Manyane Caravan Camp, Pilanesberg--Wednesday, March 26th. Drove through the gate after getting out and buying a pass and map book. This park, for some reason, isn’t part of the “wild card” pass system. We were not sure how much rain this park had gotten so we were concerned about the condition of the off-paved roads. We started out on the Tshwene Drive. When we came to the Tilodi Loop, we decided it looked ok and was only about 2 km long, and so we proceeded to a lake/dam to see what was there. We were able to see a number of birds along the shore and on branches in the water, so after a while we continued slowly along the loop. We shouldn’t have. Finally, after a jarring, bumpy, rocking good time, NOT, we joined back ... read more

Panorama Rest Camp near Graskop, Mpumalanga Province--Sunday, March 23rd. Pretty, clear day today. Got out our local map of the area and decided which of the attractions we wanted to see along the Blyde River Canyon. It was easier to eliminate those we didn’t wish to see or do, like river rafting, bungee jumping, and something called, the “swing” that seems to go out between two canyon walls. We decided that we would start at the site the guide books said, “not to miss,” which was located the greatest distance away, and then work our way back to camp. That way, if time and/or energy ran out, we would have seen the best view. The Canyon was formed by the Blyde River cutting through the northern part of the Drakensberg Escarpment. Here the inner South African ... read more

Skukuza Rest Camp, Kruger National Park. Friday, March 21st. Started out this morning with big plans to drive a big loop staying mostly, we thought, on the H1-2, which is the paved road. As it went along the river, we stopped at each pull-off spot to look down at the sides of the river banks. At the first one, I spotted the Goliath Heron in the reeds. We then looked at a funny looking tree with small green/grey fruit hanging off the limbs and trunk. We continued up the road, and then turned off on an open dirt road to look at some water holes noted on the park map. We kept going and spotted many animals and birds ON OUR OWN along this route. We began to get a bit uneasy at the fact we ... read more

Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kingdom of Swaziland to Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp, Kruger National Park. 185 km (115 miles) Wednesday, March 19th. We left camp fairly early, as it will be a hard drive today. Headed out of camp on a different road to the front gate. This road was in slightly better condition. At the highway, we turned left, and continued toward Mbabane towards the MR-3. Soon we were on a newish highway with overhead crossing walkways. Wonder if they can show the cows and goats how to use them?? Crossed through the outskirts of the City of Mbabane, which is the Capitol of the country. Started our climb up into the mountains and although directional signs pointed off to the Royal Residence, we never saw anything from the road that looked like a Royal ... read more

St. Lucia, Surgarloaf Camp to Pongola. Monday, March 17th. We all drove our RVs down to the St. Lucia dock and parked so that all 14 of them would fit in the parking lot. We boarded the river boat and off we went to look at hippos mainly, but also to see what other wildlife we could see along the shore. Approximately, 1/3 of the world’s hippo population can be found in the area surrounding St. Lucia. It wasn’t too long chugging up the estuary before we were shown pods of hippos in the water. Lots of pods, with lots of hippos—generally 25-30 animals stay in a pod made up of females and young with one territorial bull who stakes out a section of the water. What you see is mainly a rough circle of heads ... read more