Blogs from Mpumalanga , South Africa, Africa - page 36

The South African Department of Health has issued the following information regarding the requirements for travellers from and to South Africa: 1. Tanzania: Returning travellers from South Africa to Tanzania and those from Tanzania travelling to South African will require proof of a Yellow Fever vaccination. This is unchanged from the present regulations. 2. Zambia: Returning travellers from South Africa to Zambia and travellers from Zambia to South Africa will now require proof of Yellow Fever vaccination. Previously, proof of YF vaccination was not required. 3. In-transit passengers, irrespective of the time period in-transit, will still require proof of a YF vaccination. Vaccinations must be done a minimum if 10 days before your departure date. ... read more

Barbara & John at Blyde River Canyon and Kruger Park This is the last phase of our trip lasting about a week and has been a memorable finale to an equally memorable trip. The drive from St Lucia to Graskop, close by to Blyde River Canyon, took 10 ½ hours. The first couple of hours went like a dream but the next four hours were dreadful, with road works almost non stop. After this we had lots of potholes, sometimes amusing to avoid, but when you fail they can be frightening, especially when overtaking long HGV’s. The sites of the Blyde River canyon route cover about 50 kilometres north of Graskop. Our first stop was The Pinnacle. This is a grey vertical rock monolith rising several hundred feet into the air from the river below. It ... read more

We stopped in Dullstroom hoping to acquire provisions. I was looking for some good stuff for evening barbecues, better known as ‘braais’ in southern Africa. Having a petrol station directly in front of the main stores in town gives rise to a rather dense traffic situation, both regarding vehicles and their passengers. Diane went into the local butchery as I waited in the blue rocket, prompted by a milling throng of folk and wondering whether they were all totally unaware that the suitcases on the back seat contained everything needed for an enjoyable trip. She soon returned. “No way. All the meat is frozen.” What??!! How can that be true of small-town South Africa? Have things changed to a plastic cheese and frozen meat culture in just a few years? Looking around there was nothing that ... read more

14 January 2011 – Crocodile Bridge Setup camp at Crocodile Bridge right on the fence, one of our favourite camps, small and usually quiet and good game viewing in the area. The first night we noticed a few scorpions running around the ground, reminded us of the last time we camped here in 2008. Woke up early for a game drive to hear the pitter patter, not of tiny feet but of big raindrops. Now there's nothing worse than packing up a wet tent so we made an executive decision to stay another day in Kruger before heading south into Swazliand which had been our plan for today. As you don't see much game in the rain we rolled over happy to have another hour or so of sleep. On waking a bit later it had ... read more

Sightings in Kruger included a herd of about 60 elephant on the way to Satara and a herd of about 200 buffalo, I know how many because I counted them as they crossed the road in front of our car one by one! The highlight really though has to be our last 2 days in Skukuza when we first saw a Leopard in a tree, we had a really clear view and there were only a few cars there, not the normal traffic jam you get when a big cat is spotted. As the leopard left the tree we drove further up the road and found 8 wild dog just lounging and playing in the road. Again, we were the first car there and only a couple joined us to watch. They stayed for half an ... read more