Day 3 - Kruger National Park

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I'm writing this after a long day in the Kruger National Park. I have been lying in a hammock listening to the bush and thoroughly enjoying myself. Only a hug from Kris and a cold fruit juice would make this heaven between two trees!

I awoke this morning at 5am, as we had to be at breakfast at 5.15. It was light but raining a bit. Having dressed and packed my day bag, I went to the bar and had pineapple, muesli and a grand cup of tea!

At 6 we left in the pouring rain in our open sided (but thankfully roofed) vehicles. However despite waterproofs we all got soaked - my trousers and sandles were dripping. When we got to the Kruger, Gerry, our guide, said that it was pointless going in that weather so we stopped in the shop for a while. At 8 is was clearing so we went out again. I was quite cold and very wet and a bit miserable, but the sky was clearing and it heated up a little. All was forgotton though when I saw my first giraffe! He was so big! Later on we saw them much closer, but he was my first!

Gerry was great and really knowlegable and had great facts and answered all our questions. We saw all sorts of things:

Impala: up close, so beautiful; one bouncing around crazily. Gerry made this noise that they make when alarmed and they all turned around and looked at us!

Zebra: their manes stick up when their healthy and go down when they aren't.

Elephant: they came so close. I love their wrinkly skin! We watched one wrestling with a tree - and the tree lost, badly! It's amazing to see their trunks in action. I love it when the stuff grass in their mouths, having carefully knocked the soil off first!

Baboons: also run around with their tails up. They're so ugly - we saw 20-30 in one big bunch, with the Daddy in charge.

Hippos: again from far away. I used my binoculars and saw that one had a terrapin on it's head!

We also saw:

Lilac breasted roller: bird, beautiful purple/pink plumage
Fish Eagle: huge, white head feathers
Sausage Tree: big thick, sausage like fruits
Squirrels: not the big balls though. Scampered away quickly.
Warthogs: including 2 little baby hoglets
Greater Kudu: male with twirly horns, plus females (none). Bolted when they spotted us
Waterbuck: from afar - v woolly coats
Walhberg's Eagle: big (2m wingspan) and brown
Red chested cuckoo: heard the call "peit my frou", Afrikaans for "Pete my wife"
Malachite kingfisher: blue and orange jewel in a tree
Ox-Peckers (red billed): on various animals, eating ticks
Weavers: hundreds in one tree - a cacophony of tweeting
Terrapins: seen up close, swimming and on hippos head. Black, leathery skin
Iguana: seen at lunch in a bush
African land snail: about the size of a bunched fist
Giant Millipedes: move their legs like skirts. Secrete cyanide
Giraffes: male: no hairs on antler stumps, feed off top of tree standing up
female: smaller. hairs on stumps, feed in middle of tree bending over

I also saw (and felt) many beetles and bugs, some black, some beautiful jewels.

As I dried more and more, it got better and better. The park is hugs - 122 million hectares! We started driving home at 1pm and by 2:15 we had just left the gate! It didn't rain again in the park.

We got back and I had an open shower (lovely like being in a hot rain shower) and then got in my hammock. We had a display of local San dancing by the local children, ranging from age 4 to 15. They had such enthusiasm and energy and several were very good. Their skin was shining in the firelight and the ancient songs made it feel timeless. Then we had a go!

Dinner was braii (bbq) with lamb chops and sausages with a maize mash,green bean casserole, bacon and mushroom sauce and salad (beetroot). It was all delicious. Then afterwards we had marshmallows on sticks which we toasted in the fire.

I tried to buy some souvenirs from the shop but I noticed that one of the (6) dogs had bitten through the laptop cable. The owner picked it up and it sparked. After that she was a little busy, so I went to bed, but as it was raining hard the bush was a little quieter.

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