South Africa 2010

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So I left you as we reached the Kruger gates. We drove through to our camp, which was about an hours drive. We saw wilderbeest, zebra, impala, buffalo and an elephant on our way - pretty cool!!!

For the first couple of nights we stayed at Satara camp, and then we moved to Berg - en - dal for two nights. As well as the ten of us, two of Duncans South African friends joined us, Nick and Rich. They were very useful, especially Nick as he comes to Kruger twice a year and he had trained as a ranger.

That night we had another Braai. Steak two nights in a row was something we could all definately get used to! Especially as the meat over her is seriously yummy! That night we had our first night camping and properly on our road trip. As you can imagine twelve people chatting and drinking can get a little noisy, and we had three people complaining that night! Oops! Then the following day we were given an ultimatum, and if we made so much noise again we would be kicked out and made to sleep with the lions! Needless to say we were very quiet ever after!

The following morning we woke up at 6am and went for a game drive. We put four people in each car, so that everyone had a window seat. We saw some amazing birds and animals. A lot of them were the same as the previous day, but also some new ones such as: Steembok, various Stalks, Hippo, Slender Mongoose and a small herd of elephants. It was all very exciting and we all got some beautiful photos.

The following morning we were determined to get to the front of the gates for when they opened (4.30am), so we woke up at 4am! However we were obviously not keen enough as there was already a que of about six cars! So we drove along taking photos of the sunrise, and keeping our eyes peeled for any game. Suddenly we noticed a bit of a pile up in front of us. As we edged closer, we realised why. There was a lion and lionness lying on the road!!! They are such majestic creatures, and so peaceful. We managed to get really close so we could get the best photos. Not sure everyone appreciate dthis thinking, and Amelia made Emily take photos for her on her camera, while she cowered behind her!

We carried on down the road, determined to find more cats. Sure enough as we turned down a dirt track, we came across a whole pride of lion!!! We thought our luck could not carry on for much longer, but hoped we would. Sure enough, as we were driving to another camp for brunch, Nick, who was in front of us, did a hand brake turn onto a dirt track, as there strutting ahead was a cheetah!!!! There are only 200 in the Kruger, and Duncan has never seen one before. While watching them move you can really understand why a catwalk is called a cat walk. The cheetah moved just as models do on the runway. Such ease, grace and lazy arrogance in the way it moves.
Later on we the saw a herd of 30 elephants cross the road in front of us! There were little babies holding on to their mothers tails! After brunch, all the girls and Tom (apart from Nat and I) went back to Satara. We stayed with the boys as they watched cricket in a school classroom. We felt rather bad as we were kicking quite a few children out of their classroom, and then an adult made two boys sweep up for us!

The rest of Kruger was all very similar - amazing animal sightings, and stunning landscapes everywhere. Unfortunately in Berg - en - dal, we weren't so successful with sightings. However we did come across an angry elephant! Was rather scary but also thrilling at the same time, as the elephant flapped his ears while walking towards us.

Other animals we saw:

Crocodile
Terrapins
Leopard Tortoise
Black Mamba snake
Hyena
Niela
Waterbuck
Klipspringer
Rhino
Giraffe
Vervet Monkeys
Baboons
Spotted Eagle Owl
European Roller
Yellow and red Hornbill

And I am sure many more but can't remember them all!

We then left Kruger after staying there for 5 nights, and made our way to St Lucia, another nature reserve, we were hoping to see lots of crocs and hippo!

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