Day 7 & 8 - Kruger National Park

Day 7 & 8 - Kruger National Park

We’ve spent the last couple of days in Kruger National Park... filled with adventure from racing warthogs, to drinking giraffes, prowling hyenas and families of elephants.

Saturday morning rose very early but not very bright, leaving our lodge to be at the opening of the park at 6am. We entered the reserve at 6.02 and were treated to a day of wonderful animals. 

We started with a viewing of magnificent giraffe after a slow and misty start to the day, and were then treated to a road display of monkey and baboon families... dancing and prancing on the road, the monkeys showed us their playful and caring characteristics. A rugged hyena then appeared and walked next to us and down the road, prowling and herding a group of impala. Giraffes followed again, grazing on high leaves in bushland next to the road. It was astonishing to see the variety of colour and the ages of different members of family groups... the darker the giraffe’s spots, the older the giraffe. Buffalo then crossed the road in front of us and then continued to walk down the road next to us. Having seen a group of snoozing buffalo yesterday, it was lovely to see them in action, even if it was a little intimidating with the bulls! Warthogs came next on our spotting list, charging down the road behind us into the shrub before being quickly alerted and skidding to a dusting halt. They then pricked up their tails and galloped off in a group with their legs creating quite the sandy stir. Our journey around the roads and track of Kruger then took us to a little dam; this meant we had our eyes at the level of the top of the dam edge... looking directly into the eyes of hippopotamus climbing the edge of the bank. Other hippopotami were also hidden in the waters as their little water bubbles popped up... above them, African Pied Wagtails and African Kingfishers played on the bank and the side closest to us. Behind the hippo, crocodiles quietly slept. Giraffes appeared next, crossing the road in their majestic and stretched steps across the road behind us, whilst elephants roamed the bush around the corner. As we headed to the end of the day and as the hidden sun began to set, we saw a curious collection of large birds on the top of a leaning tree. With closer inspection and the use of Herman’s binoculars, Oliver, our Kruger ranger and guide, identified them as Saddle-Billed Storks. There were three large and hungry young in the tree-top nest, and as we watched them, a parent bird glided in above us and began to feed the young. Further to this ornithological show, we were then treated to a variety of species and groupings of vulture... Cape Vultures and Hooded Vultures. 

The animals and adventures of the day were broken with a brai breakfast on the banks of the river Nkuhlu where we were joined by a noisy hippo, a croc on the edge of the bank and starlings. We had a brief stop at Alfso for a coffee, and we had lunch on the go in Lucy’s mobile sandwich bar. When returning to the lodge, we had tea and rusks, and prepared to go out to dinner. Some people tried to swim but the pool opposite our lodge was closed for cleaning. 

Our evening meal was at the Skukuza Cattle Baron and Grill... yummy food, lots of chatting, and some good memories from the day were shared by all. This was a a lovely evening. 

Sunday dawned a little later, and we started with another failed attempt at swimming in the outdoor pool, breakfast cooked by Chris, and a service of the Word. We began in song to begin our worship, and then shared in the service, speaking and sharing about the light and darkness of the week passed having heard John 1: 1-14. This was an opportunity to share and reflect, which also refocused us as we had our final day of the weekend ahead of returning to communities and Mafambisa on Monday morning. 

We left the lodge at 10 and headed into the park... we treated super quickly to a heard of wonderful elephants from a bridge perspective with a very little elephant who played lots and kept falling over in their excitement! A little over the bridge, we then were treated to a wonderful scene of impala, zebra and giraffe drinking in the morning sunshine. It was amazing to see so many species all living side by side. A little further on as the midday sun broke, we can across a small group of six zebra, each leaning their heads on each other’s backs. Next to them, grazing by the side of the road was a giraffe with a calf... they were grazing together and then passed each other which made the perfect picture. We then went to a hide and had the most amazing scene... hippos were swimming and bathing on the far end of the lake, a crocodile was sunbathing on the water’s edge, terrapin were in the sunshine on a few branches in the water, and a range of birds were circling above. With such a large number of hippo families in one place, the sight was amazing! As our time in the park drew to a close, we visited a vast watering hole with drinking buffalo, hippopotami and a lone bull elephant- this was an amazing end to a wonderful couple of days.

On returning to the Hub, we unpacked and headed up to the field behind the Village for a game of ultimate frisbee with the Hands family. This was followed by a reorientation session with Angie and Jo, and lead by Chris, to grow on our worship in the morning and prepare ourselves for a week in community. With prayer and art, chatting and laughing, we all feel ready and excited for four days in Mafambisa and a day in Zwelisha.