acacias and sunsets... staring green eyes in the night,,,

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We struggled to wake up as early as we had to... 4 am. we didn't hit the bed until midnight, I was not very tired... maybe excitement, plus it had been a hectic day at the hostel... we got ready, grabbed our bags and lumbered, ungracefully into the reception... said good morning to Moe, he looked tired as well.. having worked the 3rd shift. The rest of the group going to Kruger with us came into the room, everyone looked half awake- understandably so.
The driver was surprisingly awake, I guess driving all night and drinking coffee will do that for some...

We passed familar places around Joburg, watching the minibuses speed by and catching glimpses of the Gautrain construction zones... the streets were chaos, people heading into offices... we inched down the road, until finally reaching the open highway and heading towards the Mpumalanga province and into Kruger Park.

Seeing the green fields and lush citrus groves of Mpumalanga made me miss Natal, my lovely Zululand with it's similar terrain and abundance of fruit farms... the air smelled like Mzansi and I told Elisha how much I love this country. She has started to feel the same. We passed by ladies selling sweets and bananas and farmers staring at the sun in the golden sky...

When we arrived at Kruger, we almost right away jumped into a safari vehicle and set off on an evening drive... we watched the beautiful sun sink into the reddish horizon dotted with acacia trees and began to see the eyes- yellow and white in the bush. We watched giraffes trudge their giant way across the grass in the grey night. We saw herds of impala running in the darkness, their eyes beaming back at us. We saw a lone lion, big and bold, cross our path, maybe busy looking for a kill... and hoping the hyenas in the distance would not disturb his quest.

The camp was nice, not a true bush camp, but nice. The food was good- butternut, potatoes and rice... with a salad. After some coffee, we went to sleep.

The next morning we left with John, a game guide, at 5.30 am on a sunrise drive. He was an informed man, who knows the bush, having grown up in an Mpumalanga village. He is a proud Tsonga. We began to watch as giant, ancient looking elephants slowly walked across our path, they demand respect in a way no other animal can. The zebras, with their strange appearance, alwats appeal to me and the beautiful giraffes fought with their necks, trying to prove who is dominant... what a wonderful day, in such an amazing place.

On the third day, we managed to see all of the Big 5 in two hours! That is unheard of... we were truly lucky. It was wonderful.
The golden and proud lion, giant elephant, powerful buffalo, prehistoric rhino and mysterious leopard... all were ours!

On our way back to the urban jungle, we stopped at Blyde River Canyon, the third largest canyon in the world. truly magnificent. The green crashing into the rocks and blending into the flowing water and endless skies- magical. Truly wonderful 4 day break... now back at the hostel, and I cannot say anything bad... thank you to my lovely Mom and Dad for doing all you have done.
Take care...

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