Blogs from Mpumalanga , South Africa, Africa - page 6

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

We wake up in Dunfeld Estates to another fantastic day. Perfectly blue sky. We have been so lucky with the weather on this trip. We can now see where we have ended up. The location is idyllic: a circle of cottages around a central pond surrounded by tall trees. The air is filled with the sound of birds. Buffet breakfast at Dunfeld. Standard fare with an egg station. But there's pap en sous, which makes the whole thing African. Bakkies brings the van out back and we pile in for our day's adventure. He starts with a tour of Dunfeld estates. It's absolutely huge, and actually comprises three separate adjoining operations, all family-owned, one of them devoted exclusively to equestrian pursuits. One yearly visitor is apparently Bruce Murray, Anne's brother. The roads around Dunfeld are lined ... read more

I haven't historically written informational blogs, preferring to simply write our travel stories. However, given the general lack of information about travel with kids, I thought I'd try to write a quick overview of each place we have visited in regards to children's activities and family-friendly accommodation. I'll start with Kruger National Park in South Africa. Kruger for Kids Kruger is a very family-friendly place to go on safari. It is much more affordable than its rivals, the Serengeti and Masai Mara in Tanzania and Kenya, and the facilities are far superior, at least on a budget. While park fees top $100/day in Kenya/Tanzania, making it unaffordable to the average family, South Africa National Parks offers a Wild Card deal. We got the international Wild Card and it cost just 4,130 rand (about $300) for unlimited ... read more

I wrote this blog in snippets over several weeks so it might be a bit disjointed, so I've added subtitles to make it easier to read! ALL ABOUT THE ANIMALS We feel so lucky to have been able to spend two months in the Kruger National Park. Animals are fickle things, so if you want to really have the chance to experience them, versus just check them off a list, you need to take some serious time. Of course, everything is just luck. I can't tell you the number of times we showed up to a traffic jam to be told, "Oh, the lion/cheetah/leopard just walked across the road but is now hidden in the bush. You just missed it!" It's so frustrating, but then we had to remind ourselves of the times when luck was ... read more

When you stay somewhere like the Kruger park for a long time, you definitely get to see some out-of-the-ordinary animal experiences. This includes the really cool stuff like the lion chases or baby jackals, or seeing a bush baby with its tiny baby. Unfortunately it also includes things you might have preferred not to see. One such experience was a giraffe that we saw lying by the river on its side as if dead, but every so often it would struggle and try to stand up but fail. If it failed to get up, it was obvious that the lions or hyenas would find it. Very sad to see. Jake and Kyla were very concerned for him so when we got back to camp we mentioned it to the ranger. He said he'd go to check ... read more