Day 8 & 9 - Kruger Weekend

Saturday 

Our weekend started very early as we got up at 4am to get ready to head to Kruger National Park. We all jumped into the bus and left the Hands Village by 04:30 to head round to one of the gates at the Southern end of the park. 

Once we were in the park at 6:30am - we set about following the main road into the park before heading round a loop where we were able to see Elephants, Hyena and Zebras, plus a lot of Impala (deer). Back on the main road, we headed up to Afsal - a place to get out and have some breakfast, we cooked some bacon and egg rolls and grabbed a coffee. 

We then meandered up to Skukuza (one of the main camps in Kruger) where we headed to the airport. En route, we travelled past a watering hole where we saw a huge herd(s) of elephant - estimated to be in excess of 65 elephants in one place - which included old and very very young animals. Once we got to Skukuza airport (approximately 12:30), it was time to get Adam checked in and then said our goodbyes and allowed him to wait for his flight back to Jo’berg. We quickly used the very nice facilities before continuing our exploration. 

We were lucky to then see some Giraffe sitings before moving onwards to see a Lion pair in the distance. We took ourselves down a small side track… when suddenly we sited a lone Leopard sat by a ravine. With no one else around and it sitting out in the open, we managed to get some amazing photos and spend some time with a ‘private viewing’. Alice did her best ranger reversing to keep up with the then moving leopard which then ended up jumping into and then out of a tree. It was an amazing siting which made us all very excited for the rest of our day. 

Before heading into Skukuza camp (where we were staying in roundhouses overnight) we heard wind of a pride of lions very close to a road… with being tight for time, Alice put her foot down and off we went down the bumpy dirt track. After what felt like ages (probably 10-12km), we finally found the lions. A pride of at least 9, sleeping and resting, following them having feasted on a wilderbeest earlier in that day (some were still going). 

Once we got to our rest camp, we quickly unpacked before heading for a cold dip on the outdoor pool - which was very refreshing and good to get moving after a day on the bus. Showers and a refresh, we then headed to the Steakhouse to enjoy a delicious meal before tucking down for the night. 

Sunday

We made the decision last night that we needed to get back in the park at 6am to make the most of the day - which is what we did. It was very dark and eerie as we couldn’t see much around us, but the sun came up quickly and we saw some baboons before getting to our breakfast stop - coffee and croissants was very much needed however a complete shock was the baboon that wandered into the shop (when it shouldn’t have been) and scared Alice!! 

After breakfast we were heading down to Lower Sabie along the track route however prior to getting there we saw a leopard in a tree with its overnight kill (an impala). A great siting so early in the morning. The bridge crossing was great as we saw some amazing hippopotami and the track road that followed allowed for some amazing bird sitings and then a fabulous herd of elephants. We were very excited to see some African Wild Dogs in the distance having reportedly been chased off by Wilderbeest. 

As our afternoon continued, we were blessed by many Giraffe, Zebra, Elephants, Birds and we even caught another siting of the same Leopard from the morning as we passed back through who was in the same tree. A quick trip to the bird hide meant we saw some Kingfishers and another Hippo before hearing about another Leopard which we quickly saw before we headed towards the gate. 

Before exiting Kruger, we spent some time praying and worshiping. We used a quote from Deuteronomy to focus our thoughts about the week we have just finished and the week to come as we head back into community tomorrow. 

Below is a list of all the animals we could identify over the 2 days. 

Blogged by Oliver 

Saturday

◦ Impala 🦌

◦.     Elephant  🐘

◦ hyena 😂

◦ vulture 🦅

◦ zebra 🦓

◦ kudo 🦌

◦ wart hog 🐗

◦ wilderbeest 🐃 

◦ hornbill 🦤

◦ starling 🐦‍⬛

breakfast 🥓

◦ giraffe 🦒 

◦ buffalo 🐃

◦ hippo 🦛 

◦ heron 🦤

lunch 🥪 

◦ baboons 🐒

◦ monkeys 🙊 

◦ mongoose 🦦

◦ dove 🕊️ 

◦ lions 🦁 x11

◦ leopard 🐆 x1

◦ steen bok 🦌

Sunday

◦ Impala 🦌

◦ Guinea Fowl 🦃

◦ Baboon 🐒

◦ Heron 🦤

◦ Otter 🦦 

◦ American fish eagle 🦅

Breakfast 🥓

◦Leopard 🐆 x2

◦ kudos 🦌

◦ bird with red wings 🐦‍🔥

◦ steen bok 🦌

◦ hippo 🦛 

◦ bateleur 🐦‍🔥

◦ wildebeest 🐃

◦ zebra 🦓

◦ southern ground hornbill 🐦‍🔥

◦ kori bustard 🪿

◦ giraffe 🦒 

◦ ostrich 🪿

◦ wild dogs 🐕 

◦ crocodile 🐊 

◦ hammer cop 🦤

Lunch 🥪 

◦ yellow billed stork 🐤

◦ warthog 🐗

◦ buffalo 🐃 

◦ monkey 🙈 

◦ antelope 🦬