Weekend in Kruger

After an amazing but tiring week we left the hub at 4:30am and go to Kruger National Park for the weekend. The journey took us a while and we got there at about 6:05 however it was worth it almost immediately as a hippo walked past the car park. As we entered the park, the sun rose which was a beautiful sight. 

Early on the first day, before breakfast, we saw giraffes, a hyena, 2 lions and many impalas (a species of deer) which bewilders me. We stopped off at Afsal for breakfast but by the time we got there after all our sightings it was more like brunch. We had bacon and egg sandwiches cooked by Chris which were lovely after being in the minibus for 5 hours. 

After a welcome break, we set off towards Crocodile Bridge on an extremely bumpy road however we were fortunate to see some more lions on the way, 2 females who were enjoying the sun by the dried up riverbed. Before we got to Crocodile Bridge we saw a turning to a place called Hippo Pools where we saw hippos funnily enough and also in the distance we watched elephants. As we ate lunch in this spot, in the minibus, a lion walked out right  in-front of us which was the highlight for some as well as a big shock! 

After further driving, regularly being treated to the sights of giraffe, elephants, zebras, kudus, crocodiles and impala, we saw 6 lions sleeping on the dried up dam. To our happiness, there was 3 males and 3 females which was amazing because we hadn’t seen any males yet. A truly breathtaking sight!

As we continued on the road to Skukuza, where we would stay for the night, we stopped at a spot where lion cubs had been seen. This did not disappoint and we were soon watching 5 lion cubs play fighting with their mum supervising…  

When arriving at Skukuza lodge at 6pm, we were met with friendly staff who quickly checked us in to our rooms - which were very comfortable and well equipped. After a cool down in the pool, we headed to dinner and enjoyed the buffet available which included Kudu steak (I went up for seconds because it was so good!)

Following a good night sleep and an enjoyable buffet breakfast, we headed back out on the road but unfortunately we didn’t see many animals. We then returned to a rest area to buy some bits for lunch and also got some needed coffees! 

Back on the road, we headed to a small mountain where you are able to safely leave your vehicles so after taking in the view, we sat on some rocks for a short time of reflection ending in prayer and song - one we had learned during the week in Mafambisa - ‘Siyabonga, thank you Jesus.’ We then enjoyed sandwiches on the mountain top before driving back down to try and spot a leopard. This continued for the afternoon but unfortunately this time we had no luck. Despite this, we were still very fortunate seeing many more animals on the way out towards the gate, including a hyena and its cubs playing right on the roadside and being intrigued by our minibus. 

As the sunset, we left the park to travel back to the Hub after a very enjoyable and special weekend break. 

Our full list of sightings is below:

Impala

Hippos 🦛 

Elephants 🐘 

Giraffes 🦒 

Hyena 

Lions & Cubs!!🦁 

Warthogs 🐗

Greater Kudus 

Rhino 🦏 

Zebras 🦓 

Monkey 🐒

Eland

Nyala

Blue Wildebeests 

Crocodiles 🐊 

Terrapin 🐢 

Baboon 🦍

Water buffaloes 🐃 

Wild dogs 

Sable Antelopes

Starling (blue)

Vulture 

Southern Yellow billed hornbill 

African Snipe 

Kori bustard 

Pied kingfisher 

Goliath Heron 

Malachi kingfisher  

Grey Egret 

Blogged by Ben and Harry