Kruger and the animals!

We got up early, as our all day game drive at Kruger National Park left at 5:15 AM (just after sunrise). We were each given a large paper bag filled with breakfast, with everything from yogurt and juice to sandwiches and energy bars. We dug into our bags as the day went on.

I still haven't taken my own picture of the safari vehicles, so here's a pic lifted from the web.

They have three rows of seats, with the back row being higher than the two rows in front. For some (for example, an evening game drive I took in Zimbabwe), the windscreen folds flat. They do have seatbelts, but they are rarely used. These are real workhorse vehicles, and I have a lot of respect for the drivers, who are driving, game spotting, and dealing with tourist questions. They all have radios, and if one guide finds something interesting (wild dogs—see below!), they tell all the other guides and everyone heads there at high speed. When the vehicles arrive, they all park at an angle (diagonally across the road) so that everyone can see.

It was an amazing drive. My favorite was probably the pack of wild dogs. They are endangered, and not always seen.

Wild dog

But there were plenty of other mammals, including spotted hyenas, African buffalo, giraffes, elephants, hippos, leopards, baboons, vervet monkeys, and all kinds of deer. Impala are the most common, but there were also kudu, waterbuck, bushbuck, and steenbok.

The birds were equally amazing. I still haven't gotten through all my pictures. One of the coolest places was a lake. There were birds all around and hippos and crocodiles in the lake. There was even a bird on a hippo.

We stopped for lunch at about 1 PM, at a nice restaurant. It was buffet-style, which seems to be the norm at these tourist spots. There is usually fish, chicken, something stewed (lamb, beef, etc), something SE Asian, veggies (grilled or baked), and things like salads (which I am avoiding).

After lunch, we drove around for another hour or two, then headed out of the park. I had heard from a friend who took this same trip last June that there was a night game drive available, but that you had to book it at the park headquarters. He said that the group just waited while he ran in and booked it, and that's what we did too. Four other people decided to do the night trip as well. I felt bad for the people waiting in the vehicle, but I really wanted to do the night trip. It was about $20 for a 2+ hour trip, and they picked us up at the hotel.

So I had time to relax and download my pictures, then it was dinner time. As I said, I ate only appetizers this time. Yum! Then it was back to the room to get ready for the trip.

It was worth every penny of the money and then some. The guide told us that there were no guarantees that we would see anything exciting, but I think that was BS—he knew exactly where the lions were! Yep, 13 lions. They were stretched out in the grass, having killed and eaten a buffalo that day. They could barely be bothered to lift their heads.

Young male lion

If you are wondering why there is no (or not much) danger in being so close to all of these animals, it is because they see the vehicle as one big unit, like a giant animal. We were warned not to dangle hands or feet outside the vehicle, because that would change how the vehicle is perceived. Making too much noise is also a no-no. At one point we were talking excitedly about a nearby elephant, and the elephant turned toward us in a threatening manner. The guide shushed us, and the elephant went back to whatever he (she?) had been doing.

Besides the lions, we saw the hyenas and some hares, and one type of small civet cat, but I barely got a glimpse of it. The guide spotted a scorpion on the road, and I had brought my UV light with me, so I lit it up. This isn't my picture, because I was doing the illumination. I was surprised at the color, since I know the scorpions in Big Bend TX glow orange under UV.

We had turned toward the exit when the driver said, "Wow!" He told us we were very very lucky. There was a pangolin crossing the road, and we got a good look at it, as it meandered away. Pangolins are extremely endangered, as they are coveted for pseudo-medicine in SW Asia and they are poached because a single pangolin can bring over $25K. The guide said he had been guiding at Kruger for 18 years, and this was only the 9th time he'd seen a pangolin. BTW, they are sort of like our armadillos—they have scales and they curl into a bal when treated. It appeared larger than an armadillo to me. I got pictures, but none were stellar. Still, I saw it!

After that, it was back to the hotel to pack and get to bed. We had an early start the next day, and a long bus ride to Johannesburg.