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Published: August 8th 2007
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i arrived at Johannesburg airport on Sunday 8th July, where i was 'meant' to be greeted with someone holding one of those embarrasing signs saying my name... 'meant' being the operative word!
after an hour of waiting, hoping that the driver was just running late, i went to the information counter, who transferred my enquiry to the police, and before i knew it i was being escorted through the airport by 3 police to find me a reliable driver to take me to my hostel. yes, my driver had forgotten me. Excellent start!
Prior to leaving home, most of you would know that i booked an 8 day Safari trek through Kruger National Park, where i was in hope of seeing the big cats in the wild. In my very informative brochure, it not only suggests that the tour i was going on was of a "high level of fitness, with 6 hours of trekking per day" but it also states, that it would be done in "hot and humid conditions".... (not my ideal holiday, but something i was willing to do to forfil my dream of seeing a lion in its natural surrounds)....
With this all in
mind, i spent most of my time before i left Melbourne preparing both physically (well, sorta) and mentally... and also spent alot of my time shopping for shorty shorts, cute singlets, sun screen, hats etc... yet to know the truth...
throughout the 8 days, the maximum temperature during the day was 16 degrees, and only for a few hours, before dropping to a chilly -2 most nights. Yes, i was in "hot and humid" Africa, with only shorts and singlets to my name! My "informative" brochure neglected the fact that not only was South Africa's winter extremely cold, but that their winter lies in the month of July... lucky me!!
I am eternally thankful to 3 fabulous people i met on my trek (Helen and her daughter Steph from Perth, and Erik from Holland) that took me under their wings and helped me through by supplying me several pairs of trakkies, jumpers, scarfs, gloves, socks etc, for without them i feel pnemonia would be my best friend right now.
Weather aside, I had the most amazing week of my life thus far.
Kruger National Park is 30 million hectares of open Savanna Bushland, that thousands of
species of animals call their home. There is no fences, no electricity, no reception, no homes or shops or any form of civilisation what so ever. The closest town is 6 hours away, and that is just a small community village.
Every tourists dream whilst at Kruger is to see whats locally known as 'The Big 5' which are 5 of the largest most dangerous animals that live her, they are; Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard and Lion. So each day we were there, we were in constant search for this wildlife.
An average day for me whilst i was at Kruger...
Up at 5 am (not my most cheerful hour)... and remembering it is a chilly -2 degrees, and we set off for a 4-6 hour walk through the bushland in search of various wildlife. Leading us (6 of us) is our guide, Ian, who carries a 1m long rifle for our security. We follow animals footprints for hours on end, until we finally find them in the distance... we then have to crouch down on all fours and slowly creep towards them so they dont suspect our presence and hence try to attack. We get as
close as we can without disturbing them (usually within about 10 metres) to take photos and simply appreciate them in their natural state.
Breakfast is at 12 midday which is usually a traditional bacon and eggs (we have a fabulous lady who cooks for us, camp style) followed by 3 hours fo free time, where i had to learn to do absolutely nothing but relax and read... tough times... 3pm is Lunch (yes, bizaar meal times i know) which is an array of cold meats and salads. 4pm-8pm is a night drive trough the bush in an open 4x4 with spotlights, trying to catch the animals as they nestle down to rest. Followed by drinks on sunset around a giant dam where the animals sometimes come to get a drink. 8:30pm dinner which was an amazing array of traditional African dishes... including various marinated vegetables, curries, and Impala (one of the cute animals we viewed daily). After dinner was drinks arounds the campfire, before heading to our tents...... and then it all happens again the next day...
In regards to The Big 5, my score.... 4 our of 5.... unfortunately everyone in my group got to view all 5
apart from myself. They woke us all up at 2:30am one morning, as they had heard a lions roar near by, so everyone got up, jumped into the 4x4's and went on a night time escapade, in which they found 2 male lions. However, i was too tired, and honestly thought they wouldnt find them in the dark anyway, so therefor dismissed the offer. Little did i know the next morning, that i was the only one that missed out on the Big 5 experience.
I must admit, that my first few days in South Africa were spent wanting to leave. It was a culture and lifestyle i wasn't at all used to. Not just the lack of civilization, but the major cultural division between the black and the white people that is still so obvious after so many years. Everywhere you go, the black South Africans are the working so hard to make a dollar (even on the streets everywhere you go there are ladies trying to sell you any form of craft they can make to survive) whilst the white seem to be the only ones to own cars, eat at restaurants, shop at the malls
etc...
whilst the black catch buses everywhere and are the ones who are working in the restaurants, shops etc. It was such an eye opener of such a divided country, that really does make you appreciate home.
Next stop is the sunny Greek Islands....
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Melgrice
Mel Grice
your awesome
well done hunny.. sounds like you had an excellent and eye opening experience in africa. im so proud of you!! enjoy the warmth of the greek islands and keep up the blogs.. its great to hear your stories and compare the similarites with my experiences. xoxo love ya