Kruger National Park

Hello all,

What an incredible day!! One of the best I have ever had. 

It didn't start off great - our tent was boiling, then it poured with rain and I hardly got any sleep. I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but there were "why am I here" moments on my part. Hopefully I can sleep better tonight. 

We woke at 4.30am today and Rob wasn't feeling well. We had breakfast and then got in our 4 X 4 game drive vehicles for our day long game drive through Kruger National Park. 

The park was founded by Paul Kruger and was opened to the public in 1927. It is 25,000 square kilometres in area. Huge!! We had heard from people staying at our lodge in Johannesburg that they had only seen elephants and not had much luck, but we were about to find out that we were much luckier than them!!

After hardly any time at all we spotted a lone male elephant. We were all so excited. The rush you get seeing all these animals in the wild is hard to describe. It's so magical! Apparently though, Kruger is overpopulated with elephants. Up until 1996 the population of them was maintained at 7000, but since that stopped the population is now around 20000, and the trees have suffered as a result. The trees in the park are basically destroyed because the elephants rip them apart. 

Next we saw a rhino in the distance, then some giraffes and zebras. Giraffes only sleep for 20 minutes a day (I think we are going to be like giraffes on this trip due to camping!). Zebras have a 12 month gestation period, and apparently their offspring are able to run after being alive just half an hour. Very handy when you live alongside lions etc I suppose!

We were then on a mission to see the rest of the big five. The big five are the most dangerous animals and the ones that were most sought after by hunters - lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard and elephant. 

We stopped at a lake and saw hippos. Hippos are more dangerous to humans and kill more of us than lions and elephants combined. They were playing and wrestling and it was fun to watch. 

Then we saw monkeys in a tree, wildebeest and a couple of skittish hyenas who disappeared (but not before I snapped a photo!). Kruger was great, but our guide Matt described it as the 'Disneyland of game drives'. There were a lot of people around in the morning and so many trucks near one group of animals.  

Then we saw two more male elephants and we all burst out laughing when Matt told us an elephant's penis can weigh up to 18kg. Woah!! At this point our guide was radioed about a lion sighting so we set off at a fast pace. On the way we saw a warthog (Pumba from 'The Lion King'!). 

Once we saw about 15 trucks we knew we were in the right spot. Two by full male lions who must have killed and eaten recently were having a big nap by the side of the road. As we approached, he opened his big yellow eyes. They were beautiful, and Matt said we were very lucky to see them because in the hot weather they're usually out of sight. 

Then we saw some Buffaloes, who apparently are the second most dangerous animal to humans after hippos. They had little birds on their backs cleaning them. Next we came across some kudus, I think we have them at Melbourne zoo. They're a type of antelope who have white lines on their coat. The male's horns can grow to up to 1.7m. 

We saw a Marshall eagle, and Matt told us its talons are four times stronger than a Rottweiler. Yikes!

All together we went on three game drives (people here laugh if you call them a safari!) today. We had little breaks in between where we bought a snack and some souvenirs, then had lunch. We saw many more giraffes, zebras, hippos, elephants and various birds and antelopes. 

The last session of the day wasn't very successful as by this point it was quite hot, but the highlight of the day came for me in the second session. By chance we came across a family of elephants spraying each other. Once we stopped to watch them, more family members came and they all crossed the road right in front of us. Elephants are so beautiful, it was absolutely magical to watch. African elephants have always been my favourite zoo animal and I just about cried I was so overwhelmed and excited. An experience I will definitely never forget!!

Then we headed back to the camp site and to top it all off we saw a monkey!

On the road again tomorrow, wish us luck getting some more sleep tonight hopefully!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox