Camping in Kruger National Park

Although we're back in New York now, I wanted to briefly write about our last stops of the trip - South Africa and Mozambique.

After another stay in Bangkok, we were once again off to South Africa. This time we came from the other side of the world with a completely different view of things, figuratively and literally.

We flew from Bangkok into Johannesburg and headed straight to Sandton for a few days. Sandton, a Johannesburg suburb, is the home of Nelson Mandela Square, Andy's favorite restaurant called The Butcher Shop, and The Wanderers Cricket Stadium. From Sandton, we picked up our little car and drove to the Kruger National Park, a place that Andy has been visiting since he was a little boy and knows like the back of his hand. Some may recall that Kruger is also where Andy proposed a little over two years ago.

That time, we stayed in really nice bungalows equipped with everything we might need to be comfortable. This time, it was a very different experience. Armed with our spiffy camouflage tent and air mattress, we set up camp. It actually hailed the first night (and it was only the second time I had ever slept in a tent that wasn't permanent). The first few nights took a little longer than expected to put the tent together, but after a while we (Andy) got the hang of it. It wasn't too long that we were convinced we had done the right thing after listening to the lion, hyena, and elephant almost every night of our stay.

We did underestimate the popularity of camping in Kruger, but because of that we got to stay at some really interesting satellite campsites, away from the hustle and bustle of the main camps. We weren't exactly prepared for three weeks of camping, but after a while learned that the hood of the car made an excellent table, our ponchos made great mats to sit on, the extra seat in the back of the car made a great pantry, and you can leave the light on in the car and charge your iPod and speakers for at least 4 hours without killing the battery.

About a week in, we picked up Dave (you may remember him from our Northern Thailand and Laos blog) and drove back to the park for the next two weeks. I cannot easily describe the highlights (such as when we watched two huge male lion eating a giraffe for three days, as vultures and hyena lurked in the background), so you'll have to take a look at the photos.

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