Kruger National Park

We've just finished a week in Kruger National Park, one of the world's premiere African game regions. A typical day for us began at 4:15 AM when we'd exit our tent and quickly get into the car for our morning game drive. You are locked in your campsite (for your protection) until 4:30 and the best animal viewing occurs at dawn when it's still cool and the predators are still finishing their hunt. Our drive would end around 9, and then we'd have a long slow breakfast usually involving a game of Scrabble while overlooking a water hole. Chloe would win the game (she's currently on a four game winning streak) and then we'd head off to our next campsite. By noon, the heat was overwhelming and most animals (with the exception of the antelope, zebras, giraffes, and elephants) were seeking shelter under some sort of tree cover. We would head to the human watering hole (fortunately, most campsites here have a swimming pool), where we would lounge about for a few hours before heading out on a sunset drive around 5 PM. It was dark by 7PM, and we'd head to the tent. Any time we were up beyond 8PM, it was considered a "late night". Sleeping bags & the tent fly were unnecessary (even the meshing of the tent seemed to trap too much heat!) and it was very hot most of the night.






We went on three separate guided walks (walking without a guide and gun is forbidden) to learn more about the environment we were watching. One turned into a white rhinoceros hunt, as we followed tracks and other field signs through the forest. In another, we encountered an aggressive elephant and were forced to retreat to the vehicle. One of our guides had to fire his rifle to discourage it.


We were quite successful in our viewing though. Several viewing of lions, hyenas circling our campsite at night, hippos wallowing in the pools, crocodiles waiting for opportunities, rhinoceros grazing in the grass. We even had a rare leopard sighting when the small antelope we were trying to identify was suddenly chased into the bush. All in all, VERY COOL!