Blogs from Mpumalanga , South Africa, Africa - page 57

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Nelspruit July 12th 2007

Well, we were in South Africa up until last night. I worked on the pictures on our way to the Johannesburg airport and had to leave the details until our arrival in Egypt. We are now in Luxor after a very long and exhausting journey. 4 hours of car to Joburg followed by waiting at the airport and a 7 hour night flight to Cairo!! Just shows you how huge Africa is! Once in Cairo we found out that our flight to leave in one hour (8am) was changed to 9pm!! Not good news for weary travellers! Anyway, we talked our way onto a noon flight and found a spot to squat until boarding. We are now in Luxor and have one night in a hotel before we get on our cruise down the Nile. ... read more

Blyde River Canyon

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Graskop July 3rd 2007

RECOVERED

Jaseandrach

Blyde River Canyon Africa » South Africa » Graskop By JaseandrachJuly 3rd 2007Jason & Rachel Waterfall Route Long drive from Joburg to Kruger National Park, so we decided to overnight in Graskop. The roads swept through spectacular mountain scenery on the way to Sabie, the start of our waterfalls tour. The Waterfalls Route takes in lots of falls along the road from Sabie to Graskop but we only had time to visit Bridal Falls, Sabie Falls and the Creek Falls, which we found the most impressive. Panorama Route Next we drove along the Panorama Route, stopping to survey the Pinnacle, a tall column of rock in the gorge. Peering out of Go... read more

Last morning in the bush...for now

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park June 28th 2007

Max in Musth Part II

D and B

We awoke this morning in beautiful Akeru lodge at around 6AM and proceeded to the open air 4x4. The sun was still down and the air was still very cold. As soon as we left the lodge, Sam (our tracker) spotted rhino tracks. A rhino had just passed our lodge during the night. We spend a few minutes tracking the rhino - including some time when we dropped Sam off on his own on foot - but the tracks led to an area we could not enter. However, the first character we ran across was none other than Max. Max was still in musth, but seemed much happier to ignore us and munch on his tree (see picture). Danika even grew to like Max, quite a feat considering her considerable distrust of him from the ... read more

In the lap of African luxury

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park June 27th 2007

Max in Musth

D and B

We opened the day in Satara camp with some bird spotting, where we found a pearl spotted owl, a african hoopoe (supposedly the stinkiest bird of all), and a crested barbet. We are not bird people, but there is something about seeing such colorful birds in such proximity that makes you appreciate the variety and abundance out there. The morning drive from Satara out of the park was a little slow (please note how seeing a herd of impala on your first day can be the most exciting day of your life, but by a few days later it just becomes routine. Stupid Americans...). We spotted a very large herd of buffalo, some zebras, and a few giraffes. However, just 3.5 hours after leaving Satara, we fell straight into a little piece of heaven. We ... read more

First Day in Kruger

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park June 26th 2007

The babies

D and B

Bring it on. After an early morning breakfast we said goodbye to the hippos and headed out to Kruger Park, only 5 minutes down the road. We entered Kruger via the Paul Kruger enterance and before we even entered the park we spotted animal tracks in the river. It is winter in South Africa and all of the rivers in the park are completely dry. Needless to say we made a bathroom stop at the enterance for fear of what would be awaiting us outside if nature called before we reached our camp. Needless to say nature was waiting for us at the bathrooms where a few warthogs were happily awaiting our arrival. On to the park - with our feet barely through the gate we encountered our first herd of Impalas crossing the road. ... read more

Along the Panorama Route

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga June 25th 2007

Three Rondelles

D and B

We were greeted this morning at 0700 by our tour guide Mart, then headed over toward the airport to pick up our traveling companions Barbara and Tham (aka Kanika). Barbara is a German now in Thailand for 20 years, and Tham is her Thai sister-in-law. From there we started the 6 hour journey to the outskirts of Kruger National Park. The drive took us to many beautiful places, and Mart was very considerate in giving us the history, explanation, and color on everything we saw. Danika was not feeling well along the way, but she was a trooper and made it all the way. Our first stop was at Pilgrim's Rest, a small town with signs of white influence but many African faces. We met a very nice group of women up from Cape Town ... read more

a beginning can only start with an end

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park June 19th 2007

monkeyfoot

So I realize that this may be a little late in the works as compared to a traditional blog but I will do my best to fill in the major issues covered over the last month as best I can. I plan to give a current description of what we are going through on the research project accompanied with a synopsis of different portions of the class that took place for the last four weeks. The group of about 22 students was on the move constantly with very little time to digest the information we were encountering. I plan to begin that digestion now by describing what we went through and reflecting on its significance. Now: To give you some perspective I am currently staying in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa just outside of Kruger ... read more

Blyde River Canyon

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Graskop June 18th 2007

The Pinnacle

pheenmachine

One of the largest canyons in the world, and still growing. Surrounding area too.... read more

Elephant encounters at Kruger

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park June 11th 2007

Giraffe

Willow

Well I've been back in London for two months now and predictably its all been a bit of a blur - lots of nights out catching up with old friends I haven't seen in ages or new friends that I made along the way in Oz and NZ. And in between that I got a job and a found somewhere to live - yup, reality has hit with an almighty thump.. for now anyway ;0) A few peops have asked about my Africa photos so here's a couple of blogs about the last 6 weeks or so of my trip..... My decision to leave Oz was all a bit spur of the moment, helped by the fact that it was raining and cold in Sydney and to be honest I fancied a change. So I booked ... read more

On Safari in Kruger

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park June 3rd 2007

The Long and Winding Road

explorerkeith

The image of Africa that I hold in my mind is one of grand wildernesses filled with strange and exotic animals. This image was formed mostly in my childhood with the help of the pages of National Geographic and the heavily abridged stories of Dr. Livingstone and Mr. Stanley's adventures in Africa that could be found in my school textbooks. Later, the African wildlife documentaries and the grand stories from Hemingway, Conrad and Haggard, as well as the unabridged stories from Dr. Livingstone and Mr. Stanley, filled in the gaps and brought life to my mental image. I knew when I stepped off of the Europa in Cape Town that my image did not match the reality of modern Africa, but I also knew, that with a little searching, the wilds of Africa could still be ... read more

Brief history of South Africa

After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjug...more history

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