Kruger National Park

A big chunk of the extensive research we conducted before the trip were about game drives in Kruger National Park. The good news is, there's a drive (and accommodation) for most budgets. The bad news is, there's a metric shit ton of information to wade through. 

Gemma researched this portion of the trip and came to the conclusion that our best AND cheapest option was to book game drives directly through the South African National Parks website. SAN Parks has many upsides, most notably their drives start an hour before any other private safari cars are allowed in the park and finish an hour after. The prices are lower than private vehicles and they operate a no-tipping policy, which for me, always leaves me feeling more than a bit awkward. Everything must be booked in advance; I suppose it doesn't but the drives are quite popular and fill up quickly.

The only downside is that you have to be able to drive yourself to the park entrance. For us, we were a little under an hour away from the park entrance.The earliest drives start pre-sunrise so this involves a packed breakfast in the car. The website is a little tricky to navigate but it's definitely worth pursuing. 

Over the course of our time in Kruger, we did three separate game drives--two early morning drives and one late evening drive. On our way back to Nelspruit airport, we also opted to do a self-drive through the park in our tiny little rental car.

Our Day 1 drive caught us a bit off guard. South African winter mornings are cold and I'd only brought tiny little foot socks. None of us were particularly prepared for a bracing morning and we huddled up together at the front of the vehicle armed with the jeep's spotlight and our cameras. Almost immediately into the park, we spotted our first giraffe in this classic savannah landscape. I gasped and our driver laughed. Giraffes are apparently a dime a dozen in Kruger. 

Followed by a herd of elephants just making their way through the park:

More giraffe in the distance:

And, finally, a hippo! Our driver knew this guy by name and worried that he'd got himself stuck in the mud, again. Apparently this is a regular crisis for him. The guide gave a little shout and an engine rev and hippo started to move. Despite their cuteness, hippos are the deadliest animal on the African continent next to the mosquito. At least 500 people a year die after being attacked by this seemingly sloth-like animal. 

We left each game ride on a high. We bought socks in the gift shop in preparation for the next day's pre-dawn drive and continued to revel in the feeling of seeing truly spectacular wildlife in its natural habitat. It's an indescribable feeling.

On our final morning's self drive back to the airport, we had more close brushes with the wild. The elephant was bigger than our car...

Zebra crossing:

 

These photos hardly do the wildlife we saw justice. We saw four of the big five along with a smattering of new birds, beasts, flora and fauna. I have a whole host of photos on my camera and another folder of images deep in the archives of my email. But for the sake of updating this blog, I'm starting with preliminary moments of wow I captured on my handheld device. Then again, I'm not sure any picture can do a safari justice. Nothing can capture the moment Gemma burst into tears when she saw a critically endangered rhino in the distance. Or the fear you experience when you see a pride of lions sunning themselves on the morning pavement. Or the genuine creeped out feeling of stalking a hyena stalking its prey in the dwindling light of an evening. 

We left the park with a genuine sense of our own tiny. Our souls felt full and we carried that feeling to the airport and onto the plane. It wouldn't last long; our first days in Cape Town were more than a little problematic. But as I write this now, I'm reminded of how truly special this part of the trip felt.