JOHANNESBURG TO PAFURI
We made is to South Africa! Long international flights but amazing flying over northern Africa with almost a full moon…the Sahara is BIG! We arrived at Johannesburg and rented at car at 7 a.m. and conquered a 7-hour drive to Pafuri River camp right outside Kruger National Park’s northern border (also bordering close to both Zimbabwe and Mozambique). The roads were perfect and fast. Once off the N1 highway, we were passing through Verda villages (mud hut, grass roof homes), seeing a troop of baboons run across the road in front of us, and taking tons of pictures of Baobab trees (upside down tree) before reaching Pafuri river camp lodge right outside Kruger park gate- arriving right at dusk.
Lynneve and Mike showed us our tree house right on the Pafuri river. Outdoor shower (heated by wood fire under the hot water heater), hut-type kitchen with fridge, rustic solar-powered digs with lanterns - right on the Pafuri river – very cool. They gave Charles a Birds of S. Africa book and said it was their “pleasure because you are ‘fundi’ (teachers)”. How cool – very nice people.
PAFURI GATE TO SHINGWEDZI
Inside Kruger NP we adjusted camping reservations we’d made a couple weeks ago to allow for slower moving north to south. The first day we drove at most 150 kilometers which took us ALL day. We stopped between 1000-2000 times. In Kruger, you have to make it to a rest camp before they close the gate at 5:30 p.m. – camps are gated in at night to keep the wildlife out (cats, elephants, hyenas, you name it). So we were jamming on the gas at a top speed of 30 kilometers per hour.
Wildlife sightings: Buffalo, impala, nyala, elephants, warthogs, wildabeest, baboons, crocodiles, hippos, steenboks, kudus, ostrich, bush buck, bush babies (pafuri at night), and zebras…and a bird list a mile long (see list below). The northeast border at Crook’s Corner is amazing – it also borders Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Around there, we were seeing tons of crocodiles and HUGE hippos..elephants and impalas everywhere. Crocs lined up on the bank below (we are standing in s. Africa, left is Zimbabwe, right is Mozambique).
Above is a baboon taking a break - hilarious.SHINGWEDZI TO OLIFANTS
Beautiful sunrise! Right after this at Kanniedood dam we just missed a leopard and kittens and a lions (the biggest male they’d ever seen) ~300 meters outside the camp fence. Later in the day we missed two cheetahs and a leopard. Dooopp! We realized what we need to do is follow the advise of the locals: go straight to a favorite watering hole, then open a bottle of wine and wait for animals to come to you.
We stopped at Red Rocks overlook (photo below) and then a beautiful lunch spot at Mopani rest camp right on a perfect water hole.
We ate lunch at the restaurant and watched…and sure enough out came huge elephants, impala, crocs came into view, etc. Wildlife Sightings: African rock python, elephants, huge herd of buffalo, zebras, impalas, hippos, and GIRAFFES! Near Olifants camp, we watched a beautiful sunset on the river canyon walls.
Then we JUST made it inside the gate camp to our bungalow where we made our first braai (BBQ). Fun facts: 1) Braai’ing is huge here…everyone has one and uses it all the time. 2) the bathrooms are totally immaculet…hot water, actual baths, wow. 3) all day driving at 30 kpm is a real test to a newly married couple – or anyone for that matter. Time constraints and wildlife galore are not a good combination as we tried to make it to camps before the fence/gates closed for the night. Photos below are 1 hour before gates closed and an elephant road block. YIKES!
OLIFANTS TO SATABA TO TAMBUTI TENT CAMP
Early morning loop at 6 a.m. – LIONS!! We watched and heard 3 or 4 lions eating a kill 100 feet off road. First we heard hyena..then heard cats being bothered …then "Is that the sound of flesh ripping and bones being torn apart. purring, chewing…yep - they were CLOSE behind a couple bushes. Here''s a Kudu below:
WILDLIFE: Giraffes, wildabeest, tons of impala, kristi saw a leopard cross road in front of us. We came upon the #1 best water hole and saw a group of elephants with 2 babies. In ONE photo (below) foreground to back: hippos on the bank, crocs, elephants (with 2 young), impala, kudu, vervet monkey, giraffe. THIS IS AFRICA!
Baboon with baby (in jockey position)We brought our tent thinking ‘oh, its rustic, forest service-type tent camping’ at Tambuti. Nope. A huge M.A.S.H. type canvas tent with BEDS, refridge, braai (of course), hot water showers and bath, a hot water dispenser in kitchen for tea, towels, soap…jeesh. And one unexpected hungry honey badger!
TIMBUTI to LOWER SABIE and CROCODILE BRIDGE
We left Timbuti tent camp after getting no sleep hearing lions RIGHT across the arroyo from where we were in canvas tents - separated by an electric fence they were maybe 150 feet away. Holy crap. HUGE sound all night long - crazy. Between Timbuti and Sabie, we saw: dwarf mongoose, 2 fighting giraffes (we think they were fighting), zebras, hundreds of impala, and an unbelievable sunset at the overlook at Sabie dam. Tons of impala, elephants, warthog, zebra, hippos, and crocodiles.
Next morning we watched the sunrise at Lower Sabie rest camp – amazing! We could hear lions last night again and a hyena came up to the fence. Hippos everywhere – loud! This morning on our way out the park (at Crocodile Bridge) we got a close look at 2 female lions a couple feet from the road! A warthog and ½ hour later a gi-normous white rhino looking straight at us. (so, Kristi got to the see the ‘big five’: elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard and lion!)
On the way back to Jo’burg, we drove through the Drakensberg Range- a scenic drive through canyons, mountains, slick rock, boulder waterfalls – very beautiful.
Kruger is incredible!
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