On the way to the Kruger in search of the big 5!

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So it was a ridiculously early start on Tuesday morning as I set off for the Kruger National Park. I was the first to be collected and the driver of the minibus told me that there were 6 people on the tour. By 11am we had collected everyone and we were on our way to Graskop for our lunch before heading down to God's Window, Blyde Canyon and the three Rondavels.

Over lunch everyone introduced themselves. There was Martin from Sweden who was on a three week holiday, two girls from Sweden (whose names I never really caught) who were travelling for the next three months and were at the end of their trip in Africa and headed to Asia next and then the was Arvand and Suzie. Arvand was from Belgium and Suzie, his girlfriend, was American however for the past year has been working as a nurse in Malawi.

Having had lunch and after a quick dash to the local supermarket, I had found out the night before that my universal plug adaptor doesn't work over here so had to see out an African adaptor, we were on our way. One of the most noticeable changes to me was the weather. Since arriving in South Africa the weather had been 30c+ however it had dramatically changed and I was freezing my backside off even though it was probably only 18c but having spent too much time in Asia it felt freezing!!!

We drove up to Gods Window however as soon as we got out of the van it was apparent that we were going to be unlucky as the weather had closed in. The view down the Lowveld was white, white and a bit more white as we were in cloud! We walked up the 300 or so steps into the rainforest but the view was no different. From there we headed down to Blyde River Canyon which was very impressive. The next stop was the Three Rondavels which are huge cylinders of rock with hut like pointed roofs. This was our last stop before heading to our camp for the night with our entry into the Kruger National Park the next morning.

Four of us were camping whilst the other two were based out of the hotel complex for the next few days. Thankfully the tents were already pitched so it only required me to put the provided sheet over the mattress and dig out my sleeping bag from the depths of my rucksack. In all honesty it was one of the comfiest beds I have had in awhile....

Next stop Kruger National Park.

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Photos

Colourful Lizard
This was the technical name given by our guide!!