waterfall selfie:



And then again on the suspension bridge when we went back up:



I also took this touristy one on our way out:



Although it rained off and on all day, I found the drizzle pleasant and made me feel quite adventurous as we were exploring the route.

When we headed to Lisbon Falls, however, the sky was just so beautiful:





We also couldn’t get enough of the rainbow even though we saw so many at Victoria Falls. Amanda had me show my powers and as I did my Care Bear pose (for those who grew up in the 1980s know what I’m talking about):







And of course, our panorama selfie:



Then for the third time, we headed to God’s Window. Although the fog was less dense, we didn’t get a clear view. It apparently gets its name because cliffs frame a view of the canyon valley. On a clear day, you can see Kruger and even Mozambique! Also I have to rewatch the 1980s film, “The Gods Must Be Crazy” as it’s featured near the end of the movie.

Here’s the information sign with what it’s supposed to look like and my attempt in getting a clear glimpse:





We then headed up higher as you can do a walk into the rainforest. We also heard you could see the valley intermittently. Here’s a photo of us waiting for the opportunity and the dense fog:





It was pretty funny hanging out up there. Folks would yelp, “just 5 minutes! God, open the curtain!” I also chatted with an 11 year old who had been giving his dad sass about his sister and mom being slow walkers. As we waited, his sister asked me if I was American due to my accent. They were from North West which is a province just west of Johannesburg. These were the best shots we got from the higher vantage point and when the “curtain opened a little”:







On my way down, it started to rain again. I also mentioned to Amanda that I wasn’t disappointed. This was the point of travel - if I wanted a picture perfect viewing, we wouldn’t have this adventure and could just look at photos online.

We returned to the hotel to rest and then went to the Garden Shed nearby for dinner. It was delightful and I had a smoked trout salad with lemonade while Amanda had a fried trout and ginger beer. We were so hungry from our walks and exploring that we dug in before I could take a photo.

It started to rain while we ate, but it was only a little drizzly as we walked back to the hotel and rested. A young girl also played piano and sang beautifully in the hotel lobby as I tapped out today’s blog post.

Tomorrow will be a big day as we transfer to Kruger for our safari!