Blogs from Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga , South Africa, Africa - page 6

Lorsqu'on se met en route pour le parc national de Kruger et qu'on parcourt sous la pluie les quelques centaines de kilomètres qui nous en sépare, j'ai déjà des images pleins la tête en pensant à tout ce qu'il est possible de voir, mais rien n'arrive à la hauteur de ce qu'on va vraiment découvrir durant ces 3 jours au volant. Ca commence fort puisqu'à peine l'entrée passée on rencontre déjà une petite dizaine d'éléphants au bord de la route. C'est la première fois que j'en voie à l'état naturel et le moins qu'on puisse dire c'est que des premières fois durant ce voyage on en aura eu beaucoup ! Parfois j'ai l'impression que je passe ma vie en quête de premières fois, avec leur lot d'émerveillement et de surprises qu'elles procurent. On aura été bien ... read more

There are 2 Kruger Parks. The public access park where the animals are free range and the fences are now down along the borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The 3 countries are working in harmony for the animals sake. The other Kruger Park are all the adjoining Private Reserves. There are probably 50+ lodges where the wealthy spend up to $1,500 a night in luxury lodges and see the Big 5(lion,elephant,cheetah,leopard, rhino). The reserves are all electric fenced to keep the animals inside the reserves and many are gps tagged so they can find them for the reserve guests to see. We opted for the free range and saw 4 of the big 5 for less than $150 a day, inc. food and wine. We literally had to go out and find them. Rather than fencing ... read more

Our first night was spent in the South African capital, Pretoria. It was certainly living up to its other name of 'Jacaranda City'. The city was ablaze with brightly coloured blue/purple flowering Jacaranda trees lining the streets and parks - what a spectacular sight. A short city tour took in the Voortrekkers Monument and Museum - a large rectangular brown stone edifice. The interesting story of the 'Great Trek' of the Boar Pioneers in the 1830's was depicted in tapestries, stone relief carvings and original artefacts including a Boer Ox-wagon. A giant statue of Nelson Mandela was found in front of the Government Union Building overlooking the city. Colonial-style buildings were also seen in the city centre, in Church Square, along with a silver-coloured statue of former President Paul Kruger. A long trip across flat and ... read more

Geo: -23.926, 31.4209This morning we got up early and prepared ourselves for a day out. We were going to spend the day in Kruger National Park. It would take us about an hour to get there. We left Maninghi Lodge just after 6am. On the drive out we saw a few animals – waterbuck, kudus and impalas. It was an easy drive to Kruger on the main roads.Once in the park using the Phalaborwa Gate, we drove slowly and enjoyed all the animal sightings. I was happy to be back in Kruger, as it had been four years since we were here! To begin with, we saw giraffe on the way to Sable Hide. Here we parked and got out to spend some time in the hide. From the hide we could see many impalas grazing. ... read more

Pachyderms dominated on our third day in Balule Nature Reserve. African elephants are huge creatures, the largest living land mammal in the world. They have massive curved tusks and tiny eyes with long eyelashes. When they walk, the ground shakes. The noise of them breaking off branches and stuffing them in their mouths can be heard from miles away. We first saw them on our dawn ride, where the glowing orange of the morning sun painted their heads and backs with vivid colours, then crossed their paths throughout the rest of the day. Here is a video clip, so you can share the thrill of watching these amazing animals: Other wonders excited us: a honey badger running into a hole beneath a tree; a baby kudu feeding from its mother; bushbuck, steenbok, zebras and buffalos. A ... read more