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Published: August 19th 2007
Too late for this beast
This is why a safari rules over the zoo. Have you ever seen a lion kill a buffalo in a zoo..........nope! magical.So we have arrived in Johannasburg after an uncomfortable 19-hour journey from Cape Town. Our aim is to visit Kruger national park.
This park is the size of Israel and is home to a multitude of animals including the 'BIG 5' - Buffalo, Elephants, Lions, Leopards and Rhino.
Its a 500km drive from Jo'burg and as part of the tour, we visited some interesting spots along the way including 'gods window' (called so because of its endless landscape and uninterrupted views).
Bourke’s luck potholes, which was once occupied at the height of the gold rush, (ironically, Bourke didn't discover the potholes first and ultimately didn't get to prosper from its riches).
We also visited the blyde river Canyon (the third largest canyon in the world) - an impressive site.
Our day ended with an overnight stay in a tribal village. We were greeted and shown around the village by a young member of their tribe.
We tried their food, which is traditionally eaten with your fingers, we told stories around a campfire and was even encouraged to dance. Both Lisa and I participated but our fancy footwork left allot to be desired - all good fun though.
Crazy Warthogs!!!
These warthogs were driven by thirst to approach the water even though it could be their last drink. It was a tense moment. We were woken at the crack of dawn to make sure we made it to Kruger's gate by 6am (opening time). Our first day was a real success with 4 out of the big 5 spotted. Only the Lion eluded us.
Our guides (Elson and Dougless) were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic which ment that very little time was wasted. They advised us to have brunch rather than breakfast in the morning and then lunch in the afternoon - this worked well.
Our day was rounded off with a 3-hour night drive where you have huge spotlights at your disposal to watch nocturnal goings on. The highlight of this night drive was when a juvenile hyena approached the 4x4 and literally sniffed the bumper out of curiosity - a great moment.
Our second full day proved to be even more of a success. Lisa being the eagle eye of our 8 strong group including a Canadian (Alex) and 5 Slovenians spotted a jackal in the undergrowth early on and led us to believe it would be a good day for sightings.
Shortly after this encounter, we came across the Lions we were looking for. They were sitting under
Lookout on route to kruger
This stunning landscape it just one of many dotted along the route before kruger. Its well worth a visit. the shade by a water hole, (2 lioness's and the big male Lion). We were witness to an exciting scenario by which both the warthogs and the springboks were gasping for a drink in the midday sun, and testing the lioness's patience. It resulted in a short chase, which I captured on my camera (see image) but ended in disappointment for the predator.
Lion sightings became more regular after this and we saw 2 newly killed carcases (zebra and buffalo), which was breathtaking.
It’s hard to do Kruger park justice with a small blog and a few pictures so we would suggest visiting yourself some time. We went with Livingstone trails and we certainly got our money's worth.
From here it’s an overnight stay at our hostel in Jo'burg and then a 13-hour flight to Hong Kong.
Till next time - thank you for reading.
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Andy
non-member comment
amazing!
Hey Guys! I just want to say that I read your blog and I love your pictures! The lion chase picture is amazing!! very lucky sighting indeed! I agree 100% that one needs to actually go to the park to get the real picture, but your pics give a pretty good idea :) keep it up!