Blogs from Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga , South Africa, Africa

5 AM wake up call. Safaris are best early morning or early evening. And after a brief coffee we hopped on the lodges 4-wheel drive and set out into the bush. The sun was already up (sunrise this time of the year is 4:30) the coolness of the night still there. But it was clear it’s going to be another very hot day. The dry season has not yet given way to the rains in this area of the country, everyone, mostly the animals, were eagerly awaiting. Tiaan skillfully drove the Toyota on dirt roads with huge potholes looking for wildlife activity. However, this morning unlike yesterday it was quiet, except for a few birds and antelopes and plenty of spiderwebs we picked up in our faces as we drove along. There are 72 different antelope ... read more

Here we are, it has been 5 full weeks we are back in South Africa and it feels so good to be back! Yes, there is home, the diving, the golf, but also amazing wine and food! This is my own little paradise found! The country has now opened, or is in the process to open to anybody with a negative covid test. So at least we know it will be easier to go in and out in the near future. The second wave of Covid hasn't hit yet here. Not sure if and when it will happen, but we are ready to stay home if we need to! December being the school holidays month here, I also plan that we stay mainly home for most of the month. So after spending few weeks at home, ... read more

We said a sad goodbye to our friends at Ebony Lodge at noon and took off on the 12-seater plane to head east to our final lodge, Lebombo. This lodge is located within its own private concession which lies within the Kruger National Park. This lodge has a very modern design and our suite is beautiful but that’s no surprise since it’s a Singita property. We did have several stops on the flight here and we enjoyed listening to the pilots perform their duties as we sat right behind them. Upon arrival at Lebombo, we were greeted by our new guide, Gary, and his tracker, Sully. We were also teamed up with a young couple from Brooklyn. We unpacked, freshened up and headed out on our first game drive. The terrain here is more rocky that ... read more

Zuid-Afrika===Botswana===Zimbabwe (een dagje)===Botswana===Zuid-Afri Vrijdag 13-09-2019 1e Vakantiedag Vandaag is het dan zover. We gaan op reis. We staan op tijd op, ontbijtje, de laatste spullen in de backpack, laatste dingetjes opruimen en dan staat onze wegbrenger Willem al voor de deur. Gisteren hebben we al via internet ingecheckt, eenmaal op Schiphol kunnen we de bagage afgeven en dan op naar alle “security checks”. Controle handbagage, paspoort controle…..het gaat allemaal snel en dan mogen we ons een beetje zien te vermaken. Eerst wat euro’s omzetten naar Afrikaanse randen en wat US dollars, dan wat wandelen langs de winkeltjes en op tijd richting gate F3. Het vliegtuig “de Iguaçu” staat al te wachten en er wordt snel begonnen met instappen. We vertrekken aardig op tijd en hebben een vluc... read more

We started today at 4:30 for our final morning safari into Kruger National Park. Today's goal: rhinoceros and leopard. Today's actual hits included: elephants, hyena, cape turtle doves, emerald-spotted wood doves, duiker grey antelope, tawny eagle, battaliers, vultures, wild dogs, RHINOS on 3 occasions(!), vereaux eagle owl, warthogs, and LIONS(!). We saw so many impala (antelopes) they felt like part of the family. Though we never found the elusive leopard, today's "hunt" was very successful. The highlights were the rhinos and the pack of wild dogs. Our guide, Mary-Anne, was super excited to have found these two species for us. Though many attempts have been made to tame/domesticate the wild dogs, even those reared from birth, none have been successful. We should also mention that during our breakfast break at a picnic area, we were being ... read more