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

A Journey to South Africa By William Graham Poet, novelist and travel writer William Graham holds a BA and MA in English and a MS in Communication from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He lives in Stowe, Vermont. His most recent book is Border Crossings: Travel Essays and Poems. At five o’clock on an August afternoon at the Sabi Sand Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park in South Africa, the southern hemisphere’s winter sun was dropping fast behind the trees. Long shadows fell across the dry savannah woodlands. From the shadows of the bush, our guide and his tracker noticed an African wild dog trotting warily. Then another and another appeared until there was a pack of four wild dogs, which had distinctive brown, black, yellow ... read more

Early early start without a safari drive. Heading to Kruger via Johannesburg and Hoedspruit. Pouring rain as we leave the hotel in Port Elizabeth. Arrive at the airport and have to say farewell to Nando (can you bea the drums Fernando) as he has to drive back to Cape Town empty after this. Lovely guy and a great driver - never felt in danger at all, and he could get the coach up and ripping pretty easily. Into the airport and check in - what a debacle. Supposedly all organised, but the tour director is flustered. Searching through his bag for the tickets, etc. finally it starts to happen. Eventually all checked in and through security to the departure lounge. Get on messenger and have a quick chat with Jessica and the kids. Nice to see ... read more

Dear all A big hello to everyone from South Africa along with super birthday hugs to brother Warren. Congrats on the big 60. So we are just two weeks into our South African trip and have had a ball. We would have loved to have shared our photos much earlier but the pace has been full on. The people here are lovely, the little tours we have done have been extremely informative, we have learnt so much about the short history of the place and the struggle the people have had because the Brits, the Dutch, the Germans and the French have all had disputes with each other in the backyard of the people of South Africa. So we arrived in Johannesburg after a very long flight from Sydney – finally arrived 3 hours later than ... read more

Today is our last day at Humala, but we are going on a field trip to Kruger Park rather than on safari. Wake-up call at 4 am! No time for coffee today. We bundle ourselves into the land rovers for the 45-minute trip to the gate. It is really dark and cold. At the Songimvelo gate, we are met by our old friend Bakkies, and we transfer to his van. It is a 3-hour drive to Kruger, which lies in the east. Bakkies stops halfway for a pit stop and buys us all a cappuccino from the gas station convenience store. He then produces box lunches for us to eat in the car, consisting of a wrap, chips, a banana and an apple. Food by this time is greatly appreciated. The land around us consists of ... read more

We are up at 5:30 am for our first morning game drive. Coffee and rusks (similar to a biscotti) at 6 and in the land rovers shortly thereafter, just as the sun is starting to illuminate the backs of the surrounding hills. A word about the vehicles used on safari. They are modified land rovers, diesel-powered with separate gears for the front and back wheels. Obviously, they boast massive suspensions and extensive structural reinforcements. Besides the front seat, there are three rows of seats arranged in a staircase arrangement. Each row can accommodate three people. There's also a fold-out seat on the front left hood, where a tracker can sit precariously and survey the surroundings. An essential feature: everything is copiously padded. These babies can climb up a steep cliff, ford a stream, take a licking ... read more