17 kruger

17. With a fairly average round of golf under my belt, it was a good night’s sleep, in preparation for a 6am start the next morning. This meant breakfast on the bus, as we trundled through the entrance to Kruger National Park, and on our way into one of the world’s great wildlife reserves. We were hoping to see the big five: Buffalo, Lions, Elephants, Leopards and Rhinos. As it was, we managed to see four out of the five, with Rhinos evading us over the two days we were in the park. Of Elephants, there was no shortage. I guess it’s pretty hard to hide when you are so big. But I did a quick check on Google, and found there may be over 30,000 elephants. That compares with just 1000 leopards, and 2000 rhinos.
It was easy to tell when one of the animals we were approaching was rare, on account of the traffic jam, all the little safari buggies, and personal cars, with our tuck towering over them. That actually made it quite good for us, as we were able to look over the tops of most of the vehicles. Sometimes we would arrive and there would be cars with people seeming to stare at nothing. What was it they had seen? Or maybe it was just a rumour passed down form vehicle to vehicle.
Across the vast planes we saw plenty of giraffes towering high above the foliage, grazing on tall trees. Some would be right next to the road, and apart from a cursory glance, the giraffes would just turn and continue on their business.
The usual suspects were in abundance, with a huge number of impalas, along with zebras and lesser numbers of various antelope. Of course, warthogs showed their face, but our first real thrill was coming across a hyena and her three cubs. Usually, these animals come out at dusk, or at night, but here they were in the early morning. The cubs were innocently inquisitive, coming close to the vehicles, with the mother attempting to keep them in line.
There were a few elephants in ones or twos, but the bulk of them were in large herds. Watching the elephants, really, could be described as one of the highlights. On our second day we pulled up at a water hole, just as a huge herd of elephants had arrived to drink. It was just amazing watching these animlas congregating there. Some playing, others drinking. It kept our attention for ages.
We had two lion encounters. On the first day, a female lion came walking slowly up to our truck, and then across the road. It was great to see it actually moving around; normally lions are seen just sleeping or resting. That was the case with the second encounter. This time it was three lions, but way in the distance, lying near a river.
The leopards were possibly the most exciting in that they are so hard to find. Smaller animals that comoglage well. Word of a leopard encounter came through to Paul, who immediately set tracks to get to the location. Sure enough, we were lucky enough to see two leopards lying in the grass, with one even being so good enough to get up and walk around for us. The leopard we saw on the second day was sitting on a thick branch up in a tree. It took us a while to spot, but when we did, it was so clear.
We camped at night in the centre of Kruger at Skukuza Rest Camp. It took a while for Liz and Paul to find a spot for us, as the camp hadn’t reserved an area for us. As it was, a group of us had to carry our tents and gear to a plot a small distance away, so were camping in too groups. I felt sorry for Paul, as he had driven all day, from dawn to dusk, only to have to manouvre around tight campsite lanes searching for two plots.
Finally we were set up and able to enjoy a nice meal at the Railway Restaurant. It’s actually a restaurant constructed in the now disused railway station at Kruger. They have even put old carriages to use, spread across a bridge nearby, as a rather expensive hotel.
It was an equally early start on the second day, again with a truck breakfast as we started through the park.
What else to say, the video speaks for itself. We had an amazing two days, and saw so much wildlife. Only the rhinos were missing. A hug thanks to Paul, our driver, whe really went far and beyond in driving for two days straight from dawn to dusk, as well as being animal spotter extraodinaire.
#africa #oasisoverland #safari

Видео 17 kruger канала Paul Artus