Arrival: Johannesburg and Kruger Park

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Well, after about 30 hours of travelling, I've finally arrived. It was probably the most difficult journey that I've experienced in my travel career. A 4 hour drive to Seattle, 5 hour flight to JFK, 5 hour layover and the remaining time via South African Airways to Johannesburg. But, after only about 6 hours of sleep in 36 hours, I was met with some of the most amazing hospitality at my friend Jan's parent's house. Because it was about 9:30am when we got to the house, I was treated to coffee, "rusks" (which are like a dry fiber bar that you dip in your coffee) pamplemousse, which is like grapfruit, but bigger and sweeter, and some nice conversation with Jan's parents, sister and brother in law. After settling in, I was driven to the Apartheid Museum, which was a deep experience. I've always had a basic understanding of apartheid, but never had such an indepth history about it. It was a scary reminder about how backwards this world can be. After viewing the exhibits, I was given a city tour by Marius (Jan's brother in-law) on the real Jo-berg and realized how far the city and country has come since apartheid. People often think of Johannesburg as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, and it can be rough, however, it was nice to have an upclose and personal tour which provided a proper experience of the city. It was also nice getting a bit of history behind Jo-berg, in addition to an explanation of the different landmarks, sections of city and cultures that it has. One thing that has been a highlight is realizing that South Africans also love one of my passions: food. For dinner we had mielie pap (traditional poridge like carb) boerewors (fried sausage) and tomato-onion relish. It's tough to describe, but there's really only one word that needs to be said... delicious. It was fabulous experiencing a traditional Afrikaner meal with such very welcoming people.

The next stage of the journey was a 4 hour bus ride to Nelspruit where my good friend Jan was awaiting after a wedding. From there, we were off to the Kruger National Park in hopes of spotting the Big 5 and many other animals. Once we entered the park gates, I wasn't sure what to expect, but once we spotted our first herd of Impala and Wildbeest, I knew I really was in Africa. The park is gigantic and we began our journey to our camp, Orpen Camp. En route, we spotted Elephants, Zebra, Giraffe, Buffalo, Warthog, Baboons, Rhinoseros Ostrich and many more. But, the sun began to go down and we were forced to stay short of our destination in a camp called Satara, as it's not allowed to drive around the park at night. This turned out to be a nice experience and it was amazing gazing into the sky and seeing the sea of stars so clearly. After spending the night, Jan and I got up early to make the way to our second camp. Not long into the drive we spotted a heard of Impala and Wildabeast, which was already becoming a normal sight, and began to drive past. It was only then, that we were told by another vehicle there was a lioness stalking the heard. Immediately we spotted her and my heart rate began to speed up. Jan and I waited patiently for nearly 2 hours in hopes of witnessing a kill, but we could not out-wait the lioness and we chose to proceed to camp. We were told later by a guide that it is often very unlikely for a lion to move in on a kill, if there are cars nearby. However, I managed to get some good pictures and it was a thrilling experience. Once we got to our new camp, which was situated right on a river, we began to get settled and were hijacked by a mission of monkeys. They got into our car and stole a few food items, but ran off when we noticed them. We learned from our mistakes and made sure that the rest of our things were secure. After a few beers at our tent cabin, we went out and spotted a few more animals and continued on into the evening, hanging out, enjoying a few beers, and sharing cultural differences from our home countries. The different landscapes of the park were truly breathtaking and even though the animals got most of the spotlight, it was nice gazing off into the bush and I caught myself questioning the reality of this trip. It's hard to believe I'm finally here and witnessing part of what Africa has to offer.

The excitement was far from over and that night we booked a night drive. I figured this would be an exhilarating and unique experience and it didn't disappoint. Right off the bat we saw a pride of lions relaxing on the tarmac keeping their eye on a heard of Wildebeest. Not long after they sprung into action and began to chase a few. Realizing that we ruined their element of surprise, it was a fairly relaxed attack, and also unsuccessful.

Our final day in the Kruger, we decided to enter at a different point, in hopes of spotting the elusive leopard. Sadly, we were denied, but not long before we exited, we spotted a herd of elephants grazing in some dense bush. Seeing we were a bit bored from lack of animals, we decided to stick around and really listen to the sounds they make. Jan, who had been driving for the majority of the trip, decided to let me drive for a while to give me some experience on the other side of the road. So, as we were gazing at elephants nearly 2-3 meters away from the vehicle, one large one began to proceed even closer to us. Jan immediately shouted "move, move, move". Having the steering wheel on the opposite side of the car really had an effect on my reaction time and we just avoided being trampled by the huge creature. It was a lucky reminder that despite how accessible these animals are, they are still very wild and we really need to give them their space.

Although I could probably write pages and pages, I hope this update is sufficient enough. I continue to get moments in this trip where I gaze in bewilderment at where I am and the experience I'm having. Sometimes pictures do a better job than words, enjoy!

-J

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Photos

Rhino
A bit in the distance, but still spotted!

Comments

[Tina T]

Amazing!
Love reading your blog of your trip Jay! Fantastic opportunity, can't wait to hear and see more of your trip! Be safe and have a great time. All the best! xx

[Dad]

Great to here from you
Glad you arrived safely, and are having a real adventurous time. From your Blog and great pictures, I can understand why it seems unreal to actually be there. Africa certainly is a place like no other. Love Dad