Finally, we reached the very highlight of our Safari trip. With so much anticipation, we got into the Kruger National Park today. This is one of the largest game reserves in the world It is about 20,000 sq kilometres just about the size of the state of Israel. It used to be the home of the Tsonga people until they were forcibly removed in the early 1900s to pave the way for the creation of the Kruger National park.
We left the Humala lodge at 5 am and reached the park 3 hours after. And even before we can enter the park, we already saw a crocodile in the river under the bridge. There is no assurance that you will see a lot of game animals. You really have to take long drives around the reserve and one single trip may not be enough to see them all and even perhaps in several trips considering that the park is the size of a country. The excitement is actually in the anticipation to encounter a game animal. Unlike in the movies, the animals are not parading themselves. You have to find them as they try to remain hidden and away from humans. We got lucky that after several minutes, we chanced upon a herd of elephants. One vehicle came too close that a huge elephant with an attitude went charging after it. All of a sudden, Jurassic park scenes came to our minds and started reminding everyone to strictly adhere to park rules like not getting out of the vehicle and no body parts extending outside of the windows. More importantly, not feeding feed them as you actually mete them a death sentence as they become unusually aggressive.
Along the way, we saw a lot of impalas and one in our group quipped that they are the fast food McDo meals of the. Lions and leopards. There was also a rhino in the middle of the road. It was huge and we just waited patiently until it decided to move off road.
We also stopped at the side of the road to watch a pack of cheetahs apparently waiting patiently hidden in the bushes and in proximity was a herd of impalas. We stayed for a while expecting them to spring into an attack but could not wait much longer especially when some other tourists signalled a lion sighting elsewhere.
Hurriedly, we followed some vehicles, again stopped when the guide pointed to a tree from a distance. With difficulty, we could see a leopard perched in a tree between branches. Jokingly, we egged on someone to get out of the vehicle so we can take the perfect shots. After a few minutes of no action, we decided to move on to the trail of the lion. The find of the day was on us and saw the lion on top of a rock in a hill just like in the Lion King movie but this one is the lazy kind as he was just lying all throughout. Later in the day, we encountered the others- giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, ostrich, warthog, birds etc.
It was a tiring long day for us but it has been a unique and enjoyable experience. The trip was all worth it and good we did it this year as it could become a physical challenge in the years to come.
We will still have another quick morning Safari and some sight seeing side trips tomorrow. We are however physically exhausted and drained. We are already missing so much our apo Braeden that we are looking forward to get home.
Comments